Breaking News English Lesson: Politicians

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UK elects 22-year-old as a Member of Parliament (8th July 2024)

The Reading / Listening - Politicians - Level 6

A 22-year-old has been elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK's general election on Thursday. Sam Carling won the seat for North West Cambridgeshire by the slimmest of majorities. Mr Carling, from the Labour Party, narrowly beat the incumbent Conservative Party candidate by 39 votes. He will now sit in Parliament in Westminster and represent the interests and concerns of the people in his Cambridge seat. At Westminster, he will be called the "baby of the House". This is the unofficial title given to the youngest MP. Carling, a science graduate from Cambridge University, called his victory a "political earthquake". He hopes his achievement will spur on young people to enter politics, and "tackle apathy".

Mr Carling said his interest in politics was sparked by the social and economic decline he saw in the UK. He grew up in what he described as "a very deprived area" in the north of England. This is an area the Conservative Party had promised to "level up" and turn into a "northern powerhouse". However, these lofty promises went unkept. Carling said: "I saw a lot of things getting worse around me. I was concerned about shops closing on local high streets that used to be a thriving hub and are basically now a wasteland." He hopes the newly-elected Labour Party will undo 14 years of Conservative misrule, scandal, sleaze and corruption. Britain's public services are in chaos and people are worse off than they were 14 years ago.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Politicians - Level 4 or Politicians - Level 5

Sources

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c16jpl6707eo
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/meet-the-new-baby-of-the-house-labour-mp-sam-carling/ar-BB1pwcuF
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/06/labour-sam-carling-22-first-mp-born-in-21st-century

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. POLITICIANS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about politicians. 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?
member of parliament / election / majority / incumbent / candidate / vote / apathy /
politics / economic decline / deprived area / level up / wasteland / scandal / sleaze
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. AGE LIMIT: Students A strongly believe there should be age limits on who can become a politician; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. CONCERNS: How would you address these concerns if you were a politician? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	What To Do	Why?
Crime
Health
Education
Jobs
Technology
Foreign relations

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. CANDIDATE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "candidate". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. PUBLIC SERVICES: Rank these with your partner. Put the most important public services at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

Education
Emergency services
Healthcare
Housing
Refuse collection
Security
Social care
Tax collection

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	slimmest	a.	Not caring about something.
2.	majority	b.	A person who currently has a job or position.
3.	incumbent	c.	To encourage someone to do something.
4.	candidate	d.	The thinnest or smallest.
5.	spur on	e.	To try to deal with a problem or difficult task.
6.	tackle	f.	More than half of a group.
7.	apathy	g.	A person who is trying to get a job or position.

Paragraph 2

8.	sparked	h.	Growing and doing well.
9.	deprived	i.	A central place where people go or things happen.
10.	lofty	j.	In a worse situation than before.
11.	thriving	k.	Not having something needed.
12.	hub	l.	Dishonest or immoral behaviour.
13.	sleaze	m.	Noble; high-minded.
14.	worse off	n.	Started something suddenly.

Before reading / listening

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

The article says Sam Carling is the UK's youngest ever politician. T / F
Sam Carling won his seat by a huge margin. T / F
Sam Carling will be given the nickname "baby of the House". T / F
Sam Carling graduated with a law degree from Cambridge University. T / F
Sam Carling grew up in a very poor area of England. T / F
The Conservative Party did not level up the north of England. T / F
Sam Carling is happy that wastelands are now thriving retail hubs. T / F
The article says people are better off than they were 14 years ago. T / F

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

elected
slimmest
incumbent
concerns
apathy
sparked
deprived
promised
thriving
chaos

vowed
worries
initiated
current
disorder
indifference
flourishing
voted in
disadvantaged
narrowest

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

by the slimmest of
represent the interests and concerns
a science
a political
tackle
sparked by the social and
what he described as a very deprived
these lofty promises went
streets that used to be a
misrule, scandal, sleaze

graduate
unkept
area
of the people
and corruption
apathy
thriving hub
earthquake
economic decline
majorities

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

slimmest
represent
earthquake
spur
elected
apathy
incumbent
unofficial

A 22-year-old has been (1) _____________________ as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK's general election on Thursday. Sam Carling won the seat for North West Cambridgeshire by the (2) _____________________ of majorities. Mr Carling, from the Labour Party, narrowly beat the (3) _____________________ Conservative Party candidate by 39 votes. He will now sit in Parliament in Westminster and (4) _____________________ the interests and concerns of the people in his Cambridge seat. At Westminster, he will be called the "baby of the House". This is the (5) _____________________ title given to the youngest MP. Carling, a science graduate from Cambridge University, called his victory a "political (6) _____________________ ". He hopes his achievement will (7) _____________________ on young people to enter politics, and "tackle (8) _____________________".

