Breaking News English Lesson: Prime Minister

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Finnish woman, 34, to be world's youngest prime minister (11th December, 2019)

The Reading / Listening - Prime Minister - Level 3

A 34-year-old woman is to become the youngest prime minister in the world. The new leader is Sanna Marin. She only celebrated her 34th birthday last week. She became the head of the Finnish Social Democrats Party last week. Members of her party voted for her in an election on Sunday. She received 32 of the 61 votes to become chairperson of her party. Ms Marin was the minister of transport and communications in Finland. She will take over as Finland's prime minister after her former boss announced that he would be stepping down. The ex-prime minister, 57-year-old Antti Rinne, announced last week that he was quitting. Marin will be the youngest prime minister in Finland's history.

Sanna Marin said she is very excited at the prospect of leading her country. She said: "There's a lot of work to be done. First, we'll have to call a meeting between the ruling parties and review the government program. We have a joint government program which glues the coalition together." She added that one of her first jobs is to increase the popularity of her party with the Finnish people, saying: "We have a lot of work ahead to rebuild trust." Marin will lead a coalition government. All of the other four leaders in the coalition are also women. Marin is a new kind of leader. She shares photos of her private, social and political life on her Instagram page.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Prime Minister - Level 0, Prime Minister - Level 1 or Prime Minister - Level 2

Sources

https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/17078-social-democrats-selects-marin-as-its-candidate-to-succeed-rinne.html
https://www.rt.com/news/475359-finland-youngest-prime-minister/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-finland-government-pm/finlands-social-democrats-name-marin-to-be-youngest-ever-prime-minister-idUSKBN1YC0JO

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. PRIME MINISTERS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about prime ministers. 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?
a 34-year-old / prime minister / leader / party / voted / chairperson / boss / quit /
excited / prospect / meeting / program / popularity / trust / coalition / private / social
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. AGE LIMIT: Students A strongly believe there should be an age limit which a prime minister cannot be younger than; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. YOUNG: Is it good for these people to be young? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Good	Bad
A national leader
A police officer
A teacher
A company CEO
A grandparent
A chess player

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. CELEBRATE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "celebrate". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. NATIONAL LEADER: Rank these with your partner. Put the best important thing for a national leader to have at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

charisma
experience
ideas
education
good looks
intelligence
patience
a strong will

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	celebrated	a.	Chose one person over another (others) to be leader.
2.	head	b.	Did something for a special or happy day.
3.	voted	c.	An event where people choose who they want to be leader of their country, city. school, group, etc.
4.	election	d.	Having been in a role or position before.
5.	former	e.	Leader.
6.	announced	f.	Leaving a job or company.
7.	quitting	g.	Made a public statement about a fact, happening, or plan.

Paragraph 2

8.	prospect	h.	Being in power and control now.
9.	ruling	i.	Sticks together.
10.	review	j.	The possibility of doing something in the future.
11.	joint	k.	A careful look at something with the possibility or plan of changing it if necessary.
12.	glues	l.	Being liked, admired, or supported by many people.
13.	popularity	m.	Shared, held, or made by two or more people, parties, or organizations together.
14.	coalition	n.	A group of different political parties that join to make a government.

Before reading / listening

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

The new Finnish leader will celebrate her 35th birthday next week. T / F
The leader got over 75% of the vote in an election to be chairperson. T / F
Ms Marin was minister for education. T / F
Ms Marin is the youngest leader in Finland's history. T / F
Ms Marin said she is worried about becoming leader. T / F
The first thing Ms Marin will do is to call a meeting. T / F
Ms Marin said she needs to restore her party's trust with the people. T / F
Ms Marin is a very private person and does not use social media. T / F

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

leader
voted for
received
former
quitting
prospect
review
ahead
coalition
private

ex-
possibilities
personal
elected
in the future
resigning
union
head
study
got

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

celebrated her
She received 32 of the 61
her former
stepping
announced last week that he
she is very excited
There's a lot of work
call a meeting between
glues the coalition
a lot of work ahead to rebuild

boss
the ruling parties
at the prospect
34th birthday
trust
down
votes
together
was quitting
to be done

