The Reading / Listening - Level 6

It's official – July was the hottest month on Earth since scientists started recording the planet's temperatures. Data from America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveal that last month, the Earth hit its hottest temperatures since records began 136 years ago. NASA spokesman Gavin Schmidt tweeted: "July 2016 was absolutely the hottest month since the instrumental records began." It beat the previous hottest July in 2011 by 0.11 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is a substantial amount. According to NASA, July was the tenth straight month of record-breaking temperatures. It looks like the year 2016 might now become the hottest year on record.

The science website gizmodo.com stated that July could be the hottest month since prehistoric times. It said: "In all likelihood, it was the hottest month since the last interglacial period ended 125,000 years ago." Meteorology expert professor Jason Furtado said: "It's a little alarming to me that we're going through these records like nothing this year." The news organization Climate Central reported that the record temperatures of the past few years have been caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the occurrence of the El Niño weather phenomenon. However, Australian politician Malcolm Roberts recently rubbished climate change as a conspiracy theory and accused NASA of corrupting climate change data.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Level 4  or  Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/08/16/july-was-absolutely-earths-hottest-month-ever-recorded/
  • http://gizmodo.com/it-hasnt-been-this-hot-in-a-scary-long-time-1785348404
  • http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/26940/20160816/nasa-july-2016-hottest-month-recorded-history.htm


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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. HOTTEST MONTHS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about hottest months. 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?

       official / planet / temperature / NASA / records / hottest / July / record / month / 2016 /
       science / website / prehistoric / period / fossil fuels / climate change / conspiracy theory

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

3. CLIMATE CHANGE: Students A strongly believe we can tackle climate change; Students B strongly believe we can't.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

4. HOT: How does extreme heat affect these things? `Discuss this with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

  • Hobbies
  • Parks
  • Sleep
  • Studying
  • Shopping
  • Walking
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. PLANET: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "planet". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

6. ENERGY: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • oil
  • wind farms
  • hydroelectricity
  • wave power
  • solar
  • coal
  • nuclear
  • biofuels

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The figures for July's record temperatures came from NASA.     T / F
  2. Scientists began recording Earth's temperatures 136 years ago.     T / F
  3. July 2016 was 0.11ºC hotter than July 2011.     T / F
  4. The year 2016 is now the hottest year on record.     T / F
  5. A science website said Earth was much hotter in prehistoric times.     T / F
  6. A meteorology expert said he was alarmed by the record temperature.     T / F
  7. A news organization said El Niño was not responsible for the record.     T / F
  8. An Australian politician said climate change was responsible for the record. T / F

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

  1. recording
  2. data
  3. absolutely
  4. substantial
  5. straight
  6. prehistoric
  7. likelihood
  8. expert
  9. phenomenon
  10. corrupting
  1. ancient
  2. considerable
  3. event
  4. probability
  5. figures
  6. specialist
  7. successive
  8. documenting
  9. falsifying
  10. no doubt

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

  1. since scientists started
  2. It beat the previous hottest July in 2011
  3. a substantial
  4. the tenth straight
  5. the hottest year
  6. the hottest month since
  7. the last interglacial period ended
  8. the burning of
  9. the El Niño weather
  10. a conspiracy
  1. month
  2. theory
  3. on record
  4. prehistoric times
  5. fossil fuels
  6. by 0.11 degrees
  7. phenomenon
  8. recording
  9. 125,000 years ago
  10. amount

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
absolutely
straight
recording
breaking
previous
record
reveal
substantial

It's official – July was the hottest month on Earth since scientists started (1) ____________ the planet's temperatures. Data from America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)  (2) ____________ that last month, the Earth hit its hottest temperatures since records began 136 years ago. NASA spokesman Gavin Schmidt tweeted: "July 2016 was (3) ____________ the hottest month since the instrumental records began." It beat the  (4) ____________ hottest July in 2011 by 0.11 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is a (5) ____________ amount. According to NASA, July was the tenth (6) ____________ month of record-      (7) ____________ temperatures. It looks like the year 2016 might now become the hottest year on (8) ____________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
fossil
likelihood
theory
expert
prehistoric
rubbished
period
alarming

The science website gizmodo.com stated that July could be the hottest month since (9) ____________ times. It said: "In all        (10) ____________, it was the hottest month since the last interglacial (11) ____________ ended 125,000 years ago." Meteorology (12) ____________ professor Jason Furtado said: "It's a little (13) ____________ to me that we're going through these records like nothing this year." The news organization Climate Central reported that the record temperatures of the past few years have been caused by the burning of (14) ____________ fuels and the occurrence of the El Niño weather phenomenon. However, Australian politician Malcolm Roberts recently (15) ____________ climate change as a conspiracy (16) ____________ and accused NASA of corrupting climate change data.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  the hottest month on Earth since scientists started recording the ______
     a.  planetary temperatures
     b.  planet's temperatures
     c.  planets temperatures
     d.  planets' temperatures

2)  the Earth hit its hottest temperatures since records began ______
     a.  136 years hence
     b.  136 years past
     c.  136 years ago
     d.  136 years since

3)  by 0.11 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is a ______
     a.  substance amount
     b.  substantial amount
     c.  substantive amount
     d.  substantiate amount

4)  According to NASA, July was the tenth ______
     a.  straight month
     b.  row month
     c.  line month
     d.  successively month

5)  It looks like the year 2016 might now become the hottest ______
     a.  year on record
     b.  year in record
     c.  year at record
     d.  year of record

6)  gizmodo.com stated that July could be the hottest month since ______
     a.  peer histrionic times
     b.  plea historical times
     c.  plea history times
     d.  prehistoric times

7)  It said: "In all likelihood, it was the hottest month since the ______"
     a.  last intergalactic period
     b.  last interracial period
     c.  last interfacial period
     d.  last interglacial period

8)  It's a little alarming to me that we're going through these records ______ year
     a.  like thingy this
     b.  like something this
     c.  like nothing this
     d.  like no one this

9)  record temperatures of the past few years have been caused by the ______ fuels
     a.  burning for fossil
     b.  burning of fossil
     c.  burning on fossil
     d.  burning at fossil

10) politician Malcolm Roberts recently rubbished climate change as ______
     a.  a conspiracy theoretical
     b.  a conspiracy theorise
     c.  a conspiracy theories
     d.  a conspiracy theory

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

It's official – July was the hottest month on Earth since scientists started (1) ___________________ temperatures. Data from America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (2) ___________________ month, the Earth hit its hottest temperatures (3) ___________________ 136 years ago. NASA spokesman Gavin Schmidt tweeted: "July 2016 was (4) ___________________ month since the instrumental records began." It beat the previous hottest July in 2011 by 0.11 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is a (5) ___________________. According to NASA, July was the tenth straight month of record-breaking temperatures. It (6) ___________________ 2016 might now become the hottest year on record.

The science website gizmodo.com stated that July could be the hottest month since (7) ___________________. It said: "In all likelihood, it was the hottest month since the last (8) ___________________ ended 125,000 years ago." Meteorology expert professor Jason Furtado said: "It's (9) ___________________ to me that we're going through these records like (10) ___________________." The news organization Climate Central reported that the record temperatures of the past few years have been caused by the burning of (11) ___________________ the occurrence of the El Niño weather phenomenon. However, Australian politician Malcolm Roberts recently rubbished climate change as a (12) ___________________ and accused NASA of corrupting climate change data.

Comprehension questions

  1. Which organisation compiled the data on the record temperatures?
  2. When did scientists first start recording Earth's temperature?
  3. When was the previous hottest July?
  4. By how much did July 2016 beat the previous record for the hottest July?
  5. For how many months in a row have there been record temperatures?
  6. When did a website say records could go back to?
  7. When did the last interglacial period end?
  8. Who is Jason Furtado?
  9. What weather phenomenon was mentioned as being a cause of the heat?
  10. What did an Australian politician say climate change was?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Which organisation compiled the data on the record temperatures?
a) IMF
b) NATO
c) UN
d) NASA

2) When did scientists first start recording Earth's temperature?
a) 1366
b) 136 years ago
c) 1936
d) 1,360 years ago

3) When was the previous hottest July?
a) 136 years ago
b) 1976
c) last year
d) 2011

4) By how much did July 2016 beat the previous record for the hottest July?
a) 0.11º F
b) 11º F
c) 0.11º C
d) 11º C

5) For how many months in a row have there been record temperatures?
a) 7
b) 8
c) 9
d) 10

6) When did a website say records could go back to?
a) the year 0
b) the start of the Industrial Revolution
c) prehistory
d) 1688

7) When did the last interglacial period end?
a) 125,000 years ago
b) last Thursday morning
c) 1366
d) 136 years ago

8) Who is Jason Furtado?
a) Nelly Furtado's uncle
b) a weather man for CNN
c) a meteorology expert
d) the owner of the gizmodo.com website

9) What weather phenomenon was mentioned as being a cause of the heat?
a) rain
b) El Niño
c) a typhoon
d) the Indian monsoon

10) What did an Australian politician say climate change was?
a) a conspiracy theory
b) up in the air
c) cold, hard facts
d) alarming

Role play

Role A — Solar

You think solar is the best form of energy. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): nuclear, wind or oil.

Role B — Nuclear

You think nuclear is the best form of energy. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): solar, wind or oil.

Role C — Wind

You think wind is the best form of energy. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): nuclear, solar or oil.

Role D — Oil

You think oil is the best form of energy. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their forms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why):  nuclear, wind or solar.

After reading / listening

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

'hot'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'month'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • times
    • period
    • expert
    • burning
    • weather
    • theory
    • recording
    • reveal
    • 136
    • 0.11
    • tenth
    • looks

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - July was hottest month in recorded history

    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 'temperature'?
    3. What's your favourite temperature and why?
    4. How worried are you by climate change?
    5. What is the cause of climate change?
    6. What do you think about what you read?
    7. What does it mean for Earth that temperatures are rising?
    8. What do you do to cope with high temperatures?
    9. Is this story newsworthy if records only go back 136 years?
    10. How has the weather changed in your country?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of July being the hottest for 125,000 years?
    3. How alarming do you think climate change is?
    4. What is your country doing about climate change?
    5. What do you think a meteorologist does every day?
    6. How can we reduce our use of fossil fuels?
    7. What do you know about El Niño?
    8. Could climate change be a conspiracy theory?
    9. What proof is there that climate change is created by humans?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the meteorologists?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    It's official – July was the hottest month on Earth (1) ____ scientists started recording the planet's temperatures. Data from America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (2) ____ that last month, the Earth hit its hottest temperatures since records began 136 years ago. NASA spokesman Gavin Schmidt tweeted: "July 2016 was (3) ____ the hottest month since the instrumental records began." It beat the previous hottest July in 2011 (4) ____ 0.11 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is a (5) ____ amount. According to NASA, July was the tenth (6) ____ month of record-breaking temperatures. It looks like the year 2016 might now become the hottest year on record.

    The science website gizmodo.com stated that July could be the hottest month since prehistoric (7) ____. It said: "In all likelihood, it was the hottest month since the last interglacial (8) ____ ended 125,000 years ago." Meteorology expert professor Jason Furtado said: "It's a little (9) ____ to me that we're going through these records like nothing this year." The news organization Climate Central reported that the record temperatures of the past few years have been caused (10) ____ the burning of fossil fuels and the occurrence of the El Niño weather phenomenon. However, Australian politician Malcolm Roberts recently rubbished climate change as a (11) ____ theory and accused NASA of (12) ____ climate change data.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     for     (b)     ago     (c)     when     (d)     since    
    2. (a)     repeal     (b)     rebel     (c)     revel     (d)     reveal    
    3. (a)     absolved     (b)     absolutely     (c)     absolute     (d)     absolution    
    4. (a)     at     (b)     on     (c)     by     (d)     of    
    5. (a)     substantive     (b)     substantiate     (c)     substantial     (d)     substance    
    6. (a)     straight     (b)     linear     (c)     row     (d)     succession    
    7. (a)     epoch     (b)     times     (c)     era     (d)     period    
    8. (a)     period     (b)     yearly     (c)     calendar     (d)     timings    
    9. (a)     ringing     (b)     alarming     (c)     snoozing     (d)     timing    
    10. (a)     at     (b)     on     (c)     by     (d)     of    
    11. (a)     constipation     (b)     consistency     (c)     conspiracy     (d)     contemplative    
    12. (a)     heating     (b)     tricking     (c)     ghosting     (d)     corrupting

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. It's lficaoif
    2. blloaeuyts the hottest month
    3. since the suatnneirltm records began
    4. 0.11 sdegeer Celsius
    5. a tnsautlbasi amount
    6. record-breaking erprtuaetmse

    Paragraph 2

    1. the hottest month since pirseiohtrc times
    2. In all oldilokihe
    3. the burning of lsfios fuels
    4. the El Niño weather hnnopmoeen
    5. a nsacoyrcip theory
    6. accused NASA of optgnurirc climate change data

    Put the text back together

    (    )    The science website gizmodo.com stated that July could be the hottest month since prehistoric

    (    )    through these records like nothing this year." The news organization Climate Central reported that the

    (    )    to NASA, July was the tenth straight month of record-breaking temperatures. It looks

    (    )    years ago." Meteorology expert professor Jason Furtado said: "It's a little alarming to me that we're going

    (  1  )    It's official – July was the hottest month on Earth since scientists started recording the planet's temperatures. Data

    (    )    hottest temperatures since records began 136 years ago. NASA spokesman Gavin Schmidt tweeted: "July 2016 was

    (    )    like the year 2016 might now become the hottest year on record.

    (    )    times. It said: "In all likelihood, it was the hottest month since the last interglacial period ended 125,000

    (    )    by 0.11 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is a substantial amount. According

    (    )    absolutely the hottest month since the instrumental records began." It beat the previous hottest July in 2011

    (    )    of the El Niño weather phenomenon. However, Australian politician Malcolm Roberts recently rubbished climate change

    (    )    from America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveal that last month, the Earth hit its

    (    )    record temperatures of the past few years have been caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the occurrence

    (    )    as a conspiracy theory and accused NASA of corrupting climate change data.

    Put the words in the right order

    1. planet's   Since   started   the   temperatures   scientists   recording   .
    2. Its   began  hottest   136   temperatures   years  since   ago   records   .
    3. beat   0.11  by   July   the   degrees   in   previous  It   2011   hottest   .
    4. straight  breaking   month   temperatures   of  The   record   tenth   -   .
    5. 2016   might   now   become   the  hottest   It   looks   like   the  year  .
    6. hottest   July   month   could   since   be   prehistoric   the   times   .
    7. ended   the   The   last   hottest   interglacial   month   period   since   .
    8. like   going   nothing   through   this   these   year   records   We're   .
    9. occurrence  El   Fossil   the   the  phenomenon   and   of   Niño   fuels   .
    10. as  recently  a  rubbished  conspiracy  climate  theory  change  Roberts .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    It's official – July was the hottest month in / on Earth since scientists started recording the planet's temperatures. Data from America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveals / reveal that last month, the Earth hit / pounded its hottest temperatures since records began 136 years ago. NASA spokesman Gavin Schmidt tweeted: "July 2016 was absolute / absolutely the hottest month since an / the instrumental records began." It beat the previous / previously hottest July in 2011 by / with 0.11 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is the / a substantial amount. According to NASA, July was the tenth row / straight month of record-breaking temperatures. It looks like the year 2016 might now become the hottest year on / in record.

    The science website gizmodo.com stated that July could be the hottest month since prehistoric time / times. It said: "In all liking / likelihood, it was the hottest month since the last interglacial periodical / period ended 125,000 years ago." Meteorology expert / expertise professor Jason Furtado said: "It's a little alarmed / alarming to me that we're going through these records like nothing last / this year." The news organization Climate Central reported that the record temperatures of the past few years have been caused from / by the burning of fossil fuels and the occurs / occurrence of the El Niño weather phenomenon. However, Australian politician Malcolm Roberts recently rubbished / rubbishes climate change as a complacency / conspiracy theory and accused NASA of corrupting climate change data.

    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)

    _t's _ff_c__l – J_ly w_s th_ h_tt_st m_nth _n __rth s_nc_ sc__nt_sts st_rt_d r_c_rd_ng th_ pl_n_t's t_mp_r_t_r_s. D_t_ fr_m _m_r_c_'s N_t__n_l __r_n__t_cs _nd Sp_c_ _dm_n_str_t__n (N_S_) r_v__l th_t l_st m_nth, th_ __rth h_t _ts h_tt_st t_mp_r_t_r_s s_nc_ r_c_rds b_g_n 136 y__rs _g_. N_S_ sp_k_sm_n G_v_n Schm_dt tw__t_d: "J_ly 2016 w_s _bs_l_t_ly th_ h_tt_st m_nth s_nc_ th_ _nstr_m_nt_l r_c_rds b_g_n." _t b__t th_ pr_v___s h_tt_st J_ly _n 2011 by 0.11 d_gr__s C_ls__s, wh_ch sc__nt_sts s_y _s _ s_bst_nt__l _m__nt. _cc_rd_ng t_ N_S_, J_ly w_s th_ t_nth str__ght m_nth _f r_c_rd-br__k_ng t_mp_r_t_r_s. _t l__ks l_k_ th_ y__r 2016 m_ght n_w b_c_m_ th_ h_tt_st y__r _n r_c_rd.

