the ARTICLE (for teachers)

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2 the ARTICLE (for teachers) Be careful! The swine flu will kill millions of people, ruin the economy, and create chaos around the world! When there was an outbreak, schools closed. In Egypt, the health minister ordered all of the pigs slaughtered. Face masks became a booming business. World health experts declared that almost two billion people could become sick from swine flu. And yet, there have been less than one hundred deaths worldwide. In fact, there have been fewer deaths than in any annual flu season. Few people listen to the health experts, who continue to state that the threat is very real. People have become sick and tired of reports crying wolf. Many people are also critical of how the media unnecessarily scares people to sell newspapers, magazines, and air time. Of course, the media and health experts disagree. Both say that they act quickly and properly whenever there is the discovery of a serious threat like swine flu. They have taken the right steps in the past to spread the message. Perhaps, however, it is all just fearmongering hype. Teacher's Notes: * Underlined words in red typeface are the recommended vocabulary for this lesson. Heads Up English - 1

3 WARM-UPS Select one or all of the following warm-up activities. 1: Define: What does "hype" mean? Can you use it in a sentence? Can you give examples? 2: Brainstorm: Brainstorm with a partner words and ideas for "swine flu" for two minutes. Next, talk about the words and ideas for five minutes. 3: Title: Today's article is: "." What will you read about? 4: Do you agree or disagree? Why? a. The swine flu is a serious and dangerous disease. b. The swine flu will soon spread around the world. c. I'm very concerned about the swine flu. d. The news cannot be trusted. e. The end of the world will soon arrive! Heads Up English - 2

4 VOCABULARY Select one of the following vocabulary acquisition activities. 1: Vocabulary match: Individually or in pairs/groups, match the words in column A (from the article) with the best choice in column B. a. ruin u. yearly b. booming v. destroy c. annual w. promotion d. critical x. negative e. proper y. successful f. hype z. correct 2: Fill in the Blanks: Fill in the blank with the correct word. critical booming properly ruin hype annual a. The swine flu will kill millions of people and ( ) the economy. b. Face masks became a ( ) business. c. There have been fewer deaths than in any ( ) flu season. d. Many people are also ( ) of how the media scares people. e. Both say that they act quickly and ( ). f. Perhaps, however, it is all just fear-mongering ( ). 3: Define: Look in your dictionary for each word. Write the definition, correctly pronounce the word, and give an example sentence to the class. a. ruin: b. booming: c. annual: d. critical: e. proper: f. hype: Heads Up English - 3

5 WORD RECOGNITION These activities are optional. They reinforce vocabulary and increase reading speed. 1: Word Search: Find only the target words (in bold). Time yourself, and see how long it takes to find all the words. critical booming properly ruin hype annual B O O M I N G A A N M Y F E J N I U R J L N I N U T L S A Q Q Y I I E N V A N I J R C C M O Z M P A K A T U R N E M I N W C U U I B P B A X I P Y R L E Y L V F K P R L M L O I G P K P W O I P K L P T I R D I N U O Y Y H V E L A E H P O H P T S I H H C F V W C R B B D U G Z D Q I H O Q M W I L L L F R J R T Q E X H J O D T Y P Q H Q I L L L U D V U I F I U P A R X W H R E L Q P X E X R U C L L U B C N U S H L S D S C O P A R T H Y E B D Q U N D K 2: Target Word Pool: Find only the target words (in bold) with their exact match. Time yourself, and see how long it takes to find all the words. critical booming properly ruin hype annual proper ruined critically annual hyper improper criticizing boom running hipped blooming criticize property semiannual ruin bombing properly hype ruining type annually booming improperly hyped cyclical critical annul biannual run bombed Heads Up English - 4

6 pre- or post-comprehension Select one or more activity to direct students before the article is read, or to check understanding after the article is read. 1: Brainstorm Questions: Brainstorm questions that you would like to ask about today's topic. Answer a partner the questions. He shouldn't look at the article when he answers. 2: True or False?: Guess (before the article) or answer (after the article) if the sentence is true or false. If false, correct the sentence. a. Schools closed because of the swine flu. T/F b. Up to two million people could be sickened by the virus. T/F c. There have been more deaths from swine flu than the regular flu. T/F d. Health experts think the media scared people with the swine flu. T/F e. The health experts reacted quickly and correctly to the problem. T/F 3: Questions: Answer the questions to check comprehension. a. What has happened in some parts of the world because of the swine flu? b. What did world health experts do? c. Why aren't many people listening to health experts now? d. According to some people's opinions, what did the media do? e. What do health experts and the media feel about their actions? 4: Fragments: Remember how the fragments were used, and complete the sentence. a. The swine flu will kill millions of people, ruin... b. Few people listen to the health experts, who continue... c. Many people are also critical of how the media... d. Both say that they act quickly and properly whenever... Heads Up English - 5

