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U.S. city will fine people who waste food (26th September, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

The U.S. city of Seattle is introducing a system to fine people who waste food. The city, in the USA's northwest, will begin issuing warnings on January the 1st and then start fining people six months later on July the 1st. People will get a $1 fine if more than 10 per cent of their garbage is food. Businesses will get a $50 fine. City officials want to reduce the amount of food that people and businesses waste. Americans waste around 40 per cent of the food they buy. The city hopes its new fines will bring this figure down. Seattle aims to increase the amount of waste it recycles from the current level of 56 per cent to 60 per cent. It has also become the second U.S. city to make composting compulsory.

The Seattle Public Utilities department said the new garbage disposal system should make people more aware that recycling is important. City official Tim Croll told the 'Seattle Times' newspaper that the programme would not make any money. He said: "The point isn't to raise revenue. We care more about reminding people to separate their materials." He added that he thinks the fines system will be a success and said he didn't expect to collect a lot of money in fines. It will be up to garbage collectors to decide if a house or business gets a fine. The collectors will look inside garbage bins to see how much food waste they contain. They can then add $1 or $50 to the next garbage bill.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024604656_citycompost1xml.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29336968

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

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. FOOD WASTE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about food waste. 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?

system / warnings / fines / garbage / waste food / recycles / composting / compulsory / public utilities / garbage disposal / programme / materials / collectors / bill

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

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

	In your life	How to make things better?
Food
Money
Electricity
Time
Energy
Space

4. FINES: Students A strongly believe fines for wasting food are necessary; Students B strongly believe they are not. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

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See a sample

5. WASTERS: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest wasters of food at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• restaurants

• supermarkets

• farmers

• rich people

• hotels

• food producers

• market traders

• charities

6. RECYCLE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "recycle". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	Seattle will start issuing warnings to people who waste food.	T / F
b.	People who have too much food in their garbage will get a $100 fine.	T / F
c.	Businesses that waste too much food will be fined $50.	T / F
d.	Seattle has become the first US city to make composting compulsory.	T / F
e.	Seattle wants to make more people aware about recycling.	T / F
f.	The city hopes to make a lot of money from the fines.	T / F
g.	Garbage collectors will decide who gets fined and who doesn't.	T / F
h.	People who waste food will get a pay-on-the-spot fine.	T / F

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

1.	introducing	a.	divide
2.	issuing	b.	cut
3.	reduce	c.	rubbish
4.	figure	d.	required
5.	compulsory	e.	starting
6.	aware	f.	purpose
7.	point	g.	include
8.	separate	h.	sending out
9.	garbage	i.	number
10.	contain	j.	informed

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

1.	People will get	a.	this figure down
2.	Americans waste around 40 per cent	b.	a lot of money in fines
3.	its new fines will bring	c.	compulsory
4.	increase the amount	d.	disposal system
5.	make composting	e.	a $1 fine
6.	the new garbage	f.	to raise revenue
7.	make people more aware that	g.	to the next garbage bill
8.	The point isn't	h.	of waste it recycles
9.	he didn't expect to collect	i.	recycling is important
10.	add $1 or $50	j.	of the food they buy

GAP FILL

The U.S. city of Seattle is introducing a (1) ____________ to fine people who waste food. The city, in the USA's northwest, will begin issuing (2) ____________ on January the 1st and then start (3) ____________ people six months later on July the 1st. People will get a $1 fine if more than 10 per cent of their garbage is food. Businesses will get a $50 fine. City officials want to (4) ____________ the amount of food that people and businesses waste. Americans waste around 40 per cent of the food they (5) ____________. The city hopes its new fines will bring this (6) ____________ down. Seattle aims to increase the amount of waste it (7) ____________ from the current level of 56 per cent to 60 per cent. It has also become the second U.S. city to make composting (8) ____________.

reduce
compulsory
warnings
recycles
buy
system
figure
fining

The Seattle Public Utilities department said the new garbage (9) ____________ system should make people more (10) ____________ that recycling is important. City official Tim Croll told the 'Seattle Times' newspaper that the programme would not (11) ____________ any money. He said: "The point isn't to raise (12) ____________. We care more about reminding people to separate their materials." He added that he thinks the fines system will be a (13) ____________ and said he didn't expect to (14) ____________ a lot of money in fines. It will be up to garbage collectors to decide if a house or business gets a fine. The (15) ____________ will look inside garbage bins to see how much food waste they contain. They can then add $1 or $50 to the next garbage (16) ____________.

