Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Libya Unrest

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif has warned of “rivers of blood” in a televised statement. He said Libya was in danger of civil war if the pro-democracy protestors did not stop their demonstrations. He told Libyans that his father was too strong to be ousted like the leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Seif gave a chilly warning to those protesting, saying: "We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet." He added that if the situation got more out of control, Libyans would have to find a gun to defend themselves. Seif asked Libyans to stop the unrest or there would be “violence worse than Iraq”. He also indicated many more people could lose their lives: “Instead of weeping over 84 dead people, we will weep over hundreds of thousands of dead,” he said.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Libya since protests began six days ago. One doctor reports there are over 200 dead bodies in his hospital in the second largest city of Benghazi. Another doctor from Benghazi's Jalah hospital said they were receiving a non-stop flow of victims: "This is not a well-equipped hospital and these injuries come in waves. All are very serious injuries, involving the head, the chest and the abdomen. They are bullet injuries from high-velocity rifles," he said. The unrest in Libya started there but is now breaking out in other cities, including the capital Tripoli. Protestors in Benghazi showed off anti-aircraft guns they had taken from the military. There are also reports that an army division in the city has gone over to the people’s side.

WARM-UPS

1. LIBYA’S UNREST: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Libya’s unrest. 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.

rivers of blood / civil war / ousted / protesting / out of control / violence / weeping / 200 dead bodies / victims / bullet injuries / anti-aircraft guns / army division

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

3. OUSTED: What will it take to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change again.

	Actions needed	Likelihood of those happening
Gaddafi’s allies
Libyan people
Libya’s military
Twitter / Facebook
Western powers
Arab powers

4. CHANGE: Students A strongly believe change will come to all countries in the region; Students B strongly believe it won’t. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. OPPOSITES: What are the opposites to these words? Which ones apply to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi? Share your ideas with your partner(s). Change and share again.

democratic
rational
sane
humane

logical
approachable
caring
intelligent

6. BULLET: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘bullet’. 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.	Colonel Gaddafi’s son has taken over power from his father in Libya.	T / F
b.	Seif Gaddafi said his father was too strong to be removed from power.	T / F
c.	Seif suggested the government would fight to the very end.	T / F
d.	He said the violence in Libya would be worse than that in Iraq.	T / F
e.	One doctor reports seeing over 300 bodies in his hospital.	T / F
f.	A doctor from Benghazi’s Jalah hospital has yet to see any casualties.	T / F
g.	Protestors have got hold of anti-aircraft guns from the Army.	T / F
h.	Many soldiers in Benghazi have decided to side with the protestors.	T / F

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

1.	statement	a.	deposed
2	protestors	b.	erupting
3.	ousted	c.	continuous
4.	stop	d.	grave
5.	weep	e.	address
6.	non-stop	f.	cry
7.	serious	g.	cease
8.	velocity	h.	paraded
9.	breaking out	i.	demonstrators
10.	showed off	j.	speed

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

1.	in a televised	a.	be ousted
2	Libya was in danger of civil	b.	in other cities
3.	too strong to	c.	flow of victims
4.	We will fight to	d.	of thousands of dead
5.	we will weep over hundreds	e.	injuries
6.	One doctor reports there are	f.	war
7.	receiving a non-stop	g.	people’s side
8.	All are very serious	h.	the last minute
9.	breaking out	i.	statement
10.	gone over to the	j.	over 200 dead bodies

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif has warned of “rivers of blood” in a (1) ____________ statement. He said Libya was in (2) ____________ of civil war if the pro-democracy protestors did not stop their demonstrations. He told Libyans that his father was too strong to be (3) ____________ like the leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Seif gave a chilly warning to (4) ____________ protesting, saying: "We will fight to the last minute, until the last (5) ____________." He added that if the situation got more out of control, Libyans would have to find a gun to (6) ____________ themselves. Seif asked Libyans to stop the unrest or there would be “violence worse than Iraq”. He also indicated many more people could (7) ____________ their lives: “Instead of weeping over 84 dead people, we will (8) ____________ over hundreds of thousands of dead,” he said.

