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Rebels set up new state in Iraq and Syria (2nd July, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

Rebels that are fighting the governments of Iraq and Syria have set up their own state. It is called a caliphate, an Islamic nation. The rebels are from the group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The group is also called ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). The newly declared state stretches from Aleppo in the north of Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq. That is the area under the control of the rebels who have been fighting government troops in both countries. ISIL put a recorded statement online on Sunday announcing the new state. It said ISIL's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would be "the caliph" (the head of the state) and that he would also be "leader for Muslims everywhere".

Wikipedia says ISIS leaders think their state should be bigger. They also want parts of Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, southern Turkey, and Cyprus. Its members are largely Sunni Muslims who say they are disliked by the governments of Iraq and Syria. It was linked to Al Qaeda when it first started but those links have been cut. Wikipedia said: "ISIS had close links with al-Qaeda until 2014, but in February of that year, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group." Reports are that Al Qaeda did not agree with attacks on civilians that have led to thousands of deaths. Iraq has received several military jets from Russia to help fight the rebels.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28082962
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_in_Iraq_and_the_Levant
http://www.omantribune.com/index.php?page=news&id=170644&heading=Top%20News

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. IRAQ: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Iraq. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

rebels / fighting / north / control / troops / fighting / statement / head of state / leaders / governments / close links / power struggle / attacks / civilians / military jets

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

3. SET-UP: What do you have to do when you set these things up? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Difficult things	Easy things
A new state
A new capital
A new army
A new government
A new constitution
A new flag

4. NEW STATE: Students A strongly believe the U.N. should recognize the new state; Students B strongly believe no way. 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. REBEL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "rebel". 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.	Rebels have declared a new state between Iraq and Syria.	T / F
b.	The new state includes parts of Iraq and Syria.	T / F
c.	The rebels are generally known by two names.	T / F
d.	The head of the new state is called a "president".	T / F
e.	A Wikipedia article says ISIS wants parts of other countries too.	T / F
f.	The Syrian and Iraqi governments have good relations with the rebels.	T / F
g.	The rebels are working closely with al-Qaeda.	T / F
h.	The rebels have just bough fighter jets from Russia.	T / F

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

1.	fighting	a.	bits
2.	set up	b.	announced
3.	declared	c.	fight
4.	area	d.	established
5.	head	e.	mainly
6.	parts	f.	region
7.	largely	g.	planes
8.	linked	h.	battling
9.	struggle	i.	connected
10.	jets	j.	leader

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

1.	set up their	a.	group ISIS
2.	It is called a caliphate,	b.	power struggle
3.	The rebels are from the	c.	of the state
4.	The newly declared state stretches	d.	own state
5.	the head	e.	Sunni Muslims
6.	Its members are largely	f.	to Al Qaeda
7.	It was linked	g.	from Aleppo in the north
8.	those links have	h.	jets
9.	after an eight-month	i.	an Islamic nation
10.	military	j.	been cut

GAP FILL

Rebels that are fighting the governments of Iraq and Syria have set up their own (1) ____________. It is called a caliphate, an Islamic nation. The rebels are from the group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The group is also (2) ____________ ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). The newly declared state (3) ____________ from Aleppo in the north of Syria to Diyala in (4) ____________ Iraq. That is the area under the (5) ____________ of the rebels who have been fighting government troops in both countries. ISIL put a recorded (6) ____________ online on Sunday announcing the new state. It said ISIL's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would be "the caliph" (the (7) ____________ of the state) and that he would also be "leader for Muslims (8) ____________ ".

control
stretches
head
state
everywhere
statement
called
eastern

Wikipedia says ISIS leaders think their state should be bigger. They also want (9) ____________ of Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, southern Turkey, and Cyprus. Its members are (10) ____________ Sunni Muslims who say they are disliked by the governments of Iraq and Syria. It was (11) ____________ to Al Qaeda when it first started but those links have been cut. Wikipedia said: "ISIS had (12) ____________ links with al-Qaeda until 2014, but in February of that year, after an eight-month power (13) ____________, al-Qaeda cut all (14) ____________ with the group." Reports are that Al Qaeda did not agree with attacks on (15) ____________ that have led to thousands of deaths. Iraq has received several military (16) ____________ from Russia to help fight the rebels.