aware
revenue
collect
bill
make
collectors
disposal
success

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	The U.S. city of Seattle is ______
	a. introducing a systems b. introducing a systemic c. introducing a cistern d. introducing a system
2)	City officials want to reduce the ______
	a. amounts of food b. a mountain of food c. amount of food d. a mount of food
3)	The city hopes its new fines will bring ______
	a. this figure down b. this figures down c. this figured down d. this fig or down
4)	Seattle aims to increase the amount of waste it recycles from the ______
	a. current levels of 56% b. currents level of 56% c. currents levels of 56% d. current level of 56%
5)	It has also become the second U.S. city to make ______
	a. compost in compulsory b. composting compulsory c. comp post tin compulsory d. compose tin compulsory
6)	the new garbage disposal system should make ______
	a. people more a where b. people more a ware c. people more away d. people more aware
7)	We care more about reminding people to separate ______
	a. their materials b. their material c. their materialise d. their matter all
8)	It will be up to garbage collectors ______
	a. to decide b. to decider c. to decides d. to decided
9)	The collectors will look inside garbage bins to see how much food ______
	a. waste they contained b. waste they contain c. waste they contains d. waste they container
10)	They can then add $1 or $50 to the ______
	a. next garbage will b. next garbage dill c. next garbage bill d. next garbage pill

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The U.S. city of Seattle is introducing (1) ___________________ people who waste food. The city, in the USA's northwest, will (2) ___________________ on January the 1st and then start fining people six months later on July the 1st. People (3) ___________________ if more than 10 per cent of their garbage is food. Businesses will get a $50 fine. City officials want to reduce (4) ___________________ that people and businesses waste. Americans waste around 40 per cent of the food they buy. The city hopes its new fines will bring (5) ___________________. Seattle aims to increase the amount of waste it recycles from the current level of 56 per cent to 60 per cent. It has also become the second U.S. city to make (6) ___________________.

The Seattle Public Utilities department said the new garbage disposal system should make people (7) ___________________ recycling is important. City official Tim Croll told the 'Seattle Times' newspaper that the programme would not make any money. He said: "The point (8) ___________________. We care more about reminding people to (9) ___________________." He added that he thinks the fines system will be a success and said he didn't expect to (10) ___________________ money in fines. It will be up to garbage collectors to decide if a house or (11) ___________________. The collectors will look inside garbage bins to see how much food waste they contain. They can then add $1 or $50 to the (12) ___________________.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	When will Seattle start fining people?
2.	How much will businesses get fined for wasting food?
3.	How much of the food they buy do Americans waste?
4.	What is Seattle's new target for recycling its waste?
5.	How many other American cities have made composting compulsory?
6.	What will make people more aware that recycling is important?
7.	What did Tim Croll say is not the point of the fines system?
8.	What does Tim Croll want to remind people about?
9.	Who will decide which people or businesses will get fined?
10.	What will the fines be added to?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	When will Seattle start fining people?	6.	What will make people more aware that recycling is important?
	a) It hasn't decided b) June 25th c) 2016 d) July		a) pink garbage collection trucks b) an Internet campaign c) the garbage disposal system d) TV ads
2.	How much will businesses get fined for wasting food?	7.	What did Tim Croll say is not the point of the fines system?
	a) $500 b) $50 c) $5 d) $5,000		a) raising revenue b) clean streets c) garbage d) punishing people
3.	How much of the food they buy do Americans waste?	8.	What does Tim Croll want to remind people about?
	a) 20% b) 50% c) 30% d) 40%		a) healthy eating b) food mountains c) to separate their materials d) garbage collection days
4.	What is Seattle's new target for recycling its waste?	9.	Who will decide which people or businesses will get fined?
	a) 40% b) 50% c) 60% d) 70%		a) special food waste agents b) garbage collectors c) neighbours d) Seattle city officials
5.	How many other American cities have made composting compulsory?	10.	What will the fines be added to?
	a) 99 b) 27 c) none d) one		a) a garbage bill b) the garbage bill c) a list d) a website

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Fines

You think fines are the best way to reduce food waste. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things won't work. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): using smaller plates, Internet campaigns or increased food prices.

Role B – Smaller plates

You think using smaller plates is the best way to reduce food waste. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things won't work. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): fines, Internet campaigns or increased food prices.

Role C – Internet campaigns

You think Internet campaigns are the best way to reduce food waste. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things won't work. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): using smaller plates, fines or increased food prices.

