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Koalas hug trees to stay cool (6th June, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

Scientists have unlocked one of the secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intense heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For decades people thought the cuddly marsupials clung to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap. Researchers from Melbourne University have now cast new light on the tree-hugging habits of the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is a five-degree difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize the cooler surface by spreading themselves out on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access to these trees can save about half the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."

Briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas on an island off the Melbourne coast. She is part of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought by global warming. Her observations and conclusions regarding the cooling effects of the trees came as a surprise to her. She noted that the koalas sat upright in cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then wrapped themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals even moved to different trees that had cooler trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they suck up from the ground. The koala's cooling technique could be one way for humans to survive increasingly hot summers.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.smh.com.au/national/cool-koalas-are-treehuggers-for-a-reason-study-finds-20140603-39gxj.html
http://www.livescience.com/46073-why-koalas-hug-trees.html
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25668-overheated-koalas-show-treehugging-is-cool-man.html

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. KOALAS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about koalas. Change partners often 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.

scientists / secret / dehydration / intense heat / cooler / branches / water / a hot day / behaviour / survive / global warming / warmer / water / ground / technique

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

3. COOL ANIMALS: How do the following stay cool? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	What do (you think) they do?	How would this work for humans?
Humans		-----
Dogs
Camels
Elephants
Lizards
Rabbits

4. SUMMER: Students A strongly believe summer is better than winter; Students B strongly believe winter is better. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. STAYING COOL: Rank these with your partner. Put the best ways to stay cool in summer at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• use a fan

• sit in the shade

• wear fewer clothes

• drink cold water

• avoid coffee and alcohol

• wear cotton

• spray water on your face

• go to a shopping mall

6. DEHYDRATION: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "dehydration". 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.	Scientists have discovered a secret about koalas.	T / F
b.	For decades, people thought koalas hugged trees to avoid dehydration.	T / F
c.	A tree trunk is around five degrees cooler than the air around it.	T / F
d.	Hugging trees means koalas don't have to drink as much water.	T / F
e.	A research team studies the behaviour of 370 koalas.	T / F
f.	Scientists were investigating how koalas could survive global warming.	T / F
g.	The koalas stayed in their favourite eucalyptus trees to stay cool.	T / F
h.	The article said trees are cooler because they reflect the sun's rays.	T / F

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

1.	secrets	a.	conserve
2.	avoid	b.	thrown
3.	cuddly	c.	erect
4.	cast	d.	steer clear of
5.	save	e.	establish
6.	behaviour	f.	mysteries
7.	identify	g.	in all likelihood
8.	upright	h.	huggable
9.	probably	i.	get through
10.	survive	j.	actions

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

1.	unlocked one	a.	in temperature
2.	stay cool and	b.	conclusions
3.	cast new	c.	water a koala would need
4.	a five-degree difference	d.	technique
5.	save about half the	e.	light on
6.	trying to identify how	f.	of the secrets
7.	observations and	g.	hot summers
8.	water they suck	h.	avoid dehydration
9.	cooling	i.	up from the ground
10.	survive increasingly	j.	koalas might survive

GAP FILL

Scientists have (1) ____________ one of the secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intense heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For (2) ____________ people thought the cuddly marsupials (3) ____________ to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to (4) ____________. Researchers from Melbourne University have now cast new light on the tree-hugging (5) ____________ of the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is a five-degree (6) ____________ in temperature between a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize the cooler surface by (7) ____________ themselves out on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access to these trees can save about (8) ____________ the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."

habits
spreading
clung
unlocked
difference
decades
half
nap

Briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas on an island off the Melbourne (9) ____________. She is part of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought by global warming. Her observations and (10) ____________ regarding the cooling effects of the trees came as a (11) ____________ to her. She noted that the koalas sat (12) ____________ in cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then (13) ____________ themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals even moved to different trees that had (14) ____________ trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they (15) ____________ up from the ground. The koala's cooling technique could be one way for humans to survive (16) ____________ hot summers.