bullet
danger
those
weep
televised
lose
ousted
defend

Hundreds of people have been killed in Libya since (9) ____________ began six days ago. One doctor reports there are over 200 dead bodies in his hospital in the (10) ____________ largest city of Benghazi. Another doctor from Benghazi's Jalah hospital said they were receiving a non-stop flow of (11) ____________: "This is not a well-equipped hospital and these injuries come in waves. All are very (12) ____________ injuries, involving the head, the chest and the abdomen. They are bullet injuries from (13) ____________-velocity rifles," he said. The unrest in Libya started there but is now (14) ____________ out in other cities, including the capital Tripoli. Protestors in Benghazi (15) ____________ off anti-aircraft guns they had taken from the military. There are also reports that an army division in the city has gone over to the people’s (16) ____________.

showed
second
serious
side
protests
high
breaking
victims

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif has warned of “rivers of blood” ________________________. He said Libya was in danger of civil war if the pro-democracy protestors did not stop their demonstrations. He told Libyans that his father was too strong ________________________ leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Seif ________________________ to those protesting, saying: "We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet." He added that ________________________ out of control, Libyans would have to find a gun to defend themselves. Seif asked Libyans to ________________________ would be “violence worse than Iraq”. He also indicated many more people could lose their lives: “________________________ 84 dead people, we will weep over hundreds of thousands of dead,” he said.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Libya ________________________ six days ago. One doctor reports there are over 200 dead bodies in his hospital in the second largest city of Benghazi. Another doctor from Benghazi's Jalah hospital said they were receiving ________________________ victims: "This is not a well-equipped hospital and these injuries come in waves. All ________________________, involving the head, the chest and the abdomen. They are bullet injuries from high-velocity rifles," he said. The unrest in Libya started there but ________________________ in other cities, including the capital Tripoli. Protestors in Benghazi showed off anti-aircraft ________________________ the military. There are also reports that an army division in the city has gone ________________________.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

river

blood

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:

warned
civil
chilly
control
worse
weep

since
second
well
serious
breaking
side

STUDENT LIBYA’S UNREST SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Libya’s unrest 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.

LIBYA’S UNREST 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 ‘Libya’?
c)	What do you think of the unrest in Libya?
d)	What TV and newspaper pictures have struck you most?
e)	What do you think of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi?
f)	What message would you like to give to the Libyan people?
g)	Why do you think Gaddafi’s son told the people the government would fight to the last bullet?
h)	Do you think there really would be violence in Libya worse than in Iraq?
i)	What do you think Gaddafi thinks of the unrest?
j)	Will the regime in Libya be the next to fall?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What should the international community do about the unrest?
c)	What should neighbouring Arab countries do about the unrest?
d)	Why do you think a leader orders troops to fire on citizens?
e)	Do you think Gaddafi’s tactics will make the Libyan people end their protests?
f)	Why are the people protesting?
g)	What would make you protest and risk being injured or killed?
h)	What do you think the situation in Libya will be like this time next week?
i)	How will North Africa / the Middle East be different this time next year?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif has warned (1) ____ “rivers of blood” in a televised statement. He said Libya was in danger of civil war if the pro-democracy protestors did not stop their demonstrations. He told Libyans that his father was too strong to be (2) ____ like the leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Seif gave a (3) ____ warning to those protesting, saying: "We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet." He added that if the situation got more (4) ____ of control, Libyans would have to find a gun to defend themselves. Seif asked Libyans to stop the unrest or there would be “violence worse than Iraq”. He also indicated many more people could (5) ____ their lives: “Instead of weeping over 84 dead people, we will weep (6) ____ hundreds of thousands of dead,” he said.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Libya since protests began six days ago. One doctor reports there are over 200 (7) ____ bodies in his hospital in the second largest city of Benghazi. Another doctor from Benghazi's Jalah hospital said they were receiving a non-stop (8) ____ of victims: "This is not a well-equipped hospital and these injuries come in waves. All are very serious injuries, (9) ____ the head, the chest and the abdomen. They are bullet injuries from (10) ____-velocity rifles," he said. The unrest in Libya started there but is now breaking out in other cities, including the capital Tripoli. Protestors in Benghazi showed (11) ____ anti-aircraft guns they had taken from the military. There are also reports that an army division in the city has gone over to the people’s (12) ____.

