Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Food Aid

Many parts of Kenya are experiencing severe drought, putting at risk the lives of millions. The World Food Programme (WFP) says 3.8 million Kenyans are in need of food assistance. The U.N. agency warns it does not have enough food or money to feed those who need it. WFP spokesperson Josette Sheeran told reporters the organization only had funds to feed around 400,000 people. This means 3.5 million Kenyans could starve. Sheeran said: “The funding shortfall is so severe that we will have to start reducing the size of rations [in October]. The hardship people are facing is going from bad to worse". There are fears a humanitarian crisis will hit Kenya and thousands will starve to death or die of thirst.

The Secretary General of Kenya’s Red Cross Society Abbas Gullet said there are serious food shortages throughout his country. Many food prices have gone up by as much as 80 per cent. Another factor raising the alarm for aid agencies is the number of livestock dying. There is not enough food or grazing land for farmers to keep their animals alive. Local communities are fighting each other for access to the little water they can find. Mr. Gullet said: “Farmers cannot sit and watch their livestock die and their livelihoods disappear. So they will fight for every drop of water and metre of grass available.” There is such a crisis that Masai farmers are herding their cows in the suburbs of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

WARM-UPS

1. FOOD AID: Walk around the class and talk to other students about food aid. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

severe drought / being at risk / assistance / starving / funding / rations / die of thirst / Red Cross / rising food prices / raising the alarm / livestock / livelihood / the suburbs

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. HELPING KENYA: What can we do to help Kenya? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share your ideas. Change again and share what you heard. Vote as a class on who has the best ideas.

	How?	Will it work? (Why?)	Will we do it? (Why?)
Us right now
Using the Internet
Writing letters
Collecting money
Street campaign
Something crazy

4. NEVER AGAIN: Students A strongly believe one day the world will never again let people in Africa die because of a lack of food; Students B strongly believe governments will never do enough to help. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. CAUSES OF DEATH: Match the words for these ways of dying in the two columns on the left with those in the other two columns. Talk about them with your partner(s). Do they happen in your country?

lack of food
lack of water
electricity
in the water

living to be 100
too cold for life
can’t breathe
from a bullet

freeze to death
electrocution
starve
die of old age

shot to death
suffocation
drowned
died of thirst

6. AID: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘aid’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	Many areas of Kenya have had no rain for a long time.	T / F
b.	The UN World Food Programme has insufficient funds to feed Kenyans.	T / F
c.	In October, the World Food Programme will give Kenyans more food.	T / F
d.	There is very little chance that Kenyans will die due to a lack of water.	T / F
e.	Even though there are food shortages, food prices remain stable.	T / F
f.	Cows and other farm animals cannot find enough grass to eat.	T / F
g.	Farmers are fighting each other for water and food for their animals.	T / F
h.	There are no signs of the drought in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.	T / F

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

1.	severe	a.	help
2	assistance	b.	farm animals
3.	funds	c.	all over
4.	size	d.	money
5.	hardship	e.	serious
6.	throughout	f.	income
7.	raising	g.	suffering
8.	livestock	h.	amount
9.	livelihoods	i.	residential areas
10.	suburbs	j.	increasing

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

1.	parts of Kenya are experiencing	a.	of water
2	Kenyans are in need of	b.	his country
3.	money to feed	c.	severe drought
4.	going from bad	d.	raising the alarm
5.	starve to death or die	e.	food assistance
6.	food shortages throughout	f.	Kenyan capital
7.	Another factor	g.	of thirst
8.	grazing land	h.	to worse
9.	they will fight for every drop	i.	those who need it
10.	the suburbs of the	j.	for farmers

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Many parts of Kenya are experiencing ____________ drought, putting at risk the lives of millions. The World Food Programme (WFP) says 3.8 million Kenyans are in ____________ of food assistance. The U.N. agency warns it does not have enough food or money to ____________ those who need it. WFP spokesperson Josette Sheeran told reporters the organization only had ____________ to feed around 400,000 people. This means 3.5 million Kenyans could ____________. Sheeran said: “The funding shortfall is so severe that we will have to start reducing the ____________ of rations [in October]. The hardship people are facing is going from bad to ____________. There are fears a humanitarian crisis will hit Kenya and thousands will starve to death or die of ____________.

