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Number of blue whales increasing (10th September, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

This is a good-news story about sea life. Scientists have reported that the numbers of blue whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean are the highest they have been in over a century. Researchers at the University of Washington report that there are now over 2,200 blue whales between Mexico and Alaska. Hunters killed nearly all the blue whales in that area and were close to extinction. Whaling became illegal in 1971 and the numbers of the world's largest mammal started increasing. It has taken over 40 years for the blue whale to recover. Lead researcher Dr Cole Monnahan was very happy at this positive news. He said: "For us, this is a great conservation success story."

Dr Monnahan said the number of 2,200 blue whales in the area might not rise any further. He said: "Before this study, some people thought that number should be going up, but if there were about 2,200 whales to begin with, then that is what the environment can support." Monnahan warned that the creature still needs to be protected, saying: "California blue whales are recovering because we took actions to stop catches and start monitoring. If we hadn't, the population might have been pushed to near extinction." He added that: "The recovery of California blue whales from whaling demonstrates the ability of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and conservation measures."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/09/08/study-california-blue-whale-population-rebounds-from-whaling/
http://www.calacademy.org/sciencetoday/californias-blue-whale-population-rebounding/5516878/
http://time.com/3297045/california-blue-whales/

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. BLUE WHALES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about blue whales. 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?

good news / scientists / whales / Pacific Ocean / hunters / extinction / whaling / story / rise / study / environment / protected / recovering / population / ability / conservation

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

3. CONSERVATION: Choose something to protect and make a conservation plan? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	What?	How to protect it
Language
Animal
Building
Bird
Marine life
Other _____

4. EXTINCT: Students A strongly believe scientists will be successful and stop many animals from becoming extinct; Students B strongly believe the opposite. 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. GOOD NEWS: Rank these with your partner. Put the best thing you like to hear good news about at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• yourself

• wildlife conservation

• shopping bargains

• new technology

• money

• your favourite sports team

• global warming

• war

6. SUCCESS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "success". 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 say there are more blue whales in the Atlantic Ocean.	T / F
b.	The numbers of blue whales are at levels not seen for 500 years.	T / F
c.	It was against the law to hunt and kill whales from 1971.	T / F
d.	A scientist said it was a great conversation success story.	T / F
e.	The scientist expects the number of whales to rise even further.	T / F
f.	The scientist suggested the environment couldn't support more whales.	T / F
g.	The scientist said the blue whale is safe enough not to be protected.	T / F
h.	The scientist said conservation measures helped the blue whale.	T / F

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

1.	sea	a.	return to normal
2.	close	b.	rising
3.	illegal	c.	watching
4.	increasing	d.	near
5.	recover	e.	shows
6.	further	f.	marine
7.	creature	g.	actions
8.	monitoring	h.	against the law
9.	demonstrates	i.	animal
10.	measures	j.	more

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

1.	This is a good-news	a.	extinction
2.	the highest they have been	b.	success story
3.	close to	c.	extinction
4.	the world's largest	d.	any further
5.	this is a great conservation	e.	to be protected
6.	might not rise	f.	story about sea life
7.	there were about 2,200 whales	g.	measures
8.	the creature still needs	h.	mammal
9.	pushed to near	i.	in over a century
10.	conservation	j.	to begin with

GAP FILL

This is a good-news story about sea (1) ____________. Scientists have reported that the numbers of blue whales in the (2) ____________ Pacific Ocean are the highest they have been in over a (3) ____________. Researchers at the University of Washington (4) ____________ that there are now over 2,200 blue whales between Mexico and Alaska. Hunters killed nearly all the blue whales in that area and were (5) ____________ to extinction. Whaling became illegal in 1971 and the numbers of the world's largest (6) ____________ started increasing. It has taken over 40 years for the blue whale to (7) ____________. Lead researcher Dr Cole Monnahan was very happy at this positive news. He said: "For us, this is a great conservation (8) ____________ story."

recover
close
century
success
life
mammal
eastern
report

Dr Monnahan said the number of 2,200 blue whales in the (9) ____________ might not rise any (10) ____________. He said: "Before this study, some people thought that (11) ____________ should be going up, but if there were about 2,200 whales to begin with, then that is what the environment can (12) ____________." Monnahan warned that the creature still needs to be protected, saying: "California blue whales are recovering because we took (13) ____________ to stop catches and start monitoring. If we hadn't, the population might have been pushed to near (14) ____________." He added that: "The recovery of California blue whales from whaling demonstrates the (15) ____________ of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and conservation (16) ____________."

support
measures
extinction
area
number
ability
further
actions

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	This is a good-news story ______
	a. about seal life b. about sea life c. about see life d. about sea live
2)	the highest they have been in ______
	a. over a centurion b. over the century c. over a century d. over the centurion
3)	Hunters killed nearly all the blue whales in that area and were ______
	a. close to extinction b. close to extinguishing c. close to extinguish d. close to distinction
4)	numbers of the world's ______
	a. largest mammals b. largest animal c. largest man mall d. largest mammal
5)	For us, this is a great conservation ______
	a. successes story b. success story c. successful story d. succeed story
6)	the number of 2,200 blue whales in the area might not ______
	a. rise any farther b. rise any further c. rise any father d. rise any fur the
7)	if there were about 2,200 whales to begin with, then that is what the ______
	a. environments can support b. environmental can support c. environment cans support d. environment can support
8)	recovering because we took actions to stop catches and ______
	a. start monitoring b. starts monitoring c. start monitor in d. starts monitor in
9)	The recovery of California blue ______
	a. whales from wheeling b. whales from whale in c. whales from whaling d. whales from wailing
10)	rebuild under careful management and ______
	a. conservation measures b. conversation measures c. constipation measures d. preservation measures

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

This is a good-news story about sea life. Scientists (1) ___________________ numbers of blue whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean are the highest they have been (2) ___________________. Researchers at the University of Washington report that there are now over 2,200 blue whales between Mexico and Alaska. Hunters (3) ___________________ blue whales in that area and were (4) ___________________. Whaling became illegal in 1971 and the numbers of the (5) ___________________ started increasing. It has taken over 40 years for the blue whale to recover. Lead researcher Dr Cole Monnahan was very happy at this positive news. He said: "For us, this is (6) ___________________ success story."

Dr Monnahan said the number of 2,200 blue whales (7) ___________________ not rise any further. He said: "Before this study, some people thought that number (8) ___________________, but if there were about 2,200 whales (9) ___________________, then that is what the environment can support." Monnahan warned that the creature still needs to be protected, saying: "California blue whales are recovering because we took actions to stop catches (10) ___________________. If we hadn't, the population might have been pushed (11) ___________________." He added that: "The recovery of California blue whales from whaling demonstrates the ability of blue whale populations to (12) ___________________ management and conservation measures."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	In which part of the Pacific Ocean are whale numbers increasing?
2.	How many blue whales are in the area between Mexico and Alaska?
3.	When was hunting and killing whales made illegal?
4.	What is the world's largest mammal?
5.	What kind of great success story did Dr Monnahan say this is?
6.	What did Dr Monnahan say whale numbers might not do?
7.	What did Dr Monnahan say still needs to happen?
8.	Why are blue whales recovering?
9.	What did Dr Monnahan say the blue whale had been pushed near to?
10.	What did whales do with careful management and conservation?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	In which part of the Pacific Ocean are whale numbers increasing?	6.	What did Dr Monnahan say whale numbers might not do?
	a) the northern part b) the eastern part c) the middle d) the bottom		a) go up any more b) become even c) multiply d) level out
2.	How many blue whales are in the area between Mexico and Alaska?	7.	What did Dr Monnahan say still needs to happen?
	a) 220 b) 12,000 c) over 2,200 d) 22,000		a) fishing b) studying c) whaling d) whale protection
3.	When was hunting and killing whales made illegal?	8.	Why are blue whales recovering?
	a) 1974 b) 1973 c) 1972 d) 1971		a) better medicines b) they have become stronger c) because of actions taken d) natural selection
4.	What is the world's largest mammal?	9.	What did Dr Monnahan say the blue whale was pushed near to?
	a) the African elephant b) the blue whale c) the komodo dragon d) the giraffe		a) fishing boats b) sharks c) the Equator d) extinction
5.	What kind of great success story did Dr Monnahan say this is?	10.	What did whales do with careful management and conservation?
	a) conservation b) conversation c) consecration d) consternation		a) grow bigger b) rebuild populations c) learn to communicate d) become better swimmers

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Sports

You think sports is the best thing to receive good news about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why news about their things isn't so interesting. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): shopping, money or global warming.

