Breaking News English

        

1. NEIL ARMSTRONG: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Neil Armstrong. Change partners often. Share your findings with your first partner.

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

the Moon / passed away / astronaut / complications / Moon landing / spotlight / fascinated / aviation / combat / test pilot / footprints / thousands of years

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

3. FIRSTS: What would it be like to be first? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

First to…	How would it feel?	What would you tell your friends?
step on the Moon
stand on Everest
be a trillionaire
fly
meet an alien
invent something

4. MOON: Students A strongly believe we should try and live on the Moon; Students B strongly believe we shouldn't.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. MOON TRAVEL: What would be best about going to the Moon? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often.

weightlessness telling your friends you went the uniform looking at the Earth

feeling the G-force after taking off the training leaping across the Moon's surface other _______________________

6. MISSION: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'mission'. 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.	Neil Armstrong died from natural causes.	T / F
b.	He was second in command when for the moon-landing mission.	T / F
c.	His famous words were: "That's a giant leap for me".	T / F
d.	Neil Armstrong didn't really like being famous.	T / F
e.	Armstrong got his flying license before his driving license.	T / F
f.	He joined the Navy and flew fighter planes in the Vietnam War.	T / F
g.	He hopes someone removes his footprints on the Moon one day.	T / F
h.	He recommended people go to the Moon.	T / F

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

1.	passed away	a.	immediately
2.	historic	b.	flight
3.	instantly	c.	paid attention
4.	achievement	d.	captivated
5.	focused	e.	sorties
6.	fascinated	f.	died
7.	aviation	g.	advise
8.	missions	h.	accomplishment
9.	thousands of years	i.	landmark
10.	recommend	j.	millennia

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

1.	the first man to step	a.	for mankind
2.	died from complications	b.	in the Korean War
3.	one giant leap	c.	on what he did
4.	trying to avoid	d.	with flying
5.	people focused so much	e.	aviation
6.	grew up fascinated	f.	foot on the Moon
7.	collecting books and magazines on	g.	the Moon's surface
8.	flew combat missions	h.	following heart surgery
9.	his footprints would stay on	i.	them up
10.	cleans	j.	the spotlight

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Neil Armstrong, the first man to step (1) ____________ on the Moon, has passed away at the age of 82. The (2) ____________ U.S. astronaut died from complications (3) ____________ heart surgery he had earlier this month. He made history on July 20, 1969 as commander of the Apollo 11 Moon-landing                   (4) ____________. As he stepped onto the Moon's surface, he famously spoke the words: "That's one small step for man, one giant (5) ____________ for mankind." He was 38 at the time of his historic walk and (6) ____________ became one of the most famous people on the planet. However, he spent the rest of his life trying to (7) ____________ the spotlight and downplay his achievement. He later said he never understood why people      (8) ____________ so much on what he did.		avoid following leap foot focused legendary instantly mission
Armstrong was born in 1930 and grew up (9) ____________ with flying after taking a plane at the age of 6. He began making model planes and collecting books and magazines on (10) ____________. As a teenager, he got his pilot's license before his driving license. In 1949, he became a Navy pilot, and flew (11) ____________ missions in the Korean War. In 1958, he   (12) ____________ the organisation that became NASA and became a test pilot. Years after his Moon landing, Armstrong was asked how he felt about (13) ____________ his footprints would stay on the Moon's (14) ____________ for thousands of years. He said: "I kind of hope that somebody goes up there one of these days and (15) ____________ them up." When asked about the Moon, he said: "It's an interesting place to be. I                      (16) ____________ it."		joined aviation surface recommend fascinated knowing combat cleans

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Neil Armstrong, the first man (1) ____________________ Moon, has passed away at the age of 82. The legendary U.S. astronaut died from complications (2) ____________________ he had earlier this month. He made history on July 20, 1969 as commander of the Apollo 11 Moon-landing mission. As he stepped onto the Moon's surface, (3) ___________________ words: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He was 38 at the time of his historic walk (4) ____________________ one of the most famous people on the planet. However, he spent the rest of his life?(5) ____________________ the spotlight and downplay his achievement. He later said he never understood why people (6) ____________________ what he did.

Armstrong was born in 1930 and (7) ____________________ flying after taking a plane at the age of 6. He began making model planes and collecting books and (8) ____________________. As a teenager, he got his pilot's license before his driving license. In 1949, he became a Navy pilot, and flew      (9) ____________________ Korean War. In 1958, he joined the organisation that became NASA and became a test pilot. Years after his Moon landing, Armstrong was asked how (10) ____________________ his footprints would stay on the Moon's surface for thousands of years. He said: "I kind of hope that somebody (11) ____________________ these days and cleans them up." (12) ____________________ Moon, he said: "It's an interesting place to be. I recommend it."

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'step' and 'foot'.

step

foot

• 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:

passed following famously 38 avoid focused

6 teenager 1949 1958 footprints interesting

NEIL ARMSTRONG SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Neil Armstrong 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.