struggle
linked
jets
close
parts
civilians
largely
ties

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Rebels that are fighting the governments of Iraq and Syria have set up ______
	a. their down state b. their only state c. their own state d. their owned state
2)	The newly declared state ______ Aleppo
	a. stretches from b. stretch its from c. stretch is from d. stretches from
3)	That is the area under the control of the rebels who have been fighting ______
	a. government troops b. government troop c. government traipse d. government truths
4)	ISIL put a recorded ______
	a. statements online b. statement online c. stated meant online d. statement only line
5)	he would also be "leader for ______
	a. Muslims anywhere b. Muslims everywhere c. Muslims somewhere d. Muslims ever where
6)	Its members are ______ Muslims
	a. large be Sunni b. largely Sunni c. lively Sunni d. leisurely Sunni
7)	It was linked to Al Qaeda when it first started but those ______ cut
	a. links have being b. links has been c. links has being d. links have been
8)	…in February of that year, after an eight-month ______
	a. powered struggle b. power straggle c. power struggle d. powers struggle
9)	Reports are that Al Qaeda did not agree with ______
	a. attacks on civilians b. attacks in civilians c. attacks on civilian d. attack is on civilians
10)	Iraq has received several military ______
	a. jets from Russia b. jacks from Russia c. jabs from Russia d. jet from Russia

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Rebels that are fighting the governments of Iraq and Syria (1) ___________________ own state. It is called a caliphate, an Islamic nation. The rebels are from the group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The group is also called ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). The newly (2) ___________________ from Aleppo in the north of Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq. That is the area (3) ___________________ of the rebels who have been fighting government (4) ___________________ countries. ISIL put a recorded (5) ___________________ Sunday announcing the new state. It said ISIL's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would be "the caliph" (the head of the state) and that he would (6) ___________________ Muslims everywhere".

Wikipedia says ISIS leaders think their (7) ___________________. They also want parts of Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, southern Turkey, and Cyprus. Its members are largely Sunni Muslims (8) ___________________ disliked by the governments of Iraq and Syria. It was linked to Al Qaeda when it first started but (9) ___________________ been cut. Wikipedia said: "ISIS had close links with al-Qaeda until 2014, but in February of that year, after an eight-month (10) ___________________, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group." Reports are that Al Qaeda did not (11) ___________________ on civilians that have led to thousands of deaths. Iraq has received several (12) ___________________ Russia to help fight the rebels.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	Who are the rebels fighting?
2.	The rebel group is called ISIS. What else are they called?
3.	What is the northernmost city of the area under rebel control?
4.	Where did the rebels make a statement on Sunday?
5.	What is the official name of the head of the new state?
6.	What does Wikipedia say that ISIS leaders want?
7.	Which governments dislike ISIS?
8.	When did al-Qaeda cut ties with ISIS?
9.	For how long was there a power struggle?
10.	What did Iraq buy from Russia?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	Who are the rebels fighting?	6.	What does Wikipedia say that ISIS leaders want?
	a) each other b) Syria and Iraq c) U.N. troops d) spies		a) more land b) guns c) U.N. recognition d) a new flag
2.	The rebel group is called ISIS. What else are they called?	7.	Which governments dislike ISIS?
	a) LISI b) SISI c) SILL d) ISIL		a) Jordan and Lebanon b) Turkey and Cyprus c) Syria and Iraq d) Iran and Syria
3.	What is the northernmost city of the area under rebel control?	8.	When did al-Qaeda cut ties with ISIS?
	a) Aleppo b) Tikrit c) Baghdad d) Helsinki		a) February, 2014 b) 2 months ago c) April 11th d) last week
4.	Where did the rebels make a statement on Sunday?	9.	For how long was there a power struggle?
	a) Damascus b) in the streets c) online d) a national newspaper		a) 8 months b) 4 years c) it hasn't finished d) a few hours
5.	What is the official name of the head of the new state?	10.	What did Iraq buy from Russia?
	a) boss b) caliph c) president d) sultan		a) dolls b) rice c) oil d) airplanes

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Strong leader

You think a strong leader is most important for a new state. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are not so necessary about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): money, United Nations support or an army.

Role B – Money

You think money is most important for a new state. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are not so necessary about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): a strong leader, United Nations support or an army.

Role C – United Nations support

You think United Nations support is most important for a new state. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are not so necessary about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): money, a strong leader or an army.

