Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Amazon Dam

The rock star Sting has joined environmentalists and indigenous people in a fight against Brazil’s plan to build a huge dam in the Amazon. The hydroelectric Belo Monte dam will be the third largest in the world. It will supply 11 per cent of Brazil’s electricity but flood 500 square kilometres of rainforest. The area is home to 150 different indigenous groups and many rare species of animal, bird and plant life. The British singer brought the issue to the world’s attention last year. He was performing in a concert in Sao Paolo when he invited a well-known Brazilian Indian, Raoni, on stage to call on Brazil’s government to scrap the idea. Sting helped set up the Rainforest Foundation Fund to help save the rainforests and protect the rights of indigenous peoples living there.

The Belo Monte dam will cost over $10 billion to build. It will devastate a large area of the northern Brazilian state of Para. Environmentalists are protesting against the project saying it will destroy the lives of thousands of indigenous people. They say it will also accelerate the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Anti-dam campaigner Antonia Melo of the Xingu Vivo Movement told reporters: "This project only benefits companies. It will generate methane gas that will change the climate and displace 30,000 people.". Another activist, Roman Catholic Bishop Erwin Krautler, said: "The project completely underestimates the consequences, which will be irreversible.” Energy expert Adriano Pires said the dam was necessary to help Brazil’s increasing energy demands.

WARM-UPS

1. THE ENVIRONMENT: Walk around the class and talk to other students about the environment. Change partners often. Sit with your first 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.

rock stars / huge dams / electricity / rainforest / rare species / indigenous people / devastation / environmentalists / campaigners / benefits / methane gas / energy

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

3. PROJECTS: What environmental problems are there with these projects? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

	Good	Bad
Amazon dam
Island airport
Nuclear power plant
Wind farm
Super highway
Metro-rail network

4. AMAZON: Students A strongly believe the Amazon will be totally destroyed one day; Students B strongly believe the Amazon will be healthy forever. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. SAY WHAT: What would the following say about the building of a huge dam in the Amazon? Talk about this with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you heard.

CEO of the construction company
Indigenous people
The average Brazilian
Brazil’s president

Your country’s leader
A frog in the Amazon rainforest
The unborn children of Brazil
The rock star Sting

6. RAINFOREST: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘rainforest’. 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.	The rock star Sting punched environmentalists in a fight in Brazil.	T / F
b.	A new dam in Brazil will be the world’s largest.	T / F
c.	The dam will provide Brazilians with more than 10% of their electricity.	T / F
d.	Sting started a campaign group to help protect Brazil’s rainforests.	T / F
e.	The new dam will devastate the whole of state in Brazil.	T / F
f.	The dam project has already killed thousands of indigenous people.	T / F
g.	The project will mean 30,000 have to move and find a new home.	T / F
h.	Brazil’s population is actually demanding less energy.	T / F

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

1.	joined	a.	asked
2	build	b.	create
3.	issue	c.	construct
4.	invited	d.	specialist
5.	set up	e.	results
6.	devastate	f.	teamed up with
7.	generate	g.	requirements
8.	consequences	h.	problem
9.	expert	i.	establish
10.	demands	j.	destroy

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

1.	environmentalists and	a.	30,000 people
2	a fight against	b.	species of animal
3.	500 square	c.	large area
4.	many rare	d.	the Amazon rainforest
5.	brought the issue to the	e.	Brazil’s plan
6.	devastate a	f.	world’s attention
7.	accelerate the destruction of	g.	indigenous people
8.	This project only	h.	energy demands
9.	displace	i.	kilometres of rainforest
10.	Brazil’s increasing	j.	benefits companies

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

The rock star Sting has ____________ environmentalists and indigenous people in a fight against Brazil’s plan to build a ____________ dam in the Amazon. The hydroelectric Belo Monte dam will be the ____________ largest in the world. It will supply 11 per cent of Brazil’s electricity but flood 500 square kilometres of rainforest. The area is ____________ to 150 different indigenous groups and many ____________ species of animal, bird and plant life. The British singer brought the issue to the world’s ____________ last year. He was performing in a concert in Sao Paolo when he invited a well-known Brazilian Indian, Raoni, on stage to ____________ on Brazil’s government to scrap the idea. Sting helped set up the Rainforest Foundation Fund to help save the rainforests and protect the ____________ of indigenous peoples living there.