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

local
decline
sparked
undo
lofty
sleaze
deprived
hub

Mr Carling said his interest in politics was (9) _____________________ by the social and economic (10) _____________________ he saw in the UK. He grew up in what he described as "a very (11) _____________________ area" in the north of England. This is an area the Conservative Party had promised to "level up" and turn into a "northern powerhouse". However, these (12) _____________________ promises went unkept. Carling said: "I saw a lot of things getting worse around me. I was concerned about shops closing on (13) _____________________ high streets that used to be a thriving (14) _____________________ and are basically now a wasteland." He hopes the newly-elected Labour Party will (15) _____________________ 14 years of Conservative misrule, scandal, (16) _____________________ and corruption. Britain's public services are in chaos and people are worse off than they were 14 years ago.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) A 22-year-old has been elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the ______
     a. UK's general elation
     b. UK's general elision
     c. UK's general erection
     d. UK's general election
2) Sam Carling won the seat for North West Cambridgeshire by the ______
     a. slimmest of majority
     b. slimmest of minorities
     c. slimmest of measures
     d. slimmest of majorities
3) Mr Carling, from the Labour Party, narrowly ______
     a. beat the incumbent
     b. beat their incumbent
     c. beat a incumbent
     d. beet the incumbent
4) a science graduate from Cambridge University, called his victory ______
     a. a political earthquake
     b. a political earth-shattering
     c. a political earthworm
     d. a political earthliness
5) spur on young people to enter politics, ______
     a. and tackle empathy
     b. and tackle telepathy
     c. and tackle apothecary
     d. and tackle apathy

6) Mr Carling said his interest in politics was sparked by the social ______
     a. and economic incline
     b. and economic decline
     c. and economic recline
     d. and economic on cline
7) he saw in the UK. He grew up in what he described as a ______
     a. very depraved area
     b. very deprived area
     c. very deep private area
     d. very depravity area
8) turn into a "northern powerhouse". However, these lofty ______
     a. promises went unkempt
     b. promises went unkept
     c. promises went un-crept
     d. promises went non-kept
9) I was concerned about shops closing on local high streets that used to be ______
     a. a thriving chub
     b. a thriving shrub
     c. a thriving hub
     d. a thriving hubbub
10) undo 14 years of Conservative misrule, scandal, ______
     a. sneeze and corruption
     b. seize and corruption
     c. squeeze and corruption
     d. sleaze and corruption

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A 22-year-old has (1) ____________________ a Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK's general election on Thursday. Sam Carling won the seat for North West Cambridgeshire by the (2) ____________________. Mr Carling, from the Labour Party, narrowly (3) ____________________ Conservative Party candidate by 39 votes. He will now sit in Parliament in Westminster and represent the (4) ____________________ of the people in his Cambridge seat. At Westminster, he will be called the "baby of the House". This is the unofficial title given to the youngest MP. Carling, a science graduate from Cambridge University, called his (5) ____________________ earthquake". He hopes his achievement will spur on young people to enter politics, (6) ____________________.

Mr Carling said his interest in (7) ____________________ by the social and economic decline he saw in the UK. He grew up in what he described as "a (8) ____________________" in the north of England. This is an area the Conservative Party had promised to "level up" and turn into a "northern powerhouse". However, (9) ____________________ went unkept. Carling said: "I saw a lot of things getting worse around me. I was concerned about shops closing on local high streets that used to be (10) ____________________ and are basically now a wasteland." He hopes the newly-elected Labour Party will undo 14 years of Conservative misrule, (11) ____________________ corruption. Britain's public services (12) ____________________ and people are worse off than they were 14 years ago.

Comprehension questions

When was the UK's general election?
By how many votes did Sam Carling beat the incumbent MP?
What unofficial title will Sam Carling be given?
What did Mr Carling graduate in?
What does Mr Carling want to tackle among young people?
What kinds of decline got Mr Carling interested in politics?
Where did Mr Carling grow up?
What did the Conservatives promise to turn the north of England into?
What did Mr Carling say a thriving hub had now become?
What does Carling want to undo besides misrule, scandal and corruption?

