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Date: Oct 14, 2005
Level: Harder (Try the easier lesson.) Downloads: Word Doc | PDF Doc | Listening Audio: (1:54 - 223.9 KB - 16kbps)
THE ARTICLEChechen rebels have launched a series of attacks on government buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik. The attacks seem to have been meticulously planned and orchestrated as 300 armed militants simultaneously attacked their targets. This prompted the usual heavy-handed response from Moscow. Vladimir Putin quickly used his trademark massive force to quell any potential uprising. The response quickly erupted into bloody street battles. Panicked citizens were seen fleeing amid heavy arms fire and explosions for the relative safety of their homes. More than 60 people have died, including 50 attackers, with scores injured. Sporadic fighting can be heard throughout the city as pockets of resistance continue to cause problems for Russian troops. The Caucasus Front, a group thought to be an offshoot of the Chechen rebel armed forces, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. It is also believed to have been behind the Moscow theater siege, which saw 130 citizens die in 2002, and the Beslan hostage crisis, which saw 344 civilians killed in 2004. The separatist group is fighting for an independent Chechnya and other Islamic states in the Russian south, where up to 90 percent of the population is Muslim. The latest attack casts doubt on Mr. Putin’s claim that his army has control of the area. He promised the poverty-stricken region massive economic aid after the Beslan crisis, acknowledging that poverty helped fuel the unrest. However, little help arrived and people remain impoverished and disgruntled. WARM-UPS1. CHECHNYA SEARCH: Walk around the class and find as much information as you can on Chechnya and the problems Chechen separatists are causing Vladimir Putin’s government. 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? Did you hear anything that you disagreed with? 2. FIGHT: Would you ever take up arms and fight in a struggle 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 the majority of people want independence should be able to have it. Students B think otherwise. 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 legitimate 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! Five of the ten 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 lunched a series of attacks on government buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik. The attacks seem to have been meticulously planned and orchestrated as 300 armed militants simultaneously attacked their targets. This prompted the usual heavy-handed response from Moscow. Vladimir Putin quickly used his logo massive force to swell any potential uprising. The response quickly erupted into bloody street battles. Panicked citizens were seen fleeting amid heavy arms fire and explosions for the relative safety of their homes. More than 60 people have died, including 50 attackers, with shores injured. Sporadic fighting can be heard throughout the city as pockets of resistance continue to cause problems for Russian troops. The Caucasus Front, a group thought to be an off ramp of the Chechen rebel armed forces, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. It is also believed to have been behind the Moscow theater siege, which saw 130 citizens die in 2002, and the Beslan hostage crisis, which saw 344 civilians killed in 2004. The septuagenarian group is fighting for an independent Chechnya and other Islamic states in the Russian south, where up to 90 percent of the population is Muslim. The latest attack coasts doubt on Mr. Putin’s claim that his army has control of the area. He promised the poverty-stricken religion massive economic aid after the Beslan crisis, acknowledging that poverty helped fuel the unrest. However, little help arrived and people remain impoverished and happy. AFTER READING / LISTENING1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘pockets’ and ‘resistance’.
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 poses 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 _________ a series of attacks on government buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik. The attacks seem to have been ______________ planned and ______________ as 300 armed militants simultaneously attacked their targets. This prompted the usual ______________ response from Moscow. Vladimir Putin quickly used his trademark massive force to ______ any potential uprising. The response quickly erupted into bloody street battles. Panicked citizens were seen fleeing ______ heavy arms fire and explosions for the relative safety of their homes. More than 60 people have died, including 50 attackers, with ______ injured. Sporadic fighting can be heard throughout the city as _________ of resistance continue to cause problems for Russian troops. The Caucasus Front, a group thought to be an ___________ of the Chechen rebel armed forces, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. It is also believed to have been ________ the Moscow theater ________, which saw 130 citizens die in 2002, and the Beslan ________ crisis, which saw 344 civilians killed in 2004. The separatist group is fighting for an independent Chechnya and other Islamic ________ in the Russian south, where up to 90 percent of the population is Muslim. The latest attack ________ doubt on Mr. Putin’s claim that his army has control of the area. He promised the poverty-________ region massive economic aid after the Beslan crisis, acknowledging that poverty helped ________ the unrest. However, little help arrived and people remain impoverished and _____________. 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 recognized as an independent country. Make a poster about it. Include facts on its history and why it deserves international recognition as an independent country. What is standing in the way of its independence? Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. Are there any strong contenders for full statehood? 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 launched a series of attacks on government buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik. The attacks seem to have been meticulously planned and orchestrated as 300 armed militants simultaneously attacked their targets. This prompted the usual heavy-handed response from Moscow. Vladimir Putin quickly used his trademark massive force to quell any potential uprising. The response quickly erupted into bloody street battles. Panicked citizens were seen fleeing amid heavy arms fire and explosions for the relative safety of their homes. More than 60 people have died, including 50 attackers, with scores injured. Sporadic fighting can be heard throughout the city as pockets of resistance continue to cause problems for Russian troops. The Caucasus Front, a group thought to be an offshoot of the Chechen rebel armed forces, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. It is also believed to have been behind the Moscow theater siege, which saw 130 citizens die in 2002, and the Beslan hostage crisis, which saw 344 civilians killed in 2004. The separatist group is fighting for an independent Chechnya and other Islamic states in the Russian south, where up to 90 percent of the population is Muslim. The latest attack casts doubt on Mr. Putin’s claim that his army has control of the area. He promised the poverty-stricken region massive economic aid after the Beslan crisis, acknowledging that poverty helped fuel the unrest. However, little help arrived and people remain impoverished and disgruntled.
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