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

quitting
election
youngest
history
former
stepping
head
minister

A 34-year-old woman is to become the (1) ____________ prime minister in the world. The new leader is Sanna Marin. She only celebrated her 34th birthday last week. She became the (2) ____________ of the Finnish Social Democrats Party last week. Members of her party voted for her in an (3) ____________ on Sunday. She received 32 of the 61 votes to become chairperson of her party. Ms Marin was the (4) ____________ of transport and communications in Finland. She will take over as Finland's prime minister after her (5) ____________ boss announced that he would be (6) ____________ down. The ex-prime minister, 57-year-old Antti Rinne, announced last week that he was (7) ____________. Marin will be the youngest prime minister in Finland's (8) ____________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

trust
ruling
other
prospect
political
popularity
coalition
glues

Sanna Marin said she is very excited at the (9) ____________ of leading her country. She said: "There's a lot of work to be done. First, we'll have to call a meeting between the (10) ____________ parties and review the government program. We have a joint government program which (11) ____________ the coalition together." She added that one of her first jobs is to increase the (12) ____________ of her party with the Finnish people, saying: "We have a lot of work ahead to rebuild (13) ____________." Marin will lead a coalition government. All of the (14) ____________ four leaders in the (15) ____________ are also women. Marin is new kind of leader. She shares photos of her private, social and (16) ____________ life on her Instagram page.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) She only celebrated her 34th birthday ______
     a. lastly week
     b. last week
     c. lasting week
     d. lasts week
2) Members of her party voted for her ______
     a. inner electoral
     b. in an election
     c. in and election
     d. in an electoral
3) after her former boss announced that he would ______
     a. be step ping down
     b. be step in down
     c. be steppe in down
     d. be stepping down
4) ex-prime minister, 57-year-old Antti Rinne, announced last week that ______
     a. he was quitting
     b. he was quilting
     c. he was quieting
     d. he was quickening
5) Marin will be the youngest prime minister ______
     a. in Finland's history
     b. in Finland's historian
     c. in Finland's histories
     d. in Finland's historical

6) Sanna Marin said she is very excited at the prospect of ______
     a. leaving her country
     b. leasing her country
     c. leaking her country
     d. leading her country
7) First, we'll have to call a meeting between ______
     a. the rule in parties
     b. the ruing parties
     c. the ruling parties
     d. the ruler in parties
8) We have a joint government program which ______ together
     a. clues the coalition
     b. blues the coalition
     c. flues the coalition
     d. glues the coalition
9) She added that one of her first jobs is to increase the ______ party
     a. popularity off her
     b. popularity of she
     c. popularity off their
     d. popularity of her
10) She shares photos of her private, social ______
     a. and political live
     b. and political life
     c. and politics life
     d. and politically live

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A 34-year-old woman (1) ___________________ the youngest prime minister in the world. The new leader is Sanna Marin. She (2) ___________________ 34th birthday last week. She became the head of the Finnish Social Democrats Party last week. Members of (3) ___________________ for her in an election on Sunday. She received 32 of the 61 votes to become chairperson of her party. Ms Marin was (4) ___________________ transport and communications in Finland. She will (5) ___________________ Finland's prime minister after her former boss announced that he would be stepping down. The ex-prime minister, 57-year-old Antti Rinne, announced last week that (6) ___________________. Marin will be the youngest prime minister in Finland's history.

Sanna Marin said she is very excited at (7) ___________________ leading her country. She said: "There's a lot of work (8) ___________________. First, we'll have to call a meeting between the ruling parties and review the government program. We (9) ___________________ government program which glues the coalition together." She added that one of her first jobs is to increase (10) ___________________ her party with the Finnish people, saying: "We have a lot of work ahead (11) ___________________." Marin will lead a coalition government. All of the other four leaders in the coalition are also women. Marin is new kind of leader. She (12) ___________________ her private, social and political life on her Instagram page.

Comprehension questions

What did Sanna Marin celebrate last week?
How many votes did Ms Marin get in an election?
When was the election?
What was Ms Marin minister of?
Who is stepping down?
How does Ms Marin feel about leading her country?
What will Ms Marin review?
What did Ms Marin say a joint government program glues together?
How many other leaders are there in the coalition in Finland?
Where does Ms Marin share photos of her life?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What did Sanna Marin celebrate last week?
a) passing her driving test
b) the start of her party
c) her wedding
d) her 34th birthday
2) How many votes did Ms Marin get in an election?
a) 61
b) 32
c) 13
d) 16
3) When was the election?
a) yesterday
b) in November
c) in 2018
d) last Sunday
4) What was Ms Marin minister of?
a) crime and police
b) education
c) transport and communications
d) information technology
5) Who is stepping down?
a) a company CEO
b) a trade minister
c) a whole government
d) the ex-prime minister

6) How does Ms Marin feel about leading her country?
a) positive
b) worried
c) excited
d) scared
7) What will Ms Marin review?
a) the government program
b) her resume
c) the future
d) politician salaries
8) What did Ms Marin say a joint government program glues together?
a) paper
b) people
c) the coalition
d) ideas
9) How many other leaders are there in the coalition in Finland?
a) 3
b) 4
c) 5
d) 6
10) Where does Ms Marin share photos of her life?
a) on Instagram
b) on Facebook
c) on Twitter
d) on her own website

Role play

Role A – Youth
You think youth is the most important things for a leader to have. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as necessary. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): charisma, intelligence or ideas.

Role B – Charisma
You think charisma is the most important things for a leader to have. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as necessary. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): youth, intelligence or ideas.

Role C – Intelligence
You think intelligence is the most important things for a leader to have. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as necessary. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): charisma, youth or ideas.

Role D – Ideas
You think having ideas is the most important things for a leader to have. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as necessary. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): charisma, intelligence or youth.

After reading / listening

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

'prime'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'minister'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

new

birthday

last

61

take

history

excited

call

glues

ahead

four

page

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 - Prime Minister

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 'prime'?
What do you think of a 34-year-old national leader?
What do you think of the leader of your country?
What is the best age for a country's leader?
What is the difference between a prime minister and a president?
Do you like voting in elections?
What kind of person should a prime minister be?
What did / will you do on your 34th birthday?
What advice do you have for Sanna Marin?

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 'minister'?
What do you think about what you read?
What are you excited at the prospect of?
Who is the world's best leader?
Who is the world's worst leader?
What would you do if you were leader of your country?
What world leader would you most like to meet?
Should a world leader share photos of their private life on Instagram?
What questions would you like to ask Sanna Marin?

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)

A 34-year-old woman is to become the youngest prime minister (1) ____ the world. The new leader is Sanna Marin. She (2) ____ celebrated her 34th birthday last week. She became the (3) ____ of the Finnish Social Democrats Party last week. Members of her party voted for her in an election on Sunday. She (4) ____ 32 of the 61 votes to become chairperson of her party. Ms Marin was the minister of transport and communications in Finland. She will take (5) ____ as Finland's prime minister after her former boss announced that he would be stepping down. The ex-prime minister, 57-year-old Antti Rinne, announced last week that he was (6) ____. Marin will be the youngest prime minister in Finland's history.

Sanna Marin said she is very (7) ____ at the prospect of leading her country. She said: "There's a lot of work to be done. First, we'll have to (8) ____ a meeting between the ruling parties and review the government program. We have a joint government program which (9) ____ the coalition together." She added that one of her first jobs is to increase the popularity of her party with the Finnish people, saying: "We have a lot of work ahead to rebuild (10) ____." Marin will lead a coalition government. All of the (11) ____ four leaders in the coalition are also women. Marin is a new kind of leader. She shares photos of her private, social and (12) ____ life on her Instagram page.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) in (b) at (c) on (d) to
(a) party (b) true (c) only (d) was
(a) foot (b) face (c) head (d) back
(a) was (b) voted (c) found (d) received
(a) under (b) on (c) over (d) in
(a) quit (b) quitting (c) quits (d) quitter
(a) excitement (b) excited (c) excite (d) excites
(a) call (b) shout (c) talk (d) speak
(a) blues (b) glues (c) flues (d) clues
(a) facts (b) truth (c) trust (d) party
(a) others (b) another (c) other (d) otter
(a) politic (b) political (c) politically (d) politely

Spelling

Paragraph 1

The new rdelae
celrtdabee her 34th birthday
voted for her in an ineotecl
minister of transport and mnmcuaostoiicn
her mrrefo boss
ocduannne last week

Paragraph 2

she is very excited at the porpesct
a meeting between the rginul parties
increase the uopprtyial of her party
a lot of work ahead to rebuild tsurt
Marin will lead a naoticoli government
social and opiitlcal life

Put the text back together

(...) four leaders in the coalition are also women. Marin is new kind of leader. She shares
(...) election on Sunday. She received 32 of the 61 votes to become chairperson of her party. Ms Marin was the minister of transport
(...) boss announced that he would be stepping down. The ex-prime minister, 57-year-old Antti Rinne, announced
(...) last week that he was quitting. Marin will be the youngest prime minister in Finland's history.
( 1 ) A 34-year-old woman is to become the youngest prime minister in the world. The new
(...) leader is Sanna Marin. She only celebrated her 34th birthday last week. She became the head
(...) government program. We have a joint government program which glues the coalition
(...) of the Finnish Social Democrats Party last week. Members of her party voted for her in an
(...) people, saying: "We have a lot of work ahead to rebuild trust." Marin will lead a coalition government. All of the other
(...) together." She added that one of her first jobs is to increase the popularity of her party with the Finnish
(...) Sanna Marin said she is very excited at the prospect of leading her country. She said: "There's a lot
(...) and communications in Finland. She will take over as Finland's prime minister after her former
(...) photos of her private, social and political life on her Instagram page.
(...) of work to be done. First, we'll have to call a meeting between the ruling parties and review the

Put the words in the right order

prime the Become the youngest in minister world .
only week . her 34th She last celebrated birthday
election . in her party Her voted an for
received 32 votes . of the 61 She
announced boss down . would step Her we that
at Excited prospect of the leading her country .
to done . of lot There's work a be
the parties . meeting ruling Call between a
of the popularity Increase party the people . her with
the of coalition . in the All leaders other

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

A 34-year-old woman is to becoming / become the youngest prime minister in the world. The new leader is Sanna Marin. She only celebrated / celebrates her 34th birthday last week. She became the head / heard of the Finnish Social Democrats Party last week. Members of her party vetoed / voted for her in an election on / at Sunday. She received 32 of the 61 votes to become chairperson of her party. Ms Marin be / was the minister of transport and communications in Finland. She will take over / under as Finland's prime minister after her former boss / bossy announced that he would be stepping down. The ox-prime / ex-prime minister, 57-year-old Antti Rinne, announced last week that he was quitting. Marin will be the youngest prime minister in / on Finland's history.

Sanna Marin said she is verily / very excited at the prospect / prospectus of leading her country. She said: "There's a lot / many of work to be done. First, we'll have to call / shout a meeting between the ruling parties and review the government program. We have a join / joint government program which glues the coalition together." She added that one of her first jobs is to increase the popular / popularity of her party with the Finnish people, saying: "We have a lot of work ahead to rebuild lies / trust." Marin will lead a coalition government. All of the other / another four leaders in the coalition are also women. Marin is new kind / kindly of leader. She shares photos of her private, socially / social and political life on her Instagram page.

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)

A 3 4 - y__ r -_l d w_m_n _s t_ b_c_m_ t h_ y__ n g_s t p r_m_ m_n_s t_r _n t h_ w_r l d . T h_ n_w l__ d_r _s S_n n_ M_r_n . S h_ _n l y c_l_b r_t_d h_r 3 4 t h b_r t h d_y l_s t w__ k . S h_ b_c_m_ t h_ h__ d _f t h_ F_n n_s h S_c__ l D_m_c r_t s P_r t y l_s t w__ k . M_m b_r s _f h_r p_r t y v_t_d f_r h_r _n _n _l_c t__ n _n S_n d_y . S h_ r_c__ v_d 3 2 _f t h_ 6 1 v_t_s t_ b_c_m_ c h__ r p_r s_n _f h_r p_r t y . M s M_r_n w_s t h_ m_n_s t_r _f t r_n s p_r t _n d c_m m_n_c_t__ n s _n F_n l_n d . S h_ w_l l t_k_ _v_r _s F_n l_n d ' s p r_m_ m_n_s t_r _f t_r h_r f_r m_r b_s s _n n__ n c_d t h_t w_ w__ l d b_ s t_p p_n g d_w n . T h_ _x - p r_m_ m_n_s t_r , 5 7 - y__ r -_l d A n t t_ R_n n_, _n n__ n c_d l_s t w__ k t h_t h_ w_s q__ t t_n g . M_r_n w_l l b_ t h_ y__ n g_s t p r_m_ m_n_s t_r _n F_n l_n d ' s h_s t_r y .