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

1.	(a)	of	(b)	to	(c)	at	(d)	from
2.	(a)	oust	(b)	ousting	(c)	ousted	(d)	ousts
3.	(a)	chills	(b)	chill	(c)	chilli	(d)	chilly
4.	(a)	in	(b)	out	(c)	in	(d)	up
5.	(a)	disappear	(b)	dead	(c)	stop	(d)	lose
6.	(a)	across	(b)	through	(c)	over	(d)	via
7.	(a)	death	(b)	dead	(c)	died	(d)	dies
8.	(a)	flow	(b)	flaw	(c)	flew	(d)	flown
9.	(a)	involving	(b)	involves	(c)	involved	(d)	involve
10.	(a)	speed	(b)	strong	(c)	high	(d)	bullet
11.	(a)	on	(b)	in	(c)	up	(d)	off
12.	(a)	back	(b)	side	(c)	top	(d)	front

WRITING

Write about Libya’s unrest 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 Libya’s unrest. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. UNREST: Make a poster about the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East . Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. LIBYA: Write a magazine article about Libya’s unrest. Include imaginary interviews with government and pro-democracy supporters.

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 Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Ask him three questions about Libya’s unrest. Give him three suggestions on what he should do from 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.	statement	a.	address
2	protestors	b.	demonstrators
3.	ousted	c.	deposed
4.	stop	d.	cease
5.	weep	e.	cry
6.	non-stop	f.	continuous
7.	serious	g.	grave
8.	velocity	h.	speed
9.	breaking out	i.	erupting
10.	showed off	j.	paraded

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	in a televised	a.	statement
2	Libya was in danger of civil	b.	war
3.	too strong to	c.	be ousted
4.	We will fight to	d.	the last minute
5.	we will weep over hundreds	e.	of thousands of dead
6.	One doctor reports there are	f.	over 200 dead bodies
7.	receiving a non-stop	g.	flow of victims
8.	All are very serious	h.	injuries
9.	breaking out	i.	in other cities
10.	gone over to the	j.	people’s side

GAP FILL:

Libya: Gaddafi’s son warns of ‘rivers of blood’

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif has warned of “rivers of blood” in a (1) televised statement. He said Libya was in (2) danger of civil war if the pro-democracy protestors did not stop their demonstrations. He told Libyans that his father was too strong to be (3) ousted like the leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Seif gave a chilly warning to (4) those protesting, saying: "We will fight to the last minute, until the last (5) bullet." He added that if the situation got more out of control, Libyans would have to find a gun to (6) defend themselves. Seif asked Libyans to stop the unrest or there would be “violence worse than Iraq”. He also indicated many more people could (7) lose their lives: “Instead of weeping over 84 dead people, we will (8) weep over hundreds of thousands of dead,” he said.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Libya since (9) protests began six days ago. One doctor reports there are over 200 dead bodies in his hospital in the (10) second largest city of Benghazi. Another doctor from Benghazi's Jalah hospital said they were receiving a non-stop flow of (11) victims: "This is not a well-equipped hospital and these injuries come in waves. All are very (12) serious injuries, involving the head, the chest and the abdomen. They are bullet injuries from (13) high-velocity rifles," he said. The unrest in Libya started there but is now (14) breaking out in other cities, including the capital Tripoli. Protestors in Benghazi (15) showed off anti-aircraft guns they had taken from the military. There are also reports that an army division in the city has gone over to the people’s (16) side.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - a

2 - c

3 - d

4 - b

5 - d

6 - c

7 - b

8 - a

9 -a

10 - c

11 - d

12 - b

Breaking News English

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Libya: Gaddafi’s Son Warns of “Rivers of Blood” (21st February, 2011)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT LIBYA’S UNREST SURVEY

LIBYA’S UNREST DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Libya: Gaddafi’s son warns of ‘rivers of blood’

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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 (2:03 - 983KB)

Libya: Gaddafi’s Son Warns of “Rivers of Blood” (21st February, 2011)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT LIBYA’S UNREST SURVEY

LIBYA’S UNREST DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Libya: Gaddafi’s son warns of ‘rivers of blood’

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities