My
1,000 Ideas e-Book |
Breaking News EnglishHOME | HELP MY SITE | 000s MORE FREE LESSONS |
|
Date: Aug 27, 2005
Level: Easier (Try the harder lesson.) Downloads: Word Doc | PDF Doc | Listening Audio: (2:01 - 238 KB - 16kbps)
THE ARTICLESeventeen people died in a fire which destroyed an old apartment building in Paris on Friday. Fourteen children and three adults lost their lives in the inferno. This has shocked and angered the local community. The building was home to West African immigrants, who are generally poor and have to live in sub-standard housing. Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy visited the scene and met distressed and angry residents. Many blamed him for the dangerous condition of the building. Officials have promised an inquiry into the fire. They have ordered a review of low-cost housing in Paris to prevent further tragedies. Other overcrowded and run-down buildings in the city are now being checked for safety. An African workers group claimed the building was unfit for humans to live in. Residents say it was a health hazard, it was swarming with rats and the walls were full of cracks. A firefighter told reporters the fire swept through the building after starting in a wooden stairwell. WARM-UPS1. HOUSING: In pairs / groups, talk about all of the places in which you have lived. Which was the worst place? Have you lived in a dangerous building or stayed in a dangerous hotel? Is there any unsafe housing in your town? 2. IMMIGRANTS: In pairs / groups, talk about the problems and dangers that poor immigrants face when moving to a new country. What should governments do to reduce these problems?
3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently. 4. FIRE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “fire”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 5. OPINIONS: Do you agree or disagree with these opinions? Talk about them with your partner(s).
6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think governments should do much more to make sure immigrants can live safely. Students B think governments are already doing enough to help immigrants. Change partners often. BEFORE READING / LISTENING1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
WHILE READING / LISTENINGGAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text. Paris fire kills 17 immigrants
AFTER READING / LISTENING1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘sub’ and ‘standard’.
2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the gap fill. 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. STUDENT “IMMIGRANT HOUSING” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about immigrants and their living conditions.
6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
DISCUSSIONSTUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.
SPEAKINGROLE PLAY: This role play is to discuss how to make living conditions safer in Paris. Team up with classmates who have the same role as you. Develop your roles and discuss ideas and “strategies” before the role play begins. Introduce yourself to the other role players.
Change roles and repeat the role play. Comment in groups about the differences between the two role plays. In pairs / groups, discuss whether you really believe in what you said while you were in your roles. LISTENINGListen and fill in the spaces. Paris fire kills 17 immigrantsSeventeen people died in a fire which _________ an old apartment building in Paris on Friday. Fourteen children and three adults _____ their lives in the inferno. This has shocked and ________ the local community. The building was home to West African immigrants, who are generally poor and have to live in sub-standard ________. Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy visited the scene and met __________ and angry residents. Many blamed him for the dangerous __________ of the building. Officials have promised an __________ into the fire. They have ordered a review of low-cost housing in Paris to __________ further tragedies. Other overcrowded and __________ buildings in the city are now being checked for safety. An African workers group claimed the building was __________ for humans to live in. Residents say it was a health hazard, it was __________ with rats and the walls were full of cracks. A firefighter told reporters the fire __________ through the building after starting in a __________ stairwell. HOMEWORK1. 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 more information on the tragic Paris fire and the inquiry. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. 3. LETTER: Write a letter to France’s Interior Minster Nicolas Sarkozy. Tell him what he should do to prevent further tragedies. Read your letters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things? 4. IMMIGRANTS: Write a report for your city government recommending what it should do to help poor immigrants. Tell your classmates the main points of your report in your next lesson. Did you all have similar ideas? ANSWERSTRUE / FALSE:
SYNONYM MATCH:
PHRASE MATCH:
GAP FILL: Paris fire kills 17 immigrantsSeventeen people died in a fire which destroyed an old apartment building in Paris on Friday. Fourteen children and three adults lost their lives in the inferno. This has shocked and angered the local community. The building was home to West African immigrants, who are generally poor and have to live in sub-standard housing. Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy visited the scene and met distressed and angry residents. Many blamed him for the dangerous condition of the building. Officials have promised an inquiry into the fire. They have ordered a review of low-cost housing in Paris to prevent further tragedies. Other overcrowded and run-down buildings in the city are now being checked for safety. An African workers group claimed the building was unfit for humans to live in. Residents say it was a health hazard, it was swarming with rats and the walls were full of cracks. A firefighter told reporters the fire swept through the building after starting in a wooden stairwell. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2004-2019 by Sean Banville | Links | About | Privacy Policy
|