The Reading / Listening - Flat Earth - Level 3

An American scientist is going to try and prove his belief that the Earth is flat. The man's name is Mike Hughes and he is 61 years old. He is a flat-Earther – someone who believes that the Earth is flat and not round. He has been interested in science for many years and taught himself how to make a rocket. He will get into his rocket on Saturday and fire it hundreds of meters in the air. The rocket cost Mr Hughes $20,000 to make. Hughes said it is powered by steam and can fly at 800 kmh. He told reporters why he made his rocket. He said: "I like to do extraordinary things that no one else can do. No one in the history of mankind has designed, built and launched himself in his own rocket."

Mr Hughes says when he flies above Earth, he will take photos to prove that the Earth is flat and disc-shaped. He believes that the Earth is just a mass of land surrounded by large walls of ice at the edges. He said: "I don't believe in science." He added that his project will "shut the door on this ball-Earth" idea. He is a little worried about the flight. He said: "It's as scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world alive." Hughes said he wants to run for Governor of California after his rocket tests. He hopes his flat-Earth discovery will help him do this. People can see Mr Hughes' flight this weekend live on his website. He said he has put out enough food for his four cats just in case something goes wrong.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Flat Earth - Level 0 Flat Earth - Level 1   or  Flat Earth - Level 2

Sources
  • http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2017/11/stuntman-taking-rocket-trip-to-prove-earth-is-flat.html.
  • https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4955648/flat-earth-self-taught-scientist-mad-mike-launch-california-home-made-rocket/
  • http://metro.co.uk/2017/11/22/flat-earther-will-launch-himself-into-the-sky-on-steam-powered-rocket-this-week-7098673/


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

Warm-ups

1. EARTH: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Earth. 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?

       scientist / Earth / flat / rocket / $20,000 / steam / designed / history / mankind /
       photos / land / walls / ice / project / flight / scary / hell / alive / tests / website

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

3. ROUND: Students A strongly believe the Earth is round; Students B strongly believe it isn't.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

4. EXTRAORDINARY THINGS: What extraordinary things would you like to do? Complete this table and share what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners often.

 

Extraordinary Things

Why?

Travel

 

 

Hobby

 

 

Charity

 

 

Job

 

 

Friends

 

 

Love

 

 

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

6. SCIENCE: Rank these with your partner. Put the most important sciences at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Sports science
  • Chemistry
  • Neurology
  • Environmental science
  • Physics
  • Biology
  • Computer science
  • Health science

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. prove a. Unusually great.
      2. belief b. Something you think is true or real; an opinion.
      3. flat c. Gave energy to something for it to work.
      4. powered d. Show that something is 100% true.
      5. steam e. Made a rocket or ship move into the air or water.
      6. extraordinary f. Being very smooth and even, without being round or curved.
      7. launched g. The white gas that comes from water when it gets hot or when it boils.

    Paragraph 2

      8. disc h. An action of flying through the air or in space.
      9. mass i. When something or someone has things all around them/it.
      10. surrounded j. The action or process of finding something new.
      11. flight k. A flat, thin, round object.
      12. scary l. A large amount of something.
      13. discovery m. Something that is shown or put in TV, the radio, the Internet, etc. at the same time that it happens, not from a recording.
      14. live n. Frightening; causing fear.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The man taking the rocket trip is from Armenia.     T / F
  2. A flat-Earther is someone who doesn't think the Earth is round.     T / F
  3. The man's rocket cost $2 million to build.     T / F
  4. The rocket can travel at a speed of 800 kph.     T / F
  5. The man believes the Earth is surrounded by walls of ice.     T / F
  6. The man is not at all worried about his flight in the rocket.     T / F
  7. The man said we will all get off this world alive.     T / F
  8. The man gave his cats extra food just in case something went wrong.     T / F

