The Reading / Listening - Turkey-Syria Earthquakes - Level 3

28 charities that are helping Turkey and Syria.

Turkey's President Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency across areas hit by Monday's deadly earthquakes. Two extremely powerful quakes hit Turkey just nine hours apart. The first quake was a magnitude 7.5; the second registered 7.8 on the Richter scale. They are among the biggest earthquakes ever to hit Turkey. They caused huge loss of life and damage in southeast Turkey and in neighbouring Syria. President Erdogan warned of the danger of a "large number of aftershocks". He said: "Our teams are working to reach the disaster areas.…We are rapidly continuing the search and rescue operations…despite the difficulty of the conditions and the terrible weather."

The international community has promised support for Turkey and Syria. The EU has sent more than 1,150 rescue workers. Emergency medical teams will provide "essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable people affected by the earthquakes". Mexico has sent a team of dogs and rescuers who are experts in locating survivors in the rubble. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquakes". He promised to give "any help that is needed". Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "We mourn with the victims and fear for those buried." Syria will also receive a lot of help. It has already suffered for years from war.

28 charities that are helping Turkey and Syria.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Turkey-Syria Earthquakes - Level 0,  Turkey-Syria Earthquakes - Level 1   or  Turkey-Syria Earthquakes - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/turkeys-president-erdogan-declares-state-of-emergency-for-earthquake-hit-regions.html
  • https://thehill.com/policy/international/3847252-turkeys-erdogan-declares-three-month-state-of-emergency-as-earthquake-death-toll-passes-5400/
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/07/world/europe/turkey-earthquake-election-erdogan.html


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. EARTHQUAKES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about earthquakes. 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?
       emergency / earthquakes / magnitude / Turkey / Syria / danger / aftershocks / life /
       international community / support / rescue / injured / survivors / mourn / war / help
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. BILLIONS: Students A strongly believe all governments should give billions of dollars each to help Turkey and Syria; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. HELP: What can the people and things in the table do to help Turkey and Syria? How helpful would this be? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Actions

Helpfulness

Me

 

 

My country

 

 

The USA

 

 

The U.N.

 

 

Charities

 

 

People online

 

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

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. declared a. To a very great degree; very, very, very.
      2. extremely b. Very, very big.
      3. apart c. Told many people something important.
      4. huge d. A sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life.
      5. neighbouring e. Next to or very near another place.
      6. disaster f. Extremely bad or serious.
      7. terrible g. Of two or more people or things separated by time or space.

    Paragraph 2

      8. rescue h. Feel or show sadness for the death of someone.
      9. essential i. People who live with the possibility of being attacked or harmed.
      10. the injured j. A person who is very knowledgeable about or skillful in a particular area.
      11. the vulnerable k. Save someone or something from a dangerous or difficult situation.
      12. expert l. Totally necessary; very, very important.
      13. devastation m. Great destruction or damage.
      14. mourn n. People who have damage to their body or mind.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The vice-president of Turkey declared a state of emergency.     T / F
  2. One big earthquake happened about nine hours after another in Turkey.  T / F
  3. One of the earthquakes was the biggest in Turkey's history.     T / F
  4. Turkey's president warned of the danger of many aftershocks.     T / F
  5. The EU has sent over 1,150 rescue workers to Turkey and Syria.     T / F
  6. Mexico has sent a team of dogs to help find survivors.     T / F
  7. U.S. President Joe Biden promised to provide any necessary help.     T / F
  8. The article says Syria would receive insufficient help.     T / F

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

  1. declared
  2. deadly
  3. hit
  4. huge
  5. terrible
  6. promised
  7. provide
  8. rubble
  9. devastation
  10. help
  1. ruins
  2. enormous
  3. aid
  4. lethal
  5. vowed
  6. damage
  7. announced
  8. give
  9. strike
  10. really bad

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

  1. powerful quakes hit Turkey just
  2. the second registered 7.8
  3. the danger of a large
  4. continuing the search and
  5. terrible
  6. The international community has
  7. Emergency medical
  8. rescuers who are experts in locating
  9. deeply saddened
  10. We mourn with the
  1. teams
  2. number of aftershocks
  3. weather
  4. by the loss of life
  5. on the Richter scale
  6. rescue operations
  7. survivors in the rubble
  8. victims
  9. nine hours apart
  10. promised support

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
disaster
powerful
weather
scale
danger
declared
loss
apart

Turkey's President Erdogan has  (1) _____________________ a three-month state of emergency across areas hit by Monday's deadly earthquakes. Two extremely  (2) _____________________ quakes hit Turkey just nine hours  (3) _____________________. The first quake was a magnitude 7.5; the second registered 7.8 on the Richter         (4) _____________________. They are among the biggest earthquakes ever to hit Turkey. They caused huge  (5) _____________________ of life and damage in southeast Turkey and in neighbouring Syria. President Erdogan warned of the  (6) _____________________ of a "large number of aftershocks". He said: "Our teams are working to reach the  (7) _____________________ areas....We are rapidly continuing the search and rescue operations...despite the difficulty of the conditions and the terrible  (8) _____________________."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
vulnerable
saddened
promised
suffered
help
rescue
experts
fear

The international community has (9) _____________________ support for Turkey and Syria. The EU has sent more than 1,150 (10) _____________________ workers. Emergency medical teams will provide "essential health care for the injured and most (11) _____________________ people affected by the earthquakes". Mexico has sent a team of dogs and rescuers who are (12) _____________________ in locating survivors in the rubble. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "deeply (13) _____________________ by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquakes". He promised to give "any (14) _____________________ that is needed". Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "We mourn with the victims and (15) _____________________ for those buried." Syria will also receive a lot of help. It has already (16) _____________________ for years from war.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Two extremely powerful quakes hit Turkey just ______
     a.  nine ours apart
     b.  nine hours a part
     c.  nine hour separate
     d.  nine hours apart
2)  the second registered 7.8 on ______
     a.  the Richter shale
     b.  the Richter skill
     c.  the Richter's kale
     d.  the Richter scale
3)  President Erdogan warned of the danger of a "large ______
     a.  number of after shocks
     b.  number of post shocks
     c.  number of aftershocks
     d.  number of other shocks
4)  We are rapidly continuing the search ______
     a.  and rescue operations
     b.  and rescuer operations
     c.  and rescued operations
     d.  and rescues operations
5)  despite the difficulty of the conditions and ______
     a.  the terribly weather
     b.  the terror ball weather
     c.  the terrible weather
     d.  the terrible whether

6)  The EU has sent more than ______
     a.  1,150 rescue workings
     b.  1,150 rescue work carers
     c.  1,150 rescue work cares
     d.  1,150 rescue workers
7)  Emergency medical teams will provide ______
     a.  essential healthy care
     b.  essential health care
     c.  essential heath care
     d.  essential health cared
8)  sent a team of dogs and rescuers who are experts ______
     a.  in locate in survivors
     b.  in low coating survivors
     c.  in locating survivors
     d.  in locate tin survivors
9)  U.S. President Joe Biden said he was deeply saddened by the ______
     a.  loss of life
     b.  lost of life
     c.  lots of life
     d.  lose of life
10)  We mourn with the victims and fear ______
     a.  for these buries
     b.  four those buried
     c.  for those buried
     d.  for those burial

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Turkey's President Erdogan (1) ____________________ three-month state of emergency across areas hit by Monday's deadly earthquakes. Two extremely powerful quakes hit Turkey just (2) ____________________. The first quake was a magnitude 7.5; the second registered 7.8 on the Richter scale. They are among the biggest earthquakes (3) ____________________ Turkey. They caused huge loss of life and damage in southeast Turkey and in neighbouring Syria. President Erdogan warned (4) ____________________ of a "large number of aftershocks". He said: "Our teams are working to reach the disaster areas....We are rapidly continuing the (5) ____________________ operations...despite the difficulty of the conditions and (6) ____________________."

The international community has (7) ____________________ Turkey and Syria. The EU has sent more than 1,150 rescue workers. Emergency medical teams will provide "essential health care (8) ____________________ and most vulnerable people affected by the earthquakes". Mexico has sent a team of dogs and rescuers who (9) ____________________ locating survivors in the rubble. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "deeply saddened by the (10) ____________________ and devastation caused by the earthquakes". He promised to give "any help that is needed". Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "We mourn with the (11) ____________________ for those buried." Syria will also receive a lot of help. It has already (12) ____________________ from war.

Comprehension questions

  1. Who declared a state of emergency in Turkey?
  2. How long after the first earthquake did the second earthquake hit?
  3. What was the magnitude of the most powerful earthquake?
  4. What did Turkey's President Erdogan warn of a large number of?
  5. What is affecting the search and rescue besides difficult conditions?
  6. Who sent 1,150 rescue workers to the earthquake-hit area?
  7. What did Mexico send a team of?
  8. Who said he was saddened by the loss of life?
  9. Who did Germany's chancellor say he would mourn?
  10. What does the article say Syria has suffered years of?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Who declared a state of emergency in Turkey?
a) Turkey's vice-president
b) the mayors of the affected cities
c) Turkey's President Erdogan
d) U.S. President Joe Biden
2) How long after the first earthquake did the second earthquake hit?
a) 9 hours
b) 8 hours
c) 7 hours
d) 6 hours
3) What was the magnitude of the most powerful earthquake?
a) 7.5
b) 7.8
c) 7.7
d) 7.6
4) What did Turkey's President Erdogan warn of a large number of?
a) collapsed buildings
b) casualties
c) earthquakes
d) aftershocks
5) What is affecting the search and rescue besides difficult conditions?
a) a lack of money
b) not enough rescuers
c) terrible weather
d) too few rescue dogs