Role B – Shopping

You think shopping is the best thing to receive good news about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why news about their things isn't so interesting. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): sports, money or global warming.

Role C – Money

You think money is the best thing to receive good news about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why news about their things isn't so interesting. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): shopping, sports or global warming.

Role D – Global warming

You think global warming is the best thing to receive good news about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why news about their things isn't so interesting. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): shopping, money or sports.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

blue

whale

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:

sea
century
between
1971
40
great

further
begin
support
actions
pushed
ability

BLUE WHALES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about blue whales 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.

BLUE WHALES 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 'whale'?
c)	Do you like reading about good news or bad news?
d)	What do you think about what you read?
e)	What do you think about blue whales?
f)	How good is this news?
g)	What do you think about the hunting of whales?
h)	What other creatures would you like to see increase in number?
i)	What other conservation success stories do you know about?
j)	Why wasn't it until 1971 that whaling became illegal?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	Why is there so much bad news and so little good news?
c)	What do you know about the numbers of other whales?
d)	Do you think blue whale numbers will go up, down or stay the same?
e)	Who does the blue whale still need protecting from?
f)	Would you like a job monitoring blue whales? Why?
g)	How would the ocean environment change if whales became extinct?
h)	Can humans stop the extinction of other creatures?
i)	What three adjectives best describe whales, and why?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the scientists?

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

This is a good-news story about sea life. Scientists have (1) ____ that the numbers of blue whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean are the (2) ____ they have been in over a century. Researchers at the University of Washington report that there are now over 2,200 blue whales (3) ____ Mexico and Alaska. Hunters killed nearly all the blue whales in that area and were close (4) ____ extinction. Whaling became illegal in 1971 and the numbers of the world's largest mammal started increasing. It has taken over 40 years for the blue whale to (5) ____. Lead researcher Dr Cole Monnahan was very happy at this positive news. He said: "For (6) ____, this is a great conservation success story."

Dr Monnahan said the number of 2,200 blue whales in the area might not rise (7) ____ further. He said: "Before this study, some people thought that number should be (8) ____ up, but if there were about 2,200 whales to begin (9) ____, then that is what the environment can support." Monnahan warned that the creature still needs to be protected, saying: "California blue whales are recovering because we (10) ____ actions to stop catches and start monitoring. If we hadn't, the population might have been pushed to (11) ____ extinction." He added that: "The recovery of California blue whales from whaling demonstrates the ability of blue whale populations to rebuild (12) ____ careful management and conservation measures."

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

1.	(a)	reported	(b)	reporting	(c)	reports	(d)	report
2.	(a)	most	(b)	tallest	(c)	highest	(d)	loftiest
3.	(a)	nether	(b)	among	(c)	between	(d)	middle
4.	(a)	by	(b)	as	(c)	for	(d)	to
5.	(a)	health	(b)	better	(c)	recover	(d)	well
6.	(a)	they	(b)	us	(c)	we	(d)	I
7.	(a)	a	(b)	any	(c)	more	(d)	come
8.	(a)	been	(b)	going	(c)	gone	(d)	goes
9.	(a)	in	(b)	by	(c)	with	(d)	for
10.	(a)	acted	(b)	had	(c)	done	(d)	took
11.	(a)	nears	(b)	nearly	(c)	near	(d)	neared
12.	(a)	over	(b)	inside	(c)	outside	(d)	under

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	in the atesnre Pacific Ocean
2.	close to nietctxion
3.	Whaling became lalleig in 1971
4.	the world's largest malmma
5.	40 years for the blue whale to croevre
6.	a great conservation uescscs story.
Paragraph 2
7.	might not rise any htreufr
8.	what the environment can ruoppts
9.	the cteerrua still needs to be protected
10.	stop catches and start irioomnntg
11.	the tplonpoiau might have been pushed to…
12.	rebuild under careful gataenmemn

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	extinction." He added that: "The recovery of California blue whales from whaling demonstrates the
( )	Pacific Ocean are the highest they have been in over a century. Researchers at the University of
( )	researcher Dr Cole Monnahan was very happy at this positive news. He said: "For us, this is a great conservation success story."
( 1 )	This is a good-news story about sea life. Scientists have reported that the numbers of blue whales in the eastern
( )	Washington report that there are now over 2,200 blue whales between Mexico and
( )	extinction. Whaling became illegal in 1971 and the numbers of the world's largest mammal started
( )	further. He said: "Before this study, some people thought that number should be going up, but if there were about 2,200 whales to begin
( )	increasing. It has taken over 40 years for the blue whale to recover. Lead
( )	to stop catches and start monitoring. If we hadn't, the population might have been pushed to near
( )	with, then that is what the environment can support." Monnahan warned that the creature still
( )	needs to be protected, saying: "California blue whales are recovering because we took actions
( )	ability of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and conservation measures."
( )	Dr Monnahan said the number of 2,200 blue whales in the area might not rise any
( )	Alaska. Hunters killed nearly all the blue whales in that area and were close to

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	life This is a good - news story about sea.
2.	been a The have over they in century highest.
3.	that killed the in . Hunters all whales area nearly blue
4.	for over It to the 40 has recover blue years taken whale.
5.	great story , a success us is conservation For this.
6.	the area . might not rise any further Blue whales in
7.	should up people number going Some that be thought.
8.	with There were about 2,200 whales to begin.
9.	because Blue we whales took are actions recovering.
10.	ability to of rebuild blue whale The populations.

MY e-BOOK

See a sample

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

This is a good-news story about seal / sea life. Scientists have reported that the numbers of blue whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean is / are the highest they have been in above / over a century. Researchers at the University of Washington report that these / there are now over 2,200 blue whales between Mexico and Alaska. Hunters killed / kill nearly all the blue whales in that area and were close to / as extinction. Whaling became illegally / illegal in 1971 and the numbers of the world's largest / large mammal started increasing. It has taken over 40 years for the blue whale to recovery / recover. Lead researcher Dr Cole Monnahan was very happy at this positive news. He said: "For us, this is a great conservation success / succeed story."

Dr Monnahan said the number of 2,200 blue whales in / on the area might not rise any farther / further. He said: "Before this study / studies, some people thought that number should be gone / going up, but if there were about 2,200 whales to begin without / with, then that is what the environment can support / supportive." Monnahan warned that the creature still needs to be protected, saying: "California blue whales are recoverable / recovering because we took actions to stop catch / catches and start monitoring. If we hadn't, the population might have been pushed to near extinction / extinct." He added that: "The recovery of California blue whales from whaling demonstrates the ability of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and conversation / conservation measures."

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)

Th_s _s _ g__d-n_ws st_ry _b__t s__ l_f_. Sc__nt_sts h_v_ r_p_rt_d th_t th_ n_mb_rs _f bl__ wh_l_s _n th_ __st_rn P_c_f_c _c__n _r_ th_ h_gh_st th_y h_v_ b__n _n _v_r _ c_nt_ry. R_s__rch_rs _t th_ _n_v_rs_ty _f W_sh_ngt_n r_p_rt th_t th_r_ _r_ n_w _v_r 2,200 bl__ wh_l_s b_tw__n M_x_c_ _nd _l_sk_. H_nt_rs k_ll_d n__rly _ll th_ bl__ wh_l_s _n th_t _r__ _nd w_r_ cl_s_ t_ _xt_nct__n. Wh_l_ng b_c_m_ _ll_g_l _n 1971 _nd th_ n_mb_rs _f th_ w_rld's l_rg_st m_mm_l st_rt_d _ncr__s_ng. _t h_s t_k_n _v_r 40 y__rs f_r th_ bl__ wh_l_ t_ r_c_v_r. L__d r_s__rch_r Dr C_l_ M_nn_h_n w_s v_ry h_ppy _t th_s p_s_t_v_ n_ws. H_ s__d: "F_r _s, th_s _s _ gr__t c_ns_rv_t__n s_cc_ss st_ry."