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

  1. prove
  2. belief
  3. fire
  4. extraordinary
  5. designed
  6. surrounded
  7. edges
  8. scary
  9. discovery
  10. enough
  1. finding
  2. remarkable
  3. created
  4. frightening
  5. opinion
  6. sufficient
  7. show
  8. encircled
  9. sides
  10. launch

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

  1. the Earth is flat and
  2. taught himself how
  3. it is powered
  4. I like to do extraordinary
  5. No one in the history
  6. take photos to prove that
  7. surrounded by large walls
  8. He is a little worried
  9. just in
  10. something goes
  1. wrong
  2. of ice
  3. things
  4. about the flight
  5. not round
  6. by steam
  7. case
  8. of mankind
  9. the Earth is flat
  10. to make a rocket

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
fire
belief
mankind
taught
someone
extraordinary
round
steam

An American scientist is going to try and prove his (1) ____________ that the Earth is flat. The man's name is Mike Hughes and he is 61 years old. He is a flat-Earther – (2) ____________ who believes that the Earth is flat and not (3) ____________. He has been interested in science for many years and (4) ____________ himself how to make a rocket. He will get into his rocket on Saturday and (5) ____________ it hundreds of meters in the air. The rocket cost Mr Hughes $20,000 to make. Hughes said it is powered by (6) ____________ and can fly at 800kmh. He told reporters why he made his rocket. He said: "I like to do (7) ____________ things that no one else can do. No one in the history of (8) ____________ has designed, built and launched himself in his own rocket."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
run
edges
mass
wrong
hell
live
disc
door

Mr Hughes says when he flies above Earth, he will take photos to prove that the Earth is flat and (9) ____________ -shaped. He believes that the Earth is just a (10) ____________ of land surrounded by large walls of ice at the (11) ____________. He said: "I don't believe in science." He added that his project will "shut the (12) ____________ on this ball-Earth" idea. He is a little worried about the flight. He said: "It's as scary as (13) ____________, but none of us are getting out of this world alive." Hughes said he wants to (14) ____________ for Governor of California after his rocket tests. He hopes his flat-Earth discovery will help him do this. People can see Mr Hughes' flight this weekend (15) ____________ on his website. He said he has put out enough food for his four cats just in case something goes (16) ____________.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  An American scientist is going to try and ______
     a.  proof his belief
     b.  prove his belief
     c.  approve his belief
     d.  approval his belief

2)  He is a flat-Earther – someone who believes that the Earth is flat ______
     a.  and not around
     b.  and not round
     c.  and not rounds
     d.  and not rounded

3)  He has been interested in science for many years and taught himself how to ______
     a.  make a rocket
     b.  maker rocket
     c.  mark a rocket
     d.  marker rocket

4)  He said: "I like to do extraordinary things that no ______ do."
     a.  once else can
     b.  only else can
     c.  ones else can
     d.  one else can

5)  No one in the history of mankind has designed, built and launched himself _____ rocket
     a.  in his sewn
     b.  in this own
     c.  in his own
     d.  in he sewn

6)  he will take photos to prove that the Earth is flat and ______
     a.  risk-shaped
     b.  disc-shaped
     c.  biscuit-shaped
     d.  misshaped

7)  He is a little worried about the flight. He said: "It's as ______"
     a.  scary has hell
     b.  scary was hell
     c.  scare ills hell
     d.  scary as hell

8)  Hughes said he wants to run for Governor of California ______ tests
     a.  after his rocket
     b.  after this rocket
     c.  after him rocket
     d.  after he's rocket

9)  He hopes his flat-Earth discovery will ______ this
     a.  help his does
     b.  help him doing
     c.  help him do
     d.  help his do

10)  He said he has put out enough food for his four cats just in case something ______
     a.  goes wrong
     b.  does wrong
     c.  woes wrong
     d.  foes wrong

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

An American scientist is going to (1) ___________________ his belief that the Earth is flat. The man's name is Mike Hughes and he is 61 years old. He is a flat-Earther – someone (2) ___________________ the Earth is flat and not round. He has been interested (3) ___________________ many years and taught himself (4) ___________________ a rocket. He will get into his rocket on Saturday and fire it hundreds of meters in the air. The rocket cost Mr Hughes $20,000 to make. Hughes said it (5) ___________________ steam and can fly at 800kmh. He told reporters why he made his rocket. He said: "I like to do extraordinary things that (6) ___________________ can do. No one in the history of mankind has designed, built and launched himself in his own rocket."

