Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Unrest in Egypt

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are continuing their angry protests against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Al Jazeera news said the unrest could be the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations in Egyptian history. Riot police are out in force and fighting protestors with their batons and tear gas. One young woman is reported to have been killed after being struck on the head by a tear-gas canister. In Suez, demonstrators took over the main police station and freed protestors jailed in the past 48 hours. The police have lost control of the city. Forty thousand people in Mansoura, north of Cairo, are reported to have raided and destroyed the ruling party’s headquarters. Similar scenes are happening all over the country.

Egypt’s leaders have done their best to stop people communicating with each other. At midnight, Thursday, the government shut down Egypt’s Internet. Authorities are refusing entry to Arab and non-Arab journalists at Egypt’s international airport and the police are also trying to stop journalists filming the unrest. They smashed CNN cameras and shut down Al Jazeera’s television broadcasts in Egypt of the protests. Opposition leader Mohamed El-Baradei is trapped in a mosque surrounded by riot police. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Egypt’s leaders to listen to their people. Egyptians are calling for regime change and are carrying banners that say, “We hate you Mubarak”.

WARM-UPS

1. EGYPT PROTESTS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Egypt protests. 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.

hundreds of thousands / protests / pro-democracy / tear gas / jailed protestors / Cairo / communicating / authorities / journalists / TV broadcasts / trapped / riot police

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

3. DEMONSTRATIONS: What do these people think? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Person	Thoughts about the unrest	Thoughts about Egypt’s future
Hosni Mubarak
A riot policeman
An opposition leader
Unemployed person
A 10-year-old child
A journalist

4. CHANGE: Students A strongly believe great and good change is coming to Egypt; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. TO THE STREETS: What would make you protest? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the ones you feel strongest about at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

lack of democracy
corrupt leaders
country going to war
lack of religious freedom

rising food prices
unemployment
racism
rising taxes

6. DEMOCRACY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘democracy’. 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.	Tens of thousands of Egyptians are protesting in the streets.	T / F
b.	Riot police have so far held back and not used tear gas.	T / F
c.	Police in the city of Suez no longer have control of their police station.	T / F
d.	The protests are only happening in Cairo and the north of Egypt.	T / F
e.	Egypt’s government tried but failed to shut the country’s Internet.	T / F
f.	Authorities aren’t letting journalists into the country.	T / F
g.	An opposition leader is surrounded by police in a mosque.	T / F
h.	The UN Secretary General told protestors to listen to Egypt’s leaders.	T / F

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

1.	rule	a.	system of government
2	demonstrations	b.	events
3.	batons	c.	attacked
4.	raided	d.	sticks
5.	scenes	e.	officials
6.	authorities	f.	leadership
7.	broadcasts	g.	cornered
8.	trapped	h.	protests
9.	regime	i.	posters
10.	banners	j.	programmes

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

1.	Egyptians are continuing	a.	in Egyptian history
2	the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations	b.	by riot police
3.	fighting protestors with their	c.	the past 48 hours
4.	freed protestors jailed in	d.	regime change
5.	Similar scenes are happening	e.	their angry protests
6.	the government shut	f.	filming the unrest
7.	trying to stop journalists	g.	down Egypt’s Internet
8.	shut down Al Jazeera’s television	h.	batons and tear gas
9.	surrounded	i.	broadcasts
10.	Egyptians are calling for	j.	all over the country

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are (1) ____________ their angry protests against the (2) ____________ of President Hosni Mubarak. Al Jazeera news said the unrest could be the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations in Egyptian (3) ____________. Riot police are out in (4) ____________ and fighting protestors with their batons and tear gas. One young woman is reported to have been killed after being (5) ____________ on the head by a tear-gas canister. In Suez, demonstrators took over the main police station and (6) ____________ protestors jailed in the past 48 hours. The police have lost control of the city. Forty thousand people in Mansoura, north of Cairo, are reported to have (7) ____________ and destroyed the ruling party’s headquarters. Similar (8) ____________ are happening all over the country.