Role D – Increased food prices

You think increased food prices are the best way to reduce food waste. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things won't work. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): using smaller plates, Internet campaigns or fines.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

food

waste

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:

begin
more
40
down
56
second

new
make
care
success
inside
add

FOOD WASTE SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about food waste in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

FOOD WASTE DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'garbage'?
3)	How good are you at recycling?
4)	Why is recycling important?
5)	What things do you waste a lot of?
6)	What do you think of fining people who waste food?
7)	Why do people waste so much food?
8)	Is a $1 fine too small to make people recycle?
9)	What recycling system does your town have?
10)	What do you think of making composting compulsory?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	How does your town increase awareness of recycling?
12)	Should Seattle try and make money from its fines?
14)	How could you reduce what you waste?
15)	Is raising awareness more important than raising revenue?
16)	What happens to all the world's waste?
17)	What does the expression "waste not, want not" mean?
18)	How will the garbage collectors judge the amount of waste?
19)	Do you agree with the saying that "one man's trash is another man's treasure"?
20)	What questions would you like to ask Seattle city officials?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

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

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

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

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

The U.S. city of Seattle is (1) ____ a system to fine people who waste food. The city, in the USA's northwest, will begin issuing warnings on January the 1st and then start (2) ____ people six months later on July the 1st. People will get a $1 fine if more than 10 per cent of their garbage is food. Businesses will get a $50 fine. City officials want to (3) ____ the amount of food that people and businesses waste. Americans waste around 40 per cent of the food they buy. The city hopes its new fines will bring this (4) ____ down. Seattle aims to increase the amount of waste it recycles from the (5) ____ level of 56 per cent to 60 per cent. It has also become the second U.S. city to make composting (6) ____.

The Seattle Public Utilities department said the new garbage disposal system should make people more (7) ____ that recycling is important. City official Tim Croll told the 'Seattle Times' newspaper that the programme would not (8) ____ any money. He said: "The point isn't to (9) ____ revenue. We care more about (10) ____ people to separate their materials." He added that he thinks the fines system will be a success and said he didn't (11) ____ to collect a lot of money in fines. It will be up to garbage collectors to decide if a house or business gets a fine. The collectors will look inside garbage bins to see how much food waste they contain. They can then add $1 or $50 to the next garbage (12) ____.

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

1.	(a)	introduces	(b)	introducing	(c)	introduced	(d)	introduction
2.	(a)	fines	(b)	fining	(c)	fined	(d)	fine
3.	(a)	cheapen	(b)	smaller	(c)	low	(d)	reduce
4.	(a)	numeral	(b)	figure	(c)	per cent	(d)	digit
5.	(a)	currant	(b)	current	(c)	concurrent	(d)	currency
6.	(a)	gardening	(b)	force	(c)	compulsory	(d)	have to
7.	(a)	beware	(b)	wary	(c)	aware	(d)	awareness
8.	(a)	do	(b)	be	(c)	make	(d)	let
9.	(a)	height	(b)	rise	(c)	up	(d)	raise
10.	(a)	reminding	(b)	remembering	(c)	remaining	(d)	remainder
11.	(a)	expect	(b)	accept	(c)	except	(d)	exert
12.	(a)	dill	(b)	will	(c)	bill	(d)	mill

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	a yssetm to fine people who waste food
2.	begin usgniis warnings on January the 1st
3.	10 per cent of their egbarag is food
4.	increase the nmtuao of waste it recycles
5.	from the nrtecur level of 56 per cent
6.	make composting suormclopy
Paragraph 2
7.	The Seattle Public Utilities tntedaeprm
8.	make people more rwaae
9.	the romgperam would not make any money
10.	he didn't expect to cocltle a lot of money
11.	peatsrae their materials
12.	garbage orctecsoll

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	revenue. We care more about reminding people to separate their materials." He added that he thinks the fines
( )	system will be a success and said he didn't expect to collect a lot of money in fines. It will be up to garbage
( )	The Seattle Public Utilities department said the new garbage disposal system should make people more
( )	aware that recycling is important. City official Tim Croll told the 'Seattle Times'
( )	bins to see how much food waste they contain. They can then add $1 or $50 to the next garbage bill.
( )	later on July the 1st. People will get a $1 fine if more than 10 per cent of their garbage
( )	bring this figure down. Seattle aims to increase the amount of waste it recycles from the current level of 56 per cent
( 1 )	The U.S. city of Seattle is introducing a system to fine people who waste food. The city, in the USA's
( )	to 60 per cent. It has also become the second U.S. city to make composting compulsory.
( )	collectors to decide if a house or business gets a fine. The collectors will look inside garbage
( )	newspaper that the programme would not make any money. He said: "The point isn't to raise
( )	is food. Businesses will get a $50 fine. City officials want to reduce the amount of food that people and businesses
( )	northwest, will begin issuing warnings on January the 1st and then start fining people six months
( )	waste. Americans waste around 40 per cent of the food they buy. The city hopes its new fines will