Multiple choice quiz

1) When was the UK's general election?
a) last Friday
b) last weekend
c) last Thursday
d) last Tuesday
2) By how many votes did Sam Carling beat the incumbent MP?
a) 39
b) 38
c) 37
d) 36
3) What unofficial title will Sam Carling be given?
a) House Baby
b) Baby of the House
c) Westminster Baby
d) Baby of Parliament
4) What did Mr Carling graduate in?
a) economics
b) politics
c) law
d) science
5) What does Mr Carling want to tackle among young people?
a) crime
b) the ball
c) apathy
d) many problems

6) What kinds of decline got Mr Carling interested in politics?
a) a decline in standards
b) social and economic
c) inflation
d) moral decline

7) Where did Mr Carling grow up?
a) the south west
b) in the middle of England
c) London
d) in the north of England
8) What did the Conservatives promise to turn the north of England into?
a) a thriving hub
b) a northern powerhouse
c) a shopping paradise
d) an industrial heartland
9) What did Mr Carling say a thriving hub had now become?
a) a retail centre
b) a wasteland
c) a great success
d) a no-go zone
10) What does Carling want to undo besides misrule, scandal and corruption?
a) sleaze
b) immigration policies
c) voting ages
d) reforms

Role play

Role A – Education
You think education is the most essential public service. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their services aren't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): tax collection, refuse collection or emergency services.

Role B – Tax Collection
You think tax collection is the most essential public service. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their services aren't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): education, refuse collection or emergency services.

Role C – Refuse Collection
You think refuse collection is the most essential public service. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their services aren't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): tax collection, education or emergency services.

Role D – Emergency Services
You think emergency services is the most essential public service. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their services aren't as important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): tax collection, refuse collection or education.

After reading / listening

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

'politician'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'election'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

general

slimmest

39

interests

baby

spur

sparked

area

level

hub

undo

worse

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 - Politicians

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 'politician'?
What do you think of the politicians in your country?
Would you be a good politician?
Are young or old politicians best?
Would you vote for a 22-year-old candidate?
What do you know about British politics?
What do you think of national elections?
What attributes are needed to be a good politician?
How important is it for young people to get involved in politics?

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 'election'?
What do you think about what you read?
Is there any social and economic decline in your country?
How can leaders level up deprived areas?
Why don't politicians keep their promises?
What do you know about American politics?
What political scandals do you know of in your country?
What sleaze and corruption do you know of in your country?
What questions would you like to ask the young politician?

Discussion — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

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

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

A 22-year-old has been (1) ____ as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK's general election on Thursday. Sam Carling won the (2) ____ for North West Cambridgeshire by the slimmest of majorities. Mr Carling, from the Labour Party, narrowly beat the (3) ____ Conservative Party candidate by 39 votes. He will now sit in Parliament in Westminster and represent the interests and concerns of the people in his Cambridge seat. At Westminster, he will be called the "(4) ____ of the House". This is the unofficial title given to the youngest MP. Carling, a science graduate from Cambridge University, called his (5) ____ a "political earthquake". He hopes his achievement will spur on young people to enter politics, and "tackle (6) ____".

Mr Carling said his interest in politics was (7) ____ by the social and economic decline he saw in the UK. He grew up in what he described as "a very deprived area" in the north of England. This is an area the Conservative Party had promised to "level (8) ____" and turn into a "northern powerhouse". However, these lofty promises went unkept. Carling said: "I saw a lot of things getting worse around me. I was concerned about shops closing on local (9) ____ streets that used to be a thriving (10) ____ and are basically now a wasteland." He hopes the newly-elected Labour Party will undo 14 years of Conservative misrule, scandal, (11) ____ and corruption. Britain's public services are in chaos and people are worse (12) ____ than they were 14 years ago.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) erection (b) elated (c) belated (d) elected
(a) bench (b) chair (c) sofa (d) seat
(a) incubator (b) incumbent (c) cucumber (d) ambient
(a) infant (b) kid (c) baby (d) newborn
(a) victorious (b) victor (c) victory (d) Victorian
(a) apathy (b) telepathy (c) empathy (d) sympathy
(a) spanked (b) sparked (c) sparkled (d) speckled
(a) up (b) off (c) down (d) to
(a) low (b) high (c) up (d) down
(a) hob (b) hug (c) hub (d) hum
(a) squeeze (b) sneeze (c) sleaze (d) seize
(a) out (b) on (c) in (d) off

Spelling

Paragraph 1

by the slimmest of irotmesija
the umeinbnct Conservative Party candidate
He will now sit in nmltaeriPa
This is the fianfiuloc title
a political akqteuaher
enter politics, and tackle hypaat