upright
cooler
increasingly
surprise
coast
wrapped
suck
conclusions

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	how koalas stay cool and ______
	a. avoid rehydration b. avoid dehydration c. avoid dehydrating d. avoid rehydrating
2)	marsupials clung to trees simply because they were tired and wanted ______
	a. somewhere to map b. somewhere to nab c. somewhere to nap d. somewhere to rap
3)	cast new light on the tree-hugging ______
	a. habits for the koala b. habits if the koala c. habits on the koala d. habits of the koala
4)	Koalas utilize the ______
	a. cooler surfaces b. cooler sir face c. cooler surface d. cooler shore face
5)	Access to these trees can save about ______ a koala would need
	a. half a water b. half the water c. half of water d. half that water
6)	the behaviour of 37 koalas on an island off the ______
	a. Melbourne coasts b. Melbourne coastline c. Melbourne coasted d. Melbourne coast
7)	Her observations and conclusions regarding ______
	a. the coolant effects b. the cooling effects c. the cool in effects d. the cool and effects
8)	She noted that the koalas ______ cooler weather
	a. sat upright in b. sat uptight in c. sat up light in d. sat alright in
9)	She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they ______ the ground
	a. suck up for b. stuck up from c. stuck up for d. suck up from
10)	one way for humans to survive ______ summers
	a. increase in the hot b. increasingly hot c. increasing heat d. increasingly heat

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Scientists have unlocked one of the (1) ___________________ koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intense heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For decades people (2) ___________________ marsupials clung to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap. Researchers from Melbourne University have (3) ___________________ on the tree-hugging habits of the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there (4) ___________________ difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize (5) ___________________ by spreading themselves out on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access to these trees can save about (6) ___________________ koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."

Briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas (7) ___________________ the Melbourne coast. She is part of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive (8) ___________________ brought by global warming. Her observations and conclusions regarding the (9) ___________________ the trees came as a surprise to her. She noted that the koalas sat upright in cooler weather, (10) ___________________ when it became warmer, and then wrapped themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals (11) ___________________ different trees that had cooler trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they suck up from the ground. The koala's cooling technique (12) ___________________ humans to survive increasingly hot summers.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What have scientists done to a secret?
2.	For how long did people think koalas hugged trees to sleep?
3.	What have researchers cast on the koala's habits?
4.	What is the difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air?
5.	How much water can koalas save by hugging trees?
6.	How many koalas did researchers look at?
7.	How did the researcher feel about the conclusions of the research?
8.	Why did koalas move to different trees?
9.	How do trees get water?
10.	What could humans survive by using the koala's cooling technique?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What have scientists done to a secret?	6.	How many koalas did researchers look at?
	a) shared it b) unlocked it c) kept it d) exposed it		a) 37 b) 36 c) 35 d) 34
2.	For how long did people think koalas hugged trees to sleep?	7.	How did the researcher feel about the conclusions of the research?
	a) 34 days b) since 1812 c) decades d) millennia		a) stunned b) satisfied c) shocked d) surprised
3.	What have researchers cast on the koala's habits?	8.	Why did koalas move to different trees?
	a) nets b) seeds c) doubt d) new light		a) for food b) because of ants c) they were cooler d) to get a change of scenery
4.	What is the difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air?	9.	How do trees get water?
	a) hot and cold b) 5 degrees c) three fish d) the mercury is rising		a) absorb it from rain b) photosynthesis c) by osmosis d) they suck it up from the ground
5.	How much water can koalas save by hugging trees?	10.	What could humans survive by using the koala's cooling technique?
	a) half b) 2 litres c) as much as they sweat d) a few drops an hour		a) 30-minute saunas b) hotter summers c) deforestation d) a eucalyptus shortage

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Use a fan

You think using a fan is the best way to keep cool. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so good about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): drinking cold water, wearing cotton or avoiding alcohol and coffee.

Role B – Drink cold water

You think drinking cold water is the best way to keep cool. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so good about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): using a fan, wearing cotton or avoiding alcohol and coffee.

