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Tuesday February 8, 2005
Intermediate +

THE ARTICLE

There may soon be peace in the troubled lands of Israel and Palestine. Israeli leader Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will meet today in Egypt to sign an official truce, ending four years of tragic and bitter fighting between the two countries. The meeting between the two leaders will be the highest level talks since the Intifada (Palestinian uprising) began four years ago. It is a highly positive sign, as Mr. Sharon absolutely refused to deal with former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom he branded a terrorist. He views Mr. Abbas as a peacemaker and is keen to do business with him in ensuring the Road Map for Peace continues its progress. A Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, quoted in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, said a mutual truce would exist between the two sides after the summit, “The most important thing at the summit will be a mutual declaration of cessation of violence against each other.”

Historic though the truce would be, gigantic obstacles still remain to be overcome. Militant groups such as Hamas need to lay down their guns and stop their suicide bombings. On the Israeli side there is the question of dismantling settlements on the West Bank and the future of the security barrier. And then there’s the final sticking point – whether the Palestinians will have East Jerusalem as their capital city. The fact that the two leaders are talking peace bodes well for these issues being resolved.

Teacher's plan in Word.doc

Example Class Handout in .pdf

WARM UPS / COOL DOWNS

1. CHAT:  Talk in pairs or groups about the Middle East / Israel / Palestine / suicide bombing / occupation / peace / hope / coexistence…

To make things more dynamic, try telling your students they only have one minute (or 2) on each chat topic before changing topics / partners. Change topic / partner frequently to energize the class.

2. ISRAEL BRAINSTORM: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Israel. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

3. PALESTINE BRAINSTORM: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Palestine. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

4. HISTORY JIGSAW: The past 40 years have been particularly bloody for the Middle East and have seen many of the world’s flashpoints. With your partner, group, try to piece together what you know of the history between Israel and Palestine. Share your notes with other students / groups to build a bigger picture. Your teacher will put a timeline of the facts on the board. Talk about this timeline. Check the accuracy of your notes on the Internet for homework(in English!).

5. FUTURE HEADLINES: Talk to your partner / group about the following headlines that might emerge from the Middle East over the coming months and years:

  1. Israel to pull down security fence.
  2. Hamas abandons terror and becomes a political party.
  3. Sharon and Abbas to receive Nobel Peace Prize.
  4. Israel and Palestine to co-host 2016 Olympics.
  5. Palestinian economy strongest in Arab world.
  6. East Jerusalem becomes Palestinian capital city.
  7. Palestinians accept no right of return for Palestinian refugees.
  8. Muslim world allows Israelis to travel within their borders.
  9. Israel attends regional Arab development conference.
  10. West Bank settlements to be disbanded. Settlers returning to Israel

 
 

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Students look in their dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … of the words ‘peace’, and ‘official’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Students look at the headline and predict whether they believe the following statements about the article are true or false:

  1. There may soon be peace in the troubled lands of Israel and Palestine.  T / F
  2. Israeli and Palestinian leaders will meet next month to sign an official truce.  T / F
  3. The truce would end four years of tragic and bitter fighting between the two sides.  T / F
  4. This is the fourth time Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas have conducted talks.  T / F
  5. Mr. Sharon refused to deal with former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat T / F
  6. Tiny obstacles still remain to be overcome between the two sides.  T / F
  7. The Palestinians will definitely have East Jerusalem as their capital city.  T / F
  8. The fact that the two leaders are talking peace bodes well for lasting peace.  T / F

3. DEFINITIONS: Students match the following words with the most likely definitions (Please think about the headline!):

(a) troubled (adj)
(i) where there is a lot of pain and fighting and killing and little peace
(ii) ready to be scolded by a school principal or company boss

(b) official (adj)
(i) the small stars you see in the dark when someone turns the lights out
(ii) authorized by the government and seen as being true and real

(c) truce (n)
(i) something that is 100% true and can never be proven wrong
(ii) an agreement between two countries or armies (or people, friends …)to stop fighting each other

(d) tragic (adj)
(i) something that is very very sad because someone, or many people died unnecessarily
(ii) a kind of mathematical formula for deciding the population a country