third
rights
attention
joined
rare
huge
call
home

The Belo Monte dam will ____________ over $10 billion to build. It will devastate a large area of the northern Brazilian state of Para. Environmentalists are protesting ____________ the project saying it will destroy the lives of thousands of indigenous people. They say it will also ____________ the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Anti-dam ____________ Antonia Melo of the Xingu Vivo Movement told reporters: "This project only ____________ companies. It will generate methane gas that will change the climate and displace 30,000 people.". Another ____________, Roman Catholic Bishop Erwin Krautler, said: "The project completely underestimates the consequences, which will be irreversible.” Energy ____________ Adriano Pires said the dam was necessary to help Brazil’s increasing energy ____________.

benefits
expert
against
cost
campaigner
demands
accelerate
activist

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The rock star Sting has joined environmentalists ______________________ fight against Brazil’s plan to build a huge dam in the Amazon. The hydroelectric Belo Monte dam will ______________________ the world. It will supply 11 per cent of Brazil’s electricity but flood 500 square kilometres of rainforest. The ______________________ different indigenous groups and many rare species of animal, bird and plant life. The British singer brought the issue ______________________ last year. He was performing in a concert in Sao Paolo when he invited a well-known Brazilian Indian, Raoni, on stage to call on Brazil’s government ______________________. Sting helped set up the Rainforest Foundation Fund to help save the rainforests and ______________________ indigenous peoples living there.

The Belo Monte dam will cost over $10 billion to build. ______________________ large area of the northern Brazilian state of Para. Environmentalists are protesting ______________________ saying it will destroy the lives of thousands of indigenous people. They say it will also accelerate the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Anti-dam campaigner Antonia Melo of the Xingu Vivo Movement told reporters: "This project ______________________. It will generate methane gas that will change the climate and ______________________.". Another activist, Roman Catholic Bishop Erwin Krautler, said: "The project completely underestimates the consequences, ______________________.” Energy expert Adriano Pires said the dam ______________________ Brazil’s increasing energy demands.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

rock

star

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:

fight
third
home
species
invited
rights

area
thousands
campaigner
30,000
completely
demands

STUDENT THE ENVIRONMENT SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about the environment 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.

THE ENVIRONMENT 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 ‘environment’?
c)	What do you know about the Amazon?
d)	Do you think Sting and the environmentalists will succeed?
e)	What do you think will happen to the Amazon over the next 100 years?
f)	What can we do to help save the Amazon?
g)	Are rock stars effective as environmentalists?
h)	What would it take for Brazil’s government to abandon the project?
i)	Why don’t you join Sting in his fight?
j)	How much of an environmentalist are you?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do you think of humans destroying large parts of the Earth?
c)	What do you think of rich people destroying the areas indigenous people live?
d)	Why are profits more expensive than people?
e)	What do we do when the Amazon has gone?
f)	What problems will this dam create?
g)	Is the destruction of the rainforest really irreversible?
h)	Should people change their lifestyles and use less energy rather than build more dams?
i)	Will Earth’s environment survive?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Sting?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

The rock star Sting has (1) ____ environmentalists and indigenous people in a fight against Brazil’s plan to build a huge dam in the Amazon. The hydroelectric Belo Monte dam will be the third largest in the world. It will (2) ____ 11 per cent of Brazil’s electricity but flood 500 square kilometres of rainforest. The area is (3) ____ to 150 different indigenous groups and many rare species of animal, bird and plant life. The British singer brought the issue to the world’s (4) ____ last year. He was performing in a concert in Sao Paolo when he invited a well-known Brazilian Indian, Raoni, (5) ____ stage to call on Brazil’s government to scrap the idea. Sting helped (6) ____ up the Rainforest Foundation Fund to help save the rainforests and protect the rights of indigenous peoples living there.