 
 

NEIL ARMSTRONG 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 'Moon'?
c)	Would you like to go to the Moon?
d)	What do you know about Neil Armstrong?
e)	How historic is the Moon landing?
f)	Why has no one else since walked on the Moon?
g)	Do you think we should create colonies on the Moon?
h)	What would you do if you could spend a day on the Moon?
i)	Do you understand why Armstrong tried to avoid the spotlight?
j)	There is debate over whether Armstrong said "one small step for man" or one small step for a man". Does the added "a" make a difference?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What were you fascinated with when you were growing up?
c)	Would you like to get your pilot's license?
d)	What do you think it's like to be a test pilot?
e)	How would you feel if your footprints would stay on the Moon for thousands of years?
f)	Why do you think Neil Armstrong wanted his footprints removed?
g)	What would be the best thing about going to the Moon?
h)	How much of a hero is Neil Armstrong?
i)	What should the USA do to remember Neil Armstrong?
j)	What questions would you like to have asked Neil Armstrong?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Neil Armstrong, the first man to (1) ____ foot on the Moon, has passed away at the age of 82. The legendary U.S. astronaut died from complications following heart surgery he had earlier this month. He (2) ____ history on July 20, 1969 as commander of the Apollo 11 Moon-landing mission. As he stepped onto the Moon's surface, he (3) ____ spoke the words: "That's one small step for man, one giant (4) ____ for mankind." He was 38 at the time of his historic walk and instantly became one of the most famous people on the planet. However, he spent the rest of his life trying to (5) ____ the spotlight and (6) ____ his achievement. He later said he never understood why people focused so much on what he did.

Armstrong was born in 1930 and grew up (7) ____ with flying after taking a plane at the age of 6. He began making model planes and collecting books and magazines on (8) ____. As a teenager, he got his pilot's license before his driving license. In 1949, he became a Navy pilot, and flew combat (9) ____ in the Korean War. In 1958, he joined the organisation that became NASA and became a test pilot. Years after his Moon landing, Armstrong was asked how he felt about (10) ____ his footprints would stay on the Moon's (11) ____ for thousands of years. He said: "I kind of hope that somebody goes up there one of these days and cleans them up." When asked about the Moon, he said: "It's an (12) ____ place to be. I recommend it."

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

1.	(a)	slap	(b)	stamp	(c)	stoop	(d)	step
2.	(a)	had	(b)	made	(c)	did	(d)	was
3.	(a)	famously	(b)	famous	(c)	fame	(d)	famed
4.	(a)	heap	(b)	peep	(c)	leap	(d)	reap
5.	(a)	remit	(b)	concur	(c)	avoid	(d)	remove
6.	(a)	download	(b)	downplay	(c)	downer	(d)	downsize
7.	(a)	fascinated	(b)	fascinates	(c)	fascination	(d)	fascinator
8.	(a)	ovation	(b)	ovulation	(c)	adulation	(d)	aviation
9.	(a)	voyages	(b)	missions	(c)	journeys	(d)	tasks
10.	(a)	knows	(b)	knowledge	(c)	knew	(d)	knowing
11.	(a)	dusty	(b)	top	(c)	surface	(d)	dark side
12.	(a)	interesting	(b)	absurd	(c)	artistic	(d)	intrinsic

 
 

WRITING

Write about Neil Armstrong for 10 minutes. Correct your partner's paper.

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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 Neil Armstrong. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. NEIL ARMSTRONG: Make a poster about Neil Armstrong. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. ASTRONAUTS: Write a magazine article about astronauts. Include imaginary interviews with some.

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 a space expert. Ask him/her three questions about Neil Armstrong. Give him/her three of your opinions on him. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

F

c.

F

d.

T

e.

T

f.

F

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	passed away	a.	died
2.	historic	b.	landmark
3.	instantly	c.	immediately
4.	achievement	d.	accomplishment
5.	focused	e.	paid attention
6.	fascinated	f.	captivated
7.	aviation	g.	flight
8.	missions	h.	sorties
9.	thousands of years	i.	millennia
10.	recommend	j.	advise

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	the first man to step	a.	foot on the Moon
2.	died from complications	b.	following heart surgery
3.	one giant leap	c.	for mankind
4.	trying to avoid	d.	the spotlight
5.	people focused so much	e.	on what he did
6.	grew up fascinated	f.	with flying
7.	collecting books and magazines on	g.	aviation
8.	flew combat missions	h.	in the Korean War
9.	his footprints would stay on	i.	the Moon's surface
10.	cleans	j.	them up

GAP FILL:

First man on Moon dies aged 82

Neil Armstrong, the first man to step (1) foot on the Moon, has passed away at the age of 82. The (2) legendary U.S. astronaut died from complications (3) following heart surgery he had earlier this month. He made history on July 20, 1969 as commander of the Apollo 11 Moon-landing (4) mission. As he stepped onto the Moon's surface, he famously spoke the words: "That's one small step for man, one giant (5) leap for mankind." He was 38 at the time of his historic walk and (6) instantly became one of the most famous people on the planet. However, he spent the rest of his life trying to (7) avoid the spotlight and downplay his achievement. He later said he never understood why people (8) focused so much on what he did.

Armstrong was born in 1930 and grew up (9) fascinated with flying after taking a plane at the age of 6. He began making model planes and collecting books and magazines on (10) aviation. As a teenager, he got his pilot's license before his driving license. In 1949, he became a Navy pilot, and flew (11) combat missions in the Korean War. In 1958, he (12) joined the organisation that became NASA and became a test pilot. Years after his Moon landing, Armstrong was asked how he felt about (13) knowing his footprints would stay on the Moon's (14) surface for thousands of years. He said: "I kind of hope that somebody goes up there one of these days and (15) cleans them up." When asked about the Moon, he said: "It's an interesting place to be. I (16) recommend it."

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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