Breaking News English Lesson: Mutant Virus

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World blocks UK over new mutant virus strain (23rd December, 2020)

The Reading / Listening - Mutant Virus - Level 3

Forty countries have blocked air, sea and land travel to and from the United Kingdom. Many European countries, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, and Colombia are among the countries. The reason is because of a new strain of COVID-19 that is spreading around the UK. The new coronavirus is a mutant - this means it has changed from the original virus that started spreading at the beginning of the year. Some nations have blocked transport links to the UK for a few days; others for at least two weeks. Many countries say they are reviewing the situation. The biggest problems are being caused by a travel ban from France. A lot of the UK's food comes across the English Channel from France.

The UK government says the mutant virus is 70 per cent more infectious than the original coronavirus. It said the mutant strain is so fast-spreading that it is "out of control". London and many other parts of the country are now in lockdown. The government has issued new rules about mixing with other people. This means most people will only be able to spend Christmas with the people they live with. They cannot travel to see any other family members or friends. An opposition leader said: "The news over the last 24 hours has been deeply disturbing. The number of coronavirus cases has nearly doubled in the last week." The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured people that there would be enough food.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Mutant Virus - Level 0, Mutant Virus - Level 1 or Mutant Virus - Level 2

Sources

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/coronavirus-latest-britain-cut-off-by-30-countries-as-mutant-covid-strain-out-of-control-1.1098247
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55391289
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain/wrapup-1-world-closes-borders-to-britain-as-new-coronavirus-strain-breeds-panic-idUSL1N2J10IW

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. THE MUTANT VIRUS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about the mutant virus. 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?
air / sea / land / countries / strain / coronavirus / mutant / transport / situation /
government / infectious / original / out of control / lockdown / travel / family / food
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. OVER: Students A strongly believe the pandemic will be over in 2021; Students B strongly believe it won't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. COVID-19: Why are these ways to reduce the spread of the virus effective? How good are you at doing these? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Why Are They Effective?	How Good Are You?
Hand washing
Mask wearing
Using alcohol spray
Wiping commonly-used areas
Social distancing
Avoiding crowds

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. SEA: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "sea". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. POST-COVID: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to do after COVID-19 at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

Stop wearing masks
Go to restaurants
Hug friends
Go to events
Stop worrying
Travel
Continue hand washing
Party

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	land	a.	A variety or kind of a particular thing.
2.	strain	b.	A means of contact, travel, or transport between two points or places.
3.	spreading	c.	Officially stop people doing something.
4.	links	d.	Getting larger or bigger over a wider and wider area.
5.	at least	e.	Looking at something with the possibility or intention of making changes if necessary.
6.	reviewing	f.	The part of the earth's surface that is not covered by water.
7.	ban	g.	Not less than.

Paragraph 2

8.	infectious	h.	No longer possible to manage.
9.	out of control	i.	Making people stay in their houses because of an emergency.
10.	lockdown	j.	Became twice as much or as many.
11.	mixing	k.	The main political party not in office.
12.	opposition	l.	Meeting and talking to lots of other people.
13.	disturbing	m.	Likely to spread a virus, disease, laughter...
14.	doubled	n.	Causing anxiety; worrying.

Before reading / listening

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

The article says over 40 countries have blocked travel to the UK. T / F
A new type of COVID-19 is spreading around the United Kingdom. T / F
Some countries have blocked travel to the UK for two weeks. T / F
The biggest problem for the UK is a travel ban from Spain. T / F
The mutant virus is 70% more infectious than before. T / F
The UK government says it has the mutant virus under control. T / F
People in the UK can only spend Xmas with people they live with. T / F
The UK leader said there might not be enough food. T / F

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

blocked
reason
strain
original
caused
infectious
issued
disturbing
doubled
enough

worrying
first
created
cause
catching
sufficient
variety
multiplied by two
released
barred

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

Forty countries have blocked air,
a new strain of COVID-19 that is spreading
for at
Many countries say they are
A lot of the UK's food comes across
the mutant virus is 70 per cent
so fast-spreading that it is
The government has issued
deeply
The number of coronavirus cases

more infectious
has nearly doubled
the English Channel
new rules
around the UK
sea and land travel
disturbing
"out of control"
reviewing the situation
least two weeks

