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Greenpeace gets Lego to end ties with Shell (12th October, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

Danish toy maker Lego said on Thursday that it will not sign a new deal with the oil company Shell. They had a partnership in which Lego made toys with the Shell logo on them. Shell sold the toys in its gas stations in 26 countries. The contract was worth $110 million. Lego made this decision after the environmental group Greenpeace made a video using Lego bricks that showed Shell in the Arctic Ocean. It shows oil filling the water in the Arctic after an oil spill. Lego people and polar bears in the video become covered in oil. At the end of the video, oil has covered everything, except a Shell flag. The video has become Greenpeace's most-watched viral video in its history.

Greenpeace's video campaign ran for three months. Over a million people emailed Lego asking it to end its deal with Shell. Greenpeace was very happy that Lego will end the partnership. A statement on the Greenpeace website said: "Thanks a million, Lego". It added: "We're super happy Lego has finally decided to do the right thing. It's a massive victory." Lego's CEO said he made the decision because he didn't want the company to be part of the environmental campaign. He said Greenpeace should have spoken to Shell instead of making the video. Shell had plans to drill in the Arctic in 2013 or 2014 but stopped because of technical problems. It has not yet decided whether or not to start in 2015.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/lego-to-scrap-shell-deal-after-arctic-protest-1.2793537
http://www.businessinsider.com/lego-ends-shell-deal-after-greenpeace-viral-video-2014-10#ixzz3FhARZXy3
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/save-the-arctic-lego-dumps-shell/blog/50917/

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. OIL: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about oil. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

toy maker / oil company / Lego bricks / environmental group / oil spill / viral video / campaign / partnership / super happy / the Arctic / technical problems / 2015

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

3. ENERGY: Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Good things about it	Bad things about it
Oil
Wind power
Solar energy
Wave power
Coal
Nuclear

4. THE ARCTIC: Students A strongly believe no one should drill in the Arctic; Students B strongly believe it's OK to drill because we need the oil. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. TOYS: Rank these with your partner. Put the best toys at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• Lego

• a ball

• PlayStation

• toy guns

• dolls

• frisbee

• hula hoop

• Rubik's cube

6. PARTNERSHIP: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "partnership". 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.	The toy maker Lego has cancelled its current contract with Shell.	T / F
b.	Shell sold (sells) Lego toys in its gas (petrol) stations.	T / F
c.	Lego made the decision because of a Greenpeace video.	T / F
d.	The video shows real polar bears covered in oil.	T / F
e.	More than one million people wrote to Lego about Shell.	T / F
f.	Greenpeace sent a billion thanks to those who mailed Lego.	T / F
g.	Lego's boss said Greenpeace should not have spoken to Shell.	T / F
h.	It is unclear whether or not Shell will drill in the Arctic in 2015.	T / F

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

1.	maker	a.	huge
2.	deal	b.	valued at
3.	worth	c.	difficulties
4.	covered	d.	contract
5.	except	e.	so far
6.	end	f.	manufacturer
7.	statement	g.	apart from
8.	massive	h.	announcement
9.	problems	i.	finish
10.	yet	j.	coated

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

1.	it will not sign	a.	spill
2.	toys with the Shell	b.	problems
3.	environmental	c.	video
4.	oil	d.	have spoken to Shell
5.	viral	e.	group
6.	Greenpeace's video campaign	f.	a new deal
7.	Lego has finally decided to do	g.	whether or not to start
8.	He said Greenpeace should	h.	the right thing
9.	stopped because of technical	i.	ran for three months
10.	It has not yet decided	j.	logo on them

GAP FILL

Danish toy maker Lego said on Thursday that it will not sign a new (1) __________ with the oil company Shell. They had a partnership in which Lego made toys with the Shell (2) __________ on them. Shell sold the toys in its gas stations in 26 countries. The contract was (3) __________ $110 million. Lego made this decision after the environmental group Greenpeace made a video using Lego (4) __________ that showed Shell in the Arctic Ocean. It shows oil (5) __________ the water in the Arctic after an oil spill. Lego people and polar bears in the video become (6) __________ in oil. At the end of the video, oil has covered everything, (7) __________ a Shell flag. The video has become Greenpeace's most-watched viral video in its (8) __________.