Mr Hughes says when (7) ___________________ Earth, he will take photos to prove that the Earth is flat and disc-shaped. He believes that the Earth is just a mass of land surrounded by large (8) ___________________ at the edges. He said: "I don't believe in science." He added that his project will "shut the door on this ball-Earth" idea. He is a little worried about the flight. He said: "It's as (9) ___________________, but none of us are getting out of this world alive." Hughes said he (10) ___________________ for Governor of California after his rocket tests. He hopes his flat-Earth discovery will help him do this. People can see Mr Hughes' (11) ___________________ live on his website. He said he has put out enough food for his four cats (12) ___________________ something goes wrong.

Comprehension questions

  1. What is the nationality of the man who will take the rocket trip?
  2. How old is the man?
  3. How much did the rocket cost to make?
  4. What does the rocket use for power?
  5. What kind of things did the man say he liked to do?
  6. What will the man take when he flies above the Earth?
  7. What does the man think there is at the edges of the Earth?
  8. How worried is the man about the flight?
  9. What does the man hope the test will help him run for?
  10. How many cats does the man have?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What is the nationality of the man who will take the rocket trip?
a) Australian
b) Armenian
c) American
d) Austrian

2) How old is the man?
a) 61
b) 62
c) 63
d) 64

3) How much did the rocket cost to make?
a) $20,000
b) $200,000
c) $2,000,000
d) $2,000

4) What does the rocket use for power?
a) rocket fuel
b) steam
c) coal
d) petrol

5) What kind of things did the man say he liked to do?
a) interesting things
b) everyday things
c) anything
d) extraordinary things

6) What will the man take when he flies above the Earth?
a) a teddy bear
b) photos
c) cookies
d) memories

7) What does the man think there is at the edges of the Earth?
a) walls of ice
b) animals
c) nothing
d) waterfalls

8) How worried is the man about the flight?
a) very
b) unbelievably
c) a little
d) not at all

9) What does the man hope the test will help him run for?
a) forever
b) 10 marathons
c) President
d) California Governor

10) How many cats does the man have?
a) 4
b) 3
c) 2
d) 1

Role play

Role  A – Biology

You think biology is the most important science. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their science isn't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): physics, environmental science or computer science.

Role  B – Physics

You think physics is the most important science. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their science isn't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): biology, environmental science or computer science.

Role  C – Environmental Science

You think environmental science is the most important science. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their science isn't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): physics, biology or computer science.

Role  D – Computer Science

You think computer science is the most important science. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their science isn't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why):  physics, environmental science or biology.

After reading / listening

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

'flat'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'Earth'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • 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:

    • take
    • walls
    • door
    • alive
    • run
    • case
    • belief
    • round
    • himself
    • steam
    • like
    • history

    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 - Man to take rocket trip to show Earth is flat

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'flat'?
    3. Why do people believe the Earth is flat?
    4. Why do people believe the Earth is round?
    5. How interested are you in science?
    6. Would you like to go into space in a rocket?
    7. What things have you built?
    8. What extraordinary things would you like to do?
    9. What do you think of the Earth?
    10. Where would you like to go in your own rocket?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'Earth'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What would change if Mr Hughes is right?
    5. How important is science?
    6. What are your favourite things about science?
    7. What things do you think are 'scary as hell'?
    8. What do you think of Mr Hughes' project?
    9. How kind is Mr Hughes for caring for his cats?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Mike Hughes?

