Breaking News English

WARM-UPS

1. GAZA: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Gaza. 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.

storm of criticism / international waters / troops / fatalities / activists / flotilla / military / demonstrators / weaponry / regret / not pleasant / damage / exaggerating

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

3. VIEWPOINT: What do you think different people will think about Israel’s action? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Who?	What they think	What they think about the others
Israeli sailor
Flotilla leader
A Gazan
Your leader
Average Israeli
World citizen

4. RESOLVED: Students A strongly believe this situation will be resolved quickly; Students B strongly believe the opposite.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. BLOCKADE: What would you miss? Rate these and share your ratings with your partner: 10 = wouldn’t be able to live without this; 1 = not having this is no problem at all. Change partners and share your ratings again.

your favourite food newspapers medicine electricity

gasoline / petrol the Internet wheat, rice, cooking oil, etc. other _______________

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.	Lots of people around the world are angry with Israel.	T / F
b.	Israeli soldiers boarded the aid ship from their warships.	T / F
c.	There was a Nobel Peace Prize winner among those injured.	T / F
d.	The incident took place 80 miles inside Israel’s waters.	T / F
e.	Israel’s military hasn’t yet commented on its operation.	T / F
f.	Israel said many of the demonstrators already had guns and rifles.	T / F
g.	An Israeli politician expressed his regret for what happened.	T / F
h.	An Israeli journalist believes Israel has caused considerable damage.	T / F

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

1.	facing	a.	campaigners
2	boarded	b.	staff
3.	fatalities	c.	overstated
4.	activists	d.	protect
5.	confrontation	e.	deaths
6.	defend	f.	be sorry for
7.	personnel	g.	confronting
8.	specific	h.	encounter
9.	regret	i.	got on
10.	exaggerated	j.	precise

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

1.	facing a storm of	a.	in advance
2	in international	b.	an Israeli blockade
3.	troops slid down	c.	of Israel’s actions
4.	the activists were	d.	ropes from helicopters
5.	a flotilla trying to break	e.	waters
6.	Israel’s military was quick	f.	caused itself
7.	prepared their weapons	g.	at all the fatalities
8.	I can only voice regret	h.	international criticism
9.	He wrote of the seriousness	i.	to defend its actions
10.	The damage that Israel has	j.	unarmed civilians

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Israel is facing a storm of international ____________ following its killing of aid volunteers in international waters on May 31st. Israeli commandoes ____________ a Turkish ship in the Mediterranean that was ____________ with aid for Palestinians in Gaza. The troops ____________ down ropes from helicopters and the fighting that followed led to at least 10 fatalities. The ship was carrying 600 ____________ from all over the world. Those on board say the activists were largely ____________ civilians. They included Northern Ireland’s Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, and politicians from many countries. The ship was part of a ____________ trying to break an Israeli blockade to give Gazans food and aid supplies. The confrontation took ____________ 80 miles off the Gaza coast.		flotilla activists slid boarded criticism place unarmed filled
Israel’s military was quick to ____________ its actions. A spokesperson said: “The demonstrators on board attacked the ____________ personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally, one of the weapons used was ____________ from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly ____________ their weapons in advance for this specific purpose.” Israel’s trade and industry minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed his ____________: "The images are certainly not ____________. I can only voice regret at all the fatalities," he said. Israeli journalist Amos Harel from the Haaretz newspaper went ____________. He wrote of the seriousness of Israel’s actions, saying: “The damage that Israel has caused ____________ internationally can hardly be exaggerated.”		prepared itself grabbed regret defend further pleasant naval

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Israel _____________________ international criticism following its killing of aid volunteers in international waters on May 31st. Israeli commandoes boarded a Turkish ship in the Mediterranean _____________________ aid for Palestinians in Gaza. The troops slid down ropes from helicopters and the fighting that _____________________ 20 fatalities. The ship was carrying 600 activists from all over the world. Those _____________________ activists were unarmed civilians. They included Northern Ireland’s Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, and politicians from many countries. The ship was part of a flotilla _____________________ Israeli blockade to give Gazans food and aid supplies. The confrontation _____________________ the Gaza coast.

Israel’s military was _____________________ actions. A spokesperson said: “The demonstrators on board attacked the naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally, one of the weapons _____________________ from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance _____________________.” Israel’s trade and industry minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed his regret: "The images are _____________________. I can only voice regret at all the fatalities," he said. Israeli journalist Amos Harel from the Haaretz newspaper went further. He _____________________ of Israel’s actions, saying: “The damage that Israel has caused itself internationally can _____________________.”

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

aid

activist

• 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:

storm waters filled unarmed prize 80

quick live grabbed purpose voice damage

STUDENT GAZA SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Gaza 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.

