Breaking News English Lesson: Lost at Sea

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Men lost at sea for 29 days say it was a nice break (11th October, 2021)

The Reading / Listening - Lost at Sea - Level 6

Many of us spend hours dreaming of getting away from it all – of getting far from the madding crowd. Two men from the Solomon Islands inadvertently did just that and spent 29 days escaping the rat race. They got lost at sea for over four weeks. Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni set off from Mono Island on September the 3rd in a small motorboat to travel 200km to New Georgia Island. It was a trip they had embarked on several times before. Soon after they set out, they were hit by a storm which played havoc with their navigation system. They lost their ability to detect their location or find their bearings at sea. The storm blew them off course and they ended up off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

The two men were upbeat about their unplanned adventure. Rather than be distressed about their once-precarious plight, they enjoyed the potentially life-threatening escapade at sea. Mr Nanjikana said: "We didn't know where we were but did not expect to be in another country." They survived by eating oranges they had bought for their journey and coconuts they scooped out of the sea. A Papua New Guinean fisherman spotted their boat and authorities rescued them. Nanjikana said: "I look forward to going back home, but I guess it was a nice break from everything." However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, they will not be able to travel from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands for a little while yet.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Lost at Sea - Level 4 or Lost at Sea - Level 5

Sources

https://nypost.com/2021/10/08/men-rescued-after-29-days-lost-at-sea-it-was-a-nice-break/
https://thehill.com/changing-america/resilience/smart-cities/575911-two-men-rescued-after-29-days-lost-at-sea-survived
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/08/it-was-a-nice-break-from-everything-two-men-rescued-after-29-days-lost-at-sea

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about getting away from it all. 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?
dreaming / getting away / the rat race / motorboat / storm / travel / navigation / sea
adventure / escapade / survive / journey / oranges / coconuts / fishermen / home
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SURVIVAL: Students A strongly believe we should all be taught survival skills; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. GETTING AWAY: What are the pros and cons of getting away to these places? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Pros	Cons
A small island
A dessert oasis
A jungle hideaway
A safari lodge
A mountaintop cabin
A city hotel

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. CROWD: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "crowd". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. A NICE BREAK: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to do for a nice break at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

Go to the beach
Go to museums
Go hiking
Stay at home
Go cycling
Do voluntary work
Go fishing
Go to a health spa

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	getting away	a.	A way of life in which people are caught up in a daily struggle for money and getting ahead.
2.	inadvertently	b.	Going somewhere for a short holiday.
3.	rat race	c.	Began a course of action or journey.
4.	embarked	d.	Great confusion or disorder.
5.	havoc	e.	Accidentally.
6.	detect	f.	The position of something, or the direction of movement, relative to a fixed point.
7.	bearings	g.	Discover or identify the presence or existence of.

Paragraph 2

8.	upbeat	h.	Not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse.
9.	precarious	i.	Picked up something from the sea.
10.	plight	j.	Cheerful; optimistic.
11.	escapade	k.	A dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation.
12.	scooped	l.	Saved someone from a dangerous or difficult situation.
13.	rescued	m.	An act involving excitement, daring, or adventure.
14.	restriction	n.	A limiting condition or measure.

Before reading / listening

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

Two men spent many hours dreaming of leaving the Solomon Islands. T / F
The men were lost at sea on their yacht. T / F
The two men were on their first trip at sea. T / F
A storm blew the two men's boat off course. T / F
The two men seemed positive about their unplanned adventure. T / F
The men ate coconuts they bought for the trip and oranges from the sea. T / F
An Australian fisherman rescued the two men. T / F
The two men's return home will be delayed because of COVID-19. T / F

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

getting away
inadvertently
embarked
havoc
bearings
upbeat
escapade
scooped
spotted
restrictions

chaos
took
curbs
sense of direction
accidentally
saw
undertaken
positive
escaping
adventure

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

Many of us spend hours dreaming
escaping the rat
a trip they had embarked
find their
The storm blew them
The two men were
They survived
coconuts they scooped
authorities
due to COVID-19

on several times before
rescued them
off course
upbeat
out of the sea
bearings at sea
restrictions
of getting away
by eating oranges
race

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

set
storm
bearings
embarked
coast
crowd
escaping
system

Many of us spend hours dreaming of getting away from it all - of getting far from the madding (1) _____________________. Two men from the Solomon Islands inadvertently did just that and spent 29 days (2) _____________________ the rat race. They got lost at sea for over four weeks. Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni (3) _____________________ off from Mono Island on September the 3rd in a small motorboat to travel 200km to New Georgia Island. It was a trip they had (4) _____________________ on several times before. Soon after they set out, they were hit by a (5) _____________________ which played havoc with their navigation (6) _____________________. They lost their ability to detect their location or find their (7) _____________________ at sea. The storm blew them off course and they ended up off the (8) _____________________ of Papua New Guinea.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

potentially
while
scooped
upbeat
restrictions
expect
plight
authorities

The two men were (9) _____________________ about their unplanned adventure. Rather than be distressed about their once-precarious (10) _____________________, they enjoyed the (11) _____________________ life-threatening escapade at sea. Mr Nanjikana said: "We didn't know where we were but did not (12) _____________________ to be in another country." They survived by eating oranges they had bought for their journey and coconuts they (13) _____________________ out of the sea. A Papua New Guinean fisherman spotted their boat and (14) _____________________ rescued them. Nanjikana said: "I look forward to going back home, but I guess it was a nice break from everything." However, due to COVID-19 (15) _____________________, they will not be able to travel from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands for a little (16) _____________________ yet.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Many of us spend hours dreaming of getting away ______
     a. for it all
     b. from it tall
     c. from it all
     d. from meet all
2) inadvertently did just that and spent 29 days escaping ______
     a. the rate race
     b. the rat race
     c. the rat trace
     d. the rate trace
3) after they set out, they were hit by a storm ______
     a. what played havoc
     b. which plays havoc
     c. which played havoc
     d. which player havoc
4) They lost their ability to detect their location or find their ______
     a. borings at sea
     b. bar rings at sea
     c. berries at sea
     d. bearings at sea
5) The storm blew them off course and they ended up ______
     a. of the coast
     b. off the coast
     c. otter coast
     d. offer coast

6) Rather than be distressed about their once-______
     a. precarious flight
     b. precarious plight
     c. precarious blight
     d. precarious slight
7) they enjoyed the potentially life-threatening ______
     a. escape aid at sea
     b. escaped at sea
     c. esplanade at sea
     d. escapade at sea
8) eating oranges they had bought for their journey and coconuts they ______ the sea
     a. scoped out of
     b. scoop out of
     c. scooped out of
     d. skipped out of
9) I look forward to going back home, but I guess it was ______
     a. a nice break
     b. a nicely break
     c. a nicer break
     d. a niece break
10) travel from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands for a ______
     a. little whiles yet
     b. little whiled yet
     c. little whiling yet
     d. little while yet

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Many of us (1) ____________________ of getting away from it all - of getting far from the madding crowd. Two men from the Solomon Islands inadvertently did just that and spent 29 days (2) ____________________ race. They got lost at sea for over four weeks. Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni set off from Mono Island on September the 3rd in a small motorboat to travel 200km to New Georgia Island. It was a trip they (3) ____________________ several times before. Soon after they set out, they were hit by a storm which (4) ____________________ their navigation system. They lost their ability to detect their location or (5) ____________________ at sea. The storm blew them off course and they ended up (6) ____________________ of Papua New Guinea.

The two men were (7) ____________________ unplanned adventure. Rather than be distressed about their (8) ____________________, they enjoyed the potentially life-threatening escapade at sea. Mr Nanjikana said: "We didn't know where we were but did not (9) ____________________ in another country." They survived by eating oranges they had bought for their journey and coconuts (10) ____________________ of the sea. A Papua New Guinean fisherman spotted their boat and (11) ____________________. Nanjikana said: "I look forward to going back home, but I guess it was a nice break from everything." However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, they will not be able to travel from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands for a (12) ____________________.

Comprehension questions

What does the article say we dream of getting far from?
When did the two men set off on their journey?
How many times had the men made the journey before?
What did a storm do to the men's navigation system?
Where did the two men end up?
How did the men feel about their unplanned adventure?
What did the two men scoop out from the sea?
Who spotted the two men?
Where did one of the men say he looked forward to going?
What is stopping the men from returning home immediately?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say we dream of getting far from?
a) home
b) each other
c) the madding crowd
d) danger
2) When did the two men set off on their journey?
a) September 3
b) at 3am
c) on a Wednesday morning
d) after they bought their boat
3) How many times had the men made the journey before?
a) several times
b) zero
c) one
d) many
4) What did a storm do to the men's navigation system?
a) confused it
b) played havoc with it
c) destroyed it
d) assisted it
5) Where did the two men end up?
a) off the coast of Australia
b) off the coast of the Philippines
c) off the coast of Tajiti
d) off the coast of Papua New Guinea

