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Date: Sep 1, 2005
Level: Harder (Try the easier lesson.) Downloads: Word Doc | PDF Doc | Listening Audio: (2:11 - 257.9 KB - 16kbps)
THE ARTICLEAnother tragedy befell the people of Baghdad today when at least 800 died in a stampede at a religious festival commemorating the revered Imam Musa al-Khadim. The victims, mostly women and children, were Shiite Muslim pilgrims, who were making their way to the Khadimiya shrine. The stampede was triggered by panic created by rumors that a suicide bomber was lurking among the hundreds of thousands of worshippers. People were already edgy due to a terrorist attack hours earlier that claimed seven lives. Insurgents fired a mortar round into the throngs of people near the shrine causing pandemonium and fear. The chaos and confusion spread and thousands tried to flea, resulting in the overwhelming loss of life. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has declared a three-day period of mourning. In the aftermath of the tragedy, politicians were pointing fingers over who was responsible for the turmoil and deaths. Shiite festivals regularly draw huge crowds and are frequently targeted by Sunni extremists. An al-Qaeda-linked group claimed it carried out the rocket attack near the mosque. Some prominent Shiite clerics have accused Sunni insurgents of trying to open sectarian wounds to derail the fledgling constitution, which was presented to parliament earlier this week. Many in Iraq feel Sunnis are attempting to ignite a civil war. The tragedy is the single biggest confirmed loss of life in Iraq since the US-led invasion. WARM-UPS1. IRAQ NEWS: Do you often follow news of Iraq? What do you think about what’s happening there every day? Do you ever hear good news coming out of Iraq? 2. PEOPLE AND PLACES: What do you know about the following people and places that are often in the news about Iraq? What part might they play in Iraq’s future?
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. TRAGEDY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “tragedy”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 5. GOOD NEWS: Here is some good news that might be printed in newspapers in the future. What do you think of these headlines? Are they possible?
6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think Iraq will be in a state of turmoil for at least a decade. Students B think life in Iraq will settle down after elections take place. 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. 800 die in Baghdad shrine stampede
AFTER READING / LISTENING1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘point’ and ‘finger’.
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 “IRAQ” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Iraq.
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.
SPEAKINGCITIZEN INTERVIEW: In pairs / groups, write down questions you would like to ask an average Baghdad citizen about his/her life. The following ideas may be useful:
Take turns in role playing the interviewer and the Baghdad citizen. Change partners and discuss what you heard from previous partners. LISTENINGListen and fill in the spaces. 800 die in Baghdad shrine stampedeAnother tragedy _______ the people of Baghdad today when at least 800 died in a stampede at a religious festival commemorating the _______ Imam Musa al-Khadim. The victims, mostly women and children, were Shiite Muslim pilgrims, who were making their way to the Khadimiya shrine. The stampede was _______ by panic created by rumors that a suicide bomber was _______ among the hundreds of thousands of worshippers. People were already _______ due to a terrorist attack hours earlier that claimed seven lives. Insurgents fired a mortar round into the _______ of people near the shrine causing pandemonium and fear. The chaos and confusion spread and thousands tried to _______, resulting in the overwhelming loss of life. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has declared a three-day period of _________. In the aftermath of the tragedy, politicians were pointing fingers over who was responsible for the _______ and deaths. Shiite festivals regularly draw huge crowds and are frequently _______ by Sunni extremists. An al-Qaeda-linked group claimed it carried out the _______ attack near the mosque. Some prominent Shiite _______ have accused Sunni insurgents of trying to open sectarian wounds to _______ the fledgling constitution, which was presented to parliament earlier this week. Many in Iraq feel Sunnis are attempting to _______ a civil war. The tragedy is the single biggest confirmed loss of life in Iraq since the US-_______ invasion. 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 Baghdad stampede. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. 3. SUNNI AND SHIA: Make a poster explaining the differences between the Shia and Sunni people and religions. What does each of them want in the new Iraq? Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all find out about similar things? 4. DIARY / JOURNAL: You are a resident of Baghdad. Write the diary / journal entry for one day in your life. Read what you wrote to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things? ANSWERSTRUE / FALSE:
SYNONYM MATCH:
PHRASE MATCH:
GAP FILL: 800 die in Baghdad shrine stampedeAnother tragedy befell the people of Baghdad today when at least 800 died in a stampede at a religious festival commemorating the revered Imam Musa al-Khadim. The victims, mostly women and children, were Shiite Muslim pilgrims, who were making their way to the Khadimiya shrine. The stampede was triggered by panic created by rumors that a suicide bomber was lurking among the hundreds of thousands of worshippers. People were already edgy due to a terrorist attack hours earlier that claimed seven lives. Insurgents fired a mortar round into the throngs of people near the shrine causing pandemonium and fear. The chaos and confusion spread and thousands tried to flea, resulting in the overwhelming loss of life. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has declared a three-day period of mourning. In the aftermath of the tragedy, politicians were pointing fingers over who was responsible for the turmoil and deaths. Shiite festivals regularly draw huge crowds and are frequently targeted by Sunni extremists. An al-Qaeda-linked group claimed it carried out the rocket attack near the mosque. Some prominent Shiite clerics have accused Sunni insurgents of trying to open sectarian wounds to derail the fledgling constitution, which was presented to parliament earlier this week. Many in Iraq feel Sunnis are attempting to ignite a civil war. The tragedy is the single biggest confirmed loss of life in Iraq since the US-led invasion.
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