Breaking News English Lesson: Chess

Home | Help This Site

India and Russia share chess gold medal after Internet fails (2nd September, 2020)

The Reading / Listening - Chess - Level 3

The gold medal for the 44th Chess Olympiad has been shared by India and Russia. The countries received joint-gold because of a glitch with the Internet. The Olympiad takes place every two years to find the best chess-playing nation in the world. This year it was held online for the first time. The online version of the competition was because of coronavirus. The final was between players from Russia and India. However, some games came to an end after two Indian players lost their Internet connection. Officials at the tournament said they had no choice but to award the gold medal to the two countries. They said this was fair because the Indian players lost time when the Internet connection failed.

This year's Chess Olympiad started in July. Teams from over 160 countries took part. The final round was not the only time teams had technical glitches. A player from Armenia was disconnected from the tournament's server during his quarter-final match against India. However, on that occasion, officials rejected his appeal. Armenia withdrew from the competition in protest. Officials said there were "unprecedented circumstances" in the final. They said: "The Online Chess Olympiad has been impacted by a global Internet outage that severely affected several countries, including India. Two of the Indian players were affected and lost connection when the outcome of the match was still unclear."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Chess - Level 0, Chess - Level 1 or Chess - Level 2

Sources

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-53965748
https://news.sky.com/story/chess-olympiad-ends-with-joint-winners-after-Internet-outage-12059942
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8679543/India-Russia-gold-medals-chess-championship.html

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. CHESS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about chess. 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?
gold / medal / glitch / chess / online / competition / coronavirus / Internet / choice /
countries / technical / final / officials / protest / unprecedented / outage / connection
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. INTERNET: Students A strongly believe the Internet has become too important in our lives; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. BOARD GAMES: What do you know about these board games? How are they good or bad for us? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	What You Know	How Good/Bad
Chess
Monopoly
Othello
Pictionary
Mah jong
Backgammon

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. GOLD: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "gold". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. OLYMPIAD: Rank these with your partner. Put the best Olympiad at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

Chess
Pokemon Go
Athletics
Spelling
Maths
General knowledge
Football
Monopoly

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	joint	a.	A particular form of something differing in certain respects from an earlier form or other forms of the same type of thing.
2.	glitch	b.	Give a prize or other mark of recognition given in honor of an achievement.
3.	nation	c.	Shared, held, or made by two or more people, parties, or organizations together.
4.	version	d.	A particular country or territory.
5.	connection	e.	A sudden, usually temporary malfunction or irregularity of equipment.
6.	tournament	f.	The action of linking one thing with another, like a computer to the Internet.
7.	award	g.	A series of contests between a number of competitors, who compete for an overall prize.

Paragraph 2

8.	round	h.	A computer or computer program which manages access to a network or the Internet.
9.	server	i.	A particular time or instance of an event.
10.	occasion	j.	A period when a power supply or other service is not available or when equipment is closed down.
11.	unprecedented	k.	One of different stages in a sporting contest or other competition.
12.	impacted	l.	The way a thing turns out; a result.
13.	outage	m.	Strongly affected by something.
14.	outcome	n.	Never done or known before.

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

There were 43 chess Olympiads before the one in the article. T / F
The chess Olympiad takes place every four years. T / F
The Olympiad was online because a supercomputer took part. T / F
Officials at the Olympiad said it was unfair to award both countries gold. T / F
More than 160 countries took part in the Olympiad. T / F
A player from Armenia successfully appealed against a computer glitch. T / F
An official said there was a global Internet outage. T / F
It was clear that the Russian players were winning the final. T / F

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

received
glitch
version
connection
fair
took part
occasion
rejected
unprecedented
outcome

incident
link
result
joined in
problem
unheard of
format
just
refused
got

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

because of a glitch
This year it was held
some games came
award the gold medal
lost time when the
Teams from over 160 countries
technical
officials rejected his
a global Internet outage that severely
the outcome of the match

glitches
to the two countries
affected several countries
online for the first time
took part
appeal
Internet connection failed
was still unclear
to an end
with the Internet