6) How did the men feel about their unplanned adventure?
a) excited
b) upbeat
c) relieved
d) sad
7) What did the two men scoop out from the sea?
a) coconuts
b) driftwood
c) fish
d) seaweed
8) Who spotted the two men?
a) an oil tanker
b) the coast guard
c) a fisherman
d) people on a beach
9) Where did one of the men say he looked forward to going?
a) PNG
b) on vacation
c) back to sea
d) home
10) What is stopping the men from returning home immediately?
a) COVID-19 restrictions
b) money
c) visa problems
d) bad weather

Role play

Role A – The Beach
You think the beach is the best place for a break. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): the mountains, a health spa or staying at home.

Role B – The Mountains
You think the mountains is the best place for a break. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): the beach, a health spa or staying at home.

Role C – A Health Spa
You think a health spa is the best place for a break. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): the mountains, the beach or staying at home.

Role D – Staying at Home
You think staying at home is the best place for a break. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): the mountains, a health spa or the beach.

After reading / listening

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

'lost'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'sea'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

hours

rat

small

several

havoc

coast

upbeat

plight

expect

scooped

guess

able

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 - Lost at Sea

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 'sea'?
What do you know about the Solomon Islands?
How often do you get away from it all?
Where do you go to get away from it all?
What is the 'all' in 'get away from it all'?
What do you think of the rat race?
Have you ever been really lost?
How would you feel if you were lost at sea?
What advice do you have for the two men?

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 'break'?
What do you think about what you read?
What do you know about Papua New Guinea?
How often do you think about getting away from it all?
Have you ever had an unplanned adventure?
How would you have dealt with being lost at sea?
When was the last time you had a nice break?
What would you say about the character of the two men?
What questions would you like to ask the two men?

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)

Many of us spend hours dreaming of getting (1) ____ from it all - of getting far from the madding crowd. Two men from the Solomon Islands inadvertently did just that and spent 29 days escaping the (2) ____ race. They got lost at sea for over four weeks. Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni (3) ____ off from Mono Island on September the 3rd in a small motorboat to travel 200km to New Georgia Island. It was a trip they had (4) ____ on several times before. Soon after they set out, they were hit by a storm which (5) ____ havoc with their navigation system. They lost their ability to detect their location or find their bearings at sea. The storm blew them off (6) ____ and they ended up off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

The two men were upbeat about their unplanned adventure. Rather than be distressed about their once-precarious (7) ____, they enjoyed the potentially life-threatening escapade at sea. Mr Nanjikana said: "We didn't know where we were but did not (8) ____ to be in another country." They survived by eating oranges they had bought for their journey and coconuts they (9) ____ out of the sea. A Papua New Guinean fisherman spotted their boat and (10) ____ rescued them. Nanjikana said: "I look forward to going back home, but I (11) ____ it was a nice break from everything." However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, they will not be able to travel from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands for a little (12) ____ yet.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a)     up     (b)     over     (c)     away     (d)     down
(a)     rat     (b)     mouse     (c)     hamster     (d)     guinea pig
(a)     set     (b)     let     (c)     get     (d)     met
(a)     embarked     (b)     earmarked     (c)     embankment     (d)     embraced
(a)     did     (b)     enjoyed     (c)     gamed     (d)     played
(a)     cause     (b)     coarse     (c)     case     (d)     course
(a)     plight     (b)     blight     (c)     might     (d)     freight
(a)     distant     (b)     extant     (c)     except     (d)     expect
(a)     scooped     (b)     scampered     (c)     skippered     (d)     scuppered
(a)     authors     (b)     authorities     (c)     authorise     (d)     authority
(a)     clue     (b)     guess     (c)     hint     (d)     theory
(a)     while     (b)     awhile     (c)     whilst     (d)     whiling

Spelling

Paragraph 1

far from the dimdnag crowd
itaerndetnvly did just that
a trip they had braeemdk on several times
a storm which played hcvao
They lost their ability to tcdtee their location
they ended up off the oatcs of Papua New Guinea

Paragraph 2

The two men were tpeaub
their once-eupcorrsai plight
the potentially life-threatening sdpecaae
coconuts they sodcepo out of the sea
ttuiseahiro rescued them
due to COVID-19 rtsrecionsti

Put the text back together

(...) plight, they enjoyed the potentially life-threatening escapade at sea. Mr Nanjikana said: "We didn't know where we were but did not
(...) rescued them. Nanjikana said: "I look forward to going back home, but I guess it was
(...) to travel from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands for a little while yet.
(...) expect to be in another country." They survived by eating oranges they had bought for their journey and
(...) crowd. Two men from the Solomon Islands inadvertently did just that and spent 29 days escaping the rat
(...) The two men were upbeat about their unplanned adventure. Rather than be distressed about their once-precarious
(...) coconuts they scooped out of the sea. A Papua New Guinean fisherman spotted their boat and authorities
(...) a small motorboat to travel 200km to New Georgia Island. It was a trip they had embarked on several
(...) times before. Soon after they set out, they were hit by a storm which played
(...) havoc with their navigation system. They lost their ability to detect their location or find their
(...) a nice break from everything." However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, they will not be able
(...) race. They got lost at sea for over four weeks. Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni set off from Mono Island on September the 3rd in
(...) bearings at sea. The storm blew them off course and they ended up off the coast of Papua New Guinea.
( 1 ) Many of us spend hours dreaming of getting away from it all - of getting far from the madding

Put the words in the right order

all getting We away . hours of spend dreaming
the race . 29 They rat days escaping spent
A several trip times . embarked had on they
played havoc storm navigation with their system . A
their They their detect location . lost ability to
two The were unplanned about their upbeat adventure .
the at potentially sea . escapade enjoyed They life-threatening
in They country . to another didn't be expect
had bought Eating they journey . for their oranges
forward to looking am I home . going back

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

Many of us spend hours dreaming of getting away from / for it all - of getting far from the madding crowd. Two men from the Solomon Islands inadvertently did adjust / just that and spent 29 days escaped / escaping the rat race. They got lost at sea for overly / over four weeks. Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni set off / on from Mono Island on September the 3rd in a small motorboat to travel 200km to New Georgia Island. It was the / a trip they had embarked on several times afore / before. Soon after they set out, they were hit by a storm which did / played havoc with their navigation system. They lost their ability to defect / detect their location or find their bearings at sea. The storm blew them off course and they ended up / down off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

The two men were upbeat about their unplanned adventure. Prefer / Rather than be distressed about their once-precarious plight / blight, they enjoyed the potentially life-threatening escapade / escape at sea. Mr Nanjikana said: "We didn't know where we were but did not excerpt / expect to be in another country." They survival / survived by eating oranges they had bought for their journey and coconuts they scooped / scoped out of the sea. A Papua New Guinean fisherman spotted their boat and authority / authorities rescued them. Nanjikana said: "I look forward to going back home, but I guess it was a nice break from something / everything." However, due to COVID-19 reductions / restrictions, they will not be able to travel from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands for a little while / awhile yet.

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)

M_ny _f _s sp_nd h__rs dr__m_ng _f g_tt_ng _w_y fr_m _t _ll - _f g_tt_ng f_r fr_m th_ m_dd_ng cr_wd. Tw_ m_n fr_m th_ S_l_m_n _sl_nds _n_dv_rt_ntly d_d j_st th_t _nd sp_nt 29 d_ys _sc_p_ng th_ r_t r_c_. Th_y g_t l_st _t s__ f_r _v_r f__r w__ks. L_v__ N_nj_k_n_ _nd J_n__r Q_l_n_ s_t _ff fr_m M_n_ _sl_nd _n S_pt_mb_r th_ 3rd _n _ sm_ll m_t_rb__t t_ tr_v_l 200km t_ N_w G__rg__ _sl_nd. _t w_s _ tr_p th_y h_d _mb_rk_d _n s_v_r_l t_m_s b_f_r_. S__n _ft_r th_y s_t __t, th_y w_r_ h_t by _ st_rm wh_ch pl_y_d h_v_c w_th th__r n_v_g_t__n syst_m. Th_y l_st th__r _b_l_ty t_ d_t_ct th__r l_c_t__n _r f_nd th__r b__r_ngs _t s__. Th_ st_rm bl_w th_m _ff c__rs_ _nd th_y _nd_d _p _ff th_ c__st _f P_p__ N_w G__n__.

Th_ tw_ m_n w_r_ _pb__t _b__t th__r _npl_nn_d _dv_nt_r_. R_th_r th_n b_ d_str_ss_d _b__t th__r _nc_-pr_c_r___s pl_ght, th_y _nj_y_d th_ p_t_nt__lly l_f_-thr__t_n_ng _sc_p_d_ _t s__. Mr N_nj_k_n_ s__d: "W_ d_dn't kn_w wh_r_ w_ w_r_ b_t d_d n_t _xp_ct t_ b_ _n _n_th_r c__ntry." Th_y s_rv_v_d by __t_ng _r_ng_s th_y h_d b__ght f_r th__r j__rn_y _nd c_c_n_ts th_y sc__p_d __t _f th_ s__. _ P_p__ N_w G__n__n f_sh_rm_n sp_tt_d th__r b__t _nd __th_r_t__s r_sc__d th_m. N_nj_k_n_ s__d: "_ l__k f_rw_rd t_ g__ng b_ck h_m_, b_t _ g__ss _t w_s _ n_c_ br__k fr_m _v_ryth_ng." H_w_v_r, d__ t_ C_V_D-19 r_str_ct__ns, th_y w_ll n_t b_ _bl_ t_ tr_v_l fr_m P_p__ N_w G__n__ t_ th_ S_l_m_n _sl_nds f_r _ l_ttl_ wh_l_ y_t.

Punctuate the text and add capitals

many of us spend hours dreaming of getting away from it all of getting far from the madding crowd two men from the solomon islands inadvertently did just that and spent 29 days escaping the rat race they got lost at sea for over four weeks livae nanjikana and junior qoloni set off from mono island on september the 3rd in a small motorboat to travel 200km to new georgia island it was a trip they had embarked on several times before soon after they set out they were hit by a storm which played havoc with their navigation system they lost their ability to detect their location or find their bearings at sea the storm them offcourse and they ended up of the coast of papua new guinea

the two men were upbeat about their unplanned adventure rather than be distressed about their onceprecarious plight they enjoyed the potentially lifethreatening escapade at sea mr nanjikana said we didnt know where we were but did not expect to be in another country they survived by eating oranges they had bought for their journey and coconuts they scooped out of the sea a papua new guinean fisherman spotted their boat and authorities rescued them nanjikana said i look forward to going back home but i guess it was a nice break from everything however due to covid19 restrictions they will not be able to travel from papua new guinea to the solomon islands for a little while yet

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Manyofusspendhoursdreamingofgettingawayfromitall-ofgettingfa
rfromthemaddingcrowd.TwomenfromtheSolomonIslandsinadverte
ntlydidjustthatandspent29daysescapingtheratrace.Theygotlostats
eaforoverfourweeks.LivaeNanjikanaandJuniorQolonisetofffromMon
oIslandonSeptemberthe3rdinasmallmotorboattotravel200kmtoNe
wGeorgiaIsland.Itwasatriptheyhadembarkedonseveraltimesbefore
.Soonaftertheysetout,theywerehitbyastormwhichplayedhavocwitht
heirnavigationsystem.Theylosttheirabilitytodetecttheirlocationorfin
dtheirbearingsatsea.Thestormblewthemoffcourseandtheyendedup
offthecoastofPapuaNewGuinea.Thetwomenwereupbeatabouttheiru
nplannedadventure.Ratherthanbedistressedabouttheironce-prec
ariousplight,theyenjoyedthepotentiallylife-threateningescapadeats
ea.MrNanjikanasaid:"Wedidn'tknowwherewewerebutdidnotexpectt
obeinanothercountry."Theysurvivedbyeatingorangestheyhadboug
htfortheirjourneyandcoconutstheyscoopedoutofthesea.APapuaNew
Guineanfishermanspottedtheirboatandauthoritiesrescuedthem.Na
njikanasaid:"Ilookforwardtogoingbackhome,butIguessitwasaniceb
reakfromeverything."However,duetoCOVID-19restrictions,theyw
illnotbeabletotravelfromPapuaNewGuineatotheSolomonIslandsfora
littlewhileyet.

Free writing

Write about lost at sea for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Academic writing

We all need to get away from it all a few times a year. Discuss.

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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. GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL: Make a poster about getting away from it all. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. TWO MONTHS: Write a magazine article about all workers getting two months paid holiday a year. 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 getting away from it all. Ask him/her three questions about that. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to get away from it all. 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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