Breaking News English

WARM-UPS

1. BALLOONS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about balloons. 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.

police / emergency rescue / publicity stunts / live on TV / helicopters / UFOs / flights / scientists / being shocked / a big joke / suspicions / criminal charges / hoaxes

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

3. HOAXES: What hoaxes could these people play? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you heard. Change and share again

	Hoax	How far people would believe it
Your English teacher
Your nation’s leader
Your best friend
A family member
McDonalds
Google

4. IT’S TRUE! Students A strongly believe people will believe anything; Students B strongly believe there are some things people would never ever believe.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. NO JOKE: Which of these are most believable and which are a total joke? Rate them: 10 = No way; 1 = This is possible. Change partners and share your ratings again.

Scientists have found aliens Chinese will be the world language We can live to be 500 Jobs will become unnecessary

A teenager will be US President All music is free Money grows on trees The world will end

6. PUBLICITY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘publicity’. 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.	The father of “Balloon Boy” is now in prison.	T / F
b.	The father told reporters the incident was not a publicity stunt.	T / F
c.	Many Americans glued their hands to their television screens.	T / F
d.	Flights from Denver to overseas destinations were disrupted.	T / F
e.	The father makes a lot of money working as a scientist.	T / F
f.	The father went on the Larry King show and made some jokes.	T / F
g.	The police believe the father wanted to get a lot of public attention.	T / F
h.	The police said the father would face criminal charges.	T / F

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

1.	massive	a.	under
2	noting more than	b.	fixed
3.	live	c.	looking for
4.	glued	d.	story
5.	dashed	e.	simply
6.	shocked	f.	huge
7.	version	g.	happening
8.	beneath	h.	upset
9.	seeking	i.	in real time
10.	incident	j.	hurried

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

1.	a massive emergency	a.	a small attic
2	nothing more than a publicity	b.	to their sets
3.	a giant helium-	c.	down in a field
4.	TV viewers were glued	d.	no hoax
5.	The balloon eventually came	e.	rescue operation
6.	an amateur scientist	f.	all a big joke
7.	people thought it was	g.	charges filed
8.	hidden for four hours in	h.	stunt
9.	there will be some criminal	i.	filled balloon
10.	it was absolutely	j.	and inventor

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Police in Colorado, USA, are to ____________ a man who started a massive emergency rescue ____________ for his son. It seems the search may have been nothing more than a publicity stunt. Richard Heene, the man in ____________, had the emergency services scrambling after a giant helium-____________ balloon on Thursday. He told the police his six-year-old son was inside the balloon. The chase for the balloon was ____________ on American television. Millions of TV viewers were ____________ to their sets as helicopters and patrol cars pursued the UFO-shaped balloon. Flights were ____________ at the Denver International Airport. The balloon eventually came down in a ____________. Police officers dashed to it to rescue the boy, but no one was inside.		filled cancelled question glued charge field operation live
Mr. Heene is an amateur ____________ and inventor. He is shocked that people think it was all a publicity stunt. He ____________ on the Larry King show and said he was appalled people thought it was all a big joke. His ____________ of events is that his son crawled into a small compartment ____________ the balloon. The balloon then broke free from where it was tied in the garden and ____________ away. Suspicions arose when the boy, named Falcon, stated he had hidden for four hours in a small attic above the garage. Police believe Mr. Heene was ____________ publicity. Sherriff Jim Alderden told reporters: "We do anticipate...there will be some criminal charges filed in respect to this ____________." Heene told reporters it was “absolutely no ____________”.		seeking version hoax scientist floated appeared incident beneath

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Police in Colorado, USA, ____________________ man who started a massive emergency rescue operation for his son. It seems the search may have been ____________________ publicity stunt. Richard Heene, the man in question, had the emergency services scrambling after a giant helium-filled balloon on Thursday. He told the police his six-year-old son was inside the balloon. ____________________ balloon was live on American television. Millions of TV viewers were ____________________ as helicopters and patrol cars pursued the UFO-shaped balloon. Flights were cancelled at the Denver International Airport. The balloon ____________________ in a field. Police officers ____________________ rescue the boy, but no one was inside.

Mr. Heene ____________________ scientist and inventor. He is shocked that people think it was all a publicity stunt. He appeared on the Larry King show and said he was appalled people thought it ____________________. His version of events is that his son crawled into a small compartment beneath the balloon. The balloon then broke free from ____________________ in the garden and floated away. ____________________ when the boy, named Falcon, stated he had hidden for four hours in a small attic above the garage. Police believe Mr. Heene was seeking publicity. Sherriff Jim Alderden told reporters: "We do anticipate...there will be ____________________ filed in respect to this incident." Heene told reporters it was “____________________”.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

publicity

stunt

• 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:

charge search giant chase glued field

shocked appeared beneath four seeking respect

STUDENT PUBLICITY STUNT SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about publicity stunts 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.