The Belo Monte dam will cost over $10 billion to build. It will (7) ____ a large area of the northern Brazilian state of Para. Environmentalists are protesting (8) ____ the project saying it will destroy the lives of thousands of indigenous people. They say it will also accelerate the destruction (9) ____ the Amazon rainforest. Anti-dam campaigner Antonia Melo of the Xingu Vivo Movement told reporters: "This project only benefits companies. It will generate methane gas that will change the climate and (10) ____ 30,000 people.". Another activist, Roman Catholic Bishop Erwin Krautler, said: "The project (11) ____ underestimates the consequences, which will be irreversible.” Energy expert Adriano Pires said the dam was necessary to help Brazil’s increasing energy (12) ____.

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

1.	(a)	join	(b)	joins	(c)	joint	(d)	joined
2.	(a)	supply	(b)	supple	(c)	supplies	(d)	sup
3.	(a)	house	(b)	home	(c)	residence	(d)	building
4.	(a)	attend	(b)	attends	(c)	attention	(d)	attentive
5.	(a)	in	(b)	at	(c)	on	(d)	to
6.	(a)	get	(b)	set	(c)	let	(d)	met
7.	(a)	deviate	(b)	devote	(c)	deviant	(d)	devastate
8.	(a)	against	(b)	by	(c)	on	(d)	from
9.	(a)	at	(b)	of	(c)	to	(d)	in
10.	(a)	replace	(b)	misplace	(c)	commonplace	(d)	displace
11.	(a)	completes	(b)	completion	(c)	completely	(d)	complete
12.	(a)	demands	(b)	demanding	(c)	demanded	(d)	demander

WRITING

Write about the environment 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 the Amazon rainforest. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. THE ENVIRONMENT: Make a poster about the environment. What are the biggest threats it faces? Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. DAMN DAM: Write a magazine article about the Belo Monte dam. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

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. LETTER: Write a letter to an indigenous Amazonian. Ask him/her three questions about the dam. Give him/her three pieces of advice on what he/she can do to fight the dam. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	joined	a.	teamed up with
2	build	b.	construct
3.	issue	c.	problem
4.	invited	d.	asked
5.	set up	e.	establish
6.	devastate	f.	destroy
7.	generate	g.	create
8.	consequences	h.	results
9.	expert	i.	specialist
10.	demands	j.	requirements

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	environmentalists and	a.	indigenous people
2	a fight against	b.	Brazil’s plan
3.	500 square	c.	kilometres of rainforest
4.	many rare	d.	species of animal
5.	brought the issue to the	e.	world’s attention
6.	devastate a	f.	large area
7.	accelerate the destruction of	g.	the Amazon rainforest
8.	This project only	h.	benefits companies
9.	displace	i.	30,000 people
10.	Brazil’s increasing	j.	energy demands

GAP FILL:

Rock star Sting fights against Brazilian dam

The rock star Sting has joined environmentalists and indigenous people in a fight against Brazil’s plan to build a huge dam in the Amazon. The hydroelectric Belo Monte dam will be the third largest in the world. It will supply 11 per cent of Brazil’s electricity but flood 500 square kilometres of rainforest. The area is home to 150 different indigenous groups and many rare species of animal, bird and plant life. The British singer brought the issue to the world’s attention last year. He was performing in a concert in Sao Paolo when he invited a well-known Brazilian Indian, Raoni, on stage to call on Brazil’s government to scrap the idea. Sting helped set up the Rainforest Foundation Fund to help save the rainforests and protect the rights of indigenous peoples living there.

The Belo Monte dam will cost over $10 billion to build. It will devastate a large area of the northern Brazilian state of Para. Environmentalists are protesting against the project saying it will destroy the lives of thousands of indigenous people. They say it will also accelerate the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Anti-dam campaigner Antonia Melo of the Xingu Vivo Movement told reporters: "This project only benefits companies. It will generate methane gas that will change the climate and displace 30,000 people.". Another activist, Roman Catholic Bishop Erwin Krautler, said: "The project completely underestimates the consequences, which will be irreversible.” Energy expert Adriano Pires said the dam was necessary to help Brazil’s increasing energy demands.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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Breaking News English

February 4, 2010

Rock Star Sting Fights Against Brazilian Dam