Paragraph 2

sparked by the social and economic leniecd
a very evirpdde area
high streets that used to be a nvihigtr hub
are basically now a laswaetdn
misrule, scandal, eelasz and corruption
Britain's public services are in asohc

Put the text back together

(...)   victory a "political earthquake". He hopes his achievement will spur on young people to enter politics, and "tackle apathy".
(...)   concerns of the people in his Cambridge seat. At Westminster, he will be called the "baby of the House". This is the unofficial
(...)   by 39 votes. He will now sit in Parliament in Westminster and represent the interests and
(...)   high streets that used to be a thriving hub and are basically now a wasteland." He hopes the newly-
(...)   majorities. Mr Carling, from the Labour Party, narrowly beat the incumbent Conservative Party candidate
(...)   and corruption. Britain's public services are in chaos and people are worse off than they were 14 years ago.
(...)   Mr Carling said his interest in politics was sparked by the social and economic decline he saw in the UK. He grew
(...)   to "level up" and turn into a "northern powerhouse". However, these lofty promises went
(...)   unkept. Carling said: "I saw a lot of things getting worse around me. I was concerned about shops closing on local
(...)   up in what he described as "a very deprived area" in the north of England. This is an area the Conservative Party had promised
(...)   elected Labour Party will undo 14 years of Conservative misrule, scandal, sleaze
(...)   title given to the youngest MP. Carling, a science graduate from Cambridge University, called his
( 1 ) A 22-year-old has been elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK's general
(...)   election on Thursday. Sam Carling won the seat for North West Cambridgeshire by the slimmest of

Put the words in the right order

the candidate . incumbent He narrowly Conservative Party beat
the of Represent the people . and interests concerns
to unofficial youngest given the MP . The title
earthquake . a called graduate victory The political his
spur to people It'll enter young politics . on
by decline Sparked he economic the saw .
very up He deprived a in grew area .
up . level party the area An to promised
basically wasteland . hub is now a A thriving
are worse were . People they off than

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

A 22-year-old has been erected / elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK's general election on Thursday. Sam Carling won the seat / chair for North West Cambridgeshire by the slimmest of majority / majorities. Mr Carling, from the Labour Party, narrowly beat the incumbent / incubator Conservative Party candidate by 39 votes. He will now sit in / on Parliament in Westminster and prevent / represent the interests and concerns of the people in his Cambridge seat. At Westminster, he will be called the "baby of the House". This is the unofficial entitled / title given to the youngest MP. Carling, a science graduate from Cambridge University, called his vitriol / victory a "political earthquake". He hopes his achievement will spur / spar on young people to enter politics, and "tackle apathy / empathy".

Mr Carling said his interest in / on politics was sparked / sparkled by the social and economic decline he saw in the UK. He grew up in what he described as "a very deprived arena / area" in the north of England. This is an area the Conservative Party had promised / premised to "level up" and turn into a "northern powerhouse". However, these lefty / lofty promises went unkept. Carling said: "I saw a lot of things getting worse around me. I was cornered / concerned about shops closing on local low / high streets that used to be a thriving hub / hob and are basically now a wasteland." He hopes the newly-elected Labour Party will redo / undo 14 years of Conservative misrule, scandal, sleaze and corruption. Britain's public services are in chaos and people are worse on / off than they were 14 years ago.

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)

_22-y__r-_ld h_s b__n _l_ct_d _s _ M_mb_r _f P_rl__m_nt (MP) _n th_ _K's g_n_r_l _l_ct__n _n Th_rsd_y. S_m C_rl_ng w_n th_ s__t f_r N_rth W_st C_mbr_dg_sh_r_ by th_ sl_mm_st _f m_j_r_t__s. Mr C_rl_ng, fr_m th_ L_b__r P_rty, n_rr_wly b__t th_ _nc_mb_nt C_ns_rv_t_v_ P_rty c_nd_d_t_ by 39 v_t_s. H_ w_ll n_w s_t _n P_rl__m_nt _n W_stm_nst_r _nd r_pr_s_nt th_ _nt_r_sts _nd c_nc_rns _f th_ p__pl_ _n h_s C_mbr_dg_ s__t. _t W_stm_nst_r, h_ w_ll b_ c_ll_d th_ "b_by _f th_ H__s_". Th_s _s th_ _n_ff_c__l t_tl_ g_v_n t_ th_ y__ng_st MP. C_rl_ng, _ sc__nc_ gr_d__t_ fr_m C_mbr_dg_ _n_v_rs_ty, c_ll_d h_s v_ct_ry _ "p_l_t_c_l __rthq__k_". H_ h_p_s h_s _ch__v_m_nt w_ll sp_r _n y__ng p__pl_ t_ _nt_r p_l_t_cs, _nd "t_ckl_ _p_thy".