PUBLICITY STUNT 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 word ‘stunt’?
c)	What do you think of this story?
d)	Do you believe Richard Heene?
e)	Why do you think he might have been seeking publicity?
f)	What do you know about this story?
g)	This story is huge on Twitter and on US and UK television. Do you understand why?
h)	Have you ever seen a rescue operation?
i)	Why did Heene say his son was inside the balloon?
j)	How would you feel if you were a passenger on a plane at Denver International Airport and you had to wait several hours?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do you think of amateur scientists?
c)	What publicity stunts can you remember?
d)	What would you do to become famous for a few minutes?
e)	Do you think wanting to become famous changes people?
f)	What do you think Falcon thinks of his father?
g)	What criminal charges should there be?
h)	What would you do if your son floated away in a helium balloon?
i)	Would you like to go up in a hot-air balloon?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Richard Heene?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Police in Colorado, USA, are (1) ____ charge a man who started a massive emergency rescue operation for his son. It seems the search may have been nothing (2) ____ than a publicity stunt. Richard Heene, the man in question, had the emergency services scrambling after a giant helium-(3) ____ balloon on Thursday. He told the police his six-year-old son was inside the balloon. The chase for the balloon was (4) ____ on American television. Millions of TV viewers were (5) ____ to their sets as helicopters and patrol cars pursued the UFO-shaped balloon. Flights were cancelled at the Denver International Airport. The balloon eventually came down in a field. Police officers (6) ____ to it to rescue the boy, but no one was inside.

Mr. Heene is an amateur (7) ____ and inventor. He is shocked that people think it was all a publicity stunt. He (8) ____ on the Larry King show and said he was appalled people thought it was all a big joke. His version of events is that his son crawled into a small compartment beneath the balloon. The balloon then (9) ___ free from where it was tied in the garden and floated away. Suspicions  (10) ____ when the boy, named Falcon, stated he (11) ____ hidden for four hours in a small attic above the garage. Police believe Mr. Heene was seeking publicity. Sherriff Jim Alderden told reporters: "We do anticipate...there will be some criminal charges filed in (12) ____ to this incident." Heene told reporters it was “absolutely no hoax”.

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

1.	(a)	at	(b)	by	(c)	on	(d)	to
2.	(a)	more	(b)	most	(c)	much	(d)	many
3.	(a)	full	(b)	filled	(c)	fill	(d)	filling
4.	(a)	sellotaped	(b)	nailed	(c)	glued	(d)	pasted
5.	(a)	liven	(b)	lived	(c)	live	(d)	living
6.	(a)	bashed	(b)	dashed	(c)	cashed	(d)	lashed
7.	(a)	science	(b)	scientific	(c)	sciences	(d)	scientist
8.	(a)	appeared	(b)	appearance	(c)	appearing	(d)	appears
9.	(a)	choke	(b)	broke	(c)	croak	(d)	soak
10.	(a)	rising	(b)	upped	(c)	got up	(d)	arose
11.	(a)	has	(b)	have	(c)	had	(d)	having
12.	(a)	respect	(b)	respective	(c)	respected	(d)	respects

WRITING

Write about publicity stunts for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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

3. HOAXES: Make a poster about some hoaxes you know of. You may have to check the Internet. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. ANGRY: Write a magazine article about this story. Include imaginary interviews with Mr. Heene and his six-year-old son Falcon.

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 Mr. Heene. Ask him three questions about the balloon incident. Give him three suggestions on what he should tell the police. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

T

c.

F

d.

T

e.

F

f.

F

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	massive	a.	huge
2	noting more than	b.	simply
3.	live	c.	in real time
4.	glued	d.	fixed
5.	dashed	e.	hurried
6.	shocked	f.	upset
7.	version	g.	story
8.	beneath	h.	under
9.	seeking	i.	looking for
10.	incident	j.	happening

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	a massive emergency	a.	rescue operation
2	nothing more than a publicity	b.	stunt
3.	a giant helium-	c.	filled balloon
4.	TV viewers were glued	d.	to their sets
5.	The balloon eventually came	e.	down in a field
6.	an amateur scientist	f.	and inventor
7.	people thought it was	g.	all a big joke
8.	hidden for four hours in	h.	a small attic
9.	there will be some criminal	i.	charges filed
10.	it was absolutely	j.	no hoax

GAP FILL:

Police to charge Balloon Boy father

Police in Colorado, USA, are to charge a man who started a massive emergency rescue operation for his son. It seems the search may have been nothing more than a publicity stunt. Richard Heene, the man in question, had the emergency services scrambling after a giant helium-filled balloon on Thursday. He told the police his six-year-old son was inside the balloon. The chase for the balloon was live on American television. Millions of TV viewers were glued to their sets as helicopters and patrol cars pursued the UFO-shaped balloon. Flights were cancelled at the Denver International Airport. The balloon eventually came down in a field. Police officers dashed to it to rescue the boy, but no one was inside.

Mr. Heene is an amateur scientist and inventor. He is shocked that people think it was all a publicity stunt. He appeared on the Larry King show and said he was appalled people thought it was all a big joke. His version of events is that his son crawled into a small compartment beneath the balloon. The balloon then broke free from where it was tied in the garden and floated away. Suspicions arose when the boy, named Falcon, stated he had hidden for four hours in a small attic above the garage. Police believe Mr. Heene was seeking publicity. Sherriff Jim Alderden told reporters: "We do anticipate...there will be some criminal charges filed in respect to this incident." Heene told reporters it was “absolutely no hoax”.

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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