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Date: Sep 1, 2005
Level: Easier (Try the harder lesson.) Downloads: Word Doc | PDF Doc | Listening Audio: (2:03 - 241.5 KB - 16kbps)
THE ARTICLEAnother tragedy hit Baghdad yesterday when at least 800 people died in a stampede. The victims were mostly women and children. They were among hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims, who were walking to the Khadimiya shrine to attend a religious festival. The stampede started when rumors spread that a suicide bomber was in the crowds of worshippers. People panicked and quickly tried to escape. Thousands of people fell into the Tigris River resulting in the overwhelming loss of life. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has declared a three-day period of mourning. Politicians were blaming each other for the deaths. Shiite festivals regularly attract huge crowds and are often targeted by Sunni extremists. Some leading Shiites have accused Sunni groups of trying to create divisions between Iraq’s Shiite and Sunni populations. Many in Iraq feel Sunnis are trying to start a civil war. The tragedy is the single biggest loss of life in Iraq since the US-led invasion. WARM-UPS1. IRAQ NEWS: Do you often follow news of Iraq? What do you think about what’s happening there every day? Do you ever hear good news coming out of Iraq? 2. PEOPLE AND PLACES: What do you know about the following people and places that are often in the news on Iraq? What part might they play in Iraq’s future?
3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently. 4. TRAGEDY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “tragedy”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 5. GOOD NEWS: Here is some good news that might be printed in newspapers in the future. What do you think of these headlines? Are they possible?
6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think Iraq will be in a state of chaos for at least a decade. Students B think life in Iraq will become normal after elections take place. Change partners often. BEFORE READING / LISTENING1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
WHILE READING / LISTENINGGAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text. 800 die in Baghdad shrine stampede
AFTER READING / LISTENING1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘civil’ and ‘war’.
2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the gap fill. 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. STUDENT “IRAQ” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Iraq.
6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
DISCUSSIONSTUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.
SPEAKINGCITIZEN INTERVIEW: In pairs / groups, write down questions you would like to ask an average Baghdad citizen about his/her life. The following ideas may be useful:
Take turns in role playing the interviewer and the Baghdad citizen. Change partners and discuss what you heard from previous partners. LISTENINGListen and fill in the spaces. 800 die in Baghdad shrine stampedeAnother ________ hit Baghdad yesterday when at least 800 people died in a stampede. The ________ were mostly women and children. They were among hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims, who were walking to the Khadimiya shrine to ________ a religious festival. The stampede started when rumors ________ that a suicide bomber was in the crowds of worshippers. People ________ and quickly tried to escape. Thousands of people fell into the Tigris River resulting in the overwhelming ________ of life. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has ________ a three-day period of mourning. Politicians were ________ each other for the deaths. Shiite festivals regularly ________ huge crowds and are often targeted by Sunni extremists. Some leading Shiites have ________ Sunni groups of trying to create divisions between Iraq’s Shiite and Sunni populations. Many in Iraq ________ Sunnis are trying to start a civil war. The tragedy is the single biggest loss of life in Iraq since the US-led ________. HOMEWORK1. 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 more information on the Baghdad stampede. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. 3. SUNNI AND SHIA: Make a poster explaining the differences between the Shia and Sunni people and religions. What does each of them want in the new Iraq? Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all find out about similar things? 4. DIARY / JOURNAL: You are a resident of Baghdad. Write the diary / journal entry for one day in your life. Read what you wrote to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things? ANSWERSTRUE / FALSE:
SYNONYM MATCH:
PHRASE MATCH:
GAP FILL: 800 die in Baghdad shrine stampedeAnother tragedy hit Baghdad yesterday when at least 800 people died in a stampede. The victims were mostly women and children. They were among hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims, who were walking to the Khadimiya shrine to attend a religious festival. The stampede started when rumors spread that a suicide bomber was in the crowds of worshippers. People panicked and quickly tried to escape. Thousands of people fell into the Tigris River resulting in the overwhelming loss of life. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has declared a three-day period of mourning. Politicians were blaming each other for the deaths. Shiite festivals regularly attract huge crowds and are often targeted by Sunni extremists. Some leading Shiites have accused Sunni groups of trying to create divisions between Iraq’s Shiite and Sunni populations. Many in Iraq feel Sunnis are trying to start a civil war. The tragedy is the single biggest loss of life in Iraq since the US-led invasion.
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