Mr C_rl_ng s__d h_s _nt_r_st _n p_l_t_cs w_s sp_rk_d by th_ s_c__l _nd _c_n_m_c d_cl_n_ h_ s_w _n th_ _K. H_ gr_w _p _n wh_t h_ d_scr_b_d _s "_ v_ry d_pr_v_d _r__" _n th_ n_rth _f _ngl_nd. Th_s _s _n _r__ th_ C_ns_rv_t_v_ P_rty h_d pr_m_s_d t_ "l_v_l _p" _nd t_rn _nt_ _ "n_rth_rn p_w_rh__s_". H_w_v_r, th_s_ l_fty pr_m_s_s w_nt _nk_pt. C_rl_ng s__d: "_ s_w _ l_t _f th_ngs g_tt_ng w_rs_ _r__nd m_. _ w_s c_nc_rn_d _b__t sh_ps cl_s_ng _n l_c_l h_gh str__ts th_t _s_d t_ b_ _ thr_v_ng h_b _nd _r_ b_s_c_lly n_w _ w_st_l_nd." H_ h_p_s th_ n_wly-_l_ct_d L_b__r P_rty w_ll _nd_ 14 y__rs _f C_ns_rv_t_v_ m_sr_l_, sc_nd_l, sl__z_ _nd c_rr_pt__n. Br_t__n's p_bl_c s_rv_c_s _r_ _n ch__s _nd p__pl_ _r_ w_rs_ _ff th_n th_y w_r_ 14 y__rs _g_.

Punctuate the text and add capitals

a 22yearold has been elected as a member of parliament mp in the uks general election on thursday sam carling won the seat for north west cambridgeshire by the slimmest of majorities mr carling from the labour party narrowly beat the incumbent conservative party candidate by 39 votes he will now sit in parliament in westminster and represent the interests and concerns of the people in his cambridge seat at westminster he will be called the baby of the house this is the unofficial title given to the youngest mp carling a science graduate from cambridge university called his victory a political earthquake he hopes his achievement will spur on young people to enter politics and tackle apathy

mr carling said his interest in politics was sparked by the social and economic decline he saw in the uk he grew up in what he described as a very deprived area in the north of england this is an area the conservative party had promised to level up and turn into a northern powerhouse however these lofty promises went unkept carling said i saw a lot of things getting worse around me i was concerned about shops closing on local high streets that used to be a thriving hub and are basically now a wasteland he hopes the newlyelected labour party will undo 14 years of conservative misrule scandal sleaze and corruption britains public services are in chaos and people are worse off than they were 14 years ago

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

A22-year-oldhasbeenelectedasaMemberofParliament(MP)intheUK
'sgeneralelectiononThursday.SamCarlingwontheseatforNorthWest
Cambridgeshirebytheslimmestofmajorities.MrCarling,fromtheLabo
urParty,narrowlybeattheincumbentConservativePartycandidateby3
9votes.HewillnowsitinParliamentinWestminsterandrepresenttheint
erestsandconcernsofthepeopleinhisCambridgeseat.AtWestminster,
hewillbecalledthe"babyoftheHouse".Thisistheunofficialtitlegiventot
heyoungestMP.Carling,asciencegraduatefromCambridgeUniversity
,calledhisvictorya"politicalearthquake".Hehopeshisachievementwill
spuronyoungpeopletoenterpolitics,and"tackleapathy".MrCarlingsai
dhisinterestinpoliticswassparkedbythesocialandeconomicdeclinehe
sawintheUK.Hegrewupinwhathedescribedas"averydeprivedarea"in
thenorthofEngland.ThisisanareatheConservativePartyhadpromised
to"levelup"andturnintoa"northernpowerhouse".However,theselofty
promiseswentunkept.Carlingsaid:"Isawalotofthingsgettingworsear
oundme.Iwasconcernedaboutshopsclosingonlocalhighstreetsthatu
sedtobeathrivinghubandarebasicallynowawasteland."Hehopesthen
ewly-electedLabourPartywillundo14yearsofConservativemisrule,s
candal,sleazeandcorruption.Britain'spublicservicesareinchaosandp
eopleareworseoffthantheywere14yearsago.

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

Young politicians are better than old politicians. 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. POLITICIANS: Make a poster about politicians. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. AGE LIMIT: Write a magazine article about requiring politicians to be a minimum age. 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 politicians. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how politicians cane be better. 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: Politicians

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