Role C – Wear cotton

You think wearing cotton is the best way to keep cool. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so good about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): drinking cold water, using a fan or avoiding alcohol and coffee.

Role D – Avoid alcohol and coffee

You think avoiding alcohol and coffee is the best way to keep cool. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so good about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): drinking cold water, wearing cotton or using a fan.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'stay' and 'cool'.

stay

cool

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:

heat
decades
nap
light
five
half

37
global
surprise
upright
suck
survive

KOALAS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about koalas 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.

KOALAS 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 'koala'?
c)	What do you know about koalas?
d)	What do you think of the research in the article?
e)	What do you do to keep cool?
f)	Will you try hugging a tree when it gets really hot?
g)	Do you prefer very hot summers or very cold winters?
h)	How could researchers use their findings to help humans?
i)	How would you survive the heat in the countryside?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	How good a job is studying koala behaviour?
c)	How will humans survive higher temperatures?
d)	How does your body shape change in the cold or heat?
e)	What other things could we hug to stay cool (or keep warm)?
f)	What do you do when it gets really hot?
g)	Are there other benefits to hugging a tree?
h)	How many ways can water keep us cool?
i)	What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Scientists have unlocked one of the secrets (1) ____ to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intense heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For decades people thought the (2) ____ marsupials clung to trees simply because they were (3) ____ and wanted somewhere to nap. Researchers from Melbourne University have now (4) ____ new light on the tree-hugging habits of the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is a five-degree difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize the cooler (5) ____ by spreading themselves out on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "(6) ____ to these trees can save about half the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."

Briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas on an island (7) ____ the Melbourne coast. She is part of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought by global warming. Her observations and conclusions (8) ____ the cooling effects of the trees came (9) ____ a surprise to her. She noted that the koalas sat (10) ____ in cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then wrapped themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals (11) ____ moved to different trees that had cooler trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they suck up from the ground. The koala's (12) ____ technique could be one way for humans to survive increasingly hot summers.

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

1.	(a)	was	(b)	us	(c)	is	(d)	as
2.	(a)	candidly	(b)	crazily	(c)	candy	(d)	cuddly
3.	(a)	tread	(b)	tired	(c)	tried	(d)	tardy
4.	(a)	vast	(b)	mast	(c)	cast	(d)	last
5.	(a)	surface	(b)	top	(c)	shelf	(d)	base
6.	(a)	Access	(b)	Excess	(c)	Recess	(d)	Success
7.	(a)	next	(b)	at	(c)	in	(d)	off
8.	(a)	regarding	(b)	regards	(c)	regarded	(d)	rearguard
9.	(a)	to	(b)	as	(c)	via	(d)	from
10.	(a)	uptight	(b)	insight	(c)	upright	(d)	out of sight
11.	(a)	might	(b)	simple	(c)	even	(d)	expressly
12.	(a)	cooled	(b)	cooling	(c)	chilling	(d)	chilled

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	avoid ondrdhaiyte in the intense heat
2.	the dcydlu marsupials clung to trees
3.	Lead ecersrrhea
4.	a five-degree difference in teaueemprrt
5.	Koalas utilize the cooler ruacfes
6.	ecassc to these trees
Paragraph 2
7.	the iorhevbua of 37 koalas
8.	trying to dnfiteiy how koalas might survive
9.	observations and lnoiossnucc
10.	koalas sat ightpur in cooler weather
11.	wpedapr themselves around the tree trunk
12.	The koala's cooling hueictnqe