GAZA 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 ‘Gaza’?
c)	What did you think when you first heard this news?
d)	Many newspapers are saying Israel’s actions are inexcusable. Do you agree?
e)	What should the international community do about this attack?
f)	A tweet on Twitter told Barack Obama he would already have acted if Iran had attacked an aid ship. What do you think of this?
g)	Israeli leaders say the storming of the ship was necessary to protect its own civilians. What do you think?
h)	What do you want your country to do?
i)	What three adjectives would you use to describe this story and why?
j)	Why does Israel have a blockade on Gaza?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do you think this is a turning point in the Israel/Palestine conflict?
c)	Does this event make the conflict an Israeli/wider-world one?
d)	Do you have sympathy with the Israeli commandoes if they were met with activists armed with knives and clubs?
e)	The flotilla leaders have said they will redouble their efforts to get the aid through. What do you think of this?
f)	Are you surprised a member of Israel’s government expressed regret?
g)	Has this incident changed your opinion of Israel in any way?
h)	Israeli leaders say terrorists were on the ship? What do you think?
i)	Can the damage Israel caused itself internationally “be exaggerated”?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Israel’s leaders?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Israel is facing a (1) ____ of international criticism following its killing of aid volunteers in international waters on May 31st. Israeli commandoes (2) ____ a Turkish ship in the Mediterranean that was filled with aid for Palestinians in Gaza. The troops slid down ropes from helicopters and the fighting that followed led to at least 10 (3) ____. The ship was carrying 600 activists from all over the world. Those on board say the activists were largely (4) ____ civilians. They included Northern Ireland’s Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, and politicians from many countries. The ship was part of a (5) ____ trying to break an Israeli blockade to give Gazans food and aid supplies. The confrontation (6) ____ place 80 miles off the Gaza coast.

Israel’s military was quick to defend its actions. A spokesperson said: “The demonstrators on board attacked the naval personnel with (7) ____ fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally, one of the weapons used was  (8) ____ from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons (9) ____ advance for this specific purpose.” Israel’s trade and industry minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (10) ____ his regret: "The images are certainly not pleasant. I can only voice regret (11) ____ all the fatalities," he said. Israeli journalist Amos Harel from the Haaretz newspaper went further. He wrote of the seriousness of Israel’s actions, saying: “The damage that Israel has caused itself internationally can (12) ____ be exaggerated.”

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

1.	(a)	thunder	(b)	lightning	(c)	weather	(d)	storm
2.	(a)	boarded	(b)	bored	(c)	boarding	(d)	boards
3.	(a)	dies	(b)	fatalities	(c)	death	(d)	kills
4.	(a)	cross-eyed	(b)	beheaded	(c)	unarmed	(d)	backed
5.	(a)	floating	(b)	floated	(c)	flotilla	(d)	floats
6.	(a)	did	(b)	took	(c)	gave	(d)	had
7.	(a)	living	(b)	alive	(c)	lively	(d)	live
8.	(a)	grabbed	(b)	borrowed	(c)	bought	(d)	made
9.	(a)	on	(b)	in	(c)	at	(d)	of
10.	(a)	depressed	(b)	compressed	(c)	pressed	(d)	expressed
11.	(a)	by	(b)	on	(c)	at	(d)	of
12.	(a)	hardly	(b)	hardest	(c)	heard	(d)	had

WRITING

Write about Gaza 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 the Gaza Flotilla. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. GAZA: Make a poster about Gaza and its history. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. DAMAGE: Write a magazine article about the damage Israel has done itself internationally. Include imaginary interviews with the head of Israel’s military and an aid activist.

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 Israel’s leader. Ask him three questions about the attack on the ship and the tragic loss of life. Give him three of your opinions on the whole situation. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

F

c.

F

d.

F

e.

F

f.

F

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	facing	a.	confronting
2	boarded	b.	got on
3.	fatalities	c.	deaths
4.	activists	d.	campaigners
5.	confrontation	e.	encounter
6.	defend	f.	protect
7.	personnel	g.	staff
8.	specific	h.	precise
9.	regret	i.	be sorry for
10.	exaggerated	j.	overstated

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	facing a storm of	a.	international criticism
2	in international	b.	waters
3.	troops slid down	c.	ropes from helicopters
4.	the activists were	d.	unarmed civilians
5.	a flotilla trying to break	e.	an Israeli blockade
6.	Israel’s military was quick	f.	to defend its actions
7.	prepared their weapons	g.	in advance
8.	I can only voice regret	h.	at all the fatalities
9.	He wrote of the seriousness	i.	of Israel’s actions
10.	The damage that Israel has	j.	caused itself

GAP FILL:

Israeli troops kill aid activists

Israel is facing a storm of international criticism following its killing of aid volunteers in international waters on May 31st. Israeli commandoes boarded a Turkish ship in the Mediterranean that was filled with aid for Palestinians in Gaza. The troops slid down ropes from helicopters and the fighting that followed led to at least 10 fatalities. The ship was carrying 600 activists from all over the world. Those on board say the activists were largely unarmed civilians. They included Northern Ireland’s Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, and politicians from many countries. The ship was part of a flotilla trying to break an Israeli blockade to give Gazans food and aid supplies. The confrontation took place 80 miles off the Gaza coast.

Israel’s military was quick to defend its actions. A spokesperson said: “The demonstrators on board attacked the naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally, one of the weapons used was grabbed from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance for this specific purpose.” Israel’s trade and industry minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed his regret: "The images are certainly not pleasant. I can only voice regret at all the fatalities," he said. Israeli journalist Amos Harel from the Haaretz newspaper went further. He wrote of the seriousness of Israel’s actions, saying: “The damage that Israel has caused itself internationally can hardly be exaggerated.”

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

Back to the top

Help Support This Web Site

• Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

• Download a sample of my book "1,000 Ideas & Activities for Language Teachers".
  

Copyright © 2004-2019 by Sean Banville | Links | About | Privacy Policy

 
 

SHARE THIS LESSON:

E-Mail

RSS