Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on G8 Summit

Leaders urge and wish at G8 summit

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders at the G8 summit to tackle three major crises in the world. Speaking at a resort in Hokkaido, Japan, he said: “The world faces three simultaneous crises; a food crisis, a climate crisis and a development crisis.” He added that “the three crises are deeply interconnected and need to be addressed as such”. The UN chief painted a rather gloomy picture of the task ahead for the developed nations. He said high food prices were "turning back the clock on development gains" and that “progress in many countries is off track, particularly in Africa”. It seems unclear how the leaders will agree on solutions to spiralling oil prices, food shortages, climate change and concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe.

President Bush, in his last G8 summit, got into the swing of things by placing a wish on a bamboo tree. Japan is celebrating the festival of Tanabata, whereby people write down their wishes for the future and tie them onto a special ‘wishing tree’. In a handwritten note, Mr Bush wrote: "I wish for a world free from tyranny: the tyranny of hunger, disease and tyrannical governments. I wish for a world in which the universal desire for liberty is realized. I wish for the advance of new technologies that will improve the human condition and protect our environment." Unlike most of us, Mr Bush has quite a bit of power to make his wishes come true. It remains to be seen whether he will try to realize them or simply repeat his trusted sound bites and smile for the photos.

WARM-UPS

1. SUMMITS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about world summits. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

world leaders / resorts / crises / gloomy picture / turning the clock back / oil prices / wishes / bamboo / festivals / tyranny / hunger / disease / new technologies / smile

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

3. WORLD CRISES: With your partner(s), solve the major crises in the world. Complete the table below. Change partners and share your ideas. As a class, vote on the best solutions.

Crises	Solution	Problems with solution
Food shortages
Oil prices
Climate change
Tyrannical leaders
Nuclear weapons
Disease

4. WISHES: Make a wish for the things below. How would life change if your wishes came true? Talk about this with your partner(s).

my English level
the G8 summit
this evening
my favourite sports team

world leaders
tyrannical governments
the situation in Zimbabwe
my love life

5. HEADLINE PREDICTION: With your partner(s), use the words in the “Chat” activity above to predict what the news article will be about. Once you have your story, change partners and share them. Who was closest to the real story?

6. WISH: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘wish’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	The UN General Secretary spoke about three major world crises.	T / F
b.	He said they were not connected and needed to be handled separately.	T / F
c.	The UN chief showed off his talent for art and did a painting at the G8.	T / F
d.	He said development in Africa was not on schedule.	T / F
e.	President George W. Bush played on the swings.	T / F
f.	Mr Bush wrote a note to the world’s tyrannical governments.	T / F
g.	Mr Bush made a wish for the advance of new technology to slow down.	T / F
h.	No one knows if Mr Bush will try to make his wishes come true.	T / F

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

1.	urged	a.	dealt with
2	tackle	b.	putting
3.	addressed	c.	without
4.	gloomy	d.	bullying
5.	spiralling	e.	sort out
6.	placing	f.	freedom
7.	free from	g.	called on
8.	tyranny	h.	is unknown
9.	liberty	i.	dark
10.	remains to be seen	j.	skyrocketing

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

1.	urged world leaders at the G8 summit	a.	picture of the task ahead
2	the three crises are deeply	b.	he will try to realize them
3.	The UN chief painted a rather gloomy	c.	oil prices
4.	turning back the	d.	of things
5.	spiralling	e.	to tackle three major crises
6.	got into the swing	f.	bites and smile for the photos
7.	a world in which the universal	g.	a bit of power
8.	Mr Bush has quite	h.	interconnected
9.	It remains to be seen whether	i.	desire for liberty is realized
10.	repeat his trusted sound	j.	clock on development gains

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has __________ world leaders at the G8 summit to __________ three major crises in the world. Speaking at a resort in Hokkaido, Japan, he said: “The world __________ three simultaneous crises; a food crisis, a climate crisis and a development crisis.” He added that “the three crises are __________ interconnected and need to be addressed as such”. The UN chief painted a rather __________ picture of the task ahead for the developed nations. He said high food prices were "turning back the __________ on development gains" and that “progress in many countries is __________, particularly in Africa”. It seems unclear how the leaders will agree on solutions to __________ oil prices, food shortages, climate change and concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe.