    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)

    An American scientist is going to try and prove his (1) ____ that the Earth is flat. The man's name is Mike Hughes and he is 61 years old. He is a flat-Earther – someone who believes that the Earth is flat and not (2) ____. He has been interested in science for many years and taught (3) ____ how to make a rocket. He will get into his rocket on Saturday and fire it hundreds of meters (4) ____ the air. The rocket cost Mr Hughes $20,000 to make. Hughes said it is (5) ____ by steam and can fly at 800kmh. He told reporters why he made his rocket. He said: "I like to do extraordinary things that no one (6) ____ can do. No one in the history of mankind has designed, built and launched himself in his own rocket."

    Mr Hughes says when he flies above Earth, he will take photos to prove that the Earth is flat and disc-shaped. He believes that the Earth is just a (7) ____ of land surrounded by large walls of ice (8) ____ the edges. He said: "I don't believe in science." He added that his project will "shut the door (9) ____ this ball-Earth" idea. He is a little worried about the flight. He said: "It's as scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world (10) ____." Hughes said he wants to run for Governor of California after his rocket tests. He hopes his flat-Earth discovery will help him do (11) ____. People can see Mr Hughes' flight this weekend live on his website. He said he has put out enough food for his four cats just in case something (12) ____ wrong.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     believe     (b)     believes     (c)     belief     (d)     believer    
    2. (a)     round     (b)     roundly     (c)     around     (d)     rounded    
    3. (a)     himself     (b)     him     (c)     his     (d)     he    
    4. (a)     in     (b)     up     (c)     at     (d)     of    
    5. (a)     powerful     (b)     powers     (c)     power     (d)     powered    
    6. (a)     another     (b)     other     (c)     self     (d)     else    
    7. (a)     mass     (b)     mess     (c)     miss     (d)     moss    
    8. (a)     up     (b)     as     (c)     of     (d)     at    
    9. (a)     on     (b)     of     (c)     op     (d)     oh    
    10. (a)     life     (b)     alive     (c)     living     (d)     lively    
    11. (a)     once     (b)     this     (c)     off     (d)     away    
    12. (a)     goes     (b)     does     (c)     foes     (d)     woes

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. try and vreop his belief
    2. interested in ncsicee for many years
    3. it is powered by maset
    4. I like to do xioardtryaren things
    5. in the history of mndkani
    6. aeunchdl himself in his own rocket

    Paragraph 2

    1. land rnosdudure by large walls of ice
    2. at the deegs
    3. his rtjoepc will shut the door on this ball-Earth idea
    4. It's as aycsr as hell
    5. his flat-Earth ovryedsic
    6. something goes gnorw

    Put the text back together

    (    )     round. He has been interested in science for many years and taught himself how to make a rocket. He will get into his

    (    )     rocket on Saturday and fire it hundreds of meters in the air. The rocket cost Mr Hughes $20,000 to

    (  1  )     An American scientist is going to try and prove his belief that the Earth is flat. The man's name

    (    )     discovery will help him do this. People can see Mr Hughes' flight this weekend live

    (    )     of mankind has designed, built and launched himself in his own rocket."

    (    )     shaped. He believes that the Earth is just a mass of land surrounded by large walls of ice at the

    (    )     he made his rocket. He said: "I like to do extraordinary things that no one else can do. No one in the history

    (    )     alive." Hughes said he wants to run for Governor of California after his rocket tests. He hopes his flat-Earth

    (    )     edges. He said: "I don't believe in science." He added that his project will "shut the door on this ball-Earth"

    (    )     idea. He is a little worried about the flight. He said: "It's as scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world

    (    )     Mr Hughes says when he flies above Earth, he will take photos to prove that the Earth is flat and disc-

    (    )     is Mike Hughes and he is 61 years old. He is a flat-Earther – someone who believes that the Earth is flat and not

    (    )     on his website. He said he has put out enough food for his four cats just in case something goes wrong.

