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People vote for Tree of the Year (30th October, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

Ten trees across England are in the running to be crowned as the nation's Tree of the Year. The poll is organised annually by the environmental charity the Woodland Trust. Over 200 trees across the land were originally nominated by nature lovers. Some of the trees are located in England's most famous and historic places. One tree, the Major Oak, is in Sherwood Forest, which is where Robin Hood hung out with his band of merry men, robbing the rich to give to the poor. A local newspaper stated: "The legend of Robin Hood was infused within this mighty tree which still exists today." Another historically significant contender is Newton's Apple Tree, whose falling fruit gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea for his theory on gravity.

The Woodland Trust was established in 1972 to protect Britain's ancient forests and trees. It has approximately 400,000 supporters who provide funds to maintain and promote the country's forested land. Its website says: "Our vision is a UK rich in woods and trees, enjoyed and valued by everyone. We aim to create new native woodland with the help of communities, schools, organisations and individuals. We try to protect our precious ancient woods, restore the ones that are damaged and fight for those under threat. We do this by inspiring people up and down the country to visit woods, plant trees, and enjoy the many benefits that woodland has to offer."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-tree-makes-shortlist-englands-8002028
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tree-of-the-year--newton-s-apple-tree-and-robin-hood-s-oak-among-contenders-for-title-172249840.html#1xA2zWN
http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/our-story/

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. TREES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about trees. 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?

trees / crowned / environmental / charity / nature lovers / historic places / gravity / ancient forests / supporters / vision / native woodland / communities / inspiring / offer

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

3. TREE CHARITY: How could we help this charity? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

How	Why it would work	Why it wouldn't work
Posters
Street collections
Facebook Site
YouTube video
Plant a tree
School visits

4. CONTEST: Students A strongly believe a contest for Tree of the Year is a great idea ; Students B strongly believe it isn't such a great idea. 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. THING OF THE YEAR: Rank these with your partner. Put the best contest for these "things of the year" at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• Tree

• TV commercial

• App

• Politician

• Cake

• Park

• News story

• English word

6. FOREST: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "forest". 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.	There are 200 trees people can vote for in a competition.	T / F
b.	The contest is organized by an environmental charity.	T / F
c.	One of the trees was made famous by a man called Robin Hood.	T / F
d.	People can vote for the tree from Newton's theory of gravity.	T / F
e.	Around 1,000,000 belong to the charity mentioned in the article.	T / F
f.	The charity wants to stop people going into the woods and forests.	T / F
g.	The charity now only works to protect endangered trees.	T / F
h.	The charity says visiting woodland has many benefits.	T / F

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

1.	in the running	a.	filled
2.	annually	b.	proposed
3.	nominated	c.	about
4.	infused	d.	publicise
5.	significant	e.	on the shortlist for
6.	established	f.	endangered
7.	approximately	g.	set up
8.	promote	h.	yearly
9.	under threat	i.	rewards
10.	benefits	j.	important

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

1.	in the running	a.	native woodland
2.	The poll is organised	b.	on gravity
3.	The legend	c.	under threat
4.	historically	d.	annually
5.	the idea for his theory	e.	country's forested land
6.	promote the	f.	of Robin Hood
7.	create new	g.	woodland has to offer
8.	organisations	h.	to be crowned
9.	fight for those	i.	and individuals
10.	enjoy the many benefits that	j.	significant

GAP FILL

Ten trees across England are in the (1) ____________ to be crowned as the nation's Tree of the Year. The poll is organised annually by the (2) ____________ charity the Woodland Trust. Over 200 trees across the land were originally nominated by nature (3) ____________. Some of the trees are located in England's most famous and historic places. One tree, the Major Oak, is in Sherwood Forest, which is where Robin Hood (4) ____________ out with his band of merry men, robbing the rich to give to the poor. A local newspaper stated: "The (5) ____________ of Robin Hood was infused within this mighty tree which still (6) ____________ today." Another historically (7) ____________ contender is Newton's Apple Tree, whose falling fruit gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea for his theory on (8) ____________.

lovers
running
significant
legend
environmental
gravity
hung
exists

The Woodland Trust was established in 1972 to protect Britain's (9) ____________ forests and trees. It has (10) ____________ 400,000 supporters who provide funds to maintain and (11) ____________ the country's forested land. Its website says: "Our (12) ____________ is a UK rich in woods and trees, enjoyed and valued by everyone. We (13) ____________ to create new native woodland with the help of communities, schools, organisations and (14) ____________. We try to protect our precious ancient woods, restore the ones that are damaged and fight for those under (15) ____________. We do this by inspiring people up and down the country to visit woods, plant trees, and enjoy the many benefits that woodland has to (16) ____________."

approximately
individuals
ancient
vision
offer
promote
threat
aim

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Ten trees across England are in the running ______
	a. to be clowned b. to be crowned c. to be cloned d. to be cloud
2)	Over 200 trees across the land were originally nominated ______
	a. by natural lovers b. by naturist lovers c. by nurture lovers d. by nature lovers
3)	which is where Robin Hood hung out with his ______
	a. band of Mary men b. band of merry men c. band of nary men d. band of smelly men
4)	The legend of Robin Hood was infused within this mighty tree which ______
	a. still exists today b. still existent today c. still resisting today d. still resists today
5)	falling fruit gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea for his ______
	a. theory in gravity b. theory by gravity c. theory on gravity d. theory at gravity
6)	established in 1972 to protect Britain's ______
	a. ancient forests b. ancestor forests c. anchor forests d. amethyst forests
7)	provide funds to maintain and promote the ______
	a. country's forest it lands b. country's forested land c. country's forest ad land d. country's forested lands
8)	We aim to create new ______
	a. natives woodland b. natively woodland c. nature woodland d. native woodland
9)	restore the ones that are damaged and fight for ______
	a. those under threat b. those over threat c. them under threat d. them over threat
10)	enjoy the many benefits that woodland ______
	a. has to coffer b. has to offer c. has to proffer d. has to offal

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Ten trees across England are (1) ___________________ be crowned as the nation's Tree of the Year. The poll is organised annually by the environmental charity the Woodland Trust. Over 200 (2) ___________________ were originally nominated by nature lovers. Some of the trees are located in England's (3) ___________________ historic places. One tree, the Major Oak, is in Sherwood Forest, which is where Robin Hood hung out with (4) ___________________, robbing the rich to give to the poor. A local newspaper stated: "The legend of Robin Hood was infused within this mighty (5) ___________________ today." Another historically significant contender is Newton's Apple Tree, whose falling fruit gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea for (6) ___________________.

The Woodland Trust was established in 1972 to protect Britain's ancient forests and trees. It has (7) ___________________ supporters who provide funds to maintain and promote the country's forested land. Its website says: "Our (8) ___________________ in woods and trees, enjoyed and valued by everyone. We aim to create (9) ___________________ with the help of communities, schools, organisations and individuals. We try to protect our precious ancient woods, (10) ___________________ are damaged and fight for those under threat. We do this (11) ___________________ and down the country to visit woods, plant trees, and (12) ___________________ that woodland has to offer."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

Spelling:
British English: organisation /organise
American English: organization /organize

1.	What kind of organisation organises the competition?
2.	How many nominations did the organisation initially get?
3.	Which legendary figure got together with friends near one of the trees?
4.	What did the article say a legendary figure did to help poor people?
5.	What scientific theory was mentioned at the end of paragraph one?
6.	When was the organisation set up?
7.	How many people support the organisation?
8.	What new thing does the organisation aim to create?
9.	What does the organisation fight for?
10.	What does the organisation do to people up and down the country?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What kind of organisation organises the competition?	6.	When was the organisation set up?
	a) a government department b) a voluntary organisation c) a charity d) a scientific one		a) 1952 b) 1972 c) 1992 d) 2012
2.	How many nominations did the organisation initially get?	7.	How many people support the organisation?
	a) 200 b) 300 c) 700 d) 12,863		a) 400,000 b) 14,000 c) 4 million d) 400 million
3.	Which legendary figure got together with friends near one of the trees?	8.	What new thing does the organisation aim to create?
	a) Robin Hood b) King Arthur c) Shakespeare d) Aladdin		a) website b) children's park c) native woodland d) a hybrid tree
4.	What did the article say a legendary figure did to help poor people?	9.	What does the organisation fight for?
	a) cooked for them b) stole from rich people c) gave them jobs d) built a big house		a) seeds b) its rights c) survival d) threatened woods
5.	What scientific theory was mentioned at the end of paragraph one?	10.	What does the organisation do to people up and down the country?
	a) everything b) trees c) relativity d) gravity		a) inspire them b) scold them c) cold call them d) leaflet them

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Tree of the Year

You think Tree of the Year is the best competition. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ideas are no good. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Cake of the Year, English Word of the Year or News Story of the Year.

Role B – Cake of the Year

You think Cake of the Year is the best competition. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ideas are no good. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Tree of the Year, English Word of the Year or News Story of the Year.

Role C – English Word of the Year

You think English Word of the Year is the best competition. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ideas are no good. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Cake of the Year, Tree of the Year or News Story of the Year.

Role D – News Story of the Year

You think News Story of the Year is the best competition. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ideas are no good. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Cake of the Year, English Word of the Year or Tree of the Year.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

tree

year

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:

running
200
located
band
local
idea

1972
400,000
vision
aim
try
benefits

TREES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about trees 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.

TREES DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'tree'?
3)	How important are trees to you?
4)	What do you think of the idea of a Tree of the Year?
5)	What kind of tree might win this competition?
6)	How do trees make you feel?
7)	What is your favourite tree and why is it special?
8)	Should trees be protected?
9)	How do you feel when trees are cut down?
10)	What do you think of logging?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	Who protects trees in your country?
13)	What should we do to increase the number of trees?
14)	Why are trees important?
15)	What is the woodland in your country like?
16)	What would happen if all trees became endangered one day?
17)	What happy memories do you have of trees?
18)	What are the benefits of woodland?
19)	Would you fight to save a forest from being cut down?
20)	What questions would you like to ask the Woodland Trust?

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

Ten trees (1) ____ England are in the running to be crowned as the nation's Tree of the Year. The poll is organised (2) ____ by the environmental charity the Woodland Trust. Over 200 trees across the land were originally nominated by nature (3) ____. Some of the trees are located in England's most famous and historic places. One tree, the Major Oak, is in Sherwood Forest, which is where Robin Hood (4) ____ out with his band of merry men, robbing the rich to give to the poor. A local newspaper stated: "The (5) ____ of Robin Hood was infused within this mighty tree which still exists today." Another historically significant contender is Newton's Apple Tree, whose (6) ____ fruit gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea for his theory on gravity.

The Woodland Trust was (7) ____ in 1972 to protect Britain's ancient forests and trees. It has approximately 400,000 supporters who provide funds to maintain and promote the country's forested land. Its website says: "Our vision is a UK (8) ____ in woods and trees, enjoyed and valued by everyone. We aim to create new (9) ____ woodland with the help of communities, schools, organisations and individuals. We try to protect our (10) ____ ancient woods, restore the ones that are damaged and fight for those (11) ____ threat. We do this by inspiring people up and down the country to visit woods, plant trees, and enjoy the many benefits that woodland has to (12) ____."

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

1.	(a)	across	(b)	traversing	(c)	beyond	(d)	covering
2.	(a)	annulled	(b)	annuity	(c)	annually	(d)	anomaly
3.	(a)	loves	(b)	love-ins	(c)	lovers	(d)	lovingly
4.	(a)	hanging	(b)	hangs	(c)	hanged	(d)	hung
5.	(a)	key	(b)	contents	(c)	legend	(d)	heading
6.	(a)	felling	(b)	falling	(c)	failing	(d)	feeling
7.	(a)	relinquished	(b)	established	(c)	wished	(d)	refurbished
8.	(a)	affluent	(b)	rich	(c)	opulent	(d)	well-to-do
9.	(a)	earliest	(b)	first	(c)	native	(d)	inherent
10.	(a)	precise	(b)	precinct	(c)	precedence	(d)	precious
11.	(a)	through	(b)	over	(c)	around	(d)	under
12.	(a)	offers	(b)	offerings	(c)	offering	(d)	offer

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	recwond as the nation's Tree of the Year
2.	originally deionmnat by nature lovers
3.	usfdnie within this mighty tree
4.	The nelgde of Robin Hood
5.	Another historically significant tenncrode
6.	the idea for his theory on rvyatgi
Paragraph 2
7.	dasseibehtl in 1972
8.	protect Britain's naecint forests
9.	opypaltiexarm 400,000 supporters
10.	with the help of utncemoimis
11.	gatrainsionos (UK) / osninziaotarg (USA) and individuals
12.	We do this by ispiinrgn people

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	the help of communities, schools, organisations and individuals. We try to
( )	contender is Newton's Apple Tree, whose falling fruit gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea for his theory on gravity.
( )	famous and historic places. One tree, the Major Oak, is in Sherwood Forest, which is where Robin Hood hung
( 1 )	Ten trees across England are in the running to be crowned as the nation's Tree of the Year. The poll is
( )	trees, and enjoy the many benefits that woodland has to offer."
( )	out with his band of merry men, robbing the rich to give to the poor. A local newspaper stated: "The legend
( )	is a UK rich in woods and trees, enjoyed and valued by everyone. We aim to create new native woodland with
( )	protect our precious ancient woods, restore the ones that are damaged and fight
( )	of Robin Hood was infused within this mighty tree which still exists today." Another historically significant
( )	The Woodland Trust was established in 1972 to protect Britain's ancient forests and trees. It has approximately
( )	the land were originally nominated by nature lovers. Some of the trees are located in England's most
( )	for those under threat. We do this by inspiring people up and down the country to visit woods, plant
( )	400,000 supporters who provide funds to maintain and promote the country's forested land. Its website says: "Our vision
( )	organised annually by the environmental charity the Woodland Trust. Over 200 trees across

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	the across running England are Ten in trees .
2.	The organised the is by charity poll annually environmental .
3.	across were trees land nominated 200 the originally Over .
4.	merry men Robin Hood hung out with his band of .
5.	theory his for idea the Newton Isaac Sir Gave gravity on .
6.	protect Established Britain's in ancient 1972 forests to .
7.	the land to promote forested Funds and country's maintain .
8.	a UK rich in woods and trees Our vision is .
9.	people up and down the country to visit woods Inspiring .
10.	benefits has many woodland offer the that to Enjoy .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Ten trees across England are in the walking / running to be crowned as the nation's Tree of the Year. The poll is organised annual / annually by the environmental charity the Woodland Trust. Over 200 trees across / crossed the land were originally nominated by / from nature lovers. Some of the trees are located in England's most famous and history / historic places. One tree, the Major Oak, is in Sherwood Forest, which is where Robin Hood hung up / out with his band of merry men, robbing / robbed the rich to give to the poor. A local newspaper stated: "The legend of Robin Hood was infused / infested within this mighty tree which still exacts / exists today." Another historically significant contender is Newton's Apple Tree, whose felling / falling fruit gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea for his theory on gravity.

The Woodland Trust was abolished / established in 1972 to protect Britain's ancient / ancestor forests and trees. It has approximately 400,000 supporters who provide founds / funds to maintain and promote the country's forested land. Its website says: "Our vision / visionary is a UK rich in woods and trees, enjoyed and valuing / valued by everyone. We aim to create new native / nurture woodland with the help of communities, schools, organisations and individuals. We try to protect our precocious / precious ancient woods, restore the ones that are damaged and fight for those under / over threat. We do this by inspiring people up and down the country to visit woods, plant trees, and enjoy the many benefits / beneficial that woodland has to offer / proffer."

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)

T_n tr__s _cr_ss _ngl_nd _r_ _n th_ r_nn_ng t_ b_ cr_wn_d _s th_ n_t__n's Tr__ _f th_ Y__r. Th_ p_ll _s _rg_n_s_d _nn__lly by th_ _nv_r_nm_nt_l ch_r_ty th_ W__dl_nd Tr_st. _v_r 200 tr__s _cr_ss th_ l_nd w_r_ _r_g_n_lly n_m_n_t_d by n_t_r_ l_v_rs. S_m_ _f th_ tr__s _r_ l_c_t_d _n _ngl_nd's m_st f_m__s _nd h_st_r_c pl_c_s. _n_ tr__, th_ M_j_r __k, _s _n Sh_rw__d F_r_st, wh_ch _s wh_r_ R_b_n H__d h_ng __t w_th h_s b_nd _f m_rry m_n, r_bb_ng th_ r_ch t_ g_v_ t_ th_ p__r. _ l_c_l n_wsp_p_r st_t_d: "Th_ l_g_nd _f R_b_n H__d w_s _nf_s_d w_th_n th_s m_ghty tr__ wh_ch st_ll _x_sts t_d_y." _n_th_r h_st_r_c_lly s_gn_f_c_nt c_nt_nd_r _s N_wt_n's _ppl_ Tr__, wh_s_ f_ll_ng fr__t g_v_ S_r _s__c N_wt_n th_ _d__ f_r h_s th__ry _n gr_v_ty.

Th_ W__dl_nd Tr_st w_s _st_bl_sh_d _n 1972 t_ pr_t_ct Br_t__n's _nc__nt f_r_sts _nd tr__s. _t h_s _ppr_x_m_t_ly 400,000 s_pp_rt_rs wh_ pr_v_d_ f_nds t_ m__nt__n _nd pr_m_t_ th_ c__ntry's f_r_st_d l_nd. _ts w_bs_t_ s_ys: "__r v_s__n _s _ _K r_ch _n w__ds _nd tr__s, _nj_y_d _nd v_l__d by _v_ry_n_. W_ __m t_ cr__t_ n_w n_t_v_ w__dl_nd w_th th_ h_lp _f c_mm_n_t__s, sch__ls, _rg_n_s_t__ns _nd _nd_v_d__ls. W_ try t_ pr_t_ct __r pr_c___s _nc__nt w__ds, r_st_r_ th_ _n_s th_t _r_ d_m_g_d _nd f_ght f_r th_s_ _nd_r thr__t. W_ d_ th_s by _nsp_r_ng p__pl_ _p _nd d_wn th_ c__ntry t_ v_s_t w__ds, pl_nt tr__s, _nd _nj_y th_ m_ny b_n_f_ts th_t w__dl_nd h_s t_ _ff_r."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

ten trees across england are in the running to be crowned as the nation's tree of the year the poll is organised annually by the environmental charity the woodland trust over 200 trees across the land were originally nominated by nature lovers some of the trees are located in england's most famous and historic places one tree the major oak is in sherwood forest which is where robin hood hung out with his band of merry men robbing the rich to give to the poor a local newspaper stated "the legend of robin hood was infused within this mighty tree which still exists today" another historically significant contender is newton's apple tree whose falling fruit gave sir isaac newton the idea for his theory on gravity

the woodland trust was established in 1972 to protect britain's ancient forests and trees it has approximately 400000 supporters who provide funds to maintain and promote the country's forested land its website says "our vision is a uk rich in woods and trees enjoyed and valued by everyone we aim to create new native woodland with the help of communities schools organisations and individuals we try to protect our precious ancient woods restore the ones that are damaged and fight for those under threat we do this by inspiring people up and down the country to visit woods plant trees and enjoy the many benefits that woodland has to offer"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

TentreesacrossEnglandareintherunningtobecrownedasthenation'sT
reeoftheYear.Thepollisorganisedannuallybytheenvironmentalcharit
ytheWoodlandTrust.Over200treesacrossthelandwereoriginallynomi
natedbynaturelovers.SomeofthetreesarelocatedinEngland'smostfa
mousandhistoricplaces.Onetree,theMajorOak,isinSherwoodForest,
whichiswhereRobinHoodhungoutwithhisbandofmerrymen,robbingt
herichtogivetothepoor.Alocalnewspaperstated:"ThelegendofRobin
Hoodwasinfusedwithinthismightytreewhichstillexiststoday."Anothe
rhistoricallysignificantcontenderisNewton'sAppleTree,whosefallingf
ruitgaveSirIsaacNewtontheideaforhistheoryongravity.TheWoodlan
dTrustwasestablishedin1972toprotectBritain'sancientforestsandtre
es.Ithasapproximately400,000supporterswhoprovidefundstomaint
ainandpromotethecountry'sforestedland.Itswebsitesays:"Ourvisio
nisaUKrichinwoodsandtrees,enjoyedandvaluedbyeveryone.Weaimt
ocreatenewnativewoodlandwiththehelpofcommunities,schools,org
anisationsandindividuals.Wetrytoprotectourpreciousancientwoods,
restoretheonesthataredamagedandfightforthoseunderthreat.Wedo
thisbyinspiringpeopleupanddownthecountrytovisitwoods,planttree
s,andenjoythemanybenefitsthatwoodlandhastooffer."

FREE WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Forests should never be cut down to build houses and malls. 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 trees. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. TREE OF THE YEAR: Write a magazine article about the Tree of the Year competition. Include imaginary interviews with people who voted for different trees.

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 trees. Ask him/her three questions about trees. Give him/her three of your ideas on how we can better 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

$US 9.99

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

T

d

T

e

F

f

F

g

F

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	in the running	a.	on the shortlist for
2.	annually	b.	yearly
3.	nominated	c.	proposed
4.	infused	d.	filled
5.	significant	e.	important
6.	established	f.	set up
7.	approximately	g.	about
8.	promote	h.	publicise
9.	under threat	i.	endangered
10.	benefits	j.	rewards

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	A charity
2.	200
3.	Robin Hood
4.	Stole from the rich
5.	Gravity
6.	1972
7.	400,000
8.	Native woodland
9.	Threatened woods
10.	Inspire them

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

c

2.

a

3.

a

4.

b

5.

d

6.

b

7.

a

8.

c

9.

d

10.

a

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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