funds
need
worse
thirst
severe
starve
feed
size

The Secretary General of Kenya’s Red Cross Society Abbas Gullet said there are serious food ____________ throughout his country. Many food prices have gone up by as ____________ as 80 per cent. Another factor raising the ____________ for aid agencies is the number of livestock dying. There is not enough food or grazing land for farmers to keep their animals ____________. Local communities are fighting each other for ____________ to the little water they can find. Mr. Gullet said: “Farmers cannot sit and watch their ____________ die and their livelihoods disappear. So they will fight for every ____________ of water and metre of grass available.” There is such a crisis that Masai farmers are herding their cows in the ____________ of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

access
drop
much
alive
shortages
suburbs
livestock
alarm

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Many parts of Kenya are experiencing severe drought, _________________ lives of millions. The World Food Programme (WFP) says 3.8 million Kenyans ___________________ assistance. The U.N. agency warns it does not have enough food or money to feed those who need it. WFP spokesperson Josette Sheeran told reporters the organization ___________________ feed around 400,000 people. This means 3.5 million Kenyans could starve. Sheeran said: “The funding shortfall ___________________ we will have to start reducing the size of rations [in October]. The hardship people ___________________ from bad to worse". There are fears a humanitarian crisis will hit Kenya and thousands will starve to ___________________.

The Secretary General of Kenya’s Red Cross Society Abbas Gullet said there _________________ shortages throughout his country. Many food prices have gone up by as much as 80 per cent. Another _________________ alarm for aid agencies is the number of livestock dying. There is not enough food or grazing land for farmers _________________ animals alive. Local communities are fighting each other for ___________________ water they can find. Mr. Gullet said: “Farmers cannot sit and watch their livestock die and their _________________. So they will fight for every drop of water and metre of grass available.” There is such a crisis that Masai farmers are herding their cows _________________ the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

food

aid

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:

severe
in need
funds
size
worse
thirst

serious
gone up
alarm
alive
access
cows

STUDENT KENYA FOOD AID SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about food aid for Kenya 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

FOOD AID DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the term ‘food aid’?
c)	Do you think countries will always need food aid?
d)	Do you think the system of food aid is a good one?
e)	What have you done in the past to help people in great need?
f)	Can you imagine what life is like in the worst affected parts of Kenya?
g)	What’s the hungriest you’ve ever been?
h)	What will happen if things go from bad to worse?
i)	Can the world do more to help countries in need like Kenya?
j)	Ten billionaires could get together and feed the 3.8 million Kenyans. Why do you think they don’t?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Have there ever been food shortages in your country?
c)	What would you do if food prices went up by 80 per cent?
d)	How can we increase the amount of money agencies have for food aid?
e)	Is spending money on food the best way to help people?
f)	What is the biggest hardship you’ve ever faced in your life?
g)	What message would you give to someone your own age who is suffering in Kenya?
h)	Have you ever had to fight for something?
i)	Why is this happening in the twenty-first century?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Abbas Gullet?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Many parts of Kenya are experiencing (1) ____ drought, putting at risk the lives of millions. The World Food Programme (WFP) says 3.8 million Kenyans are in (2) ____ of food assistance. The U.N. agency warns it does not have enough food or money to feed those who need it. WFP spokesperson Josette Sheeran told reporters the organization only had funds (3) ____ feed around 400,000 people. This means 3.5 million Kenyans could (4) ____. Sheeran said: “The funding shortfall is so severe that we will have to start reducing the size of rations [in October]. The (5) ____ people are facing is going from bad to worse". There are fears a humanitarian crisis will hit Kenya and thousands will starve to death or die of (6) ____.

