The Reading / Listening - Easter Eggs - Level 3

This year's Easter eggs will be much more expensive than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather patterns have made growing cocoa more challenging. Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate. Around 70 per cent of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa. Recent heatwaves, droughts and heavy rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly reduced the amount of cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have been four degrees higher than normal. The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than doubled compared to this time last year. Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate analyst, said farmers in West Africa were, "struggling in the face of both extreme heat and rainfall".

Chocolate eggs are given as gifts for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Traditionally, people dyed and painted chicken eggs. Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry produced the first hollow chocolate egg, similar to the ones people give today. Wikipedia says: "In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK alone." However, climate change is making it more difficult to grow the cocoa beans. Climate analysts say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a steady supply of cocoa and chocolate.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Easter Eggs - Level 0,  Easter Eggs - Level 1   or  Easter Eggs - Level 2

Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68619912
  • https://www.ecowatch.com/chocolate-more-expensive-climate-change.html
  • https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cocoa-prices-surge-chocolate-bunnies-easter/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. EASTER EGGS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Easter eggs. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       Easter / eggs / climate change / weather patterns / cocoa beans / chocolate / drought
       gifts / the resurrection of Jesus / chicken eggs / Western culture / fossil fuel emissions
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. CHOCOLATE: Students A strongly believe chocolate is very, very, very important; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. GIFTS: What are the good and bad things about these gifts? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Good Things

Bad Things

Chocolates

 

 

Flowers

 

 

Books

 

 

Gift voucher

 

 

Jewellery

 

 

A sweater

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. WEATHER: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "weather". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. INGREDIENTS: Rank these with your partner. Put the best dessert ingredients at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Chocolate
  • Strawberries
  • Milk
  • Cheese
  • Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Nuts
  • Beans

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. reason a. Difficult or requiring effort to do.
      2. extreme b. How hot or cold something is.
      3. challenging c. The cause or explanation for something.
      4. heatwave d. Very intense or severe; at the farthest end of a scale.
      5. drought e. A period of unusually very hot weather
      6. temperature f. A long period of time with little or no rain, leading to a shortage of water.
      7. struggling g. Having difficulty or facing challenges.

    Paragraph 2

      8. gift h. Having a hole or empty space inside.
      9. celebrate i. Something given to someone, often as a present.
      10. resurrection j. Changed the color of something by using plant leaves or chemicals.
      11. dyed k. Something that happens often or is ordinary.
      12. hollow l. Do something special for a happy event or occasion.
      13. commonplace m. Things we use for energy, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, that come from the remains of ancient plants and animals
      14. fossil fuel n. The act of coming back to life after death.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. This year's Easter eggs will be 10 times more expensive than last year's. T / F
  2. Around 70% of the world's cocoa is grown in Ghana.     T / F
  3. West Africa has been hit by heatwaves and heavy rain.     T / F
  4. A news agency said cocoa prices have doubled since last year.     T / F
  5. People traditionally painted goose and duck eggs for Easter.     T / F
  6. The first chocolate eggs were made in France in the 18th century.     T / F
  7. Around 80 million Easter eggs are sold in the United Kingdom.     T / F
  8. The article says we need to cut fossil fuel emissions to have chocolate.    T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. expensive
  2. challenging
  3. normal
  4. doubled
  5. extreme
  6. gifts
  7. dyed
  8. grow
  9. reduce
  10. steady
  1. increased twofold
  2. coloured
  3. serious
  4. farm
  5. difficult
  6. stable
  7. costly
  8. cut
  9. presents
  10. usual

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. Easter eggs will be much more
  2. Extreme weather
  3. Cocoa beans are
  4. heatwaves, droughts
  5. cocoa prices have more than
  6. Easter, which celebrates the resurrection
  7. similar to the ones
  8. the giving of chocolate eggs is
  9. we need to do more to reduce fossil
  10. if we want a steady supply
  1. now commonplace
  2. and heavy rain
  3. fuel emissions
  4. patterns
  5. of cocoa
  6. people give today
  7. expensive than last year's
  8. of Jesus
  9. used to make chocolate
  10. doubled

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
normal
challenging
rainfall
expensive
doubled
heavy
analyst
grown

This year's Easter eggs will be much more (1) ____________________ than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather patterns have made growing cocoa more (2) _____________________. Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate. Around 70 per cent of the world's cocoa beans are (3) _____________________ in West Africa. Recent heatwaves, droughts and (4) _____________________ rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly reduced the amount of cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have been four degrees higher than (5) _____________________. The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than (6) _____________________ compared to this time last year. Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate (7) _____________________, said farmers in West Africa were, "struggling in the face of both extreme heat and (8) _____________________".