(e) uprising (n)
(i) an organized fight or armed struggle by a people against a government or occupying power
(ii) when the temperature suddenly becomes very hot

(f) branded (v)
(i) to go to a sale to buy lots of Louis Vuitton and Chanel products
(ii) a way of describing another person, but with a very negative meaning / image

(g) mutual (adj)
(i) when an action has the same level of benefit or detriment for both sides of a relationship
(ii) to kneel down on the floor and bow your head in front of a religious image

(h) cessation (n)
(i) when the contents of a town’s toilets empty into the streets
(ii) something finishing or coming to an end

(i) obstacles (n)
(i) solutions that make your progress much easier and smoother
(ii) barriers that get in the way of where you want to go

(j) bodes well (v)
(i) shows positive signs that good things will happen in the future
(ii) does lots of physical exercise and is in tip-top shape

4. SYNONYM MATCH: Students match the following synonyms from the article:

(a) troubled acrimonious
(b) official eager
(c) truce shared
(d) bitter legitimate
(e) uprising warring
(f) branded hurdles
(g) keen peace
(h) mutual labeled
(i) obstacles obstacle
(j) sticking point revolution

5. PHRASE MATCH: Students match the following phrases based on the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

(a) peace in the troubled sign
(b) sign an official point
(c) ending four years of tragic still remain
(d) a highly positive well for these issues being resolved
(e) keen to do bombings
(f) cessation lands of Israel and Palestine
(g) gigantic obstacles and bitter fighting
(h) suicide business with
(i) the final sticking of violence against each other
(j) bodes truce

  

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. GAP-FILL:  Put the missing words under each paragraph into the gaps.

Israeli-Palestinian truce

There may soon be peace in the __________ lands of Israel and Palestine. Israeli leader Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will meet today in Egypt to sign an official __________, ending four years of tragic and bitter fighting between the two countries. The meeting between the two leaders will be the highest level __________ since the Intifada (Palestinian uprising) began four years ago. It is a highly positive sign, as Mr. Sharon absolutely refused to __________ with former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom he branded a terrorist. He views Mr. Abbas as a peacemaker and is keen to do business with him in __________ the Road Map for Peace continues its progress. A Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, quoted in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, said a mutual truce would exist between the two sides after the summit, “The most important thing at the summit will be a mutual declaration of __________ of violence against each other.”

Historic though the truce would be, gigantic obstacles still remain to be __________. Militant groups such as Hamas need to lay down their guns and stop their suicide bombings. On the Israeli side there is the question of dismantling settlements on the West Bank and the future of the security barrier. And then there’s the __________ sticking point – whether the Palestinians will have East Jerusalem as their capital city. The fact that the two leaders are talking peace __________ well for these issues being resolved.

 

cessation     truce      bodes      troubled     deal      overcome      talks      ensuring      final

2. TRUE/FALSE:  Students check their answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYMS:  Students check their answers to the synonyms exercise.

4. PHRASE MATCH:  Students check their answers to the phrase match exercise.

5. QUESTIONS: Students make notes for questions they would like to ask the class about the article.

6. VOCABULARY:  Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find the meanings.


 
 

POST READING IDEAS

1. GAP-FILL: Check the answers to the gap-fill exercise.

2. QUESTIONS:  Students ask the discussion questions they thought of above to their partner / group / class. Pool the questions for all students to share.

3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

4. STUDENT-GENERATED SURVEY: Pairs/Groups write down 3 questions based on the article. Conduct their surveys alone. Report back to partners to compare answers. Report to other groups / the whole class.

5. ‘PEACE’/ ‘OFFICIAL’: Students make questions based on their findings from pre-reading activity #1.

6. DISCUSSION:  Students ask each other the following questions:
Is this the beginning of peace between Israel and Palestine?