bricks
logo
deal
except
filling
history
worth
covered

Greenpeace's video campaign (9) __________ for three months. Over a million people emailed Lego asking it to (10) __________ its deal with Shell. Greenpeace was very happy that Lego will end the partnership. A (11) __________ on the Greenpeace website said: "Thanks a (12) __________, Lego". It added: "We're super happy Lego has finally decided to do the right thing. It's a massive (13) __________." Lego's CEO said he made the decision because he didn't want the company to be (14) __________ of the environmental campaign. He said Greenpeace should have spoken to Shell (15) __________ of making the video. Shell had plans to drill in the Arctic in 2013 or 2014 but stopped because of (16) __________ problems. It has not yet decided whether or not to start in 2015.

million
ran
part
statement
technical
end
instead
victory

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Danish toy maker Lego said on Thursday that it will not ______
	a. sign a new duel b. sign a new deal c. sign a new dole d. sign a new dial
2)	They had a partnership in which Lego made toys with the ______
	a. Shell pogo on them b. Shell no-go on them c. Shell to-go on them d. Shell logo on them
3)	It shows oil filling the water in the Arctic ______
	a. after an oil spills b. after an oil still c. after an oil swill d. after an oil spill
4)	At the end of the video, oil has covered everything, ______
	a. except a Shell flag b. accept a Shell flag c. excerpt a Shell flag d. expect a Shell flag
5)	The video has become Greenpeace's most-______
	a. watched buy-all video b. watched variety video c. watched virus video d. watched viral video
6)	Greenpeace's video campaign ______ months
	a. began for three b. ran for three c. rang for three d. land for three
7)	We're super happy Lego has finally decided to ______
	a. do the right things b. do the right sing c. do the right thing d. do the right think
8)	Lego's CEO said he made ______
	a. the decisions b. a decision c. the decision d. this decision
9)	He said Greenpeace should have spoken ______
	a. to Shell in stood b. to Shell unsteady c. to Shell instead d. to Shell insisted
10)	Shell had plans to drill in the Arctic in 2013 or 2014 but stopped because ______
	a. of technique problems b. of technical problems c. of technician problems d. of technically problems

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Danish toy maker Lego said on Thursday (1) ___________________ a new deal with the oil company Shell. They had a partnership in which Lego made toys with the Shell (2) ___________________. Shell sold the toys in its gas stations in 26 countries. The (3) ___________________ $110 million. Lego made this decision after the environmental group Greenpeace made a video using Lego (4) ___________________ Shell in the Arctic Ocean. It shows oil filling the water in the Arctic (5) ___________________. Lego people and polar bears in the video become covered in oil. At the end of the video, oil has covered everything, except a Shell flag. The video has become Greenpeace's most-watched (6) ___________________ history.

Greenpeace's video (7) ___________________ three months. Over a million people emailed Lego asking (8) ___________________ with Shell. Greenpeace was very happy that Lego will end the partnership. A statement on the Greenpeace website said: "Thanks a million, Lego". It added: "We're super happy Lego has finally decided to (9) ___________________. It's a massive victory." Lego's CEO said he made the decision because he didn't want the company (10) ___________________ environmental campaign. He said Greenpeace should have spoken to Shell instead of making the video. Shell had (11) ___________________ the Arctic in 2013 or 2014 but stopped because of technical problems. It has not (12) ___________________ or not to start in 2015.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	On what day did Lego make its announcement?
2.	In how many countries does Shell sell Lego toys?
3.	How much was the Lego-Shell deal worth?
4.	What Lego animal in the video was covered in oil?
5.	What was the only thing in the video not covered in oil?
6.	How long did the Greenpeace video campaign last?
7.	How many thanks did Greenpeace give Lego?
8.	What did Lego finally decide to do that made Greenpeace happy?
9.	Who did Lego's CEO say Greenpeace should have spoken to?
10.	What has Shell not decided yet about 2015?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	On what day did Lego make its announcement?	6.	How long did the Greenpeace video campaign last?
	a) Thursday b) Save The Arctic Day c) its foundation day d) October 10		a) 7 years b) 1 minute and 55 seconds c) 2 days d) 3 months
2.	In how many countries does Shell sell Lego toys?	7.	How many thanks did Greenpeace give Lego?
	a) 46 b) 36 c) 26 d) 16		a) three b) countless c) a million d) 28 billion
3.	How much was the Lego-Shell deal worth?	8.	What did Lego finally decide to do that made Greenpeace happy?
	a) $111 million b) $101 million c) $100 million d) $110 million		a) make green bricks b) the right thing c) sell an Arctic animals Lego set d) watch a video
4.	What Lego animal in the video was covered in oil?	9.	Who did Lego's CEO say Greenpeace should have spoken to?
	a) an Arctic fox b) a polar bear c) a king penguin d) a sea lion		a) people who live in the Arctic b) Greenpeace's boss c) Shell d) its workers
5.	What was the only thing in the video not covered in oil?	10.	What has Shell not decided yet about 2015?
	a) a flag b) an ice berg c) Shell's boss d) a Lego brick		a) how to reply to Greenpeace b) whether to drill for oil c) whether to sell Lego toys d) the price of its oil

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Greenpeace boss

You are very happy that Lego has ended its partnership with Shell. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell the Shell CEO that no one should ever drill for oil in the Arctic. Tell him/her to listen to the person who lives in the Arctic. Ask Lego's CEO to start a campaign to help protect the Arctic.

Role B – Lego CEO

You think you made the right decision about ending the partnership with Shell. Tell the others why. Ask the Shell boss to continue selling Lego toys. You do not want Lego to be in any more environmental campaigns. Tell the Arctic person to not believe the Shell CEO.

Role C – Shell CEO

You are very angry with Greenpeace because of its video campaign. Give the Greenpeace boss three reasons why. You are also angry with Lego's CEO. Disagree with everything (s)he says. Tell the Arctic person that people in the Arctic need Shell for jobs. Promise you will keep the Arctic clean.

Role D – Arctic person

You are very happy that Lego has ended its partnership with Shell. Tell the others three reasons why. Ask the Lego CEO to do more to help protect the Arctic. Disagree with everything the Shell CEO says. You do not believe him/her. Say a million thanks to Greenpeace.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

oil

company

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:

new
logo
110
water
flag
history

three
happy
million
massive
part
2015

OIL SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about oil 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.

OIL DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'oil'?
3)	What do you think about what you read?
4)	Are you happy Lego will no longer work with Shell?
5)	What do you think of oil companies?
6)	What did you think of the Greenpeace video?
7)	Should all oil companies stay out of the Arctic?
8)	How environmentally-friendly are oil companies?
9)	How do you feel when you see oil spills on television?
10)	What would you like to say to the boss of Greenpeace?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	What do you think of the company Lego?
12)	What do you think Shell thinks about Lego's decision?
14)	What do you think of Lego toys?
15)	Have you mailed a company to get it to change?
16)	Why is Greenpeace 'super happy'?
17)	Was it unfair of Greenpeace to use Lego in the videos?
18)	What would you like Greenpeace to do now?
19)	Why is the Arctic important?
20)	What questions would you like to ask the CEO of Lego?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Danish toy maker Lego said on Thursday that it will not (1) ____ a new deal with the oil company Shell. They had a partnership in (2) ____ Lego made toys with the Shell (3) ____ on them. Shell sold the toys in its gas stations in 26 countries. The contract was worth $110 million. Lego made this decision after the environmental group Greenpeace made a video (4) ____ Lego bricks that showed Shell in the Arctic Ocean. It shows oil filling the water in the Arctic after an oil (5) ____. Lego people and polar bears in the video become covered in oil. At the end of the video, oil has covered everything, (6) ____ a Shell flag. The video has become Greenpeace's most-watched viral video in its history.