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
company
gifts
fossil
dyed
commonplace
celebrates
making
cultures

Chocolate eggs are given as (9) _____________________ for the Christian holiday of Easter, which (10) _____________________ the resurrection of Jesus. Traditionally, people (11) ___________________ and painted chicken eggs. Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate (12) _____________________ J.S. Fry produced the first hollow chocolate egg, similar to the ones people give today. Wikipedia says: "In Western (13) _____________________, the giving of chocolate eggs is now (14) _____________________, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK alone." However, climate change is (15) _____________________ it more difficult to grow the cocoa beans. Climate analysts say we need to do more to reduce (16) _____________________ fuel emissions if we want a steady supply of cocoa and chocolate.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) This year's Easter eggs will be much more expensive ______
     a.  than last year's
     b.  than last years
     c.  than last yearly
     d.  than last yearn
2)  Extreme weather patterns have made growing ______
     a.  cocoa more challenge in
     b.  cocoa more challenge gin
     c.  cocoa more challenger
     d.  cocoa more challenging
3)  droughts and heavy rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly reduced the ______
     a.  a mount of cocoa
     b.  mount of cocoa
     c.  mountain of cocoa
     d.  amount of cocoa
4)  The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have ______
     a.  more than doublet
     b.  more than doubled
     c.  more than doubles
     d.  more than double
5)  farmers in West Africa were struggling in the face of both extreme ______
     a.  heat and rainy fall
     b.  heat and rain fell
     c.  heat and rainfall
     d.  heat and rains fall

6)  Traditionally, people dyed and ______
     a.  pointed chicken eggs
     b.  panted chicken eggs
     c.  punted chicken eggs
     d.  painted chicken eggs
7)  In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry produced the first ______
     a.  halo chocolate egg
     b.  hello chocolate egg
     c.  hollow chocolate egg
     d.  holy chocolate egg
8)  is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in ______
     a.  the UK all one
     b.  the UK a lone
     c.  the UK a loner
     d.  the UK alone
9)  However, climate change is making it more ______
     a.  difficult to grow
     b.  difficult to grown
     c.  difficult to grows
     d.  difficult to grower
10)  reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a steady ______
     a.  supply off cocoa
     b.  supply oft cocoa
     c.  supply of cocoa
     d.  supply if cocoa

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

This year's Easter eggs will (1) ____________________ expensive than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather patterns have made growing cocoa more challenging. Cocoa beans (2) ____________________ make chocolate. Around 70 per cent of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa. Recent heatwaves, (3) ____________________ rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly (4) ____________________ of cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have been four degrees higher than normal. The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have (5) ____________________ compared to this time last year. Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate analyst, said farmers in West Africa were, "struggling in the face of both (6) ____________________ rainfall".

Chocolate eggs are (7) ____________________ for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Traditionally, (8) ____________________ painted chicken eggs. Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry produced (9) ____________________ chocolate egg, similar to the ones people give today. Wikipedia says: "In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs (10) ____________________, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK alone." However, climate change is making it more (11) ____________________ the cocoa beans. Climate analysts say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a (12) ____________________ cocoa and chocolate.

Comprehension questions

  1. What kind of patterns have made cocoa farming more challenging?
  2. How much of the world's cocoa is grown in West Africa?
  3. How much warmer than usual has West Africa been?
  4. By how much have cocoa prices risen in the past year?
  5. What is causing West African cocoa farmers to struggle?
  6. What did people traditionally do to chicken eggs?
  7. When was the first chocolate egg created?
  8. What did an English company called J.S. Fry create for the first time?
  9. Where is it commonplace for people to give Easter eggs?
  10. What do we need to cut to make sure we have a supply of cocoa?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  What kind of patterns have made cocoa farming more challenging?
a) pretty patterns
b) extreme weather patterns
c) scary patterns
d) patterns like puddles
2)  How much of the world's cocoa is grown in West Africa?
a) just under 70%
b) exactly 70%
c) around 70%
d) just over 70%
3)  How much warmer than usual has West Africa been?
a) 14 degrees warmer
b) a lot warmer
c) 0.4 degrees warmer
d) four degrees
4)  By how much have cocoa prices risen in the past year?
a) They have trebled.
b) They have doubled.
c) They have quadrupled.
d) They have halved.
5)  What is causing West African cocoa farmers to struggle?
a) extreme heat and rainfall
b) low prices
c) a lack of equipment
d) a lack of demand

6)  What did people traditionally do to chicken eggs?
a) dye and paint them
b) fry and eat them
c) try and freeze them
d) dry and decorate them
7)  When was the first chocolate egg created?
a) 1275
b) 1752
c) 1527
d) 1725
8)  What did an English company called J.S. Fry create for the first time?
a) cocoa powder
b) a cream egg
c) a hollow chocolate egg
d) milk chocolate
9)  Where is it commonplace for people to give Easter eggs?
a) in northern Europe
b) in churches
c) in parks
d) in Western cultures
10)  What do we need to cut to make sure we have a supply of cocoa?
a) calories
b) fossil fuel emissions
c) trees
d) costs

Role play

Role  A – Chocolate
You think chocolate is the most important ingredient of desserts. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ingredients aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): strawberries, nuts or beans.

Role  B – Strawberries
You think strawberries are the most important ingredient of desserts. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ingredients aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): chocolate, nuts or beans.

Role  C – Nuts
You think nuts are the most important ingredient of desserts. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ingredients aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): strawberries, chocolate or beans.

Role  D – Beans
You think beans are the most important ingredient of desserts. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ingredients aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): strawberries, nuts or chocolate.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'chocolate'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'egg'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • much
    • 70
    • heavy
    • four
    • doubled
    • face
    • gifts
    • dyed
    • 1873
    • now
    • difficult
    • reduce

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Easter Eggs

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'chocolate'?
    3. What do you know about Easter?
    4. What do you know about cocoa?
    5. How important is chocolate to you?
    6. How worried are you about climate change?
    7. What are your chocolate eating habits?
    8. What food prices are worrying you?
    9. How difficult is it to be a farmer?
    10. What do you think of extreme weather?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'egg'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think of giving chocolate eggs as gifts?
    5. Are painted or chocolate eggs best?
    6. What are your favourite religious celebrations?
    7. What can you do with chocolate?
    8. How can we reduce fossil fuel emissions?
    9. What would life be like without chocolate?
    10. What questions would you like to ask cocoa growers?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    This year's Easter eggs will be (1) ____ more expensive than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather (2) ____ have made growing cocoa more challenging. Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate. Around 70 per cent of the world's cocoa beans are (3) ____ in West Africa. Recent heatwaves, droughts and heavy rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have (4) ____ reduced the amount of cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have been four degrees higher than normal. The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than (5) ____ compared to this time last year. Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate analyst, said farmers in West Africa were, "struggling in the (6) ____ of both extreme heat and rainfall".

    Chocolate eggs are given (7) ____ gifts for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Traditionally, people (8) ____ and painted chicken eggs. Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry produced the first hollow chocolate egg, similar to the (9) ____ people give today. Wikipedia says: "In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK (10) ____." However, climate change is making (11) ____ more difficult to grow the cocoa beans. Climate analysts say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a (12) ____ supply of cocoa and chocolate.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    (a)     many     (b)     much     (c)     most     (d)     some    
    (a)     textures     (b)     patterns     (c)     designs     (d)     shapes    
    (a)     grower     (b)     grows     (c)     growth     (d)     grown    
    (a)     so     (b)     greatly     (c)     real     (d)     many    
    (a)     twice     (b)     dueled     (c)     duo     (d)     doubled    
    (a)     head     (b)     body     (c)     face     (d)     skull    
    (a)     as     (b)     was     (c)     has     (d)     ease    
    (a)     dread     (b)     died     (c)     dyed     (d)     dared    
    (a)     one     (b)     once     (c)     only     (d)     ones    
    (a)     alone     (b)     lone     (c)     lonely     (d)     loner    
    (a)     it     (b)     sweets     (c)     bars     (d)     them    
    (a)     steady     (b)     hollow     (c)     balance     (d)     demand

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. mxretee weather patterns
    2. heatwaves, rouhdtsg and heavy rain
    3. prices have more than odebuld
    4. four eeersdg higher than normal
    5. an energy and climate ansalty
    6. farmers in West Africa were ilrngtugsg

    Paragraph 2

    1. eelcarebts the resurrection of Jesus
    2. people dedy and painted chicken eggs
    3. the first wlolho chocolate egg
    4. the giving of chocolate eggs is now nloccpmoaem
    5. reduce fossil fuel emnisisso
    6. a steady plsupy of cocoa

    Put the text back together

    (...)  at the court of Louis XIV in France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry produced the first hollow
    (...)  chocolate egg, similar to the ones people give today. Wikipedia says: "In Western cultures, the giving
    (...)  of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold
    (...)  in the UK alone." However, climate change is making it more difficult to grow the cocoa beans. Climate analysts
    (...)  been four degrees higher than normal. The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than
    (...)  70 per cent of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa. Recent heatwaves, droughts and heavy
    (...)  patterns have made growing cocoa more challenging. Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate. Around
    (...)  say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a steady supply of cocoa and chocolate.
    (...)  analyst, said farmers in West Africa were, "struggling in the face of both extreme heat and rainfall".
    (...)  rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly reduced the amount of cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have
    (...)  doubled compared to this time last year. Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate
    (...)  of Jesus. Traditionally, people dyed and painted chicken eggs. Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared
    (...)  Chocolate eggs are given as gifts for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection
    (  1  ) This year's Easter eggs will be much more expensive than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather

    Put the words in the right order

    1. expensive   than   be   year's   .   will   Eggs   last   more
    2. made   cocoa   more  Weather  patterns   have   growing  challenging   .
    3. to   make   beans   Cocoa   are   used   chocolate   .
    4. than   have   four   degrees   Temperatures   been   higher   normal   .
    5. doubled   .   than   said   more   Reuters   have   cocoa   prices
    6. very   the   chocolate   egg   .   Fry   first   produced   hollow
    7. people   today   .   ones   the   similar   give   to   They're
    8. eggs   giving   The   is   commonplace   .   chocolate   now   of
    9. reduce   emissions   .   to   more   Do   fossil   fuel
    10. cocoa   .   a   steady   If   we   supply   want   of

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    This year's Easter eggs will be much / many more expensive than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather pattern / patterns have made growing cocoa more challenge / challenging. Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate. Around 70 per cent of / in the world's cocoa beans are grown / growth in West Africa. Recent heatwaves, draughts / droughts and heavy rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly reduced the amount of cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have been / being four degrees higher than normally / normal. The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than double / doubled compared to this time last year. Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate analyst, said farmers in West Africa were, "struggling in the head / face of both extreme heat and rainfall".

    Chocolate eggs are given as gift / gifts for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of / on Jesus. Traditionally, people dyed / died and painted chicken eggs. Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared at the court / garden of Louis XIV in France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry produced the first culture / hollow chocolate egg, similar to the ones people give today. Wikipedia says: "In Western cultures, the giving / given of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK lonely / alone." However, climate change is making it more difficult to eat / grow the cocoa beans. Climate analysts speak / say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a steady supply / bar of cocoa and chocolate.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    Th_s  y__r's  __st_r  _ggs  w_ll  b_  m_ch  m_r_  _xp_ns_v_  th_n  l_st  y__r's.  Th_  r__s_n  _s  cl_m_t_  ch_ng_.  _xtr_m_  w__th_r  p_tt_rns  h_v_  m_d_  gr_w_ng  c_c__  m_r_  ch_ll_ng_ng.  C_c__  b__ns  _r_  _s_d  t_  m_k_  ch_c_l_t_.  _r__nd  70  p_r  c_nt  _f  th_  w_rld's  c_c__  b__ns  _r_  gr_wn  _n  W_st  _fr_c_.  R_c_nt  h__tw_v_s,  dr__ghts  _nd  h__vy  r__n  _n  Gh_n_  _nd  th_  _v_ry  C__st  h_v_  gr__tly  r_d_c_d  th_  _m__nt  _f  c_c__  b__ns  gr_wn.  T_mp_r_t_r_s  h_v_  b__n  f__r  d_gr__s  h_gh_r  th_n  n_rm_l.  Th_  R__t_rs  n_ws  _g_ncy  s__d  c_c__  pr_c_s  h_v_  m_r_  th_n  d__bl_d  c_mp_r_d  t_  th_s  t_m_  l_st  y__r.  _mb_r  S_wy_r,  _n  _n_rgy  _nd  cl_m_t_  _n_lyst,  s__d  f_rm_rs  _n  W_st  _fr_c_  w_r_,  "str_ggl_ng  _n  th_  f_c_  _f  b_th  _xtr_m_  h__t  _nd  r__nf_ll".

    Ch_c_l_t_  _ggs  _r_  g_v_n  _s  g_fts  f_r  th_  Chr_st__n  h_l_d_y  _f  __st_r,  wh_ch  c_l_br_t_s  th_  r_s_rr_ct__n  _f  J_s_s.  Tr_d_t__n_lly,  p__pl_  dy_d  _nd  p__nt_d  ch_ck_n  _ggs.  W_k_p_d__  s_ys  ch_c_l_t_  _ggs  f_rst  _pp__r_d  _t  th_  c__rt  _f  L___s  X_V  _n  Fr_nc_  _n  1725.  _n  1873,  th_  _ngl_sh  ch_c_l_t_  c_mp_ny  J.S.  Fry  pr_d_c_d  th_  f_rst  h_ll_w  ch_c_l_t_  _gg,  s_m_l_r  t_  th_  _n_s  p__pl_  g_v_  t_d_y.  W_k_p_d__  s_ys:  "_n  W_st_rn  c_lt_r_s,  th_  g_v_ng  _f  ch_c_l_t_  _ggs  _s  n_w  c_mm_npl_c_,  w_th  80  m_ll__n  __st_r  _ggs  s_ld  _n  th_  _K  _l_n_."  H_w_v_r,  cl_m_t_  ch_ng_  _s  m_k_ng  _t  m_r_  d_ff_c_lt  t_  gr_w  th_  c_c__  b__ns.  Cl_m_t_  _n_lysts  s_y  w_  n__d  t_  d_  m_r_  t_  r_d_c_  f_ss_l  f__l  _m_ss__ns  _f  w_  w_nt  _  st__dy  s_pply  _f  c_c__  _nd  ch_c_l_t_.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    this years easter eggs will be much more expensive than last years the reason is climate change extreme weather patterns have made growing cocoa more challenging cocoa beans are used to make chocolate around 70 per cent of the worlds cocoa beans are grown in west africa recent heatwaves droughts and heavy rain in ghana and the ivory coast have greatly reduced the amount of cocoa beans grown temperatures have been four degrees higher than normal the reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than doubled compared to this time last year amber sawyer an energy and climate analyst said farmers in west africa were struggling in the face of both extreme heat and rainfall

    chocolate eggs are given as gifts for the christian holiday of easter which celebrates the resurrection of jesus traditionally people dyed and painted chicken eggs wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of louis xiv in france in 1725 in 1873 the english chocolate company js fry produced the first hollow chocolate egg similar to the ones people give today wikipedia says in western cultures the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace with 80 million easter eggs sold in the uk alone however climate change is making it more difficult to grow the cocoa beans climate analysts say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a steady supply of cocoa and chocolate

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Thisyear'sEastereggswillbemuchmoreexpensivethanlastyear's.The
    reasonisclimatechange.Extremeweatherpatternshavemadegrowin
    gcocoamorechallenging.Cocoabeansareusedtomakechocolate.Arou
    nd70percentoftheworld'scocoabeansaregrowninWestAfrica.Recent
    heatwaves,droughtsandheavyraininGhanaandtheIvoryCoasthaveg
    reatlyreducedtheamountofcocoabeansgrown.Temperatureshavebe
    enfourdegreeshigherthannormal.TheReutersnewsagencysaidcocoa
    priceshavemorethandoubledcomparedtothistimelastyear.AmberSa
    wyer,anenergyandclimateanalyst,saidfarmersinWestAfricawere,"st
    rugglinginthefaceofbothextremeheatandrainfall".Chocolateeggsare
    givenasgiftsfortheChristianholidayofEaster,whichcelebratestheresu
    rrectionofJesus.Traditionally,peopledyedandpaintedchickeneggs.W
    ikipediasayschocolateeggsfirstappearedatthecourtofLouisXIVinFra
    ncein1725.In1873,theEnglishchocolatecompanyJ.S.Fryproducedth
    efirsthollowchocolateegg,similartotheonespeoplegivetoday.Wikipe
    diasays:"InWesterncultures,thegivingofchocolateeggsisnowcomm
    onplace,with80millionEastereggssoldintheUKalone."However,clima
    techangeismakingitmoredifficulttogrowthecocoabeans.Climateanal
    ystssayweneedtodomoretoreducefossilfuelemissionsifwewantastea
    dysupplyofcocoaandchocolate.

    Free writing

    Write about Easter eggs for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Chocolate is very important. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. EASTER EGGS: Make a poster about Easter eggs. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. COCOA BEANS: Write a magazine article about switching from growing cocoa beans to growing crops more important for human life. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on Easter eggs. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on chocolate eggs and chocolate. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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