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Date: Oct 14, 2005
Level: Easier (Try the harder lesson.) Downloads: Word Doc | PDF Doc | Listening Audio: (1:35 - 186.7 KB - 16kbps)
THE ARTICLEChechen rebels have attacked government buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik. Up to 300 armed militants attacked their targets at exactly the same time. Moscow responded quickly and used massive force to fight the rebels. There were soon bloody street battles and fighting spread throughout the city. Citizens panicked and ran to the safety of their homes to avoid the gunfire and explosions. More than 60 people have died, including 50 attackers. The fighting is continuing as small groups of rebels continue to cause problems for Russian troops. A group linked to the Chechen rebel army said it was responsible for the attacks. It also carried out the Moscow theater siege, which saw 130 citizens die in 2002, and the Beslan hostage crisis, in which 344 civilians died in 2004. The group is fighting for an independent and Islamic Chechnya. Up to 90 percent of the population is Muslim. The latest attack will cause problems for Mr. Putin’s tough image. He often claims his army has control of the area. He promised the region economic aid last year to create jobs. However, little help arrived and people remain unemployed and angry. WARM-UPS1. CHECHNYA SEARCH: Walk around the class and find as much information as you can on Chechnya. After you have finished, sit down with your partner(s) and share your information. What did you find out that was interesting? What was surprising? 2. FIGHT: Would you ever use a gun in a fight or war? In which of the following cases would you choose to fight? Explain your reasons why to your partner(s). Change partners often to find out other reasons for fighting or not fighting.
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. CHECHNYA: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Chechnya. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 5. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think all regions in which most people want independence should be able to have it. Students B think they shouldn’t be able to have their independence. Change partners often. 6. NEW GEOGRAPHY: Thirty new countries have been created since 1990. How many can you name? Do you think the following names should be added to the list of names recognized by the United Nations as real countries? What do you know about them?
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):
AFTER READING / LISTENINGWHOOPS! Four of the eight words in bold in each paragraph are incorrect. Find and delete them. In pairs / groups, think of a better word. Chechen rebels attack Russian cityChechen rebels have attacked government buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik. Up to 300 arm militants attacked their targets at exactly the same clock. Moscow responded quickly and used massive force to fight the rebels. There were soon bloody street battles and fighting spread throughout the city. Citizens panicked and ran to the danger of their homes to avoid the gunfire and explosions. More than 60 people have dead, including 50 attackers. The fighting is continuing as small groups of rebels continue to cause problems for Russian troops. A group blinked to the Chechen rebel army said it was responsible for the attacks. It also carried out the Moscow theater siege, which saw 130 citizens die in 2002, and the Beslan hostage crisis, in which 344 civilians died in 2004. The group is fighting for an independent and Islamic Chechnya. Up to 90 percent of the popularity is Muslim. The latest attack will cause problems for Mr. Putin’s tough image. He often clams his army has control of the area. He promised the region economic aid last year to create jobs. However, little help arrived and people remain unemployed and happy. AFTER READING / LISTENING1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘gun’ and ‘fire’.
2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
3. WHOOPS! 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. STUDENT “CHECHNYA” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Chechnya and the problems it creates for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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.
SPEAKINGTHE NEXT COUNTRY: In pairs / groups, decide which of these “non-countries” should be next to be recognized by the United Nations as an official country
Change partners and compare your decisions. Return to your original partners and report on what your previous partners decided. LISTENINGListen and fill in the spaces. Chechen rebels attack Russian cityChechen rebels have _________ government buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik. Up to 300 armed _________ attacked their targets at exactly the same time. Moscow responded quickly and used massive force to fight the rebels. There were soon _________ street battles and fighting spread throughout the city. Citizens _________ and ran to the safety of their homes to avoid the _________ and explosions. More than 60 people have died, including 50 attackers. The fighting is continuing as small groups of rebels continue to _________ problems for Russian troops. A group _________ to the Chechen rebel army said it was responsible for the attacks. It also _________ ____ the Moscow theater siege, which saw 130 citizens die in 2002, and the Beslan hostage _______, in which 344 civilians died in 2004. The group is fighting for an independent and Islamic Chechnya. Up to 90 percent of the population is Muslim. The _______ attack will cause problems for Mr. Putin’s _______ image. He often claims his army has control of the area. He promised the region economic _______ last year to create jobs. However, little help arrived and people _______ unemployed and angry. 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 Chechnya. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. 3. NEW COUNTRY: Choose an area of the world that wants to be an independent country. Make a poster about it. Include facts on its history and why it should be an independent country. What is stopping its independence? Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. 4. REPORTER: Imagine you are a reporter in the Russian city of Nalchik. Write your report in as much detail as you can about the attack by the Chechen rebels and the response from the Russian army. Show your report to your classmates in the next lesson. Which one was best? ANSWERSTRUE / FALSE:
SYNONYM MATCH:
PHRASE MATCH:
WHOOPS! Chechen rebels attack Russian cityChechen rebels have attacked government buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik. Up to 300 armed militants attacked their targets at exactly the same time. Moscow responded quickly and used massive force to fight the rebels. There were soon bloody street battles and fighting spread throughout the city. Citizens panicked and ran to the safety of their homes to avoid the gunfire and explosions. More than 60 people have died, including 50 attackers. The fighting is continuing as small groups of rebels continue to cause problems for Russian troops. A group linked to the Chechen rebel army said it was responsible for the attacks. It also carried out the Moscow theater siege, which saw 130 citizens die in 2002, and the Beslan hostage crisis, in which 344 civilians died in 2004. The group is fighting for an independent and Islamic Chechnya. Up to 90 percent of the population is Muslim. The latest attack will cause problems for Mr. Putin’s tough image. He often claims his army has control of the area. He promised the region economic aid last year to create jobs. However, little help arrived and people remain unemployed and angry. |
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