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	new light on the tree-hugging habits of the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is a five-
( )	up from the ground. The koala's cooling technique could be one way for humans to survive increasingly hot summers.
( )	of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought
( 1 )	Scientists have unlocked one of the secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intense
( )	degree difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize the cooler
( )	Briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas on an island off the Melbourne coast. She is part
( )	heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For decades people thought the cuddly marsupials clung
( )	surface by spreading themselves out on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access
( )	to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap. Researchers from Melbourne University have now cast
( )	surprise to her. She noted that the koalas sat upright in cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then
( )	wrapped themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals even moved to different trees that had cooler
( )	by global warming. Her observations and conclusions regarding the cooling effects of the trees came as a
( )	trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they suck
( )	to these trees can save about half the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	have secrets of unlocked Scientists the one.
2.	of on Cast the hugging the new koala habits tree- light.
3.	a degree temperature is - in There five difference.
4.	themselves on branches Spreading out large.
5.	a need about water would Save the koala half.
6.	coast Melbourne the off island an On.
7.	koalas identify trying might how A survive to team.
8.	to as the cooling her a trees effects surprise came of The.
9.	different trunks trees that Moved had to cooler.
10.	one cooling way technique could The be koala's.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Scientists have unlocked / locked out one of the secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intensity / intense heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For decadence / decades people thought the cuddly marsupials clung / clinging to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap / sap. Researchers from Melbourne University have now cast new shadow / light on the tree-hugging habits of the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is a five-degree differential / difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize the cooler surface / surfaced by spreading themselves off / out on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access to these trees can save about half / halved the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."

Briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas on / in an island off the Melbourne coast. She is part of a team trying to identity / identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought / bought by global warming. Her observations and conclusions regaling / regarding the cooling effects of the trees came as a surprise / surprising to her. She noted that the koalas sat upright / uptight in cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then wrapped / warped themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals even / odd moved to different trees that had cooler trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they stuck / suck up from the ground. The koala's cooling technique could be one way for humans to survive increases / increasingly hot summers.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

Sc__nt_sts h_v_ _nl_ck_d _n_ _f th_ s_cr_ts _s t_ h_w k__l_s st_y c__l _nd _v__d d_hydr_t__n _n th_ _nt_ns_ h__t _f __str_l__n s_mm_rs. Th_y h_g tr__s. F_r d_c_d_s p__pl_ th__ght th_ c_ddly m_rs_p__ls cl_ng t_ tr__s s_mply b_c__s_ th_y w_r_ t_r_d _nd w_nt_d s_m_wh_r_ t_ n_p. R_s__rch_rs fr_m M_lb__rn_ _n_v_rs_ty h_v_ n_w c_st n_w l_ght _n th_ tr__-h_gg_ng h_b_ts _f th_ k__l_. L__d r_s__rch_r N_t_l__ Br_sc__ s__d th_r_ _s _ f_v_-d_gr__ d_ff_r_nc_ _n t_mp_r_t_r_ b_tw__n _ tr__ tr_nk _nd th_ __r. K__l_s _t_l_z_ th_ c__l_r s_rf_c_ by spr__d_ng th_ms_lv_s __t _n l_rg_ br_nch_s _r by h_gg_ng th_ tr_nk. Ms Br_sc__ s__d: "_cc_ss t_ th_s_ tr__s c_n s_v_ _b__t h_lf th_ w_t_r _ k__l_ w__ld n__d t_ k__p c__l _n _ h_t d_y."

Br_sc__ st_d__d th_ b_h_v___r _f 37 k__l_s _n _n _sl_nd _ff th_ M_lb__rn_ c__st. Sh_ _s p_rt _f _ t__m try_ng t_ _d_nt_fy h_w k__l_s m_ght s_rv_v_ h_gh_r t_mp_r_t_r_s br__ght by gl_b_l w_rm_ng. H_r _bs_rv_t__ns _nd c_ncl_s__ns r_g_rd_ng th_ c__l_ng _ff_cts _f th_ tr__s c_m_ _s _ s_rpr_s_ t_ h_r. Sh_ n_t_d th_t th_ k__l_s s_t _pr_ght _n c__l_r w__th_r, h_gg_d br_nch_s wh_n _t b_c_m_ w_rm_r, _nd th_n wr_pp_d th_ms_lv_s _r__nd th_ tr__ tr_nk wh_n _t g_t h_t. Th_ _n_m_ls _v_n m_v_d t_ d_ff_r_nt tr__s th_t h_d c__l_r tr_nks. Sh_ s__d th_ tr__s _r_ pr_b_bly c__l_r b_c__s_ _f th_ w_t_r th_y s_ck _p fr_m th_ gr__nd. Th_ k__l_'s c__l_ng t_chn_q__ c__ld b_ _n_ w_y f_r h_m_ns t_ s_rv_v_ _ncr__s_ngly h_t s_mm_rs.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