Dr M_nn_h_n s__d th_ n_mb_r _f 2,200 bl__ wh_l_s _n th_ _r__ m_ght n_t r_s_ _ny f_rth_r. H_ s__d: "B_f_r_ th_s st_dy, s_m_ p__pl_ th__ght th_t n_mb_r sh__ld b_ g__ng _p, b_t _f th_r_ w_r_ _b__t 2,200 wh_l_s t_ b_g_n w_th, th_n th_t _s wh_t th_ _nv_r_nm_nt c_n s_pp_rt." M_nn_h_n w_rn_d th_t th_ cr__t_r_ st_ll n__ds t_ b_ pr_t_ct_d, s_y_ng: "C_l_f_rn__ bl__ wh_l_s _r_ r_c_v_r_ng b_c__s_ w_ t__k _ct__ns t_ st_p c_tch_s _nd st_rt m_n_t_r_ng. _f w_ h_dn't, th_ p_p_l_t__n m_ght h_v_ b__n p_sh_d t_ n__r _xt_nct__n." H_ _dd_d th_t: "Th_ r_c_v_ry _f C_l_f_rn__ bl__ wh_l_s fr_m wh_l_ng d_m_nstr_t_s th_ _b_l_ty _f bl__ wh_l_ p_p_l_t__ns t_ r_b__ld _nd_r c_r_f_l m_n_g_m_nt _nd c_ns_rv_t__n m__s_r_s."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

this is a good-news story about sea life scientists have reported that the numbers of blue whales in the eastern pacific ocean are the highest they have been in over a century researchers at the university of washington report that there are now over 2200 blue whales between mexico and alaska hunters killed nearly all the blue whales in that area and were close to extinction whaling became illegal in 1971 and the numbers of the world's largest mammal started increasing it has taken over 40 years for the blue whale to recover lead researcher dr cole monnahan was very happy at this positive news he said "for us this is a great conservation success story"

dr monnahan said the number of 2200 blue whales in the area might not rise any further he said "before this study some people thought that number should be going up but if there were about 2200 whales to begin with then that is what the environment can support" monnahan warned that the creature still needs to be protected saying "california blue whales are recovering because we took actions to stop catches and start monitoring if we hadn't the population might have been pushed to near extinction" he added that "the recovery of california blue whales from whaling demonstrates the ability of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and conservation measures"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Thisisagood-newsstoryaboutsealife.Scientistshavereportedth
atthenumbersofbluewhalesintheeasternPacificOceanarethehigh
esttheyhavebeeninoveracentury.ResearchersattheUniversityof
Washingtonreportthattherearenowover2,200bluewhalesbetwee
nMexicoandAlaska.Hunterskillednearlyallthebluewhalesinthatar
eaandwereclosetoextinction.Whalingbecameillegalin1971andth
enumbersoftheworld'slargestmammalstartedincreasing.Ithasta
kenover40yearsforthebluewhaletorecover.LeadresearcherDrCol
eMonnahanwasveryhappyatthispositivenews.Hesaid:"Forus,this
isagreatconservationsuccessstory."DrMonnahansaidthenumber
of2,200bluewhalesintheareamightnotriseanyfurther.Hesaid:"Be
forethisstudy,somepeoplethoughtthatnumbershouldbegoingup,
butiftherewereabout2,200whalestobeginwith,thenthatiswhatth
eenvironmentcansupport."Monnahanwarnedthatthecreaturestill
needstobeprotected,saying:"Californiabluewhalesarerecovering
becausewetookactionstostopcatchesandstartmonitoring.Ifweha
dn't,thepopulationmighthavebeenpushedtonearextinction."Hea
ddedthat:"TherecoveryofCaliforniabluewhalesfromwhalingdemo
nstratestheabilityofbluewhalepopulationstorebuildundercareful
managementandconservationmeasures."

FREE WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Write about the differences between whales and dolphins. Which do you like better?

_____________________________________________________________________________

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

3. BLUE WHALES: Make a poster about blue whales. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. INCREASING NUMBERS: Write a magazine article about the increasing numbers of blue whales. Include imaginary interviews with people who helped protect the whales.

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 blue whales. Ask him/her three questions about blue whales. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to protect them and other whales. 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

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

F

c

T

d

T

e

F

f

T

g

F

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	sea	a.	marine
2.	close	b.	near
3.	illegal	c.	against the law
4.	increasing	d.	rising
5.	recover	e.	return to normal
6.	further	f.	more
7.	creature	g.	animal
8.	monitoring	h.	watching
9.	demonstrates	i.	shows
10.	measures	j.	actions

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	The eastern Pacific Ocean
2.	Over 2,200
3.	1971
4.	The blue whale
5.	A great conservation success story
6.	Rise any further
7.	Protection of whales
8.	Because of actions to stop catches and start monitoring
9.	Extinction
10.	Rebuild their populations

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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Number of blue whales increasing (10th September, 2014)

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