Greenpeace's video campaign ran for three months. Over a million people emailed Lego (7) ____ it to end its deal with Shell. Greenpeace was very happy that Lego will end the partnership. A statement on the Greenpeace website said: "Thanks a (8) ____, Lego". It added: "We're super happy Lego has finally decided to do the right thing. It's a (9) ____ victory." Lego's CEO said he made the decision because he didn't want the company to (10) ____ part of the environmental campaign. He said Greenpeace should have spoken to Shell instead (11) ____ making the video. Shell had plans to drill in the Arctic in 2013 or 2014 but stopped because of technical problems. It has not yet decided whether (12) ____ not to start in 2015.

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

1.	(a)	signal	(b)	sign	(c)	singe	(d)	sing
2.	(a)	what	(b)	which	(c)	how	(d)	then
3.	(a)	motto	(b)	oil	(c)	words	(d)	logo
4.	(a)	uses	(b)	using	(c)	used	(d)	user
5.	(a)	still	(b)	swill	(c)	skill	(d)	spill
6.	(a)	accept	(b)	expect	(c)	except	(d)	exact
7.	(a)	asking	(b)	asked	(c)	asks	(d)	ask
8.	(a)	millionaire	(b)	millions	(c)	million	(d)	millionth
9.	(a)	massage	(b)	missive	(c)	missing	(d)	massive
10.	(a)	be	(b)	do	(c)	have	(d)	include
11.	(a)	of	(b)	by	(c)	at	(d)	so
12.	(a)	or	(b)	to	(c)	as	(d)	for

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	They had a heaitsrpnrp
2.	The anrtcotc was worth $110 million
3.	the itveomaernlnn group Greenpeace
4.	after an oil sllpi
5.	oil has evoecdr everything
6.	Greenpeace's most-watched rvila video
Paragraph 2
7.	Greenpeace's video incgpama
8.	Over a oniliml people emailed Lego
9.	It's a esavsim victory
10.	etaidns of making the video
11.	lecncatih problems
12.	decided rehwhet or not to start

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	$110 million. Lego made this decision after the environmental group Greenpeace made a video
( )	thing. It's a massive victory." Lego's CEO said he made the decision because he didn't want the company to be
( 1 )	Danish toy maker Lego said on Thursday that it will not sign a new deal with the oil
( )	logo on them. Shell sold the toys in its gas stations in 26 countries. The contract was worth
( )	website said: "Thanks a million, Lego". It added: "We're super happy Lego has finally decided to do the right
( )	everything, except a Shell flag. The video has become Greenpeace's most-watched viral video in its history.
( )	company Shell. They had a partnership in which Lego made toys with the Shell
( )	part of the environmental campaign. He said Greenpeace should have
( )	spoken to Shell instead of making the video. Shell had plans to drill in the Arctic in 2013 or 2014 but stopped
( )	with Shell. Greenpeace was very happy that Lego will end the partnership. A statement on the Greenpeace
( )	because of technical problems. It has not yet decided whether or not to start in 2015.
( )	spill. Lego people and polar bears in the video become covered in oil. At the end of the video, oil has covered
( )	Greenpeace's video campaign ran for three months. Over a million people emailed Lego asking it to end its deal
( )	using Lego bricks that showed Shell in the Arctic Ocean. It shows oil filling the water in the Arctic after an oil