scientists have unlocked one of the secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intense heat of australian summers they hug trees for decades people thought the cuddly marsupials clung to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap researchers from melbourne university have now cast new light on the tree-hugging habits of the koala lead researcher natalie briscoe said there is a five-degree difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air koalas utilize the cooler surface by spreading themselves out on large branches or by hugging the trunk ms briscoe said "access to these trees can save about half the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day"

briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas on an island off the melbourne coast she is part of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought by global warming her observations and conclusions regarding the cooling effects of the trees came as a surprise to her she noted that the koalas sat upright in cooler weather hugged branches when it became warmer and then wrapped themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot the animals even moved to different trees that had cooler trunks she said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they suck up from the ground the koala's cooling technique could be one way for humans to survive increasingly hot summers

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Scientistshaveunlockedoneofthesecretsastohowkoalasstaycoola
ndavoiddehydrationintheintenseheatofAustraliansummers.They
hugtrees.Fordecadespeoplethoughtthecuddlymarsupialsclungtot
reessimplybecausetheyweretiredandwantedsomewheretonap.Re
searchersfromMelbourneUniversityhavenowcastnewlightonthetr
ee-hugginghabitsofthekoala.LeadresearcherNatalieBriscoesaidt
hereisafive-degreedifferenceintemperaturebetweenatreetrunkan
dtheair.Koalasutilizethecoolersurfacebyspreadingthemselvesout
onlargebranchesorbyhuggingthetrunk.MsBriscoesaid:"Accesstot
hesetreescansaveabouthalfthewaterakoalawouldneedtokeepcool
onahotday."Briscoestudiedthebehaviourof37koalasonanislandoff
theMelbournecoast.Sheispartofateamtryingtoidentifyhowkoalas
mightsurvivehighertemperaturesbroughtbyglobalwarming.Herob
servationsandconclusionsregardingthecoolingeffectsofthetreesca
measasurprisetoher.Shenotedthatthekoalassatuprightincoolerw
eather,huggedbrancheswhenitbecamewarmer,andthenwrappedt
hemselvesaroundthetreetrunkwhenitgothot.Theanimalsevenmo
vedtodifferenttreesthathadcoolertrunks.Shesaidthetreesareprob
ablycoolerbecauseofthewatertheysuckupfromtheground.Thekoal
a'scoolingtechniquecouldbeonewayforhumanstosurviveincreasin
glyhotsummers.

FREE WRITING

Write about koalas for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Compare and contrast summer and winter. Which do you prefer? Why?

_____________________________________________________________________________

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

3. KOALAS: Make a poster about koalas. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. STAYING COOL: Write a magazine article about staying cool in the summer heat. Include imaginary interviews with experts at staying cool.

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. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a koala expert. Ask him/her three questions about koalas. Give him/her three ideas on how to protect them. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

Buy my book

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

F

c

T

d

T

e

F

f

T

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	secrets	a.	mysteries
2.	avoid	b.	steer clear of
3.	cuddly	c.	huggable
4.	cast	d.	thrown
5.	save	e.	conserve
6.	behaviour	f.	actions
7.	identify	g.	establish
8.	upright	h.	erect
9.	probably	i.	in all likelihood
10.	survive	j.	get through

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Unlocked it
2.	Decades
3.	New light
4.	5 degrees
5.	Half
6.	37
7.	Surprised
8.	They were cooler
9.	They suck it up from the ground
10.	Hotter summers

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

c

3.

d

4.

b

5.

a

6.

a

7.

d

8.

c

9.

d

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Koalas hug trees to stay cool (6th June, 2014)

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