Role D – An army

You think an army is most important for a new state. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are not so necessary about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): money, United Nations support or a strong leader.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

rebel

state

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:

set up
called
north
both
online
everywhere

bigger
parts
disliked
cut
power
jets

IRAQ SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Iraq 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.

IRAQ 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 'Iraq'?
c)	What is happening in Iraq?
d)	Why is there so much fighting?
e)	What do you think of the new state?
f)	Should the UN make new borders / countries in Iraq?
g)	Should the UN make new borders in the Middle East?
h)	Do you think the new state will survive?
i)	How interested are you in news of Iraq?
j)	What do you know about the recent history of Iraq?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	What do you know about ISIS?
c)	What do you think of what is happening in Iraq?
d)	What would happen if ISIS went into other countries?
e)	Do you think ISIS is here to stay or will it disappear?
f)	What are the differences between ISIS and Iraq's government?
g)	What advice would you give to an average Iraqi?
h)	What can the world do to help people caught in the fighting?
i)	What do you think Iraq will be like in 10 years from now?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the head of ISIS?

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

Rebels that are fighting the governments of Iraq and Syria have set (1) ____ their own state. It is called a caliphate, an Islamic nation. The rebels are from the group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The group is (2) ____ called ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). The (3) ____ declared state stretches from Aleppo in the north of Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq. That is the area (4) ____ the control of the rebels who have been fighting government troops in both countries. ISIL put a (5) ____ statement online on Sunday announcing the new state. It said ISIL's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would be "the caliph" (the head of the state) and that he would also be "leader for Muslims (6) ____".

Wikipedia says ISIS leaders think their state should be bigger. They also want (7) ____ of Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, southern Turkey, and Cyprus. Its members are (8) ____ Sunni Muslims who say they are disliked by the governments of Iraq and Syria. It was linked to Al Qaeda when it first started but those links have been (9) ____. Wikipedia said: "ISIS had close links with al-Qaeda until 2014, but in February of that year, after an eight-month (10) ____ struggle, al-Qaeda cut all (11) ____ with the group." Reports are that Al Qaeda did not agree with attacks on civilians that have (12) ____ to thousands of deaths. Iraq has received several military jets from Russia to help fight the rebels.

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

1.	(a)	down	(b)	in	(c)	on	(d)	up
2.	(a)	so	(b)	been	(c)	as	(d)	also
3.	(a)	new	(b)	newly	(c)	newish	(d)	news
4.	(a)	above	(b)	below	(c)	under	(d)	before
5.	(a)	recording	(b)	records	(c)	recorded	(d)	record
6.	(a)	everywhere	(b)	somewhere	(c)	wherever	(d)	anywhere
7.	(a)	places	(b)	parts	(c)	location	(d)	maps
8.	(a)	largely	(b)	biggish	(c)	hugely	(d)	width
9.	(a)	sliced	(b)	cut	(c)	chopped	(d)	carved
10.	(a)	powerful	(b)	powered	(c)	power	(d)	powers
11.	(a)	scarves	(b)	strings	(c)	ties	(d)	cords
12.	(a)	med	(b)	fed	(c)	wed	(d)	led

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	Rebels that are ngithgfi
2.	an Islamic onatni
3.	The newly eedralcd state
4.	Diyala in taseenr Iraq
5.	government topors
6.	a recorded eemttnats online
Paragraph 2
7.	rthusone Turkey
8.	Its members are lglraey Sunni Muslims
9.	they are skileddi
10.	an eight-month power guserltg
11.	attacks on vsiaiincl
12.	lraiitym jets

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	of Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, southern Turkey, and Cyprus. Its members are largely Sunni Muslims who say they are
( )	Syria). The group is also called ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). The newly declared state stretches
( )	from Aleppo in the north of Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq. That is the area under the control of
( 1 )	Rebels that are fighting the governments of Iraq and Syria have set up their own state. It is called a
( )	month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group." Reports are that Al Qaeda
( )	caliph" (the head of the state) and that he would also be "leader for Muslims everywhere".
( )	disliked by the governments of Iraq and Syria. It was linked to Al Qaeda when it first started but those links have been
( )	Wikipedia says ISIS leaders think their state should be bigger. They also want parts
( )	deaths. Iraq has received several military jets from Russia to help fight the rebels.
( )	statement online on Sunday announcing the new state. It said ISIL's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would be "the
( )	the rebels who have been fighting government troops in both countries. ISIL put a recorded
( )	cut. Wikipedia said: "ISIS had close links with al-Qaeda until 2014, but in February of that year, after an eight-
( )	did not agree with attacks on civilians that have led to thousands of
( )	caliphate, an Islamic nation. The rebels are from the group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	fighting the governments of Iraq and Syria Rebels that are.
2.	ISIS group the from are rebels The.
3.	stretches state declared newly The Aleppo from.
4.	rebels the the the is under of That area control.
5.	leader He for would Muslims also everywhere be.
6.	leaders be think bigger their state ISIS should.
7.	say the disliked Muslims governments they who by are.
8.	was linked to Al Qaeda when it first started It.
9.	have led to thousands of deaths Attacks on civilians that.
10.	Military Russia fight from help rebels jets to the.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Rebels that are fought / fighting the governments of Iraq and Syria have set up their own / down state. It is called a caliphate, an Islamic national / nation. The rebels are from the group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The group is also called / naming ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). The new / newly declared state stretches from Aleppo in the north of Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq. That is the areas / area under the control of the rebels who have done / been fighting government troops in both countries. ISIL put a recorded / recording statement online on Sunday announcing / announced the new state. It said ISIL's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would be "the caliph" (the head of the state) and that he would also be "leader for / from Muslims everywhere".

Wikipedia says ISIS leaders thinking / think their state should be bigger. They also want parts / parties of Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, southern Turkey, and Cyprus. Its members are large / largely Sunni Muslims who say they are disliked of / by the governments of Iraq and Syria. It was linked to Al Qaeda when it first started but those linking / links have been cut. Wikipedia said: "ISIS had near / close links with al-Qaeda until 2014, but in February of that year, after an eight-month power straggle / struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group." Reports are that Al Qaeda did not argue / agree with attacks on civilians that have led / fed to thousands of deaths. Iraq has received several / numeral military jets from Russia to help fight the rebels.

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)

R_b_ls th_t _r_ f_ght_ng th_ g_v_rnm_nts _f _r_q _nd Syr__ h_v_ s_t _p th__r _wn st_t_. _t _s c_ll_d _ c_l_ph_t_, _n _sl_m_c n_t__n. Th_ r_b_ls _r_ fr_m th_ gr__p _S_S (th_ _sl_m_c St_t_ _f _r_q _nd Syr__). Th_ gr__p _s _ls_ c_ll_d _S_L (th_ _sl_m_c St_t_ _n _r_q _nd th_ L_v_nt). Th_ n_wly d_cl_r_d st_t_ str_tch_s fr_m _l_pp_ _n th_ n_rth _f Syr__ t_ D_y_l_ _n __st_rn _r_q. Th_t _s th_ _r__ _nd_r th_ c_ntr_l _f th_ r_b_ls wh_ h_v_ b__n f_ght_ng g_v_rnm_nt tr__ps _n b_th c__ntr__s. _S_L p_t _ r_c_rd_d st_t_m_nt _nl_n_ _n S_nd_y _nn__nc_ng th_ n_w st_t_. _t s__d _S_L's l__d_r _b_ B_kr _l-B_ghd_d_ w__ld b_ "th_ c_l_ph" (th_ h__d _f th_ st_t_) _nd th_t h_ w__ld _ls_ b_ "l__d_r f_r M_sl_ms _v_rywh_r_".

W_k_p_d__ s_ys _S_S l__d_rs th_nk th__r st_t_ sh__ld b_ b_gg_r. Th_y _ls_ w_nt p_rts _f J_rd_n, _sr__l, P_l_st_n_, L_b_n_n, s__th_rn T_rk_y, _nd Cypr_s. _ts m_mb_rs _r_ l_rg_ly S_nn_ M_sl_ms wh_ s_y th_y _r_ d_sl_k_d by th_ g_v_rnm_nts _f _r_q _nd Syr__. _t w_s l_nk_d t_ _l Q__d_ wh_n _t f_rst st_rt_d b_t th_s_ l_nks h_v_ b__n c_t. W_k_p_d__ s__d: "_S_S h_d cl_s_ l_nks w_th _l-Q__d_ _nt_l 2014, b_t _n F_br__ry _f th_t y__r, _ft_r _n __ght-m_nth p_w_r str_ggl_, _l-Q__d_ c_t _ll t__s w_th th_ gr__p." R_p_rts _r_ th_t _l Q__d_ d_d n_t _gr__ w_th _tt_cks _n c_v_l__ns th_t h_v_ l_d t_ th__s_nds _f d__ths. _r_q h_s r_c__v_d s_v_r_l m_l_t_ry j_ts fr_m R_ss__ t_ h_lp f_ght th_ r_b_ls.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