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

nation
final
time
shared
version
award
glitch
lost

The gold medal for the 44th Chess Olympiad has been (1) _____________________ by India and Russia. The countries received joint-gold because of a (2) _____________________ with the Internet. The Olympiad takes place every two years to find the best chess-playing (3) _____________________ in the world. This year it was held online for the first time. The online (4) _____________________ of the competition was because of coronavirus. The (5) _____________________ was between players from Russia and India. However, some games came to an end after two Indian players (6) _____________________ their Internet connection. Officials at the tournament said they had no choice but to (7) _____________________ the gold medal to the two countries. They said this was fair because the Indian players lost (8) _____________________ when the Internet connection failed.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

server
final
part
unclear
disconnected
appeal
occasion
outage

This year's Chess Olympiad started in July. Teams from over 160 countries took (9) _____________________. The final round was not the only time teams had technical glitches. A player from Armenia was (10) _____________________ from the tournament's (11) _____________________ during his quarter-final match against India. However, on that (12) _____________________, officials rejected his (13) _____________________. Armenia withdrew from the competition in protest. Officials said there were "unprecedented circumstances" in the (14) _____________________. They said: "The Online Chess Olympiad has been impacted by a global Internet (15) _____________________ that severely affected several countries, including India. Two of the Indian players were affected and lost connection when the outcome of the match was still (16) _____________________."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) shared by India and Russia. The countries received joint-gold because ______
     a. offer glitch
     b. oft a glitch
     c. off a glitch
     d. of a glitch
2) This year it was held online for the first time. The ______...
     a. online vision
     b. online verge on
     c. online version
     d. online voice on
3) final was between players from Russia and India. However, some games came ______
     a. to an end
     b. to amend
     c. tour an end
     d. tour end
4) Officials at the tournament said they had no choice but to ______
     a. award the golden
     b. aware the gold
     c. award the gold
     d. aware the golden
5) because the Indian players lost time when the Internet ______
     a. connection flailed
     b. connection frayed
     c. connection failed
     d. connection fade

6) This year's Chess Olympiad started in July. Teams from over 160 countries ______
     a. took apart
     b. took a part
     c. took part
     d. took parts
7) A player from Armenia was disconnected from the ______
     a. tournament's sir veer
     b. tournament's serve are
     c. tournament's saver
     d. tournament's server
8) However, on that occasion, officials ______
     a. reject it his appeal
     b. rejected his appeal
     c. reject it this appeal
     d. reject his appeal
9) impacted by a global Internet outage that severely affected ______
     a. several countries
     b. severe all countries
     c. sever all countries
     d. sever rail countries
10) affected and lost connection when the outcome of the match ______
     a. was stills uncle are
     b. was stilled non-clear
     c. was stills unclear
     d. was still unclear

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The gold medal for the 44th Chess Olympiad (1) ____________________ by India and Russia. The countries received joint-gold because of (2) ____________________ the Internet. The Olympiad takes place every two years to find the best chess-playing (3) ____________________ world. This year it was held online for the first time. The online version of the competition was because of coronavirus. The final was between players from Russia and India. However, some games came (4) ____________________ after two Indian players lost their Internet connection. Officials at the tournament said they had no choice (5) ____________________ the gold medal to the two countries. They said this was fair because the Indian players lost time when the (6) ____________________.

This year's Chess Olympiad started in July. Teams from over 160 countries took part. The (7) ____________________ not the only time teams had technical glitches. A player from Armenia was disconnected from the tournament's (8) ____________________ quarter-final match against India. However, on that occasion, officials (9) ____________________. Armenia withdrew from the (10) ____________________. Officials said there were "unprecedented circumstances" in the final. They said: "The Online Chess Olympiad has been (11) ____________________ global Internet outage that severely affected several countries, including India. Two of the Indian players were affected and lost connection when (12) ____________________ the match was still unclear."

Comprehension questions

How many chess Olympiads have there been?
How often do Chess Olympiads take place?
How many times has the Olympiad been online before this one?
Why was this Olympiad held online?
What did tournament officials say Indian players had lost?
How many countries took part in the Olympiad?
Which other country has technical problems?
What kind of circumstances did officials talk about?
How many countries did officials say the Internet outage affected?
What did officials say about the outcome of the match?

Multiple choice quiz

1) How many chess Olympiads have there been?
a) 42
b) 43
c) 44
d) 40
2) How often do Chess Olympiads take place?
a) every two years
b) every year
c) every four years
d) every five years
3) How many times has the Olympiad been online before this one?
a) one
b) none
c) three
d) two
4) Why was this Olympiad held online?
a) it was sponsored by Microsoft
b) because a supercomputer took park
c) so more people could watch
d) because of coronavirus
5) What did tournament officials say Indian players had lost?
a) fitness
b) face
c) time
d) reputation

6) How many countries took part in the Olympiad?
a) exactly 160
b) over 160
c) around 160
d) just fewer than 160
7) Which other country has technical problems?
a) Albania
b) Azerbaijan
c) Andorra
d) Armenia
8) What kind of circumstances did officials talk about?
a) unforeseen circumstances
b) unprecedented circumstances
c) strange circumstances
d) planned circumstances
9) How many countries did officials say the Internet outage affected?
a) 70
b) several
c) 17
d) seven
10) What did officials say about the outcome of the match?
a) it was unclear
b) it was great
c) it will be decided
d) it was a shock

Role play

Role A – Chess
You think chess is the best theme for an Olympiad. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Pokemon Go, spelling or general knowledge.

Role B – Pokemon Go
You think Pokemon Go is the best theme for an Olympiad. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): chess, spelling or general knowledge.

Role C – Spelling
You think spelling is the best theme for an Olympiad. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Pokemon Go, chess or general knowledge.

Role D – General Knowledge
You think general knowledge is the best theme for an Olympiad. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Pokemon Go, spelling or chess.

After reading / listening

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

'gold'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'medal'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

received

nation

version

end

award

failed

started

only

server

protest

severely

outcome

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 - Chess

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

What did you think when you read the headline?
What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'chess'?
What do you know about chess?
What experiences do you have of playing chess?
What do you think of the idea of an Olympics for chess?
Have you ever won a gold medal?
When was the last time you experienced an Internet glitch?
What do you think of online chess?
Are machines better at chess than humans?
Was it fair to award the gold medal to both countries?

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

Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
What do you think of when you hear the word 'medal'?
What do you think about what you read?
What are the rules of chess?
What is your favourite board game?
Should the final have been replayed?
How would you feel if you were one of the players?
What do you think of chess?
How can chess help you in life?
What questions would you like to ask the chess players?

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)

The gold medal for the 44th Chess Olympiad has been (1) ____ by India and Russia. The countries received joint-gold because of a glitch with the Internet. The Olympiad takes (2) ____ every two years to find the best chess-playing nation in the world. This year it was (3) ____ online for the first time. The online version of the competition was because of coronavirus. The final was between players from Russia and India. However, some games came (4) ____ an end after two Indian players lost their Internet connection. Officials at the tournament said they had no choice (5) ____ to award the gold medal to the two countries. They said this was fair because the Indian players (6) ____ time when the Internet connection failed.

This year's Chess Olympiad started in July. Teams from over 160 countries took (7) ____. The final round was not the only time teams had technical glitches. A player from Armenia was disconnected from the tournament's server (8) ____ his quarter-final match against India. However, on that occasion, officials rejected his appeal. Armenia withdrew from the competition (9) ____ protest. Officials said there were "unprecedented circumstances" in the final. They said: "The Online Chess Olympiad has been (10) ____ by a global internet outage that severely affected (11) ____ countries, including India. Two of the Indian players were affected and lost connection when the (12) ____ of the match was still unclear."

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) sharing (b) shared (c) share (d) shares
(a) pace (b) place (c) plaice (d) peace
(a) gripped (b) clutched (c) grasped (d) held
(a) of (b) to (c) at (d) as
(a) let (b) get (c) put (d) but
(a) last (b) lest (c) lost (d) list
(a) part (b) down (c) this (d) up
(a) then (b) which (c) during (d) belong
(a) as (b) at (c) on (d) in
(a) impacted (b) compacted (c) implanted (d) respected
(a) several (b) server (c) severe (d) serve
(a) outcome (b) income (c) outgoing (d) incoming

Spelling

Paragraph 1

because of a cgilht with the Internet
the best chess-playing ionatn
The online evnrsoi
Officials at the reaountmtn
drawa the gold medal
the Internet enocciotnn failed

Paragraph 2

A player from Armenia was cndioedtnesc
on that occisnao
officials rejected his epaalp
withdrew from the competition in eottprs
the otmoeuc of the match
still rncleau