S_n n_ M_r_n s__ d s h_ _s v_r y _x c_t_d _t t h_ p r_s p_c t _f l__ d_n g h_r c__ n t r y . S h_ s__ d : " T h_r_' s _ l_t _f w_r k t_ b_ d_n_. F_r s t , w_' l l h_v_ t_ c_l l _ m__ t_n g b_t w__ n t h_ r_l_n g p_r t__ s _n d r_v__ w t h_ g_v_r n m_n t p r_g r_m . W_ h_v_ _ j__ n t g_v_r n m_n t p r_g r_m w h_c h g l__ s t h_ c__ l_t__ n t_g_t h_r . " S h_ _d d_d t h_t _n_ _f h_r f_r s t j_b s _s t_ _n c r__ s_ t h_ p_p_l_r_t y _f h_r p_r t y w_t h t h_ F_n n_s h p__ p l_, s_y_n g : " W_ h_v_ _ l_t _f w_r k _h__ d t_ r_b__ l d t r_s t . " M_r_n w_l l l__ d _ c__ l_t__ n g_v_r n m_n t . A l l _f t h_ _t h_r f__ r l__ d_r s _n t h_ c__ l_t__ n _r_ _l s_ w_m_n . M_r_n _s n_w k_n d _f l__ d_r . S h_ s h_r_s p h_t_s _f h_r p r_v_t_, s_c__ l _n d p_l_t_c_l l_f_ _n h_r I n s t_g r_m p_g_.

Punctuate the text and add capitals

a 34yearold woman is to become the youngest prime minister in the world the new leader is sanna marin she only celebrated her 34th birthday last week she became the head of the finnish social democrats party last week members of her party voted for her in an election on sunday she received 32 of the 61 votes to become chairperson of her party ms marin was the minister of transport and communications in finland she will take over as finlands prime minister after her former boss announced that he would be stepping down the exprime minister 57yearold antti rinne announced last week that he was quitting marin will be the youngest prime minister in finlands history

sanna marin said she is very excited at the prospect of leading her country she said theres a lot of work to be done first well have to call a meeting between the ruling parties and review the government program we have a joint government program which glues the coalition together she added that one of her first jobs is to increase the popularity of her party with the finnish people saying we have a lot of work ahead to rebuild trust marin will lead a coalition government all of the other four leaders in the coalition are also women marin is new kind of leader she shares photos of her private social and political life on her instagram page

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

A34-year-oldwomanistobecometheyoungestprimeministerinthewo
rld.ThenewleaderisSannaMarin.Sheonlycelebratedher34thbirthday
lastweek.ShebecametheheadoftheFinnishSocialDemocratsPartylas
tweek.MembersofherpartyvotedforherinanelectiononSunday.Shere
ceived32ofthe61votestobecomechairpersonofherparty.MsMarinwa
stheministeroftransportandcommunicationsinFinland.Shewilltakeo
verasFinland'sprimeministerafterherformerbossannouncedthathew
ouldbesteppingdown.Theex-primeminister,57-year-oldAnttiRinne,
announcedlastweekthathewasquitting.Marinwillbetheyoungestprim
eministerinFinland'shistory.SannaMarinsaidsheisveryexcitedatthep
rospectofleadinghercountry.Shesaid:"There'salotofworktobedone.
First,we'llhavetocallameetingbetweentherulingpartiesandreviewth
egovernmentprogram.Wehaveajointgovernmentprogramwhichglu
esthecoalitiontogether."Sheaddedthatoneofherfirstjobsistoincreas
ethepopularityofherpartywiththeFinnishpeople,saying:"Wehavealo
tofworkaheadtorebuildtrust."Marinwillleadacoalitiongovernment.Al
loftheotherfourleadersinthecoalitionarealsowomen.Marinisanewkin
dofleader.Shesharesphotosofherprivate,socialandpoliticallifeonher
Instagrampage.

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

A good national leader should be over 60 years old. 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. PRIME MINISTERS: Make a poster about prime ministers. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. AGE LIMIT: Write a magazine article about an age limit being put on prime ministers. 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 prime ministers. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on what makes a good prime minister. 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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Breaking News English Lesson: Prime Minister

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