    (    )     make. Hughes said it is powered by steam and can fly at 800 kmh. He told reporters why

    Put the words in the right order

    1. the   that   belief   his   prove   and   Try   flat   is   Earth   .
    2. Earth   the   that   believes   who   Someone   flat   is   .
    3. cost   Mr   Hughes   $20,000   to   make   The   rocket   .
    4. that   things   extraordinary   Do   can   else   one   no   .
    5. one   the   of   No   in   history   mankind   .
    6. is   prove   flat   that   Take   the   photos   Earth   to   .
    7. edges   by   of   the   surrounded   walls   at   Land   large   ice   .
    8. about   worried   little   a   is   He   flight   the   .
    9. of   alive   us   out   world   of   getting   this   None   are   .
    10. something   goes   in   wrong   case   Just   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    An American scientist is going to try and proof / prove his belief that the Earth is flat. The man's name is Mike Hughes and he is 61 years old. He is a flat-Earther – someone who beliefs / believes that the Earth is flat and not round. He has been interested / interesting in science for many years and taught / teach himself how to make a rocket. He will get into his rocket on Saturday and fire him / it hundreds of meters in the air. The rocket cost Mr Hughes $20,000 to make. Hughes said it is powerful / powered by steam and can fly at / up 800kmh. He told reporters why he made his rocket. He said: "I like to do extraordinary things that no one body / else can do. No one in the history for / of mankind has designed, built and launched himself in / on his own rocket."

    Mr Hughes says when he flies above Earth, he will take photos to proof / prove that the Earth is flat and disc-shaped. He believes / beliefs that the Earth is just a mass of land surround / surrounded by large walls of ice at the edges. He said: "I don't believe on / in science." He added that his project will "shut the door on / in this ball-Earth" idea. He is a little worried about the flight. He said: "It's as scared / scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world alive." Hughes said he wants to run / walk for Governor of California after his rocket tests. He hopes his flat-Earth discovery will help his / him do this. People can see Mr Hughes' flight this weekend live / life on his website. He said he has put out enough food for his four cats just in case something does / goes wrong.

    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)

    _n _m_r_c_n sc__nt_st _s g__ng t_ try _nd pr_v_ h_s b_l__f th_t th_ __rth _s fl_t. Th_ m_n's n_m_ _s M_k_ H_gh_s _nd h_ _s 61 y__rs _ld. H_ _s _ fl_t-__rth_r – s_m__n_ wh_ b_l__v_s th_t th_ __rth _s fl_t _nd n_t r__nd. H_ h_s b__n _nt_r_st_d _n sc__nc_ f_r m_ny y__rs _nd t__ght h_ms_lf h_w t_ m_k_ _ r_ck_t. H_ w_ll g_t _nt_ h_s r_ck_t _n S_t_rd_y _nd f_r_ _t h_ndr_ds _f m_t_rs _n th_ __r. Th_ r_ck_t c_st Mr H_gh_s $20,000 t_ m_k_. H_gh_s s__d _t _s p_w_r_d by st__m _nd c_n fly _t 800kmh. H_ t_ld r_p_rt_rs why h_ m_d_ h_s r_ck_t. H_ s__d: "_ l_k_ t_ d_ _xtr__rd_n_ry th_ngs th_t n_ _n_ _ls_ c_n d_. N_ _n_ _n th_ h_st_ry _f m_nk_nd h_s d_s_gn_d, b__lt _nd l__nch_d h_ms_lf _n h_s _wn r_ck_t."