    Th_ sc__nc_ w_bs_t_ g_zm_d_.c_m st_t_d th_t J_ly c__ld b_ th_ h_tt_st m_nth s_nc_ pr_h_st_r_c t_m_s. _t s__d: "_n _ll l_k_l_h__d, _t w_s th_ h_tt_st m_nth s_nc_ th_ l_st _nt_rgl_c__l p_r__d _nd_d 125,000 y__rs _g_." M_t__r_l_gy _xp_rt pr_f_ss_r J_s_n F_rt_d_ s__d: "_t's _ l_ttl_ _l_rm_ng t_ m_ th_t w_'r_ g__ng thr__gh th_s_ r_c_rds l_k_ n_th_ng th_s y__r." Th_ n_ws _rg_n_z_t__n Cl_m_t_ C_ntr_l r_p_rt_d th_t th_ r_c_rd t_mp_r_t_r_s _f th_ p_st f_w y__rs h_v_ b__n c__s_d by th_ b_rn_ng _f f_ss_l f__ls _nd th_ _cc_rr_nc_ _f th_ _l N_ñ_ w__th_r ph_n_m_n_n. H_w_v_r, __str_l__n p_l_t_c__n M_lc_lm R_b_rts r_c_ntly r_bb_sh_d cl_m_t_ ch_ng_ _s _ c_nsp_r_cy th__ry _nd _cc_s_d N_S_ _f c_rr_pt_ng cl_m_t_ ch_ng_ d_t_.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    it's official – july was the hottest month on earth since scientists started recording the planet's temperatures data from america's national aeronautics and space administration (nasa) reveal that last month the earth hit its hottest temperatures since records began 136 years ago nasa spokesman gavin schmidt tweeted "july 2016 was absolutely the hottest month since the instrumental records began" it beat the previous hottest july in 2011 by 011 degrees celsius which scientists say is a substantial amount according to nasa july was the tenth straight month of record-breaking temperatures it looks like the year 2016 might now become the hottest year on record

    the science website gizmodocom stated that july could be the hottest month since prehistoric times it said "in all likelihood it was the hottest month since the last interglacial period ended 125000 years ago" meteorology expert professor jason furtado said "it's a little alarming to me that we're going through these records like nothing this year" the news organization climate central reported that the record temperatures of the past few years have been caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the occurrence of the el niño weather phenomenon however australian politician malcolm roberts recently rubbished climate change as a conspiracy theory and accused nasa of corrupting climate change data

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    It'sofficial–JulywasthehottestmonthonEarthsincescientistsstarte
    drecordingtheplanet'stemperatures.DatafromAmerica'sNationalAe
    ronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA)revealthatlastmonth,theE
    arthhititshottesttemperaturessincerecordsbegan136yearsago.NAS
    AspokesmanGavinSchmidttweeted:"July2016wasabsolutelythehot
    testmonthsincetheinstrumentalrecordsbegan."Itbeattheprevioush
    ottestJulyin2011by0.11degreesCelsius,whichscientistssayisasubst
    antialamount.AccordingtoNASA,Julywasthetenthstraightmonthofre
    cord-breakingtemperatures.Itlooksliketheyear2016mightnowbe
    comethehottestyearonrecord.Thesciencewebsitegizmodo.comstate
    dthatJulycouldbethehottestmonthsinceprehistorictimes.Itsaid:"Ina
    lllikelihood,itwasthehottestmonthsincethelastinterglacialperiodend
    ed125,000yearsago."MeteorologyexpertprofessorJasonFurtadosai
    d:"It'salittlealarmingtomethatwe'regoingthroughtheserecordsliken
    othingthisyear."ThenewsorganizationClimateCentralreportedthatth
    erecordtemperaturesofthepastfewyearshavebeencausedbytheburn
    ingoffossilfuelsandtheoccurrenceoftheElNiñoweatherphenomenon.
    However,AustralianpoliticianMalcolmRobertsrecentlyrubbishedclim
    atechangeasaconspiracytheoryandaccusedNASAofcorruptingclimat
    echangedata.

    Free writing

    Write about hottest month for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

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    Academic writing

    If we stop using fossil fuels, climate change will go away. Discuss.

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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 climate change. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

    3. HOTTEST MONTHS: Make a poster about record hot and cold temperatures and how they affect people's lives. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

    4. CLIMATE CHANGE: Write a magazine article about climate change and how we need to stop using fossil fuels immediately. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

    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 climate change. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to help reverse climate change. 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

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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