7 post-comprehension Select one or more activity to discuss the contents of the article. 1: Vocabulary: Circle any other unknown words/phrases in the article. In pairs/groups, use your dictionaries to understand these words. Write an example sentence for each one. 2: Class Questions: Read through the article once more, and write down any questions that you would like to talk about in pairs/groups or as a class. Answer the questions. 3: Summarize: Work with a partner to summarize the article in your own words. 4: Discuss: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers and ask more questions with your partner. a. Did you like this article? Why/not? b. What do you think about the swine flu? Please explain. c. Is there any real possibility that millions of people could die from the swine flu? d. What dangers are there to our future? Why do you think these are so dangerous? e. If the swine flu spread around the world, how would people's lives change? f. If the swine flu spread around the world, how would your life change? 5: Discuss: How would the world change if the swine flu spread around the world? Discuss what changes would occur in the following categories with a partner. Economy: Politics: Work: Education: 6: Google Search: Type "swine flu" into Google news and read additional articles on this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings. Heads Up English - 6

8 STUDENT HANDOUT (the article) Be careful! The swine flu will kill millions of people, ruin the economy, and create chaos around the world! When there was an outbreak, schools closed. In Egypt, the health minister ordered all of the pigs slaughtered. Face masks became a booming business. World health experts declared that almost two billion people could become sick from swine flu. And yet, there have been less than one hundred deaths worldwide. In fact, there have been fewer deaths than in any annual flu season. Few people listen to the health experts, who continue to state that the threat is very real. People have become sick and tired of reports crying wolf. Many people are also critical of how the media unnecessarily scares people to sell newspapers, magazines, and air time. Of course, the media and health experts disagree. Both say that they act quickly and properly whenever there is the discovery of a serious threat like swine flu. They have taken the right steps in the past to spread the message. Perhaps, however, it is all just fearmongering hype. Notes: Heads Up English - 7

9 STUDENT HANDOUT (fill in the blank) Fill in the blank with the correct word. annual ruin continue hype unnecessarily message properly critical slaughtered booming Be careful! The swine flu will kill millions of people, (a. ) the economy, and create chaos around the world! When there was an outbreak, schools closed. In Egypt, the health minister ordered all of the pigs (b. ). Face masks became a (c. ) business. World health experts declared that almost two billion people could become sick from swine flu. And yet, there have been less than one hundred deaths worldwide. In fact, there have been fewer deaths than in any (d. ) flu season. Few people listen to the health experts, who (e. ) to state that the threat is very real. People have become sick and tired of reports crying wolf. Many people are also (f. ) of how the media (g. ) scares people to sell newspapers, magazines, and air time. Of course, the media and health experts disagree. Both say that they act quickly and (h. ) whenever there is the discovery of a serious threat like swine flu. They have taken the right steps in the past to spread the (i. ). Perhaps, however, it is all just fear-mongering (j. ). Heads Up English - 8

10 STUDENT HANDOUT (extended listening) Listen and fill in the missing sentences. Compare your answers with a partner, and then listen once more. Be careful! The swine flu will kill millions of people, ruin the economy, and create chaos around the world! When there was an outbreak, schools closed. In Egypt, the health minister ordered all of the pigs slaughtered. Face masks became a booming business. a). And yet, there have been less than one hundred deaths worldwide. In fact, there have been fewer deaths than in any annual flu season. b), who continue to state that the threat is very real. People have become sick and tired of reports crying wolf. Many people are also critical of how the media unnecessarily scares people to sell newspapers, magazines, and air time. Of course, the media and health experts disagree. Both say that they act quickly and properly whenever there is the discovery of a serious threat like swine flu. c). Perhaps, however, it is all just fearmongering hype. Sentence #1: Sentence #2: Sentence #3: Heads Up English - 9

11 ANSWER KEY Vocabulary 1: Vocabulary Match: 2: Fill in the Blanks: a. v a. ruin b. y b. booming c. u c. annual d. x d. critical e. z e. properly f. w f. hype pre- or post-comprehension 1. True or False: 2. Fragments: a. T b. F c. F d. F e. T a. the economy, and create chaos around the world! b. to state that the threat is very real. c. unnecessarily scares people to sell newspapers, magazines, and air time. d. there is the discovery of a serious threat like swine flu. Student Handout 1: Fill in the Blanks: a. ruin f. critical b. slaughtered g. unnecessarily c. booming h. properly d. annual i. message e. continue j. hype 2: Extended Listening: a. World health experts declared that almost two billion people could become sick from swine flu b. Few people listen to the health experts c. They have taken the right steps in the past to spread the message Heads Up English - 10

the ARTICLE (for teachers)

the ARTICLE (for teachers) About seventy countries around the world use daylight savings time. Each spring, clocks get moved forward one hour because the daytime hours are longer in the summer. Each fall,