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	Introducing to who system people food a fine waste .
2.	their garbage is food More than 10 per cent of .
3.	new its hopes city The down figure this bring will fines .
4.	the amount of waste it recycles Seattle aims to increase .
5.	U.S. second The compulsory composting make to city .
6.	that Make recycling people is more important aware .
7.	fines in money of lot a collect to expect didn't He .
8.	It up collectors be garbage decide will to to .
9.	garbage inside look will collectors The bins .
10.	$50 can to then the add next garbage bill or $1 They .

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CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

The U.S. city of Seattle is introduction / introducing a system to fine people who waste food. The city, in the USA's northwest, will begin issued / issuing warnings on January the 1st and then started / start fining people six months later on July the 1st. People will get a $1 fine if / as more than 10 per cent of their / there garbage is food. Businesses will get a $50 fine. City officials want to reduce the amount / huge of food that people and businesses waste. Americans waste around 40 per cent of the food they eat / buy. The city hopes its new fines will bring / carry this figure down. Seattle aims to increase the amount of waste it recycles from the currency / current level of 56 per cent to 60 per cent. It has also become the second U.S. city to make composting / compost compulsory.

The Seattle Public Utilities department said the new garbage dispose / disposal system should make people more beware / aware that recycling is important. City official Tim Croll told the 'Seattle Times' newspaper that the programme would not make / do any money. He said: "The point / sharp isn't to raise revenue. We care more about remembering / reminding people to separate their materials / equipment." He added that he thinks the fines system will be a success and said he didn't expect / except to collect a lot of money in fines. It will be up to garbage collectors to deride / decide if a house or business gets a fine. The collectors will look inside garbage bins / bans to see how much food waste they contain. They can then add $1 or $50 to the next garbage will / bill.

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)

Th_ _.S. c_ty _f S__ttl_ _s _ntr_d_c_ng _ syst_m t_ f_n_ p__pl_ wh_ w_st_ f__d. Th_ c_ty, _n th_ _S_'s n_rthw_st, w_ll b_g_n _ss__ng w_rn_ngs _n J_n__ry th_ 1st _nd th_n st_rt f_n_ng p__pl_ s_x m_nths l_t_r _n J_ly th_ 1st. P__pl_ w_ll g_t _ $1 f_n_ _f m_r_ th_n 10 p_r c_nt _f th__r g_rb_g_ _s f__d. B_s_n_ss_s w_ll g_t _ $50 f_n_. C_ty _ff_c__ls w_nt t_ r_d_c_ th_ _m__nt _f f__d th_t p__pl_ _nd b_s_n_ss_s w_st_. _m_r_c_ns w_st_ _r__nd 40 p_r c_nt _f th_ f__d th_y b_y. Th_ c_ty h_p_s _ts n_w f_n_s w_ll br_ng th_s f_g_r_ d_wn. S__ttl_ __ms t_ _ncr__s_ th_ _m__nt _f w_st_ _t r_cycl_s fr_m th_ c_rr_nt l_v_l _f 56 p_r c_nt t_ 60 p_r c_nt. _t h_s _ls_ b_c_m_ th_ s_c_nd _.S. c_ty t_ m_k_ c_mp_st_ng c_mp_ls_ry.

Th_ S__ttl_ P_bl_c _t_l_t__s d_p_rtm_nt s__d th_ n_w g_rb_g_ d_sp_s_l syst_m sh__ld m_k_ p__pl_ m_r_ _w_r_ th_t r_cycl_ng _s _mp_rt_nt. C_ty _ff_c__l T_m Cr_ll t_ld th_ 'S__ttl_ T_m_s' n_wsp_p_r th_t th_ pr_gr_mm_ w__ld n_t m_k_ _ny m_n_y. H_ s__d: "Th_ p__nt _sn't t_ r__s_ r_v_n__. W_ c_r_ m_r_ _b__t r_m_nd_ng p__pl_ t_ s_p_r_t_ th__r m_t_r__ls." H_ _dd_d th_t h_ th_nks th_ f_n_s syst_m w_ll b_ _ s_cc_ss _nd s__d h_ d_dn't _xp_ct t_ c_ll_ct _ l_t _f m_n_y _n f_n_s. _t w_ll b_ _p t_ g_rb_g_ c_ll_ct_rs t_ d_c_d_ _f _ h__s_ _r b_s_n_ss g_ts _ f_n_. Th_ c_ll_ct_rs w_ll l__k _ns_d_ g_rb_g_ b_ns t_ s__ h_w m_ch f__d w_st_ th_y c_nt__n. Th_y c_n th_n _dd $1 _r $50 t_ th_ n_xt g_rb_g_ b_ll.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

the us city of seattle is introducing a system to fine people who waste food the city in the usa's northwest will begin issuing warnings on january the 1st and then start fining people six months later on july the 1st people will get a $1 fine if more than 10 per cent of their garbage is food businesses will get a $50 fine city officials want to reduce the amount of food that people and businesses waste americans waste around 40 per cent of the food they buy the city hopes its new fines will bring this figure down seattle aims to increase the amount of waste it recycles from the current level of 56 per cent to 60 per cent it has also become the second us city to make composting compulsory

the seattle public utilities department said the new garbage disposal system should make people more aware that recycling is important city official tim croll told the 'seattle times' newspaper that the programme would not make any money he said "the point isn't to raise revenue we care more about reminding people to separate their materials" he added that he thinks the fines system will be a success and said he didn't expect to collect a lot of money in fines it will be up to garbage collectors to decide if a house or business gets a fine the collectors will look inside garbage bins to see how much food waste they contain they can then add $1 or $50 to the next garbage bill

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

TheU.S.cityofSeattleisintroducingasystemtofinepeoplewhowastefo
od.Thecity,intheUSA'snorthwest,willbeginissuingwarningsonJanuar
ythe1standthenstartfiningpeoplesixmonthslateronJulythe1st.Peopl
ewillgeta$1fineifmorethan10percentoftheirgarbageisfood.Business
eswillgeta$50fine.Cityofficialswanttoreducetheamountoffoodthatp
eopleandbusinesseswaste.Americanswastearound40percentofthef
oodtheybuy.Thecityhopesitsnewfineswillbringthisfiguredown.Seattl
eaimstoincreasetheamountofwasteitrecyclesfromthecurrentlevelof
56percentto60percent.IthasalsobecomethesecondU.S.citytomakec
ompostingcompulsory.TheSeattlePublicUtilitiesdepartmentsaidthe
newgarbagedisposalsystemshouldmakepeoplemoreawarethatrecy
clingisimportant.CityofficialTimCrolltoldthe'SeattleTimes'newspape
rthattheprogrammewouldnotmakeanymoney.Hesaid:"Thepointisn'
ttoraiserevenue.Wecaremoreaboutremindingpeopletoseparatethei
rmaterials."Headdedthathethinksthefinessystemwillbeasuccessand
saidhedidn'texpecttocollectalotofmoneyinfines.Itwillbeuptogarbag
ecollectorstodecideifahouseorbusinessgetsafine.Thecollectorswilllo
okinsidegarbagebinstoseehowmuchfoodwastetheycontain.Theycan
thenadd$1or$50tothenextgarbagebill.

FREE WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Fines are a great idea to cut the amount of food waste. 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 food waste. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. FOOD WASTE: Make a poster about food waste and how to reduce it. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. FINE: Write a magazine article about fining people for wasting food. 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 recycling. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to recycle more. 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

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

F

c

T

d

F

e

T

f

F

g

T

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	introducing	a.	starting
2.	issuing	b.	sending out
3.	reduce	c.	cut
4.	figure	d.	number
5.	compulsory	e.	required
6.	aware	f.	informed
7.	point	g.	purpose
8.	separate	h.	divide
9.	garbage	i.	rubbish
10.	contain	j.	include

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	July 1st
2.	$50
3.	40%
4.	60%
5.	One
6.	The new garbage disposal system
7.	Raising revenue
8.	To separate their materials
9.	Garbage collectors
10.	The next garbage bill

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

d

2.

b

3.

d

4.

c

5.

d

6.

c

7.

a

8.

c

9.

b

10.

a

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

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

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U.S. city will fine people who waste food (26th September, 2014)

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