The Secretary General of Kenya’s Red Cross Society Abbas Gullet said there are serious food (7) ____ throughout his country. Many food prices have gone up by as (8) ____ as 80 per cent. Another factor raising the alarm for aid agencies is the number of livestock dying. There is not enough food or grazing land for farmers to keep their animals (9) ____. Local communities are fighting each other for access to the (10) ____ water they can find. Mr. Gullet said: “Farmers cannot sit and watch their livestock die and their livelihoods disappear. So they will fight (11) ____ every drop of water and metre of grass available.” There is (12) ____ a crisis that Masai farmers are herding their cows in the suburbs of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	severed	(b)	severely	(c)	sever	(d)	severe
2.	(a)	need	(b)	needy	(c)	needed	(d)	necessary
3.	(a)	for	(b)	to	(c)	by	(d)	so
4.	(a)	starving	(b)	starvation	(c)	starve	(d)	starved
5.	(a)	hardy	(b)	hard	(c)	hardship	(d)	hardly
6.	(a)	thirsty	(b)	thirst	(c)	thrift	(d)	thrifty
7.	(a)	shortfall	(b)	shortening	(c)	shorts	(d)	shortages
8.	(a)	much	(b)	many	(c)	more	(d)	most
9.	(a)	live	(b)	alive	(c)	livelihood	(d)	livestock
10.	(a)	tiny	(b)	few	(c)	small	(d)	little
11.	(a)	at	(b)	out	(c)	for	(d)	it
12.	(a)	such	(b)	much	(c)	so	(d)	many

WRITING

Write about Kenya’s crisis for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 food aid. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. DROUGHT: Make a poster about drought. Include some history and how we can reduce the effects of drought. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. HARDSHIP: Write a magazine article about a Kenyan experiencing severe hardship. Include imaginary interviews with that person and a billionaire.

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. LETTER: Write a letter to the Secretary General of Kenya’s Red Cross Society Abbas Gullet. Ask him three questions about food aid in his country. Give him three suggestions on how he could get more help from the international community. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	severe	a.	serious
2	assistance	b.	help
3.	funds	c.	money
4.	size	d.	amount
5.	hardship	e.	suffering
6.	throughout	f.	all over
7.	raising	g.	increasing
8.	livestock	h.	farm animals
9.	livelihoods	i.	income
10.	suburbs	j.	residential areas

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	parts of Kenya are experiencing	a.	severe drought
2	Kenyans are in need of	b.	food assistance
3.	money to feed	c.	those who need it
4.	going from bad	d.	to worse
5.	starve to death or die	e.	of thirst
6.	food shortages throughout	f.	his country
7.	Another factor	g.	raising the alarm
8.	grazing land	h.	for farmers
9.	they will fight for every drop	i.	of water
10.	the suburbs of the	j.	Kenyan capital

GAP FILL:

3.8 million Kenyans in need of food aid

Many parts of Kenya are experiencing severe drought, putting at risk the lives of millions. The World Food Programme (WFP) says 3.8 million Kenyans are in need of food assistance. The U.N. agency warns it does not have enough food or money to feed those who need it. WFP spokesperson Josette Sheeran told reporters the organization only had funds to feed around 400,000 people. This means 3.5 million Kenyans could starve. Sheeran said: “The funding shortfall is so severe that we will have to start reducing the size of rations [in October]. The hardship people are facing is going from bad to worse". There are fears a humanitarian crisis will hit Kenya and thousands will starve to death or die of thirst.

The Secretary General of Kenya’s Red Cross Society Abbas Gullet said there are serious food shortages throughout his country. Many food prices have gone up by as much as 80 per cent. Another factor raising the alarm for aid agencies is the number of livestock dying. There is not enough food or grazing land for farmers to keep their animals alive. Local communities are fighting each other for access to the little water they can find. Mr. Gullet said: “Farmers cannot sit and watch their livestock die and their livelihoods disappear. So they will fight for every drop of water and metre of grass available.” There is such a crisis that Masai farmers are herding their cows in the suburbs of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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Breaking News English

September 19, 2009

3.8 Million Kenyans in Need of Food Aid