rebels that are fighting the governments of iraq and syria have set up their own state it is called a caliphate an islamic nation the rebels are from the group isis (the islamic state of iraq and syria) the group is also called isil (the islamic state in iraq and the levant) the newly declared state stretches from aleppo in the north of syria to diyala in eastern iraq that is the area under the control of the rebels who have been fighting government troops in both countries isil put a recorded statement online on sunday announcing the new state it said isil's leader abu bakr al-baghdadi would be "the caliph" (the head of the state) and that he would also be "leader for muslims everywhere"

wikipedia says isis leaders think their state should be bigger they also want parts of jordan israel palestine lebanon southern turkey and cyprus its members are largely sunni muslims who say they are disliked by the governments of iraq and syria it was linked to al qaeda when it first started but those links have been cut wikipedia said "isis had close links with al-qaeda until 2014 but in february of that year after an eight-month power struggle al-qaeda cut all ties with the group" reports are that al qaeda did not agree with attacks on civilians that have led to thousands of deaths iraq has received several military jets from russia to help fight the rebels

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

RebelsthatarefightingthegovernmentsofIraqandSyriahavesetup
theirownstate.Itiscalledacaliphate,anIslamicnation.Therebelsar
efromthegroupISIS(theIslamicStateofIraqandSyria).Thegroupis
alsocalledISIL(theIslamicStateinIraqandtheLevant).Thenewlyd
eclaredstatestretchesfromAleppointhenorthofSyriatoDiyalainea
sternIraq.Thatistheareaunderthecontroloftherebelswhohavebee
nfightinggovernmenttroopsinbothcountries.ISILputarecordedst
atementonlineonSundayannouncingthenewstate.ItsaidISIL'slea
derAbuBakral-Baghdadiwouldbe"thecaliph"(theheadofthesta
te)andthathewouldalsobe"leaderforMuslimseverywhere".Wikipe
diasaysISISleadersthinktheirstateshouldbebigger.Theyalsowant
partsofJordan,Israel,Palestine,Lebanon,southernTurkey,andCy
prus.ItsmembersarelargelySunniMuslimswhosaytheyaredislike
dbythegovernmentsofIraqandSyria.ItwaslinkedtoAlQaedawheni
tfirststartedbutthoselinkshavebeencut.Wikipediasaid:"ISIShadc
loselinkswithal-Qaedauntil2014,butinFebruaryofthatyear,aft
eraneight-monthpowerstruggle,al-Qaedacutalltieswiththegroup
."ReportsarethatAlQaedadidnotagreewithattacksonciviliansthat
haveledtothousandsofdeaths.Iraqhasreceivedseveralmilitaryjet
sfromRussiatohelpfighttherebels.

FREE WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

It is better to let Iraq solve its own problems. Other countries should stay out. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 ISIS / ISIL. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. IRAQ: Make a poster about what is happening in Iraq. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. ISIS: Write a magazine article about ISIS. Include imaginary interviews with people living in Iraq.

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 an expert on Iraq. Ask him/her three questions about ISIS. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to bring peace to Iraq. 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

$US 9.99

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

T

c

T

d

F

e

T

f

F

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	fighting	a.	battling
2.	set up	b.	established
3.	declared	c.	announced
4.	area	d.	region
5.	head	e.	leader
6.	parts	f.	bits
7.	largely	g.	mainly
8.	linked	h.	connected
9.	struggle	i.	fight
10.	jets	j.	planes

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	The Syrian and Iraqi governments
2.	ISIL
3.	Aleppo
4.	Online
5.	Caliph
6.	More land
7.	Syria and Iraq
8.	February 2014
9.	8 months
10.	Military jets

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

a

4.

c

5.

b

6.

a

7.

c

8.

a

9.

a

10.

d

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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Rebels set up new state in Iraq and Syria (2nd July, 2014)

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