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	sign not will It company oil the with deal new a .
2.	gas its in toys the sold Shell countries 26 in stations .
3.	oil bears video in Polar the covered in become .
4.	a covered except flag has , Shell Oil everything .
5.	its Greenpeace's watched in - video history most viral .
6.	with deal its end to it asking Lego emailed People Shell .
7.	finally do thing has to right Lego decided the .
8.	decision the made he said CEO Lego's .
9.	plans to drill in the Arctic in 2013 Shell had .
10.	or not to start It has not yet decided whether .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Danish toy / toyed maker Lego said on Thursday that it will not sign / signal a new deal with the oil company Shell. They had a partnership on / in which Lego made toys with the Shell logo / word on them. Shell sold the toys in its gas stations in 26 countries. The contract was worth $110 million. Lego made this decision after the environmental group Greenpeace made a video using / used Lego bricks that showed Shell in the Arctic Ocean. It shows oil fills / filling the water in the Arctic after an oil still / spill. Lego people and polar bears in the video become covered in / on oil. At the end of the video, oil has covered everything, expect / except a Shell flag. The video has become Greenpeace's most-watched virus / viral video in its history.

Greenpeace's video campaign ran / last for three months. Over a million people emailed Lego asking it to end its deal for / with Shell. Greenpeace was very happy that Lego will end the partnership. A statement in / on the Greenpeace website said: "Thanks a million / millions, Lego". It added: "We're super happy Lego has final / finally decided to do the right thing. It's a massive victory." Lego's CEO said he did / made the decision because he didn't want the company to exist / be part of the environmental campaign. He said Greenpeace should have spoken / speaking to Shell instead of making the video. Shell had plants / plans to drill in the Arctic in 2013 or 2014 but stopped because of technical problems. It has not / none yet decided whether or not to start in 2015.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

D_n_sh t_y m_k_r L_g_ s__d _n Th_rsd_y th_t _t w_ll n_t s_gn _ n_w d__l w_th th_ __l c_mp_ny Sh_ll. Th_y h_d _ p_rtn_rsh_p _n wh_ch L_g_ m_d_ t_ys w_th th_ Sh_ll l_g_ _n th_m. Sh_ll s_ld th_ t_ys _n _ts g_s st_t__ns _n 26 c__ntr__s. Th_ c_ntr_ct w_s w_rth $110 m_ll__n. L_g_ m_d_ th_s d_c_s__n _ft_r th_ _nv_r_nm_nt_l gr__p Gr__np__c_ m_d_ _ v_d__ _s_ng L_g_ br_cks th_t sh_w_d Sh_ll _n th_ _rct_c _c__n. _t sh_ws __l f_ll_ng th_ w_t_r _n th_ _rct_c _ft_r _n __l sp_ll. L_g_ p__pl_ _nd p_l_r b__rs _n th_ v_d__ b_c_m_ c_v_r_d _n __l. _t th_ _nd _f th_ v_d__, __l h_s c_v_r_d _v_ryth_ng, _xc_pt _ Sh_ll fl_g. Th_ v_d__ h_s b_c_m_ Gr__np__c_'s m_st-w_tch_d v_r_l v_d__ _n _ts h_st_ry.

Gr__np__c_'s v_d__ c_mp__gn r_n f_r thr__ m_nths. _v_r _ m_ll__n p__pl_ _m__l_d L_g_ _sk_ng _t t_ _nd _ts d__l w_th Sh_ll. Gr__np__c_ w_s v_ry h_ppy th_t L_g_ w_ll _nd th_ p_rtn_rsh_p. _ st_t_m_nt _n th_ Gr__np__c_ w_bs_t_ s__d: "Th_nks _ m_ll__n, L_g_". _t _dd_d: "W_'r_ s_p_r h_ppy L_g_ h_s f_n_lly d_c_d_d t_ d_ th_ r_ght th_ng. _t's _ m_ss_v_ v_ct_ry." L_g_'s C__ s__d h_ m_d_ th_ d_c_s__n b_c__s_ h_ d_dn't w_nt th_ c_mp_ny t_ b_ p_rt _f th_ _nv_r_nm_nt_l c_mp__gn. H_ s__d Gr__np__c_ sh__ld h_v_ sp_k_n t_ Sh_ll _nst__d _f m_k_ng th_ v_d__. Sh_ll h_d pl_ns t_ dr_ll _n th_ _rct_c _n 2013 _r 2014 b_t st_pp_d b_c__s_ _f t_chn_c_l pr_bl_ms. _t h_s n_t y_t d_c_d_d wh_th_r _r n_t t_ st_rt _n 2015.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