Put the text back together

(...) circumstances" in the final. They said: "The Online Chess Olympiad has been impacted
(...) by a global Internet outage that severely affected several countries, including India. Two of the Indian
(...) gold because of a glitch with the Internet. The Olympiad takes place every two years to find the best chess-
(...) fair because the Indian players lost time when the Internet connection failed.
(...) playing nation in the world. This year it was held online for the first time. The online version of the competition was because
(...) had no choice but to award the gold medal to the two countries. They said this was
( 1 ) The gold medal for the 44th Chess Olympiad has been shared by India and Russia. The countries received joint-
(...) This year's Chess Olympiad started in July. Teams from over 160 countries took part. The final
(...) his appeal. Armenia withdrew from the competition in protest. Officials said there were "unprecedented
(...) round was not the only time teams had technical glitches. A player from Armenia was disconnected from the tournament's
(...) players were affected and lost connection when the outcome of the match was still unclear."
(...) of coronavirus. The final was between players from Russia and India. However, some games came to an
(...) end after two Indian players lost their Internet connection. Officials at the tournament said they
(...) server during his quarter-final match against India. However, on that occasion, officials rejected

Put the words in the right order

of received a countries glitch . The because joint-gold
every Olympiad takes two The place years .
held It the first was time . online for
connection . lost After Indian players two Internet their
time Players Internet lost failed . connection the when
Teams countries from over took part . 160
glitches . had teams only Not the technical time
from protest . Armenia the competition withdrew in
the in There were unprecedented final . circumstances
affected . Indian of Two players chess the were

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

The gold medal for / on the 44th Chess Olympiad has been shared at / by India and Russia. The countries receiving / received joint-gold because of a glitch / ditch with the Internet. The Olympiad takes place every two years to find the best chess-playing nation in the world. This year it was grasped / held online for the first time. The online vision / version of the competition was because of coronavirus. The final was between / connection players from Russia and India. However, some games came / went to an end after two Indian players lost their Internet connection. Officials at the tournament said they had no choose / choice but to award the gold medal to the two countries. They said this was fair because the Indian players lost time when the Internet connection failure / failed.

This year's Chess Olympiad starred / started in July. Teams from over 160 countries took part. The final square / round was not the only time teams had technique / technical glitches. A player from Armenia was disconnected from the tournament's server / saver during his quarter-final match against India. However, on that occasion / occasionally, officials rejected his appeal. Armenia withdrew from the competition in detest / protest. Officials said there were "unprecedented circumstances" in the final. They said: "The Online Chess Olympiad has been compacted / impacted by a global Internet outage that severely affected / effected several countries, including India. Two of the Indian players were affected and lose / lost connection when the outcome of the match was still unclear / clarity."

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 h_ g_l d m_d_l f_r t h_ 4 4 t h C h_s s O l y m p__ d h_s b__ n s h_r_d b y I n d__ _n d R_s s__ . T h_ c__ n t r__ s r_c__ v_d j__ n t - g_l d b_c__ s_ _f _ g l_t c h w_t h t h_ I n t_r n_t . T h_ O l y m p__ d t_k_s p l_c_ _v_r y t w_ y__ r s t_ f_n d t h_ b_s t c h_s s - p l_y_n g n_t__ n _n t h_ w_r l d . T h_s y__ r _t w_s h_l d _n l_n_ f_r t h_ f_r s t t_m_. T h_ _n l_n_ v_r s__ n _f t h_ c_m p_t_t__ n w_s b_c__ s_ _f c_r_n_v_r_s . T h_ f_n_l w_s b_t w__ n p l_y_r s f r_m R_s s__ _n d I n d__ . H_w_v_r , s_m_ g_m_s c_m_ t_ _n _n d _f t_r t w_ I n d__ n p l_y_r s l_s t t h__ r I n t_r n_t c_n n_c t__ n . O f f_c__ l s _t t h_ t__ r n_m_n t s__ d t h_y h_d n_ c h__ c_ b_t t_ _w_r d t h_ g_l d m_d_l t_ t h_ t w_ c__ n t r__ s . T h_y s__ d t h_s w_s f__ r b_c__ s_ t h_ I n d__ n p l_y_r s l_s t t_m_ w h_n t h_ I n t_r n_t c_n n_c t__ n f__ l_d .

