Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Hope for Haiti

Some of the biggest stars in entertainment gathered on Friday night to help raise money for Haiti. The event, called ‘Hope for Haiti Now’, was organized by actor George Clooney. He persuaded dozens of singers, sports stars and actors to answer telephones in a telethon to raise money for the earthquake-hit country. Rock and pop legends performed on both sides of the Atlantic. Madonna, Mary J Blige, Shakira and Sting sang in New York, while Jay-Z, Rihanna and U2’s Bono took part in a concert in London. A special moment came when Haitian-American singer Wyclef Jean sang for his nation. The event was televised on every major TV network and streamed on websites around the world.

George Clooney told MTV about why he organized the event: "It's a big world out there, and we all have a lot of responsibility to look out for people who can't look out for themselves,” he said. He explained what he asked the stars to do, saying: "You got about 130 to 140 actors, athletes, singers and television hosts, and they're all coming up not to be on TV, but simply to answer the phones." He said so many stars were willing to help. Clooney went on to say that the telethon's main goal was to "raise money, period. That's it." He added: “If I thought that we could all pick up shovels and go in there and not be in the way, I think a lot of people would do that." Stars hope the telethon will raise $1 billion for the earthquake victims.

WARM-UPS

1. HAITI: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Haiti. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

big stars / entertainment / raise money / telethons / rock legends / special moments / events / responsibility / looking out for people / willing to help / earthquake victims

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. STARS: What events could these stars do to help Haiti? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you heard.

	Event
Singers
Actors
Athletes
Politicians
Business leaders
Models

4. HELP: Students A strongly believe the Help For Haiti Now telethon will really help Haitians; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. AID FOR HAITI: What do Haitians need most right now? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Change partners and share your rankings again.

your help
blankets
electricity generators
Internet access

strong leaders
good weather
water
doctors

6. ENTERTAINMENT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘entertainment’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	All of entertainment’s biggest stars gathered to raise money for Haiti.	T / F
b.	George Clooney got just over a dozen stars to participate in a telethon.	T / F
c.	Concerts took place in the USA and England.	T / F
d.	The telethon was shown on all of the big TV networks.	T / F
e.	Clooney told reporters we all have a responsibility to help.	T / F
f.	The stars on the telethon did not come just to appear on TV.	T / F
g.	The main goal of the telethon is to raise awareness of the victims.	T / F
h.	Clooney said all the stars will go to Haiti with shovels.	T / F

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

1.	gathered	a.	collect
2	raise	b.	superstars
3.	legends	c.	full stop
4.	took part	d.	aired
5.	televised	e.	basically
6.	responsibility	f.	got together
7.	simply	g.	casualties
8.	willing	h.	participated
9.	period	i.	prepared
10.	victims	j.	duty

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

1.	Some of the biggest stars	a.	hit country
2	He persuaded	b.	was to raise money
3.	raise money for the earthquake-	c.	of the Atlantic
4.	performed on both sides	d.	of responsibility
5.	streamed on	e.	raise $1 billion
6.	we all have a lot	f.	in entertainment
7.	so many stars were	g.	websites around the world
8.	the telethon's main goal	h.	willing to help
9.	not be in	i.	dozens of singers
10.	Stars hope the telethon will	j.	the way

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Some of the ____________ stars in entertainment gathered on Friday night to help raise money for Haiti. The event, called ‘Hope for Haiti Now’, was ____________ by actor George Clooney. He persuaded dozens of singers, sports stars and actors to ____________ telephones in a telethon to raise money for the earthquake-hit country. Rock and pop ____________ performed on both sides of the Atlantic. Madonna, Mary J Blige, Shakira and Sting sang in New York, while Jay-Z, Rihanna and U2’s Bono took ____________ in a concert in London. A ____________ moment came when Haitian-American singer Wyclef Jean sang for his nation. The event was ____________ on every major TV network and ____________ on websites around the world.

special
answer
streamed
biggest
legends
televised
organized
part

George Clooney told MTV about why he organized the ____________: "It's a big world out there, and we all have a lot of responsibility to look out for people who can't look out for ____________,” he said. He ____________ what he asked the stars to do, saying: "You got about 130 to 140 actors, athletes, singers and television ____________, and they're all coming up not to be on TV, but simply to answer the phones." He said so many stars were ____________ to help. Clooney went on to say that the telethon's ____________ goal was to "raise money, period. That’s it.” He added: “If I thought that we could all pick up shovels and go in there and not be in the ____________, I think a lot of people would do that." Stars hope the telethon will raise $1 billion for the earthquake ____________.

explained
way
willing
event
main
themselves
victims
hosts

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Some _________________ entertainment gathered on Friday night to help raise money for Haiti. The event, called ‘Hope for Haiti Now’, was organized by actor George Clooney. He _________________ singers, sports stars and actors to answer telephones in a telethon _________________ the earthquake-hit country. Rock and pop legends performed _________________ Atlantic. Madonna, Mary J Blige, Shakira and Sting sang in New York, while Jay-Z, Rihanna and U2’s Bono _________________ in London. A special moment came when Haitian-American singer Wyclef Jean sang for his nation. The ____________________ every major TV network and streamed on websites around the world.

George Clooney told MTV about _________________ the event: "It's a big world out there, and we all have a lot of responsibility _________________ people who can't look out for themselves,” he said. He explained what he asked the stars to do, saying: "You got about 130 to 140 actors, athletes, singers and television hosts, and they're all coming _________________ TV, but simply to answer the phones." He said so many stars were willing to help. Clooney _________________ that the telethon's main goal was to "raise money, period. That’s it.” He added: “If I thought that we could all pick up shovels _________________ not be in the way, I think a lot of people would do that." Stars hope the telethon will _________________ the earthquake victims.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

hope

now

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:

biggest
organized
hit
sides
special
major

big
responsibility
coming
goal
way
victims

STUDENT HAITI SURVEY

From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1001/100123-hope_for_haiti.html

Write five GOOD questions about Haiti 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

HAITI DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘Haiti’?
c)	What three adjectives would you use to describe Haiti and why?
d)	What’s the latest news you know about Haiti?
e)	What do think of the Hope for Haiti Now event?
f)	What’s the best thing you can do for Haiti now?
g)	Do you think the stars did a good job in helping Haiti?
h)	What more could the stars do to help Haiti?
i)	Do you think events like this should be every night?
j)	Do you think people will get tired of listening to news of Haiti?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What responsibility do we have to people less fortunate than ourselves?
c)	What responsibility do big corporations have to help poorer people?
d)	Did you see any of the Hope for Haiti Now event on TV?
e)	What events for Haiti have there been in your town/country?
f)	Do you think the stars should go to Haiti and help?
g)	How should the $1 billion be spent?
h)	What other events would you like to see to help Haiti?
i)	Would you like to go to Haiti to help?
j)	What questions would you like to ask George Clooney?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Some of the biggest stars (1) ____ entertainment gathered on Friday night to help raise money for Haiti. The event, called ‘Hope for Haiti Now’, was organized by actor George Clooney. He persuaded dozens of singers, sports stars and actors to answer telephones in a telethon to (2) ____ money for the earthquake-hit country. Rock and pop legends performed (3) ____ both sides of the Atlantic. Madonna, Mary J Blige, Shakira and Sting sang in New York, (4) ____ Jay-Z, Rihanna and U2’s Bono took part in a concert in London. A special moment (5) ____ when Haitian-American singer Wyclef Jean sang for his nation. The event was televised on every major TV network and (6) ____ on websites around the world.

George Clooney told MTV about why he organized the event: "It's a big world out there, and we all have a lot of (7) ____ to look out for people who can't look out for themselves,” he said. He explained what he (8) ____ the stars to do, saying: "You got about 130 to 140 actors, athletes, singers and television hosts, and they're all coming up (9) ____ to be on TV, but simply to answer the phones." He said so many stars were (10) ____ to help. Clooney went on to say that the telethon's main goal was to "raise money, (11) ____. That’s it.” He added: “If I thought that we could all pick up shovels and go in there and not be in the way, I think a lot of people would do that." Stars (12) ____ the telethon will raise $1 billion for the earthquake victims.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	at	(b)	on	(c)	to	(d)	in
2.	(a)	raise	(b)	rise	(c)	up	(d)	rising
3.	(a)	in	(b)	on	(c)	at	(d)	by
4.	(a)	whatever	(b)	whom	(c)	while	(d)	whiled
5.	(a)	comes	(b)	coming	(c)	came	(d)	come
6.	(a)	steamed	(b)	streamed	(c)	streaming	(d)	steaming
7.	(a)	responsible	(b)	response	(c)	responsibly	(d)	responsibility
8.	(a)	asked	(b)	ordered	(c)	commanded	(d)	said
9.	(a)	no	(b)	not	(c)	none	(d)	neither
10.	(a)	willed	(b)	will	(c)	wills	(d)	willing
11.	(a)	periods	(b)	periodical	(c)	period	(d)	periodically
12.	(a)	hope	(b)	hopefully	(c)	hoping	(d)	hopes

WRITING

Write about Haiti for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 the Hope For Haiti Now event. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. HAITI: Make a poster about Haiti. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. HOPE: Write a magazine article about Haiti. Include imaginary interviews with an earthquake victim who has no hope, the country’s leader and a UN worker.

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. LETTER: Write a letter to George Clooney. Ask him three questions about the Hope For Haiti Now event. Give him three ideas on what he could organize next for Haiti. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	gathered	a.	got together
2	raise	b.	collect
3.	legends	c.	superstars
4.	took part	d.	participated
5.	televised	e.	aired
6.	responsibility	f.	duty
7.	simply	g.	basically
8.	willing	h.	prepared
9.	period	i.	full stop
10.	victims	j.	casualties

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Some of the biggest stars	a.	in entertainment
2	He persuaded	b.	dozens of singers
3.	raise money for the earthquake-	c.	hit country
4.	performed on both sides	d.	of the Atlantic
5.	streamed on	e.	websites around the world
6.	we all have a lot	f.	of responsibility
7.	so many stars were	g.	willing to help
8.	the telethon's main goal	h.	was to raise money
9.	not be in	i.	the way
10.	Stars hope the telethon will	j.	raise $1 billion

GAP FILL:

Hope for Haiti event raises millions

Some of the biggest stars in entertainment gathered on Friday night to help raise money for Haiti. The event, called ‘Hope for Haiti Now’, was organized by actor George Clooney. He persuaded dozens of singers, sports stars and actors to answer telephones in a telethon to raise money for the earthquake-hit country. Rock and pop legends performed on both sides of the Atlantic. Madonna, Mary J Blige, Shakira and Sting sang in New York, while Jay-Z, Rihanna and U2’s Bono took part in a concert in London. A special moment came when Haitian-American singer Wyclef Jean sang for his nation. The event was televised on every major TV network and streamed on websites around the world.

George Clooney told MTV about why he organized the event: "It's a big world out there, and we all have a lot of responsibility to look out for people who can't look out for themselves,” he said. He explained what he asked the stars to do, saying: "You got about 130 to 140 actors, athletes, singers and television hosts, and they're all coming up not to be on TV, but simply to answer the phones." He said so many stars were willing to help. Clooney went on to say that the telethon's main goal was to "raise money, period. That’s it.” He added: “If I thought that we could all pick up shovels and go in there and not be in the way, I think a lot of people would do that." Stars hope the telethon will raise $1 billion for the earthquake victims.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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Breaking News English

January 23, 2010

Hope for Haiti Event Raises Millions