history
raided
struck
rule
scenes
continuing
force
freed

Egypt’s leaders have done their (9) ____________ to stop people communicating with each other. At midnight, Thursday, the government (10) ____________ down Egypt’s Internet. Authorities are refusing entry to Arab and non-Arab journalists at Egypt’s international airport and the police are also trying to stop journalists filming the (11) ____________. They smashed CNN cameras and shut down Al Jazeera’s television (12) ____________ in Egypt of the protests. Opposition leader Mohamed El-Baradei is (13) ____________ in a mosque surrounded by riot police. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has (14) ____________ on Egypt’s leaders to listen to their people. Egyptians are calling for (15) ____________ change and are carrying (16) ____________ that say, “We hate you Mubarak”.

trapped
regime
shut
broadcasts
banners
best
called
unrest

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians _________________________ protests against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Al Jazeera news said the unrest _________________________-democracy demonstrations in Egyptian history. Riot police are out in force and fighting protestors with _________________________ gas. One young woman is reported to have been killed after being struck on the head by a tear-gas canister. In Suez, demonstrators took over the main police station _________________________ in the past 48 hours. The police have lost control of the city. Forty thousand people in Mansoura, north of Cairo, are reported to have raided and destroyed the ruling party’s headquarters. ___________________________ all over the country.

Egypt’s leaders have _________________________ people communicating with each other. At midnight, Thursday, the government shut down Egypt’s Internet. Authorities _________________________ Arab and non-Arab journalists at Egypt’s international airport and the police are also trying to stop journalists _________________________. They smashed CNN cameras and shut down Al Jazeera’s television broadcasts in Egypt of the protests. Opposition leader Mohamed El-Baradei is trapped in a mosque _________________________. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Egypt’s _________________________ their people. Egyptians are calling for regime _________________________ banners that say, “We hate you Mubarak”.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

tear

gas

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:

hundreds
pro
young
main
lost
scenes

communicating
midnight
filming
broadcasts
mosque
banners

STUDENT EGYPT PROTESTS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Egypt protests 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.

EGYPT PROTESTS 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 ‘Egypt’?
c)	What do you think of the protests in Egypt?
d)	Where do you think the protests will go?
e)	What message do you have for the Egyptian people?
f)	Do you think the protests are for democracy?
g)	Have things like this happened in your country?
h)	Do you think protests will start in other Arab countries?
i)	Could the Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt protests be the start of something similar to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe?
j)	What do you think Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak thinks of the protests?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What would make you take to the streets?
c)	How historical are the protests across Egypt?
d)	The U.S. supported Hosni Mubarak as an ally for three decades. What will they do now?
e)	Should the USA change its position towards other regimes in the Middle East?
f)	What are the most striking images you’ve seen on TV?
g)	What part has social media played in Egypt’s protests?
h)	What three adjectives would you use to describe the situation in Egypt?
i)	What do you know about Hosni Mubarak?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Hosni Mubarak?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are (1) ____ their angry protests against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Al Jazeera news said the (2) ____ could be the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations in Egyptian history. Riot police are (3) ____ in force and fighting protestors with their batons and tear gas. One young woman is reported to have been killed after being struck on the head by a (4) ____-gas canister. In Suez, demonstrators took over the main police station and (5) ____ protestors jailed in the past 48 hours. The police have lost control of the city. Forty thousand people in Mansoura, north of Cairo, are reported to have raided and destroyed the ruling party’s headquarters. Similar (6) ____ are happening all over the country.

Egypt’s leaders have done their (7) ____ to stop people communicating with each other. At midnight, Thursday, the government shut down Egypt’s Internet. Authorities are refusing (8) ____ to Arab and non-Arab journalists at Egypt’s international airport and the police are also trying to stop journalists (9) ____ the unrest. They smashed CNN cameras and shut down Al Jazeera’s television broadcasts in Egypt (10) ____ the protests. Opposition leader Mohamed El-Baradei is trapped in a mosque surrounded (11) ____ riot police. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Egypt’s leaders to listen to their people. Egyptians are calling for regime (12) ____ and are carrying banners that say, “We hate you Mubarak”.