clock
deeply
tackle
off track
urged
gloomy
spiralling
faces

President Bush, in his last G8 summit, got into the __________ of things by placing a wish on a bamboo tree. Japan is celebrating the __________ of Tanabata, whereby people write down their wishes for the future and tie them onto a special ‘wishing tree’. In a handwritten __________, Mr Bush wrote: "I wish for a world __________ from tyranny: the tyranny of hunger, disease and tyrannical governments. I wish for a world in which the universal __________ for liberty is __________. I wish for the advance of new technologies that will improve the human condition and protect our environment." Unlike most of us, Mr Bush has quite a bit of power to make his wishes come true. It __________ to be seen whether he will try to realize them or simply repeat his __________ sound bites and smile for the photos.

desire
free
festival
trusted
remains
swing
realized
note

LISTENING: Listen and fill in the spaces.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon ________________ leaders at the G8 summit to tackle three ________________ world. Speaking at a resort in Hokkaido, Japan, he said: “The world faces three simultaneous crises; a food crisis, a climate crisis and a development crisis.” He added that “the three ________________ interconnected and need to be addressed as such”. The UN chief painted a rather gloomy ________________ ahead for the developed nations. He said high food prices were "turning ________________ development gains" and that “progress in many countries ________________, particularly in Africa”. It seems unclear how the leaders will agree on solutions to spiralling oil prices, food shortages, climate change ________________ the situation in Zimbabwe.

President Bush, in his last G8 summit, ________________ of things by placing a wish on a bamboo tree. Japan is celebrating the festival of Tanabata, ________________ down their wishes for the future and tie them onto a special ‘wishing tree’. In ________________, Mr Bush wrote: "I wish for a world free from tyranny: the tyranny of hunger, disease and tyrannical governments. I ________________ which the universal desire for liberty is realized. I wish for the advance of new technologies that will improve the human ________________ our environment." Unlike most of us, Mr Bush ________________ power to make his wishes come true. It ________________ whether he will try to realize them or ________________ bites and smile for the photos.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

world

leader

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:

tackle
faces
deeply
picture
clock
concerns

swing
tie
note
desire
bit
smile

STUDENT WORLD CRISES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about world crises 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.

G8 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 term ‘G8 summit’?
c)	Do you think having a G8 summit is a good idea?
d)	What do you think happens at a G8 summit?
e)	Can you remember anything good that came from previous summits?
f)	Do you think the world leaders should spend much more time at the summit to get into real talks?
g)	Do you think the G8 leaders will try and tackle the three crises?
h)	What do you think of the UN leader’s gloomy picture?
i)	Are you surprised progress in Africa is so behind schedule? Why is this?
j)	Will the G8 change the situation in Zimbabwe in even the tiniest way?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do you think the G8 summit is like a little holiday for the leaders?
c)	Does it take you long to get into the swing of things?
d)	Would you like to turn the clock back? Why?
e)	What are your wishes for the world?
f)	What do you wish the world is free from?
g)	Do you think there’ll always be tyrannical governments in this world?
h)	What would you do if you had quite a bit of power in the world?
i)	What questions would you like to ask George W. Bush?
j)	Do you think George W. Bush will make his wishes come true ?

LANGUAGE

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has (1) ____ world leaders at the G8 summit to tackle three major crises in the world. Speaking at a resort in Hokkaido, Japan, he said: “The world (2) ____ three simultaneous crises; a food crisis, a climate crisis and a development crisis.” He added that “the three crises are (3) ____ interconnected and need to be addressed (4) ____ such”. The UN chief painted a rather gloomy picture of the task ahead for the developed nations. He said high food prices were "turning back the (5) ____ on development gains" and that “progress in many countries is off track, particularly in Africa”. It seems unclear how the leaders will agree (6) ____ solutions to spiralling oil prices, food shortages, climate change and concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe.

President Bush, in his last G8 summit, got into the (7) ____ of things by placing a wish on a bamboo tree. Japan is celebrating the festival of Tanabata, (8) ____ people write down their wishes for the future and tie them onto a special ‘wishing tree’. In a handwritten note, Mr Bush wrote: "I wish for a world (9) ____ from tyranny: the tyranny of hunger, disease and tyrannical governments. I wish for a world in which the universal desire for liberty (10) ____ realized. I wish for the advance of new technologies that will improve the human condition and protect our environment." Unlike most of us, Mr Bush has quite a (11) ____ of power to make his wishes come true. It remains to be seen whether he will try to realize them or simply repeat his trusted sound (12) ____ and smile for the photos.

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

1.	(a)	urged	(b)	purged	(c)	merged	(d)	verge
2.	(a)	heads	(b)	faces	(c)	eyes	(d)	looks
3.	(a)	depth	(b)	deepest	(c)	deeply	(d)	deepness
4.	(a)	to	(b)	by	(c)	so	(d)	as
5.	(a)	sands	(b)	timer	(c)	watch	(d)	clock
6.	(a)	that	(b)	in	(c)	on	(d)	by
7.	(a)	swing	(b)	slide	(c)	climb	(d)	bounce
8.	(a)	how	(b)	whereby	(c)	while	(d)	which
9.	(a)	freedom	(b)	freely	(c)	free	(d)	free-for-all
10.	(a)	is	(b)	be	(c)	will	(d)	are
11.	(a)	bitty	(b)	bits	(c)	bite	(d)	bit
12.	(a)	bitten	(b)	bites	(c)	bytes	(d)	bits

WRITING:

Write about world crises for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about what’s happening (what happened) at the G8 summit; her captivity and what she is doing now. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. CRISES: Make a poster about the major world crises. Include some history and your solutions. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. G8: Write a magazine article about the G8 summit. What really happens behind the scenes? Include imaginary interviews with two world leaders who went to Japan.

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. DIARY / JOURNAL: You are a fly on the wall at the G8 summit. Write your thoughts on the private discussions you heard. Include your opinions on the leaders. Read your entry to your classmates in the next lesson.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a leader who attended the G8 summit. Ask him/her three questions about the summit. Give him/her three pieces of advice on what she/he should do about one of the world’s crises. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. F

c. F

d. T

e. F

f. F

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	urged	a.	called on
2	tackle	b.	sort out
3.	addressed	c.	dealt with
4.	gloomy	d.	dark
5.	spiralling	e.	skyrocketing
6.	placing	f.	putting
7.	free from	g.	without
8.	tyranny	h.	bullying
9.	liberty	i.	freedom
10.	remains to be seen	j.	is unknown

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	urged world leaders at the G8 summit	a.	to tackle three major crises
2	the three crises are deeply	b.	interconnected
3.	The UN chief painted a rather gloomy	c.	picture of the task ahead
4.	turning back the	d.	clock on development gains
5.	spiralling	e.	oil prices
6.	got into the swing	f.	of things
7.	a world in which the universal	g.	desire for liberty is realized
8.	Mr Bush has quite	h.	a bit of power
9.	It remains to be seen whether	i.	he will try to realize them
10.	repeat his trusted sound	j.	bites and smile for the photos

GAP FILL:

Leaders urge and wish at G8 summit

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders at the G8 summit to tackle three major crises in the world. Speaking at a resort in Hokkaido, Japan, he said: “The world faces three simultaneous crises; a food crisis, a climate crisis and a development crisis.” He added that “the three crises are deeply interconnected and need to be addressed as such”. The UN chief painted a rather gloomy picture of the task ahead for the developed nations. He said high food prices were "turning back the clock on development gains" and that “progress in many countries is off track, particularly in Africa”. It seems unclear how the leaders will agree on solutions to spiralling oil prices, food shortages, climate change and concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe.

President Bush, in his last G8 summit, got into the swing of things by placing a wish on a bamboo tree. Japan is celebrating the festival of Tanabata, whereby people write down their wishes for the future and tie them onto a special ‘wishing tree’. In a handwritten note, Mr Bush wrote: "I wish for a world free from tyranny: the tyranny of hunger, disease and tyrannical governments. I wish for a world in which the universal desire for liberty is realized. I wish for the advance of new technologies that will improve the human condition and protect our environment." Unlike most of us, Mr Bush has quite a bit of power to make his wishes come true. It remains to be seen whether he will try to realize them or simply repeat his trusted sound bites and smile for the photos.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - a

2 - b

3 - c

4 - d

5 - d

6 - c

7 - a

8 - b

9 - c

10 - a

11 - d

12 - b

Back to the top

Help Support This Web Site

Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

You can download a free sample PDF showing various parts of my book,
"1,000 Ideas & Activities for Language Teachers".

Thank You

SHARE THIS LESSON:

E-Mail

RSS

My 1,000 Ideas e-Book	Breaking News English HOME \| HELP MY SITE \| 000s MORE FREE LESSONS	My 1,000 Ideas e-Book

Breaking News English

THE ARTICLE

Leaders urge and wish at G8 summit

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING: Listen and fill in the spaces.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT WORLD CRISES SURVEY

G8 DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE

WRITING:

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Leaders urge and wish at G8 summit

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You