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

spreading
situation
links
blocked
ban
original
among
few

Forty countries have (1) _____________________ air, sea and land travel to and from the United Kingdom. Many European countries, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, and Colombia are (2) _____________________ the countries. The reason is because of a new strain of COVID-19 that is (3) _____________________ around the UK. The new coronavirus is a mutant - this means it has changed from the (4) _____________________ virus that started spreading at the beginning of the year. Some nations have blocked transport (5) _____________________ to the UK for a (6) _____________________ days; others for at least two weeks. Many countries say they are reviewing the (7) _____________________. The biggest problems are being caused by a travel (8) _____________________ from France. A lot of the UK's food comes across the English Channel from France.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

members
control
enough
mixing
doubled
infectious
lockdown
deeply

The UK government says the mutant virus is 70 per cent more (9) _____________________ than the original coronavirus. It said the mutant strain is so fast-spreading that it is "out of (10) _____________________". London and many other parts of the country are now in (11) _____________________. The government has issued new rules about (12) _____________________ with other people. This means most people will only be able to spend Christmas with the people they live with. They cannot travel to see any other family (13) _____________________ or friends. An opposition leader said: "The news over the last 24 hours has been (14) _____________________ disturbing. The number of coronavirus cases has nearly (15) _____________________ in the last week." The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured people that there would be (16) _____________________ food.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Forty countries have blocked air, sea ______
     a. end land travel
     b. sand land travel
     c. land and travel
     d. and land travel
2) The reason is because of a new strain of COVID-19 ______
     a. that is spread in
     b. that is spread din
     c. that is spread ding
     d. that is spreading
3) blocked transport links to the UK for a few days; others for at ______
     a. least two weeks
     b. least two week
     c. least too week
     d. least to weeks
4) Many countries say they are reviewing ______
     a. the situation
     b. the situate as on
     c. the situate shun
     d. the station
5) The biggest problems are being caused by ______
     a. a travels ban
     b. a travel ban
     c. a travellers ban
     d. a travel band

6) The UK government says the mutant virus is 70 per cent ______
     a. more infectiously
     b. more infections
     c. more infectious
     d. more infect shuns
7) the mutant strain is so fast-spreading that it is ______
     a. out in control
     b. out on control
     c. out by control
     d. out of control
8) The government has issued new rules ______
     a. about mix in
     b. about mixing
     c. about my sin
     d. about mix sin
9) They cannot travel to see any other ______
     a. family's members
     b. family member
     c. family members
     d. familial members
10) The number of coronavirus cases has ______
     a. nearly double
     b. nearly doubled
     c. nearly doublet
     d. nearly doubles

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Forty countries (1) ____________________, sea and land travel to and from the United Kingdom. Many European countries, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, and Colombia (2) ____________________ countries. The reason is because of a new strain of COVID-19 that is spreading around the UK. The new coronavirus is a mutant - (3) ____________________ has changed from the original virus that started spreading at the beginning of the year. Some nations have blocked transport links to the UK (4) ____________________ days; others for at least two weeks. Many countries say they are reviewing the situation. The biggest problems (5) ____________________ by a travel ban from France. A (6) ____________________ UK's food comes across the English Channel from France.

The UK government (7) ____________________ virus is 70 per cent more infectious than the original coronavirus. It said the mutant strain is so fast-spreading that it is "(8) ____________________". London and many other parts of the country are (9) ____________________. The government has issued new rules about mixing with other people. This means most people will only be able to spend Christmas with the people they live with. They cannot travel to (10) ____________________ family members or friends. An opposition leader said: "The news over the (11) ____________________ has been deeply disturbing. The number of coronavirus cases has (12) ____________________ the last week." The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured people that there would be enough food.

Comprehension questions

How many countries blocked travel to and from the UK?
Where is a new strain of the coronavirus spreading?
What is the longest amount of time countries are blocking the UK?
What are many countries reviewing?
Where does a lot of the UK's food come from?
How much more infectious is the mutant virus?
What did the government say about the spread of the mutant virus?
Who can people in the UK spend Christmas with?
By how much have coronavirus cases increased in the last week?
What did the UK leader say there would be enough of?

Multiple choice quiz

1) How many countries blocked travel to and from the UK?
a) 39
b) 42
c) 40
d) 41
2) Where is a new strain of the coronavirus spreading?
a) the UK
b) France
c) the World
d) Europe
3) What is the longest amount of time countries are blocking the UK?
a) five days
b) a week
c) a month
d) 2 weeks
4) What are many countries reviewing?
a) the virus
b) the situation
c) hospital beds
d) visas
5) Where does a lot of the UK's food come from?
a) Spain
b) the USA
c) France
d) Australia

6) How much more infectious is the mutant virus?
a) 80%
b) 70%
c) 60%
d) 50%
7) What did the government say about the spread of the mutant virus?
a) it's gradual
b) it's under control
c) not much
d) it's out of control
8) Who can people in the UK spend Christmas with?
a) friends
b) people they live with
c) anyone
d) neighbours
9) By how much have coronavirus cases increased in the last week?
a) they have doubled
b) by half
c) by 70%
d) they trebled
10) What did the UK leader say there would be enough of?
a) vaccines
b) hospital beds
c) trains
d) food

Role play

Role A – Party
You think the best thing to do after COVID-19 is to party. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which of these you will do last (and why): travel, hug friends or continue hand washing.

Role B – Travel
You think the best thing to do after COVID-19 is to travel. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which of these you will do last (and why): party, hug friends or continue hand washing.

Role C – Hug Friends
You think the best thing to do after COVID-19 is to hug friends. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which of these you will do last (and why): travel, party or continue hand washing.

Role D – Continue Hand Washing
You think the best thing to do after COVID-19 is to continue hand washing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which of these you will do last (and why): travel, hug friends or party.

After reading / listening

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

'mutant'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'virus'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

land

reason

original

links

ban

food

70

fast

now

spend

news

last

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 - Mutant Virus

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 'world'?
What do you think of countries blocking travel to the UK?
How important is travel?
How has coronavirus affected your life?
What do you know about the new strain of coronavirus?
How worried are you about the new strain of coronavirus?
What problems will the travel bans cause the UK?
Would you like to go the UK right now?
Is the world beating the coronavirus?

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 'virus'?
What do you think about what you read?
Are you worried the new strain is 70% more infectious?
How worrying is it the mutant virus is out of control?
Should people not travel this Christmas?
How is your country dealing with coronavirus?
What three adjectives best describe this story?
What happens if the UK cannot get enough food?
What questions would you like to ask the UK's leader?

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)

Forty countries have blocked air, sea and land travel to and (1) ____ the United Kingdom. Many European countries, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, and Colombia are (2) ____ the countries. The reason is because of a new strain of COVID-19 (3) ____ is spreading around the UK. The new coronavirus is a mutant - this means it has changed from the original virus that started spreading at the (4) ____ of the year. Some nations have blocked transport links to the UK for a few days; others for at least two weeks. Many countries say they are (5) ____ the situation. The biggest problems are being caused by a travel ban from France. A (6) ____ of the UK's food comes across the English Channel from France.

The UK government says the mutant virus is 70 per cent more (7) ____ than the original coronavirus. It said the mutant strain is (8) ____ fast-spreading that it is "out of control". London and many other parts of the country are now in lockdown. The government has issued new rules about (9) ____ with other people. This means most people will only be able to spend Christmas with the people they live (10) ____. They cannot travel to see any other family members or friends. An opposition leader said: "The news over the last 24 hours has been (11) ____ disturbing. The number of coronavirus cases has nearly doubled in the last week." The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured people that there would be (12) ____ food.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) form (b) for (c) fro (d) from
(a) between (b) among (c) adjacent (d) next
(a) what (b) that (c) where (d) such
(a) begins (b) began (c) beginning (d) beginner
(a) reviewing (b) reviews (c) reviewed (d) reviewer
(a) lot (b) loads (c) lots (d) allot
(a) infect (b) infected (c) infection (d) infectious
(a) so (b) such (c) thus (d) though
(a) mixer (b) mixing (c) mixes (d) mixed
(a) at (b) on (c) with (d) by
(a) deeps (b) depth (c) deeply (d) deepen
(a) sure (b) enough (c) cooking (d) freshly

Spelling

Paragraph 1

gamno the countries
indegspar around the UK
changed from the oinairlg virus
for at telas two weeks
they are reviewing the inatstiuo
being uecasd by a travel ban

Paragraph 2

more uoisifecnt
out of onortcl
An ptioopsino leader
deeply dibsintrgu
The number of coronavirus cases has nearly beloudd
ssdaeur people that there would be enough

Put the text back together

(...) countries, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, and Colombia are among the countries. The reason
(...) two weeks. Many countries say they are reviewing the situation. The biggest problems are being caused
(...) year. Some nations have blocked transport links to the UK for a few days; others for at least
(...) by a travel ban from France. A lot of the UK's food comes across the English Channel from France.
(...) able to spend Christmas with the people they live with. They cannot travel to see any other
(...) hours has been deeply disturbing. The number of coronavirus cases has nearly doubled in the last
( 1 ) Forty countries have blocked air, sea and land travel to and from the United Kingdom. Many European
(...) lockdown. The government has issued new rules about mixing with other people. This means most people will only be
(...) The UK government says the mutant virus is 70 per cent more infectious than the original coronavirus. It said the mutant strain is so fast-
(...) family members or friends. An opposition leader said: "The news over the last 24
(...) is because of a new strain of COVID-19 that is spreading around the UK. The new coronavirus is a mutant - this
(...) spreading that it is "out of control". London and many other parts of the country are now in
(...) means it has changed from the original virus that started spreading at the beginning of the
(...) week." The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured people that there would be enough food.

Put the words in the right order

strain reason a COVID-19 . new of is The
virus . original from It has changed the
are countries situation . say Many reviewing the they
by being a travel Problems ban . caused are
across English UK's Channel . comes the The food
cent mutant is virus per The more infectious . 70
the fast-spreading . It said so mutant is strain
Parts are the now country of in lockdown .
They cannot family travel members . see to other
cases number of coronavirus nearly The has doubled .

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

Forty countries have blocked air, sea and land travel to and fro / from the United Kingdom. Many European countries, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, and Colombia are between / among the countries. The reasons / reason is because of a new strain of COVID-19 that is spreading / spreadable around the UK. The new coronavirus is a mutant - this meaning / means it has changed from the original virus that / what started spreading at the beginning of the year. Some nations have blocked transport link / links to the UK for a few days; others for at least / last two weeks. Many countries say they are reviewing / reviewed the situation. The biggest problems are being caused by a travel ban from France. A lot of the UK's food goes / comes across the English Channel from France.

The UK government says the mutant / militant virus is 70 per cent more infectious than the original / originally coronavirus. It said the mutant strain is so fast-spreading that it is "out / in of control". London and many other parts of the country are now on / in lockdown. The government has issued new rules about mixing with other people. This means much / most people will only be able to purchase / spend Christmas with the people they live with. They cannot travel to see any other family members / membranes or friends. An opposition leader said: "The news over the last 24 hours has been deeply / deep disturbing. The number of coronavirus cases has nearly twice / doubled in the last week." The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured people that there would be / do enough food.

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)

F_rty c__ntr__s h_v_ bl_ck_d __r, s__ _nd l_nd tr_v_l t_ _nd fr_m th_ _n_t_d K_ngd_m. M_ny __r_p__n c__ntr__s, C_n_d_, _r_n, S__d_ _r_b__, R_ss__, _nd__, _nd C_l_mb__ _r_ _m_ng th_ c__ntr__s. Th_ r__s_n _s b_c__s_ _f _ n_w str__n _f C_V_D-19 th_t _s spr__d_ng _r__nd th_ _K. Th_ n_w c_r_n_v_r_s _s _ m_t_nt - th_s m__ns _t h_s ch_ng_d fr_m th_ _r_g_n_l v_r_s th_t st_rt_d spr__d_ng _t th_ b_g_nn_ng _f th_ y__r. S_m_ n_t__ns h_v_ bl_ck_d tr_nsp_rt l_nks t_ th_ _K f_r _ f_w d_ys; _th_rs f_r _t l__st tw_ w__ks. M_ny c__ntr__s s_y th_y _r_ r_v__w_ng th_ s_t__t__n. Th_ b_gg_st pr_bl_ms _r_ b__ng c__s_d by _ tr_v_l b_n fr_m Fr_nc_. _ l_t _f th_ _K's f__d c_m_s _cr_ss th_ _ngl_sh Ch_nn_l fr_m Fr_nc_.

Th_ _K g_v_rnm_nt s_ys th_ m_t_nt v_r_s _s 70 p_r c_nt m_r_ _nf_ct___s th_n th_ _r_g_n_l c_r_n_v_r_s. _t s__d th_ m_t_nt str__n _s s_ f_st-spr__d_ng th_t _t _s "__t _f c_ntr_l". L_nd_n _nd m_ny _th_r p_rts _f th_ c__ntry _r_ n_w _n l_ckd_wn. Th_ g_v_rnm_nt h_s _ss__d n_w r_l_s _b__t m_x_ng w_th _th_r p__pl_. Th_s m__ns m_st p__pl_ w_ll _nly b_ _bl_ t_ sp_nd Chr_stm_s w_th th_ p__pl_ th_y l_v_ w_th. Th_y c_nn_t tr_v_l t_ s__ _ny _th_r f_m_ly m_mb_rs _r fr__nds. _n _pp_s_t__n l__d_r s__d: "Th_ n_ws _v_r th_ l_st 24 h__rs h_s b__n d__ply d_st_rb_ng. Th_ n_mb_r _f c_r_n_v_r_s c_s_s h_s n__rly d__bl_d _n th_ l_st w__k." Th_ _K Pr_m_ M_n_st_r B_r_s J_hns_n _ss_r_d p__pl_ th_t th_r_ w__ld b_ _n__gh f__d.

Punctuate the text and add capitals

forty countries have blocked air sea and land travel to and from the united kingdom many european countries canada iran saudi arabia russia india and colombia are among the countries the reason is because of a new strain of covid19 that is spreading around the uk the new coronavirus is a mutant this means it has changed from the original virus that started spreading at the beginning of the year some nations have blocked transport links to the uk for a few days others for at least two weeks many countries say they are reviewing the situation the biggest problems are being caused by a travel ban from france a lot of the uks food comes across the english channel from france

the uk government says the mutant virus is 70 per cent more infectious than the original coronavirus it said the mutant strain is so fastspreading that it is out of control london and many other parts of the country are now in lockdown the government has issued new rules about mixing with other people this means most people will only be able to spend christmas with the people they live with they cannot travel to see any other family members or friends an opposition leader said the news over the last 24 hours has been deeply disturbing the number of coronavirus cases has nearly doubled in the last week the uk prime minister boris johnson assured people that there would be enough food

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Fortycountrieshaveblockedair,seaandlandtraveltoandfromtheUnited
Kingdom.ManyEuropeancountries,Canada,Iran,SaudiArabia,Russia,
India,andColombiaareamongthecountries.Thereasonisbecauseofan
ewstrainofCOVID-19thatisspreadingaroundtheUK.Thenewcoronavi
rusisamutant-thismeansithaschangedfromtheoriginalvirusthatstart
edspreadingatthebeginningoftheyear.Somenationshaveblockedtran
sportlinkstotheUKforafewdays;othersforatleasttwoweeks.Manycoun
triessaytheyarereviewingthesituation.Thebiggestproblemsarebeing
causedbyatravelbanfromFrance.AlotoftheUK'sfoodcomesacrosstheE
nglishChannelfromFrance.TheUKgovernmentsaysthemutantvirusis7
0percentmoreinfectiousthantheoriginalcoronavirus.Itsaidthemutant
strainissofast-spreadingthatitis"outofcontrol".Londonandmanyothe
rpartsofthecountryarenowinlockdown.Thegovernmenthasissuedne
wrulesaboutmixingwithotherpeople.Thismeansmostpeoplewillonlyb
eabletospendChristmaswiththepeopletheylivewith.Theycannottrave
ltoseeanyotherfamilymembersorfriends.Anoppositionleadersaid:"T
henewsoverthelast24hourshasbeendeeplydisturbing.Thenumberofc
oronaviruscaseshasnearlydoubledinthelastweek."TheUKPrimeMinist
erBorisJohnsonassuredpeoplethattherewouldbeenoughfood.

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

The mutant virus means the world needs to go into lockdown for two weeks. 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. THE MUTANT VIRUS: Make a poster about the mutant virus. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. LOCKDOWN: Write a magazine article about putting the world in lockdown for two weeks to slow down the spread of the virus. 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 the mutant virus. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to stop it spreading. 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

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

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