    Mr H_gh_s s_ys wh_n h_ fl__s _b_v_ __rth, h_ w_ll t_k_ ph_t_s t_ pr_v_ th_t th_ __rth _s fl_t _nd d_sc-sh_p_d. H_ b_l__v_s th_t th_ __rth _s j_st _ m_ss _f l_nd s_rr__nd_d by l_rg_ w_lls _f _c_ _t th_ _dg_s. H_ s__d: "_ d_n't b_l__v_ _n sc__nc_." H_ _dd_d th_t h_s pr_j_ct w_ll "sh_t th_ d__r _n th_s b_ll-__rth" _d__. H_ _s _ l_ttl_ w_rr__d _b__t th_ fl_ght. H_ s__d: "_t's _s sc_ry _s h_ll, b_t n_n_ _f _s _r_ g_tt_ng __t _f th_s w_rld _l_v_." H_gh_s s__d h_ w_nts t_ r_n f_r G_v_rn_r _f C_l_f_rn__ _ft_r h_s r_ck_t t_sts. H_ h_p_s h_s fl_t-__rth d_sc_v_ry w_ll h_lp h_m d_ th_s. P__pl_ c_n s__ Mr H_gh_s' fl_ght th_s w__k_nd l_v_ _n h_s w_bs_t_. H_ s__d h_ h_s p_t __t _n__gh f__d f_r h_s f__r c_ts j_st _n c_s_ s_m_th_ng g__s wr_ng.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    an american scientist is going to try and prove his belief that the earth is flat the man's name is mike hughes and he is 61 years old he is a flat-earther – someone who believes that the earth is flat and not round he has been interested in science for many years and taught himself how to make a rocket he will get into his rocket on saturday and fire it hundreds of meters in the air the rocket cost mr hughes $20000 to make hughes said it is powered by steam and can fly at 800kmh he told reporters why he made his rocket he said "i like to do extraordinary things that no one else can do no one in the history of mankind has designed built and launched himself in his own rocket"

    mr hughes says when he flies above earth he will take photos to prove that the earth is flat and disc-shaped he believes that the earth is just a mass of land surrounded by large walls of ice at the edges he said "i don't believe in science" he added that his project will "shut the door on this ball-earth" idea he is a little worried about the flight he said "it's as scary as hell but none of us are getting out of this world alive" hughes said he wants to run for governor of california after his rocket tests he hopes his flat-earth discovery will help him do this people can see mr hughes' flight this weekend live on his website he said he has put out enough food for his four cats just in case something goes wrong

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    AnAmericanscientistisgoingtotryandprovehisbeliefthattheEarthisfla
    t.Theman'snameisMikeHughesandheis61yearsold.Heisaflat-Earthe
    r–someonewhobelievesthattheEarthisflatandnotround.Hehasbeeni
    nterestedinscienceformanyyearsandtaughthimselfhowtomakearoc
    ket.HewillgetintohisrocketonSaturdayandfireithundredsofmetersin
    theair.TherocketcostMrHughes$20,000tomake.Hughessaiditispow
    eredbysteamandcanflyat800kmh.Hetoldreporterswhyhemadehisro
    cket.Hesaid:"Iliketodoextraordinarythingsthatnooneelsecando.Noo
    neinthehistoryofmankindhasdesigned,builtandlaunchedhimselfinhi
    sownrocket."MrHughessayswhenhefliesaboveEarth,hewilltakephot
    ostoprovethattheEarthisflatanddisc-shaped.HebelievesthattheEart
    hisjustamassoflandsurroundedbylargewallsoficeattheedges.Hesaid
    :"Idon'tbelieveinscience."Headdedthathisprojectwill"shutthedooro
    nthisball-Earth"idea.Heisalittleworriedabouttheflight.Hesaid:"It'sa
    sscaryashell,butnoneofusaregettingoutofthisworldalive."Hughessai
    dhewantstorunforGovernorofCaliforniaafterhisrockettests.Hehopes
    hisflat-Earthdiscoverywillhelphimdothis.PeoplecanseeMrHughes'fli
    ghtthisweekendliveonhiswebsite.Hesaidhehasputoutenoughfoodfo
    rhisfourcatsjustincasesomethinggoeswrong.

    Free writing

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

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    Academic writing

    Is the Earth flat or round? How do you know?

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

    4. FLAT EARTH: Write a magazine article about the Flat Earth theory. Include imaginary interviews with people who believe in this and with those who do not believe in it.

    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

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

    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on Earth. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on the Earth. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Also...

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

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

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

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

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