danish toy maker lego said on thursday that it will not sign a new deal with the oil company shell they had a partnership in which lego made toys with the shell logo on them shell sold the toys in its gas stations in 26 countries the contract was worth $110 million lego made this decision after the environmental group greenpeace made a video using lego bricks that showed shell in the arctic ocean it shows oil filling the water in the arctic after an oil spill lego people and polar bears in the video become covered in oil at the end of the video oil has covered everything except a shell flag the video has become greenpeace's most-watched viral video in its history

greenpeace's video campaign ran for three months over a million people emailed lego asking it to end its deal with shell greenpeace was very happy that lego will end the partnership a statement on the greenpeace website said "thanks a million lego" it added "we're super happy lego has finally decided to do the right thing it's a massive victory" lego's ceo said he made the decision because he didn't want the company to be part of the environmental campaign he said greenpeace should have spoken to shell instead of making the video shell had plans to drill in the arctic in 2013 or 2014 but stopped because of technical problems it has not yet decided whether or not to start in 2015

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

DanishtoymakerLegosaidonThursdaythatitwillnotsignanewdealwith
theoilcompanyShell.TheyhadapartnershipinwhichLegomadetoyswit
htheShelllogoonthem.Shellsoldthetoysinitsgasstationsin26countrie
s.Thecontractwasworth$110million.Legomadethisdecisionafterthe
environmentalgroupGreenpeacemadeavideousingLegobricksthatsh
owedShellintheArcticOcean.ItshowsoilfillingthewaterintheArcticaft
eranoilspill.Legopeopleandpolarbearsinthevideobecomecoveredino
il.Attheendofthevideo,oilhascoveredeverything,exceptaShellflag.T
hevideohasbecomeGreenpeace'smost-watchedviralvideoinitshist
ory.Greenpeace'svideocampaignranforthreemonths.Overamillionp
eopleemailedLegoaskingittoenditsdealwithShell.Greenpeacewasve
ryhappythatLegowillendthepartnership.AstatementontheGreenpea
cewebsitesaid:"Thanksamillion,Lego".Itadded:"We'resuperhappyL
egohasfinallydecidedtodotherightthing.It'samassivevictory."Lego's
CEOsaidhemadethedecisionbecausehedidn'twantthecompanytobep
artoftheenvironmentalcampaign.HesaidGreenpeaceshouldhavespo
kentoShellinsteadofmakingthevideo.ShellhadplanstodrillintheArcti
cin2013or2014butstoppedbecauseoftechnicalproblems.Ithasnotye
tdecidedwhetherornottostartin2015.

FREE WRITING

Write about oil for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

It is OK for oil companies to drill in the Arctic Ocean. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 Greenpeace video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhbliUq0_r4

Watch the video and discuss it with your partner(s). Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. THE ARCTIC: Write a magazine article about oil under the Arctic Ocean. Include imaginary interviews with people who think we should drill for it, and with people who think we shouldn't.

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. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on oil. Ask him/her three questions about oil under the Arctic. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to protect the Arctic. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

Buy my book

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

T

d

F

e

T

f

F

g

F

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	maker	a.	manufacturer
2.	deal	b.	contract
3.	worth	c.	valued at
4.	covered	d.	coated
5.	except	e.	apart from
6.	end	f.	finish
7.	statement	g.	announcement
8.	massive	h.	huge
9.	problems	i.	difficulties
10.	yet	j.	so far

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Thursday
2.	26
3.	$110 million
4.	A polar bear
5.	The Shell flag
6.	Three months
7.	A million
8.	The right thing (end the partnership)
9.	Shell
10.	Whether to drill for oil

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

a

2.

c

3.

d

4.

b

5.

a

6.

d

7.

c

8.

b

9.

c

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Greenpeace gets Lego to end ties with Shell (12th October, 2014)

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