The Reading / Listening - Eczema and Itchiness - Level 0

Itches are annoying. Researchers studied what causes itches. They found that bacteria in our skin make us itch. The bacteria cause diseases like eczema. A researcher said many people have eczema. She added that eczema can be very tiring for people because they itch a lot.

The researchers found something that caused itching in test mice. They changed the protein to make a drug. This stopped itching in the mice. This drug could help 245 million people around the world with eczema. Eczema causes itchiness, redness on the skin, rashes, and blisters.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Eczema and Itchiness - Level 1 Eczema and Itchiness - Level 2   or  Eczema and Itchiness - Level 3

Sources
  • https://news.sky.com/story/why-do-we-itch-scientists-have-been-scratching-their-heads-and-now-have-the-answer-13013524
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/67519448
  • https://hms.harvard.edu/news/new-clues-head-scratching-mystery-itch


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 :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Itches are
  2. Researchers studied what
  3. bacteria in our skin
  4. bacteria cause diseases
  5. many people
  6. eczema can
  7. tiring
  8. they itch
  1. be very tiring
  2. like eczema
  3. a lot
  4. for people
  5. annoying
  6. make us itch
  7. causes itches
  8. have eczema

Paragraph 2

  1. The researchers found
  2. something that
  3. They changed the protein
  4. This stopped itching
  5. This drug could
  6. people around the world
  7. Eczema causes
  8. skin, rashes,
  1. with eczema
  2. to make a drug
  3. and blisters
  4. something
  5. itchiness
  6. caused itching
  7. help 245 million
  8. in the mice

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

(1) _________________. Researchers studied (2) ___________________. They found that bacteria (3) ___________________ make us itch. The bacteria (4) ___________________ eczema. A researcher said many people have eczema. (5) ___________________ eczema can be very tiring for (6) ___________________ itch a lot.

The researchers (7) ___________________ caused itching (8) ___________________. They changed the protein to (9) ___________________. This stopped itching (10) ___________________. This drug could help 245 (11) ___________________ the world with eczema. Eczema causes itchiness, redness on the skin, (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Itchesareannoying.Researchersstudiedwhatcausesitches.Theyfoun
dthatbacteriainourskinmakeusitch.Thebacteriacausediseaseslikeec
zema.Aresearchersaidmanypeoplehaveeczema.Sheaddedthatecze
macanbeverytiringforpeoplebecausetheyitchalot.Theresearchersfo
undsomethingthatcauseditchingintestmice.Theychangedtheprotein
tomakeadrug.Thisstoppeditchinginthemice.Thisdrugcouldhelp245
millionpeoplearoundtheworldwitheczema.Eczemacausesitchiness,r
ednessontheskin,rashes,andblisters.

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 — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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