  1. What could go wrong in the next few weeks?
  2. How large are the obstacles that need to be overcome?
  3. Should Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?
  4. Is Mr. Abbas to be trusted?
  5. Is Mr. Sharon to be trusted?
  6. Will peace and American cash injections into Palestinian reconstruction change the nature of the War on Terror?
  7. Will Israel soon be able to peacefully coexist with its Arab neighbours?
  8. Does this truce mean peace treaties may soon be possible between Israel and Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia etc?
  9. What should happen to the security fence Israel is currently building?
  10. Should the settlements in the West Bank be dismantled?
  11. Will Israel fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip as they have promised?
  12. Will suicide bombings stop, or will Mr. Abbas organize his security forces to prevent them?
  13. Where should a new Palestinian capital city be located?
  14. Is any one side more to blame for the lack of peace thus far?
  15. Would you like to visit Israel and Palestine?
  16. Teacher / Student additional questions.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCAB EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or the Google search field to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Share your findings with your class next lesson.

3. LETTERS TO ARIEL & MAHMOUD: Write short letters to both Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas giving them advice for the upcoming months.

4. THE FUTURE: Create a brief ‘history’ of the future of the Middle East.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

  1. There may soon be peace in the troubled lands of Israel and Palestine.  T
  2. Israeli and Palestinian leaders will meet next month to sign an official truce.  F
  3. The truce would end four years of tragic and bitter fighting between the two sides.  T
  4. This is the fourth time Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas have conducted talks.  F
  5. Mr. Sharon refused to deal with former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat T
  6. Tiny obstacles still remain to be overcome between the two sides.  F
  7. The Palestinians will definitely have East Jerusalem as their capital city.  F
  8. The fact that the two leaders are talking peace bodes well for lasting peace.  T

DEFINITIONS:

(a) troubled (adj)
(i) where there is a lot of pain and fighting and killing and little peace

(b) official (adj)
(ii) authorized by the government and seen as being true and real

(c) truce (n)
(ii) an agreement between two countries or armies (or people, friends …)to stop fighting each other

(d) tragic (adj)
(i) something that is very very sad because someone, or many people died unnecessarily

(e) uprising (n)
(i) an organized fight or armed struggle by a people against a government or occupying power

(f) branded (v)
(ii) a way of describing another person, but with a very negative meaning / image

(g) mutual (adj)
(i) when an action has the same level of benefit or detriment for both sides of a relationship

(h) cessation (n)
(ii) something finishing or coming to an end

(i) obstacles (n)
(ii) barriers that get in the way of where you want to go

(j) bodes well (v)
(i) shows positive signs that good things will happen in the future

SYNONYM MATCH:

(a) troubled warring
(b) official legitimate
(c) truce peace
(d) bitter acrimonious
(e) uprising revolution
(f) branded labeled
(g) keen eager
(h) mutual shared
(i) obstacles hurdles
(j) sticking point obstacle

PHRASE MATCH:

(a) peace in the troubled lands of Israel and Palestine
(b) sign an official truce
(c) ending four years of tragic and bitter fighting
(d) a highly positive sign
(e) keen to do business with
(f) cessation of violence against each other
(g) gigantic obstacles still remain
(h) suicide bombings
(i) the final sticking point
(j) bodes well for these issues being resolved

 

 GAP FILL:

Israeli-Palestinian truce

There may soon be peace in the troubled lands of Israel and Palestine. Israeli leader Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will meet today in Egypt to sign an official truce, ending four years of tragic and bitter fighting between the two countries. The meeting between the two leaders will be the highest level talks since the Intifada (Palestinian uprising) began four years ago. It is a highly positive sign, as Mr. Sharon absolutely refused to deal with former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom he branded a terrorist. He views Mr. Abbas as a peacemaker and is keen to do business with him in ensuring the Road Map for Peace continues its progress. A Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, quoted in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, said a mutual truce would exist between the two sides after the summit, “The most important thing at the summit will be a mutual declaration of cessation of violence against each other.”

Historic though the truce would be, gigantic obstacles still remain to be overcome. Militant groups such as Hamas need to lay down their guns and stop their suicide bombings. On the Israeli side there is the question of dismantling settlements on the West Bank and the future of the security barrier. And then there’s the final sticking point – whether the Palestinians will have East Jerusalem as their capital city. The fact that the two leaders are talking peace bodes well for these issues being resolved.

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