Breaking News English Lesson on Greta Thunberg

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Greta Thunberg is TIME's Person of the Year (15th December, 2019)

The Reading / Listening - Greta Thunberg - Level 3

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. The 16-year-old from Sweden beat New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Hong Kong democracy protestors to win the award. Ms Thunberg shot to fame in 2018 for raising people's awareness of the threat to the planet from climate change. She started a global movement when she decided to go on a climate strike outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. Schoolchildren around the world then followed her example. She has since addressed the United Nations in New York and has met the Pope. After hearing about the award, she tweeted: "Wow, this is unbelievable! I will share this great honour."

Greta Thunberg is the youngest person ever to receive the award. TIME magazine wrote about why it gave the prize to Ms Thunberg. It said she has, "succeeded in creating a global attitudinal shift" in getting millions of people to join a "worldwide movement calling for urgent change". It added: "Greta has offered a moral call to those who are willing to act, and put shame on those who are not." Not everyone is happy with Ms Thunberg receiving the award. Donald Trump Jr said TIME was using a teenager "as a marketing gimmick". In contrast, Hillary Clinton tweeted: "I am grateful for all she's done to raise awareness of the climate crisis, and her willingness to tell hard, motivating truths."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Greta Thunberg - Level 0, Greta Thunberg - Level 1 or Greta Thunberg - Level 2

Sources

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/16-greta-thunberg-youngest-time-173215953.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/greta-thunberg-time-s-2019-person-year-n1099396
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/12/11/donald-trump-jr-slams-time-for-choosing-greta-thunberg-as-person-of-the-year/23879064/

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. GRETA THUNBERG: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Greta Thunberg. 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?
climate / activist / time / democracy / protestor / threat / strike / example / wow /
award / global / millions / change / teenager / gimmick / awareness / crisis / truth
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. WINNER: Students A strongly believe it is great that Greta Thunberg is the winner; Students B strongly believe it isn't great. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. WINNERS FOR 2019: Who should win prizes in these categories for Person of the Year 2019? Why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Who?	Why?
Environment
Politics
Business
Sport
Social Media
Music

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

Greta Thunberg
Mark Zuckerberg
Donald Trump
Simone Biles
Megan Rapinoe
Elon Musk
Stormzy
Nancy Pelosi

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	activist	a.	Knowledge or understanding about something.
2.	democracy	b.	A person who goes into the street to tell the government, a company or other organization that they disagree with something.
3.	protestor	c.	A system of government where the people vote for their leaders.
4.	shot	d.	Spoke to a person or group of people, usually in a speech or in a formal way.
5.	awareness	e.	A person who campaigns to bring about political or social change.
6.	strike	f.	Moved suddenly and quickly.
7.	addressed	g.	Stop working (or going to school) to complain about something.

Paragraph 2

8.	award	h.	Seriously needing immediate action or attention.
9.	shift	i.	A silly trick to attract attention, publicity, or business.
10.	movement	j.	A loss of respect or esteem; dishonor.
11.	urgent	k.	A change in position or thinking.
12.	shame	l.	A time of great difficulty, trouble, or danger.
13.	gimmick	m.	A prize given for an achievement.
14.	crisis	n.	A group of people working together for their shared political, social, or artistic ideas.

Before reading / listening

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

Greta Thunberg beat New Zealand's Prime Minister to get the prize. T / F
Greta Thunberg became famous in 2017. T / F
Greta Thunberg became famous after going on strike outside her school. T / F
The Pope has met Greta Thunberg. T / F
Greta is the second youngest person to receive the TIME award. T / F
TIME said Ms Thunberg changed millions of people's minds. T / F
Donald Trump's son said giving Greta the prize was a gimmick. T / F
Greta Thunberg said she is grateful to Hillary Clinton. T / F

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

activist
beat
shot
movement
unbelievable
receive
shift
urgent
gimmick
motivating

get
campaign
inspiring
serious
defeated
publicity stunt
incredible
campaigner
change
rose

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

Thunberg shot to
raising people's awareness
she decided to go on a climate
She has since addressed
I will share this great
the youngest person ever
a worldwide movement calling
a marketing
I am grateful for all
her willingness to tell hard, motivating

strike
she's done
to receive the award
of the threat
gimmick
the United Nations
fame in 2018
truths
honour
for urgent change

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

beat
movement
addressed
activist
fame
share
award
strike

Climate (1) ____________ Greta Thunberg has been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. The 16-year-old from Sweden (2) ____________ New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Hong Kong democracy protestors to win the (3) ____________. Ms Thunberg shot to (4) ____________ in 2018 for raising people's awareness of the threat to the planet from climate change. She started a global (5) ____________ when she decided to go on a climate (6) ____________ outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. Schoolchildren around the world then followed her example. She has since (7) ____________ the United Nations in New York and has met the Pope. After hearing about the award, she tweeted: "Wow, this is unbelievable! I will (8) ____________ this great honour."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

millions
happy
crisis
creating
contrast
act
teenager
worldwide

Greta Thunberg is the youngest person ever to receive the award. TIME magazine wrote about why it gave the prize to Ms Thunberg. It said she has, "succeeded in (9) ____________ a global attitudinal shift" in getting (10) ____________ of people to join a "(11) ____________ movement calling for urgent change". It added: "Greta has offered a moral call to those who are willing to (12) ____________, and put shame on those who are not." Not everyone is (13) ____________ with Ms Thunberg receiving the award. Donald Trump Jr said TIME was using a (14) ____________ "as a marketing gimmick". In (15) ____________, Hillary Clinton tweeted: "I am grateful for all she's done to raise awareness of the climate (16) ____________, and her willingness to tell hard, motivating truths."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been named TIME magazine's Person of the ______
     a. Year from 2019
     b. Year for 2019
     c. Year far 2019
     d. Year per 2019
2) Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Hong Kong ______
     a. democracies protestors
     b. democracy pro testers
     c. democracy pre-testors
     d. democracy protestors
3) to win the award. Ms Thunberg shot to ______
     a. fame in 2018
     b. famed in 2018
     c. flame in 2018
     d. foam in 2018
4) the world then followed her example. She has since ______ United Nations
     a. address the
     b. addressing the
     c. addresses the
     d. addressed the
5) Wow, this is unbelievable! I will share ______
     a. this greet honour
     b. this grant honour
     c. this glade honour
     d. this great honour

6) Greta Thunberg is the youngest person ever to ______
     a. receive the reward
     b. receive the ward
     c. receive a ward
     d. receive the award
7) It said she has, "succeeded in creating a global ______"
     a. attitudinal shift
     b. attitude in all shift
     c. at the tune in all shift
     d. a title tune in shift
8) in getting millions of people to join a "worldwide movement calling ______"
     a. for urgent chance
     b. for urgent change
     c. for urgent charge
     d. for urgent chase
9) Donald Trump Jr said TIME was using a teenager "as a ______"
     a. marketing grim ick
     b. marketing clinic
     c. marketing gimmick
     d. marketing gimme
10) I am grateful for all she's done to raise awareness of the ______
     a. climate cry sis
     b. climate cries is
     c. climate crisis
     d. climate cries sis

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Climate activist Greta Thunberg (1) ___________________ TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. The 16-year-old from Sweden beat New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Hong Kong democracy (2) ___________________ the award. Ms Thunberg shot to fame in 2018 for raising people's awareness of the threat (3) ___________________ from climate change. She started a global movement when she decided to go on a climate (4) ___________________ Swedish parliament in August 2018. Schoolchildren around the world then (5) ___________________. She has since addressed the United Nations in New York and has met the Pope. After hearing about the award, she tweeted: "Wow, this is unbelievable! I will share (6) ___________________."

Greta Thunberg is (7) ___________________ ever to receive the award. TIME magazine wrote about why it gave the prize to Ms Thunberg. It said she has, "succeeded in (8) ___________________ attitudinal shift" in getting millions of people to join a "worldwide movement calling for urgent change". It added: "Greta has (9) ___________________ call to those who are willing to act, and put (10) ___________________ who are not." Not everyone is happy with Ms Thunberg receiving the award. Donald Trump Jr said TIME was using a teenager "as (11) ___________________". In contrast, Hillary Clinton tweeted: "I am grateful for all she's (12) ___________________ awareness of the climate crisis, and her willingness to tell hard, motivating truths."

Comprehension questions

Which Prime Minister did Greta Thunberg beat to win the TIME prize?
In what year did Greta become famous?
Outside what building did Greta go on strike?
Who did Ms Thunberg talk to in New York?
What did Ms Thunberg say she would do with her prize?
How many people younger than Greta have won the prize?
How many people did Greta get to join the climate change movement?
What did TIME say Greta put on people who would not act?
Who said Greta's prize was a "marketing gimmick"?
What did Hillary Clinton say Greta was willing to tell?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Which Prime Minister did Greta Thunberg beat to win the TIME prize?
a) the UK's prime minister
b) New Zealand's prime minister
c) Japan's prime minister
d) Canada's prime minister
2) In what year did Greta become famous?
a) 2015
b) 2016
c) 2017
d) 2018
3) Outside what building did Greta go on strike?
a) the U.N. HQ
b) her school
c) Sweden's parliament
d) the World Education Centre
4) Who did Ms Thunberg talk to in New York?
a) the United Nations
b) activists
c) Donald Trump
d) Greenpeace
5) What did Ms Thunberg say she would do with her prize?
a) reject it
b) share it
c) give it away
d) sell it

6) How many people younger than Greta have won the prize?
a) none
b) one
c) two
d) three
7) How many people did Greta get to join the climate change movement?
a) thousands
b) hundreds of thousands
c) millions
d) tens of thousands
8) What did TIME say Greta put on people who would not act?
a) shame
b) a spell
c) bad karma
d) a cap
9) Who said Greta's prize was a "marketing gimmick"?
a) Donald Trump's son-in-law
b) Donald Trump
c) Donald Trump's wife
d) Donald Trump's son

10) What did Hillary Clinton say Greta was willing to tell?
a) facts about climate change
b) a long, long story
c) hard, motivating truths
d) easy-to-understand stories

Role play

Role A – Greta Thunberg
You think Greta Thunberg is the person of the year. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their people. Also, tell the others which is the least deserving of these people (and why): Donald Trump, Simone Biles or Stormzy.

Role B – Donald Trump
You think Donald Trump is the person of the year. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their people. Also, tell the others which is the least deserving of these people (and why): Greta Thunberg, Simone Biles or Stormzy.

Role C – Simone Biles
You think Simone Biles is the person of the year. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their people. Also, tell the others which is the least deserving of these people (and why): Donald Trump, Greta Thunberg or Stormzy.

Role D – Stormzy
You think Stormzy is the person of the year. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their people. Also, tell the others which is the least deserving of these people (and why): Donald Trump, Simone Biles or Greta Thunberg.

After reading / listening

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

'climate'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'crisis'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

named

beat

shot

planet

example

great

youngest

shift

moral

happy

marketing

hard

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 - Greta Thunberg

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 'climate'?
What do you know about Greta Thunberg?
What do you think of Greta Thunberg?
How did Greta become so famous?
Should Greta have won this award?
What do you know about climate change?
How worried are you about climate change?
Should schoolchildren strike to support the environment?
What advice do you have for Greta Thunberg?

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 'planet'?
What do you think about what you read?
What do you know about other winners of the TIME magazine award?
What effect has Greta Thunberg had on the world?
Should Greta Thunberg get the Nobel Peace Prize?
What urgent change is needed on climate change?
Why do men like Donald Trump and his son dislike Greta Thunberg?
What do you think of Greta's speeches?
What questions would you like to ask Greta Thunberg?

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)

Climate (1) ____ Greta Thunberg has been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. The 16-year-old from Sweden (2) ____ New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Hong Kong democracy protestors to win the award. Ms Thunberg (3) ____ to fame in 2018 for raising people's awareness of the threat to the planet from climate change. She started a global (4) ____ when she decided to go on a climate strike outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. Schoolchildren around the world then followed her example. She has since (5) ____ the United Nations in New York and has met the Pope. After hearing about the award, she tweeted: "Wow, (6) ____ is unbelievable! I will share this great honour."

Greta Thunberg is the youngest person (7) ____ to receive the award. TIME magazine wrote about why it gave the prize to Ms Thunberg. It said she has, "succeeded (8) ____ creating a global attitudinal shift" in getting millions of people to join a "worldwide movement calling for (9) ____ change". It added: "Greta has offered a moral call to those who are willing to act, and put shame (10) ____ those who are not." Not everyone is happy with Ms Thunberg receiving the award. Donald Trump Jr said TIME was using a teenager "(11) ____ a marketing gimmick". In contrast, Hillary Clinton tweeted: "I am grateful for all she's done to raise awareness of the climate crisis, and her willingness to (12) ____ hard, motivating truths."

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) action (b) acting (c) activism (d) activist
(a) victory (b) defeat (c) won (d) beat
(a) dropped (b) shot (c) found (d) reached
(a) move (b) moved (c) movement (d) mover
(a) stamped (b) posted (c) addressed (d) envelope
(a) this (b) how (c) such (d) so
(a) every (b) ever (c) even (d) eventually
(a) in (b) on (c) of (d) as
(a) urge (b) urgent (c) urgency (d) urgently
(a) to (b) of (c) on (d) at
(a) was (b) has (c) as (d) 'twas
(a) say (b) speak (c) converse (d) tell

Spelling

Paragraph 1

Climate ciaivtst Greta Thunberg
the Hong Kong mdrcoaecy protestors
raising people's aerwnases
the hretat to the planet from climate change
outside the Swedish rlaipmanet
Wow, this is veeliunablbe

Paragraph 2

receive the waard
she has useeddcec
calling for uetnrg change
those who are wglinli to act
a marketing miicgmk
the climate iriscs

Put the text back together

(...) who are willing to act, and put shame on those who are not." Not everyone is happy with Ms Thunberg receiving the
(...) Greta Thunberg is the youngest person ever to receive the award. TIME magazine wrote
(...) award. Donald Trump Jr said TIME was using a teenager "as a marketing
(...) her example. She has since addressed the United Nations in New York and has met the Pope. After hearing
( 1 ) Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. The 16-year-
(...) about the award, she tweeted: "Wow, this is unbelievable! I will share this great honour."
(...) to the planet from climate change. She started a global movement when she decided to go on a climate
(...) awareness of the climate crisis, and her willingness to tell hard, motivating truths."
(...) old from Sweden beat New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Hong Kong democracy
(...) gimmick". In contrast, Hillary Clinton tweeted: "I am grateful for all she's done to raise
(...) about why it gave the prize to Ms Thunberg. It said she has, "succeeded in creating a global attitudinal shift" in getting millions
(...) strike outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. Schoolchildren around the world then followed
(...) protestors to win the award. Ms Thunberg shot to fame in 2018 for raising people's awareness of the threat
(...) of people to join a "worldwide movement calling for urgent change". It added: "Greta has offered a moral call to those

Put the words in the right order

TIME Person 2019 . of Year the for magazine's
beat The 16-year-old Sweden Prime Minister . New Zealand's from
fame Ms to shot in 2018 . Thunberg
threat planet . the the People's awareness to of
around her followed world the then Schoolchildren example .
youngest award . to ever The person the receive
Ms Why the to gave prize Thunberg . it
a people worldwide of Millions join movement . to
a teenager a as gimmick . Using marketing
I she's done . all am grateful for

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

Climate activist / activism Greta Thunberg has been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. The 16-year-old from Sweden won / beat New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Hong Kong democracy protestors to win the award. Ms Thunberg shooting / shot to fame in 2018 for raising people's awareness of the threat / treat to the planet from climate change. She started a global movement when / which she decided to go on a climate strike / hit outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. Schoolchildren around a / the world then followed her example. She has since / then addressed the United Nations in New York and has met the Pope. After hearing / listening about the award, she tweeted: "Wow, this is unbelievable! I will sharing / share this great honour."

Greta Thunberg is the youngest person ever to receive / receipt the award. TIME magazine wrote about what / why it gave the prize to Ms Thunberg. It said she has, "succeeded in creation / creating a global attitudinal shift" in / on getting millions of people to joint / join a "worldwide movement calling for urgent change". It added: "Greta has offered a moral call to them / those who are willing to act, and put shame / sham on those who are not." Not everyone are / is happy with Ms Thunberg receiving the award. Donald Trump Jr said TIME was using a teenager "as a marketing gimmick". In contrast / contrasted, Hillary Clinton tweeted: "I am grateful for all she's done to raise awareness of the climate crisis / critical, and her willingness to tell hard, motivating truths."

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)

C l_m_t_ _c t_v_s t G r_t_ T h_n b_r g h_s b__ n n_m_d T I M E m_g_z_n_' s P_r s_n _f t h_ Y__ r f_r 2 0 1 9 . T h_ 1 6 - y__ r -_l d f r_m S w_d_n b__ t N_w Z__ l_n d ' s P r_m_ M_n_s t_r J_c_n d_ A r d_r n _n d t h_ H_n g K_n g d_m_c r_c y p r_t_s t_r s t_ w_n t h_ _w_r d . M s T h_n b_r g s h_t t_ f_m_ _n 2 0 1 8 f_r r__ s_n g p__ p l_' s _w_r_n_s s _f t h_ t h r__ t t_ t h_ p l_n_t f r_m c l_m_t_ c h_n g_. S h_ s t_r t_d _ g l_b_l m_v_m_n t w h_n s h_ d_c_d_d t_ g_ _n _ c l_m_t_ s t r_k_ __ t s_d_ t h_ S w_d_s h p_r l__ m_n t _n A_g_s t 2 0 1 8 . S c h__ l c h_l d r_n _r__ n d t h_ w_r l d t h_n f_l l_w_d h_r _x_m p l_. S h_ h_s s_n c_ _d d r_s s_d t h_ U n_t_d N_t__ n s _n N_w Y_r k _n d h_s m_t t h_ P_p_. A f t_r h__ r_n g _b__ t t h_ _w_r d , s h_ t w__ t_d : " W_w , t h_s _s _n b_l__ v_b l_! I w_l l s h_r_ t h_s g r__ t h_n__ r . "

G r_t_ T h_n b_r g _s t h_ y__ n g_s t p_r s_n _v_r t_ r_c__ v_ t h_ _w_r d . T I M E m_g_z_n_ w r_t_ _b__ t w h y _t g_v_ t h_ p r_z_ t_ M s T h_n b_r g . I t s__ d s h_ h_s , " s_c c__ d_d _n c r__ t_n g _ g l_b_l _t t_t_d_n_l s h_f t " _n g_t t_n g m_l l__ n s _f p__ p l_ t_ j__ n _ " w_r l d w_d_ m_v_m_n t c_l l_n g f_r _r g_n t c h_n g_" . I t _d d_d : " G r_t_ h_s _f f_r_d _ m_r_l c_l l t_ t h_s_ w h_ _r_ w_l l_n g t_ _c t , _n d p_t s h_m_ _n t h_s_ w h_ _r_ n_t . " N_t _v_r y_n_ _s h_p p y w_t h M s T h_n b_r g r_c__ v_n g t h_ _w_r d . D_n_l d T r_m p J r s__ d T I M E w_s _s_n g _ t__ n_g_r "_s _ m_r k_t_n g g_m m_c k " . I n c_n t r_s t , H_l l_r y C l_n t_n t w__ t_d : " I _m g r_t_f_l f_r _l l s h_' s d_n_ t_ r__ s_ _w_r_n_s s _f t h_ c l_m_t_ c r_s_s , _n d h_r w_l l_n g n_s s t_ t_l l h_r d , m_t_v_t_n g t r_t h s . "

Punctuate the text and add capitals

climate activist greta thunberg has been named time magazines person of the year for 2019 the 16yearold from sweden beat new zealands prime minister jacinda ardern and the hong kong democracy protestors to win the award ms thunberg shot to fame in 2018 for raising peoples awareness of the threat to the planet from climate change she started a global movement when she decided to go on a climate strike outside the swedish parliament in august 2018 schoolchildren around the world then followed her example she has since addressed the united nations in new york and has met the pope after hearing about the award she tweeted wow this is unbelievable i will share this great honour

greta thunberg is the youngest person ever to receive the award time magazine wrote about why it gave the prize to ms thunberg it said she has succeeded in creating a global attitudinal shift in getting millions of people to join a worldwide movement calling for urgent change it added greta has offered a moral call to those who are willing to act and put shame on those who are not not everyone is happy with ms thunberg receiving the award donald trump jr said time was using a teenager as a marketing gimmick in contrast hillary clinton tweeted i am grateful for all shes done to raise awareness of the climate crisis and her willingness to tell hard motivating truths"

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

ClimateactivistGretaThunberghasbeennamedTIMEmagazine'sPers
onoftheYearfor2019.The16-year-oldfromSwedenbeatNewZealan
d'sPrimeMinisterJacindaArdernandtheHongKongdemocracyprotest
orstowintheaward.MsThunbergshottofamein2018forraisingpeople'
sawarenessofthethreattotheplanetfromclimatechange.Shestarteda
globalmovementwhenshedecidedtogoonaclimatestrikeoutsidetheS
wedishparliamentinAugust2018.Schoolchildrenaroundtheworldthe
nfollowedherexample.ShehassinceaddressedtheUnitedNationsinNe
wYorkandhasmetthePope.Afterhearingabouttheaward,shetweeted:
"Wow,thisisunbelievable!Iwillsharethisgreathonour."GretaThunber
gistheyoungestpersonevertoreceivetheaward.TIMEmagazinewrote
aboutwhyitgavetheprizetoMsThunberg.Itsaidshehas,"succeededinc
reatingaglobalattitudinalshift"ingettingmillionsofpeopletojoina"wor
ldwidemovementcallingforurgentchange".Itadded:"Gretahasoffere
damoralcalltothosewhoarewillingtoact,andputshameonthosewhoar
enot."NoteveryoneishappywithMsThunbergreceivingtheaward.Don
aldTrumpJrsaidTIMEwasusingateenager"asamarketinggimmick".In
contrast,HillaryClintontweeted:"Iamgratefulforallshe'sdonetoraise
awarenessoftheclimatecrisis,andherwillingnesstotellhard,motivatin
gtruths."

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

Greta Thunberg deserves the TIME magazine award. 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. GRETA THUNBERG: Make a poster about Greta Thunberg. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. PERSON OF THE YEAR: Write a magazine article about Greta Thunberg deserving the award. 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 Greta Thunberg. Ask him/her three questions about her. Give him/her three of your opinions of Greta Thunberg. 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 on Greta Thunberg

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