T h_s y__ r ' s C h_s s O l y m p__ d s t_r t_d _n J_l y . T__ m s f r_m _v_r 1 6 0 c__ n t r__ s t__ k p_r t . T h_ f_n_l r__ n d w_s n_t t h_ _n l y t_m_ t__ m s h_d t_c h n_c_l g l_t c h_s . A p l_y_r f r_m A r m_n__ w_s d_s c_n n_c t_d f r_m t h_ t__ r n_m_n t ' s s_r v_r d_r_n g h_s q__ r t_r - f_n_l m_t c h _g__ n s t I n d__ . H_w_v_r , _n t h_t _c c_s__ n , _f f_c__ l s r_j_c t_d h_s _p p__ l . A r m_n__ w_t h d r_w f r_m t h_ c_m p_t_t__ n _n p r_t_s t . O f f_c__ l s s__ d t h_r_ w_r_ "_n p r_c_d_n t_d c_r c_m s t_n c_s " _n t h_ f_n_l . T h_y s__ d : " T h_ O n l_n_ C h_s s O l y m p__ d h_s b__ n _m p_c t_d b y _ g l_b_l _n t_r n_t __ t_g_ t h_t s_v_r_l y _f f_c t_d s_v_r_l c__ n t r__ s , _n c l_d_n g I n d__ . T w_ _f t h_ I n d__ n p l_y_r s w_r_ _f f_c t_d _n d l_s t c_n n_c t__ n w h_n t h_ __ t c_m_ _f t h_ m_t c h w_s s t_l l _n c l__ r . "

Punctuate the text and add capitals

the gold medal for the 44th chess olympiad has been shared by india and russia the countries received jointgold because of a glitch with the Internet the olympiad takes place every two years to find the best chessplaying nation in the world this year it was held online for the first time the online version of the competition was because of coronavirus the final was between players from russia and india however some games came to an end after two indian players lost their Internet connection officials at the tournament said they had no choice but to award the gold medal to the two countries they said this was fair because the indian players lost time when the Internet connection failed

this years chess olympiad started in july teams from over 160 countries took part the final round was not the only time teams had technical glitches a player from armenia was disconnected from the tournaments server during his quarterfinal match against india however on that occasion officials rejected his appeal armenia withdrew from the competition in protest officials said there were unprecedented circumstances in the final they said the online chess olympiad has been impacted by a global Internet outage that severely affected several countries including india two of the indian players were affected and lost connection when the outcome of the match was still unclear

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Thegoldmedalforthe44thChessOlympiadhasbeensharedbyIndiaand
Russia.Thecountriesreceivedjoint-goldbecauseofaglitchwiththeInt
ernet.TheOlympiadtakesplaceeverytwoyearstofindthebestchess-
playingnationintheworld.Thisyearitwasheldonlineforthefirsttime.Th
eonlineversionofthecompetitionwasbecauseofcoronavirus.Thefinal
wasbetweenplayersfromRussiaandIndia.However,somegamescam
etoanendaftertwoIndianplayerslosttheirInternetconnection.Official
satthetournamentsaidtheyhadnochoicebuttoawardthegoldmedalto
thetwocountries.TheysaidthiswasfairbecausetheIndianplayerslostti
mewhentheInternetconnectionfailed.Thisyear'sChessOlympiadstar
tedinJuly.Teamsfromover160countriestookpart.Thefinalroundwasn
ottheonlytimeteamshadtechnicalglitches.AplayerfromArmeniawas
disconnectedfromthetournament'sserverduringhisquarter-finalma
tchagainstIndia.However,onthatoccasion,officialsrejectedhisappeal
.Armeniawithdrewfromthecompetitioninprotest.Officialssaidtherew
ere"unprecedentedcircumstances"inthefinal.Theysaid:"TheOnlineC
hessOlympiadhasbeenimpactedbyaglobalInternetoutagethatsever
elyaffectedseveralcountries,includingIndia.TwooftheIndianplayers
wereaffectedandlostconnectionwhentheoutcomeofthematchwasstil
lunclear."

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

Chess is the greatest game in the world. 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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. GOLD MEDAL: Make a poster about gold medals. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. CHESS: Write a magazine article about all of us having to learn chess. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
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 chess. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on chess. 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.)

Back to the top

Help Support This Web Site

Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

Download a sample of my book "1,000 Ideas & Activities for Language Teachers".

Breaking News English Lesson: Chess

Home | Help This Site

PRINT

LISTEN

READ

GRAMMAR

SPELL

WORDS