6) Who sent 1,150 rescue workers to the earthquake-hit area?
a) NATO
b) the EU
c) the WHO
d) the UN
7) What did Mexico send a team of?
a) builders
b) medics
c) earthquake experts
d) dogs
8) Who said he was saddened by the loss of life?
a) the UK's Prime Minister
b) U.S. President Joe Biden
c) Germany's Chancellor Scholz
d) UN Secretary-General Antonio
     Guterres
9) Who did Germany's chancellor say he would mourn?
a) Turkey
b) the victims
c) the survivors
d) the rescuers
10) What does the article say Syria has suffered years of?
a) war
b) earthquakes
c) natural disasters
d) troubles

After reading / listening

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

'Turkey'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'Syria'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • across
    • nine
    • among
    • huge
    • danger
    • weather
    • support
    • sent
    • most
    • deeply
    • fear
    • war

    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 - Turkey-Syria Earthquakes

    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 'earthquake'?
    3. What do you know about the two earthquakes?
    4. What causes earthquakes?
    5. What experiences do you have of earthquakes?
    6. How can you help the people of Turkey and Syria?
    7. What can people in earthquake areas do to be safer?
    8. What should people do when an earthquake hits?
    9. Would you like to join a rescue team?
    10. What advice do you have for the survivors and rescue workers?

    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 'emergency'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What should the international community do?
    5. What do people need immediately after an earthquake hits?
    6. How much money should world governments send Turkey and Syria?
    7. How scary do you think earthquakes are?
    8. Should we all keep an emergency bag for natural disasters?
    9. What would you send to the people of Turkey and Syria?
    10. What questions would you like to ask an earthquake survivor?

    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)

    Turkey's President Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency (1) ____ areas hit by Monday's deadly earthquakes. Two extremely powerful quakes hit Turkey just nine hours (2) ____. The first quake was a magnitude 7.5; the second (3) ____ 7.8 on the Richter scale. They are among the biggest earthquakes ever to hit Turkey. They caused huge (4) ____ of life and damage in southeast Turkey and in neighbouring Syria. President Erdogan warned of the danger of a "large number (5) ____ aftershocks". He said: "Our teams are working to reach the disaster areas....We are rapidly continuing the search and rescue operations... (6) ____ the difficulty of the conditions and the terrible weather."

    The international community has promised (7) ____ for Turkey and Syria. The EU has sent more than 1,150 rescue workers. Emergency medical teams will provide "essential health (8) ____ for the injured and most vulnerable people affected by the earthquakes". Mexico has sent a team of dogs and rescuers who are (9) ____ in locating survivors in the rubble. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused (10) ____ the earthquakes". He promised to give "any help that is (11) ____". Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "We mourn with the victims and (12) ____ for those buried." Syria will also receive a lot of help. It has already suffered for years from war.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     across     (b)     above     (c)     among     (d)     about    
    2. (a)     part     (b)     parts     (c)     apart     (d)     a part    
    3. (a)     registry     (b)     registers     (c)     registered     (d)     registration    
    4. (a)     lost     (b)     loses     (c)     loss     (d)     losing    
    5. (a)     of     (b)     on     (c)     at     (d)     by    
    6. (a)     spite     (b)     despite     (c)     spate     (d)     in spite    
    7. (a)     supporter     (b)     supporting     (c)     supportive     (d)     support    
    8. (a)     cared     (b)     care     (c)     cares     (d)     carer    
    9. (a)     expats     (b)     expects     (c)     experts     (d)     expands    
    10. (a)     on     (b)     by     (c)     at     (d)     of    
    11. (a)     needy     (b)     needs     (c)     needing     (d)     needed    
    12. (a)     afraid     (b)     fear     (c)     frighten     (d)     scary

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. Two xremetely powerful quakes
    2. The first quake was a gmtinuade 7.5
    3. the second gitsreeerd 7.8
    4. on the Richter acsle
    5. search and urcsee operations
    6. the erribtle weather

    Paragraph 2

    1. the international iuontymmc
    2. provide eliseastn health care
    3. eaulelvrbn people affected by the earthquakes
    4. locating ivvrsrosu in the rubble
    5. We mourn with the victims and fear for those buride
    6. sdfeurfe for years from war

    Put the text back together

    (...)  scale. They are among the biggest earthquakes ever to hit Turkey. They caused huge loss of life and
    (...)  of aftershocks". He said: "Our teams are working to reach the disaster areas....We are rapidly continuing the
    (...)  The international community has promised support for Turkey and Syria. The EU has sent more than
    (...)  by Monday's deadly earthquakes. Two extremely powerful quakes hit Turkey just nine hours
    (...)  1,150 rescue workers. Emergency medical teams will provide "essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable
    (...)  search and rescue operations...despite the difficulty of the conditions and the terrible weather."
    (...)  by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquakes". He promised to give "any help that is
    (...)  buried." Syria will also receive a lot of help. It has already suffered for years from war.
    (...)  damage in southeast Turkey and in neighbouring Syria. President Erdogan warned of the danger of a "large number
    (...)  in locating survivors in the rubble. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "deeply saddened
    (...)  apart. The first quake was a magnitude 7.5; the second registered 7.8 on the Richter
    (  1  ) Turkey's President Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency across areas hit
    (...)  needed". Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "We mourn with the victims and fear for those
    (...)  people affected by the earthquakes". Mexico has sent a team of dogs and rescuers who are experts

    Put the words in the right order

    1. powerful   Two   apart   .   hours   hit   extremely   quakes   Turkey
    2. Richter   on   7.8   second   scale   .   registered   the   The
    3. are   They   the   earthquakes   ever   .   among   biggest
    4. caused   huge   loss   life   of   damage   .   They   and
    5. reach   to   are   areas   .   the   Teams   working   disaster
    6. Turkey  .  The   for  international  community   support  promised   has
    7. health   will   medical   Emergency   care   .   essential   teams   provide
    8. in   experts   locating   are   who   survivors   .   Rescuers
    9. also   a   help   .   will   lot   receive   of   Syria
    10. suffered   It   war   .   already   for   years   from   has

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Turkey's President Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency across areas hit / hitting by Monday's deadly earthquakes. Two extreme / extremely powerful quakes hit Turkey just nine hours apart / part. The first quake was a magnitude 7.5; the second registry / registered 7.8 on the Richter scale. They are among / between the biggest earthquakes ever to hit Turkey. They caused huge loss / lost of life and damage in southeast Turkey and in neighbouring Syria. President Erdogan warning / warned of the danger of a "large number of / on aftershocks". He said: "Our teams are working to / for reach the disaster areas....We are rapidly continuing the search and rescue operations...despite the difficulty at / of the conditions and the terrible weather."

    The international community has promised support for / on Turkey and Syria. The EU has sent more than 1,150 rescued / rescue workers. Emergency medical teams will provide "essential health care for the injury / injured and most vulnerable people effected / affected by the earthquakes". Mexico has sent a team of dogs and rescuers who are experts on / in locating survivors on / in the rubble. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "deeply saddened by the lost / loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquakes". He promised / promise to give "any help that is needed". Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "We mourn with the victims and fear / afraid for those buried." Syria will also receive a lot of help. It has still / already suffered for years from war.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    T_rk_y's  Pr_s_d_nt  _rd_g_n  h_s  d_cl_r_d  _  thr__-m_nth  st_t_  _f  _m_rg_ncy  _cr_ss  _r__s  h_t  by  M_nd_y's  d__dly  __rthq__k_s.  Tw_  _xtr_m_ly  p_w_rf_l  q__k_s  h_t  T_rk_y  j_st  n_n_  h__rs  _p_rt.  Th_  f_rst  q__k_  w_s  _  m_gn_t_d_  7.5;  th_  s_c_nd  r_g_st_r_d  7.8  _n  th_  R_cht_r  sc_l_.  Th_y  _r_  _m_ng  th_  b_gg_st  __rthq__k_s  _v_r  t_  h_t  T_rk_y.  Th_y  c__s_d  h_g_  l_ss  _f  l_f_  _nd  d_m_g_  _n  s__th__st  T_rk_y  _nd  _n  n__ghb__r_ng  Syr__.  Pr_s_d_nt  _rd_g_n  w_rn_d  _f  th_  d_ng_r  _f  _  "l_rg_  n_mb_r  _f  _ft_rsh_cks".  H_  s__d:  "__r  t__ms  _r_  w_rk_ng  t_  r__ch  th_  d_s_st_r  _r__s....W_  _r_  r_p_dly  c_nt_n__ng  th_  s__rch  _nd  r_sc__  _p_r_t__ns...d_sp_t_  th_  d_ff_c_lty  _f  th_  c_nd_t__ns  _nd  th_  t_rr_bl_  w__th_r."

    Th_  _nt_rn_t__n_l  c_mm_n_ty  h_s  pr_m_s_d  s_pp_rt  f_r  T_rk_y  _nd  Syr__.  Th_  __  h_s  s_nt  m_r_  th_n  1,150  r_sc__  w_rk_rs.  _m_rg_ncy  m_d_c_l  t__ms  w_ll  pr_v_d_  "_ss_nt__l  h__lth  c_r_  f_r  th_  _nj_r_d  _nd  m_st  v_ln_r_bl_  p__pl_  _ff_ct_d  by  th_  __rthq__k_s".  M_x_c_  h_s  s_nt  _  t__m  _f  d_gs  _nd  r_sc__rs  wh_  _r_  _xp_rts  _n  l_c_t_ng  s_rv_v_rs  _n  th_  r_bbl_.  _.S.  Pr_s_d_nt  J__  B_d_n  s__d  h_  w_s  "d__ply  s_dd_n_d  by  th_  l_ss  _f  l_f_  _nd  d_v_st_t__n  c__s_d  by  th_  __rthq__k_s".  H_  pr_m_s_d  t_  g_v_  "_ny  h_lp  th_t  _s  n__d_d".  G_rm_ny's  Ch_nc_ll_r  _l_f  Sch_lz  s__d:  "W_  m__rn  w_th  th_  v_ct_ms  _nd  f__r  f_r  th_s_  b_r__d."  Syr__  w_ll  _ls_  r_c__v_  _  l_t  _f  h_lp.  _t  h_s  _lr__dy  s_ff_r_d  f_r  y__rs  fr_m  w_r."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    turkeys president erdogan has declared a three month state of emergency across areas hit by mondays deadly earthquakes two extremely powerful quakes hit turkey just nine hours apart the first quake was a magnitude 75 the second registered 78 on the richter scale they are among the biggest earthquakes ever to hit turkey they caused huge loss of life and damage in southeast turkey and in neighbouring syria president erdogan warned of the danger of a large number of aftershocks he said our teams are working to reach the disaster areaswe are rapidly continuing the search and rescue operations despite the difficulty of the conditions and the terrible weather

    the international community has promised support for turkey and syria the eu has sent more than 1150 rescue workers emergency medical teams will provide essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable people affected by the earthquakes mexico has sent a team of dogs and rescuers who are experts in locating survivors in the rubble us president joe biden said he was deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquakes he promised to give any help that is needed germanys chancellor olaf scholz said we mourn with the victims and fear for those buried syria will also receive a lot of help it has already suffered for years from war

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Turkey'sPresidentErdoganhasdeclaredathree-monthstateofemer
    gencyacrossareashitbyMonday'sdeadlyearthquakes.Twoextremely
    powerfulquakeshitTurkeyjustninehoursapart.Thefirstquakewasam
    agnitude7.5;thesecondregistered7.8ontheRichterscale.Theyaream
    ongthebiggestearthquakesevertohitTurkey.Theycausedhugelossofl
    ifeanddamageinsoutheastTurkeyandinneighbouringSyria.President
    Erdoganwarnedofthedangerofa"largenumberofaftershocks".Hesaid
    :"Ourteamsareworkingtoreachthedisasterareas....Wearerapidlycon
    tinuingthesearchandrescueoperations...despitethedifficultyoftheco
    nditionsandtheterribleweather."Theinternationalcommunityhaspro
    misedsupportforTurkeyandSyria.TheEUhassentmorethan1,150resc
    ueworkers.Emergencymedicalteamswillprovide"essentialhealthcar
    efortheinjuredandmostvulnerablepeopleaffectedbytheearthquakes
    ".Mexicohassentateamofdogsandrescuerswhoareexpertsinlocating
    survivorsintherubble.U.S.PresidentJoeBidensaidhewas"deeplysadd
    enedbythelossoflifeanddevastationcausedbytheearthquakes".Hepr
    omisedtogive"anyhelpthatisneeded".Germany'sChancellorOlafSch
    olzsaid:"Wemournwiththevictimsandfearforthoseburied."Syriawilla
    lsoreceivealotofhelp.Ithasalreadysufferedforyearsfromwar.

    Free writing

    Write about Turkey and Syria earthquake for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    All governments should send billions of dollars to Turkey and Syria. 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. EARTHQUAKES: Make a poster about earthquakes. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. TURKEY AND SYRIA: Write a magazine article about all world governments giving billions of dollars each to help Syria and Turkey. 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 earthquakes. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to help Syria and Turkey. 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.)

    Back to the top

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You