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

1.	(a)	continuity	(b)	continuous	(c)	continues	(d)	continuing
2.	(a)	restful	(b)	unrest	(c)	restless	(d)	unruly
3.	(a)	out	(b)	on	(c)	up	(d)	at
4.	(a)	fear	(b)	bear	(c)	tear	(d)	year
5.	(a)	freedom	(b)	freely	(c)	freed	(d)	freeze
6.	(a)	scenery	(b)	scenes	(c)	seen	(d)	scenic
7.	(a)	best	(b)	most	(c)	worst	(d)	nicest
8.	(a)	entrants	(b)	entered	(c)	enters	(d)	entry
9.	(a)	films	(b)	filming	(c)	film	(d)	filmed
10.	(a)	by	(b)	at	(c)	on	(d)	of
11.	(a)	on	(b)	at	(c)	by	(d)	of
12.	(a)	change	(b)	changed	(c)	changes	(d)	changing

WRITING

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

3. EGYPT PROTESTS: Make a poster about the Egypt protests. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. PROTESTS: Write a magazine article about the protests. Include imaginary interviews with an Egyptian protestor and an Egyptian policeman.

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 Hosni Mubarak. Ask him three questions about Egypt protests. Give him three suggestions on what he should do now. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	rule	a.	leadership
2	demonstrations	b.	protests
3.	batons	c.	sticks
4.	raided	d.	attacked
5.	scenes	e.	events
6.	authorities	f.	officials
7.	broadcasts	g.	programmes
8.	trapped	h.	cornered
9.	regime	i.	system of government
10.	banners	j.	posters

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Egyptians are continuing	a.	their angry protests
2	the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations	b.	in Egyptian history
3.	fighting protestors with their	c.	batons and tear gas
4.	freed protestors jailed in	d.	the past 48 hours
5.	Similar scenes are happening	e.	all over the country
6.	the government shut	f.	down Egypt’s Internet
7.	trying to stop journalists	g.	filming the unrest
8.	shut down Al Jazeera’s television	h.	broadcasts
9.	surrounded	i.	by riot police
10.	Egyptians are calling for	j.	regime change

GAP FILL:

Violence erupts across Egypt

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are (1) continuing their angry protests against the (2) rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Al Jazeera news said the unrest could be the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations in Egyptian (3) history. Riot police are out in (4) force and fighting protestors with their batons and tear gas. One young woman is reported to have been killed after being (5) struck on the head by a tear-gas canister. In Suez, demonstrators took over the main police station and (6) freed protestors jailed in the past 48 hours. The police have lost control of the city. Forty thousand people in Mansoura, north of Cairo, are reported to have (7) raided and destroyed the ruling party’s headquarters. Similar (8) scenes are happening all over the country.

Egypt’s leaders have done their (9) best to stop people communicating with each other. At midnight, Thursday, the government (10) shut down Egypt’s Internet. Authorities are refusing entry to Arab and non-Arab journalists at Egypt’s international airport and the police are also trying to stop journalists filming the (11) unrest. They smashed CNN cameras and shut down Al Jazeera’s television (12) broadcasts in Egypt of the protests. Opposition leader Mohamed El-Baradei is (13) trapped in a mosque surrounded by riot police. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has (14) called on Egypt’s leaders to listen to their people. Egyptians are calling for (15) regime change and are carrying (16) banners that say, “We hate you Mubarak”.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

Breaking News English

PRINT

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities

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Violence Erupts Across Egypt (28th January, 2011)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT EGYPT PROTESTS SURVEY

EGYPT PROTESTS DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Violence erupts across Egypt

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Sean Banville's Book

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My 1,000 Ideas e-Book	Breaking News English HOME \| HELP MY SITE \| 000s MORE FREE LESSONS	My 1,000 Ideas e-Book

Breaking News English

PRINT

13-Page PDF Handout - with all-skills activities

LISTEN

MP3 (1:55 - 922KB)

Violence Erupts Across Egypt (28th January, 2011)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT EGYPT PROTESTS SURVEY

EGYPT PROTESTS DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Violence erupts across Egypt

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities