Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Pakistan Aid

The United Nations has appealed for $460 million in urgent aid for Pakistan’s flood relief. The devastating floods may so far have killed 1,600 people, according to UN estimates, but have made 15 million homeless. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said half-a-billion dollars of funds are needed urgently for food, water, tents, blankets and medical supplies. He said: “Our biggest fear is that waterborne diseases - diarrhea, cholera… may start to spread and cause a much greater death toll amongst the survivors…. We have a huge task in front of us to deliver all that is required as soon as possible.” He added: “This $460 million we're asking for from governments around the world is only just the first step for the next few weeks.”

Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussein Haroon, said the catastrophe is affecting seven times more people than the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2005 and 2010 Kashmir and Haiti earthquakes combined. He said it was urgent people start donating more aid, but fears many people don’t want to give money because they think it will disappear into the pockets of corrupt officials. Many charity workers also worry about the public becoming less sensitive to human disaster as they are now so common. The chief minister of Pakistan’s badly-hit Sindh province, Syed Ali Shah, warned: "What we need is substantial foreign aid and not peanuts. The aid being pledged so far is peanuts and not enough to meet the enormous challenge ahead."

WARM-UPS

1. AID: Walk around the class and talk to other students about disaster aid. 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.

appealed / urgent aid / flood relief / medical supplies / cholera / death toll / first step / ambassador / catastrophe / earthquakes / corrupt officials / charity workers / peanuts

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

3. RESPONSIBILITY: Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Who	Responsibility for helping Pakistan?	What can be done?
You
Your town
Pakistan
Your country
United Nations
Companies

4. PAKISTAN: Students A strongly believe Pakistan will get all the aid it needs; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. SUPPLIES: What’s most important aid? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

medicine
blankets
water
Internet access

roads
clothes
food
tents

6. HUMANITARIAN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘humanitarian’. 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 UN has asked for almost half-a-billion dollars in aid for Pakistan.	T / F
b.	A top UN official’s biggest concern is more rain.	T / F
c.	Diseases like cholera are already causing dozens of deaths.	T / F
d.	The UN won’t need any money if it gets what it’s asking for now.	T / F
e.	The flooding has affected 7 times more people than Haiti’s earthquake.	T / F
f.	People may not want to donate because of fears of corruption.	T / F
g.	The UN thinks people might be getting too used to disasters.	T / F
h.	The leader of a badly-hit region in Pakistan has asked for peanuts.	T / F

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

1.	appealed	a.	promised
2	devastating	b.	number
3.	estimates	c.	disaster
4.	toll	d.	destructive
5.	required	e.	giving
6.	catastrophe	f.	requested
7.	donating	g.	considerable
8.	substantial	h.	small change
9.	pledged	i.	guesses
10.	peanuts	j.	needed

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

1.	Pakistan’s flood	a.	times more people
2	funds are needed	b.	toll
3.	waterborne	c.	to human disaster
4.	a much greater death	d.	urgently
5.	just the first step for the	e.	relief
6.	the catastrophe is affecting seven	f.	aid
7.	disappear into the pockets	g.	challenge ahead
8.	becoming less sensitive	h.	diseases
9.	What we need is substantial foreign	i.	next few weeks
10.	meet the enormous	j.	of corrupt officials

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

The United Nations has ____________ for $460 million in urgent aid for Pakistan’s flood relief. The devastating floods may so far have killed 1,600 people, according to UN ____________, but have made 15 million homeless. UN humanitarian ____________ John Holmes said half-a-billion dollars of funds are needed ____________ for food, water, tents, blankets and medical supplies. He said: “Our biggest fear is that waterborne diseases - diarrhea, cholera… may start to ____________ and cause a much greater death toll amongst the survivors…. We have a huge ____________ in front of us to deliver all that is ____________ as soon as possible.” He added: “This $460 million we're asking for from governments around the world is only just the first ____________ for the next few weeks.”

task
spread
chief
appealed
step
required
estimates
urgently

Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussein Haroon, said the catastrophe is ____________ seven times more people than the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2005 and 2010 Kashmir and Haiti earthquakes ____________. He said it was urgent people start donating more aid, but ____________ many people don’t want to give money because they think it will disappear into the ____________ of corrupt officials. Many charity workers also worry about the public becoming ____________ sensitive to human disaster as they are now so ____________. The chief minister of Pakistan’s badly-hit Sindh province, Syed Ali Shah, warned: "What we need is substantial foreign aid and not ____________. The aid being pledged so far is peanuts and not enough to meet the ____________ challenge ahead."

less
combined
enormous
pockets
affecting
peanuts
fears
common

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The United Nations has appealed for $460 million in urgent aid for Pakistan’s flood relief. __________________________ so far have killed 1,600 people, according to UN estimates, but have made 15 million homeless. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said __________________________ funds are needed urgently for food, water, tents, blankets and medical supplies. He said: “__________________________ waterborne diseases - diarrhea, cholera… may start to spread and cause a __________________________ amongst the survivors…. We __________________________ of us to deliver all that is required as soon as possible.” He added: “This $460 million we're asking for from governments around the world __________________________ for the next few weeks.”

Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussein Haroon, said the catastrophe is __________________________ people than the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2005 and 2010 Kashmir and Haiti earthquakes combined. He said it was __________________________ more aid, but fears many people don’t want to give money because they think it will disappear into the __________________________. Many charity workers also worry about the public becoming __________________________ disaster as they are now so common. The chief minister of Pakistan’s badly-hit Sindh province, Syed Ali Shah, warned: "What we need is __________________________ and not peanuts. The aid being __________________________ and not enough to meet the enormous challenge ahead."

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

flood

relief

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:

far
15
biggest
huge
asking
step

seven
urgent
pockets
less
need
peanuts

STUDENT AID FOR PAKISTAN SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about aid for Pakistan 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.

AID FOR PAKISTAN 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 ‘flood’?
c)	What do you know about the ongoing Pakistan floods?
d)	Have any natural disasters hit you or your country?
e)	Why does the UN have to appeal for money? Shouldn’t it be there?
f)	How do you think the floods will affect Pakistan?
g)	What do you think of Pakistani Asif Ali Zardari taking a trip to France and England instead of helping with the flood relief efforts?
h)	What do relief and aid agencies do when there’s such a disaster?
i)	What could you do to help if you went to the affected areas?
j)	What is your country doing to help?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What could you and your friends do right now to help flood victims?
c)	People are saying this is the biggest natural disaster for decades? Do you agree?
d)	People aren’t donating as much as they did in the decade’s earlier natural disasters. Why do you think this is?
e)	How much of the money you give reaches the people in need?
f)	Do you think we are getting used to natural disasters and giving less?
g)	Why don’t you think multi-billionaires and rich companies do more?
h)	Do you think global warming was responsible for the floods?
i)	Why do natural disasters always affect the poorest?
j)	What questions would you like to ask UN humanitarian chief John Holmes?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

The United Nations has (1) ____ for $460 million in urgent aid for Pakistan’s flood relief. The devastating floods may so far have killed 1,600 people, according (2) ____ UN estimates, but have made 15 million homeless. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said half-a-billion dollars of funds are needed urgently for food, water, tents, blankets and medical (3) ____. He said: “Our biggest fear is that waterborne diseases - diarrhea, cholera… may start to spread and cause a much greater death (4) ____ amongst the survivors…. We have a huge task in front of us to deliver all that is (5) ____ as soon as possible.” He added: “This $460 million we're asking for from governments around the world is (6) ____ just the first step for the next few weeks.”

Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussein Haroon, said the catastrophe is (7) ____ seven times more people than the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2005 and 2010 Kashmir and Haiti earthquakes (8) ____. He said it was urgent people start donating more aid, but fears many people don’t want to give money because they think it will disappear into the (9) ____ of corrupt officials. Many charity workers also worry about the public becoming less (10) ____ to human disaster as they are now so common. The chief minister of Pakistan’s badly-hit Sindh province, Syed Ali Shah, warned: "What we need is (11) ____ foreign aid and not peanuts. The aid being pledged so far is peanuts and not enough to (12) ____ the enormous challenge ahead."

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

1.	(a)	appeals	(b)	appealing	(c)	appeal	(d)	appealed
2.	(a)	to	(b)	by	(c)	on	(d)	by
3.	(a)	supply	(b)	supplies	(c)	suppliers	(d)	supplied
4.	(a)	roll	(b)	poll	(c)	toll	(d)	doll
5.	(a)	necessity	(b)	needy	(c)	required	(d)	desire
6.	(a)	about	(b)	only	(c)	around	(d)	so
7.	(a)	effecting	(b)	affected	(c)	effected	(d)	affecting
8.	(a)	combined	(b)	combination	(c)	combine	(d)	combines
9.	(a)	pots	(b)	pockets	(c)	packages	(d)	pools
10.	(a)	sensitivity	(b)	sensitively	(c)	sensational	(d)	sensitive
11.	(a)	substandard	(b)	substances	(c)	substantial	(d)	substantiate
12.	(a)	meet	(b)	do	(c)	make	(d)	score

WRITING

Write about aid for Pakistan 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 aid for Pakistan. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. PEANUTS: Write a magazine article about the aid appeal. Include imaginary interviews with people who are affected by the flooding.

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 Pakistani Asif Ali Zardari. Ask him three questions about aid for Pakistan. Give him three suggestions on what he should do for his country. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	appealed	a.	requested
2	devastating	b.	destructive
3.	estimates	c.	guesses
4.	toll	d.	number
5.	required	e.	needed
6.	catastrophe	f.	disaster
7.	donating	g.	giving
8.	substantial	h.	considerable
9.	pledged	i.	promised
10.	peanuts	j.	small change

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Pakistan’s flood	a.	relief
2	funds are needed	b.	urgently
3.	waterborne	c.	diseases
4.	a much greater death	d.	toll
5.	just the first step for the	e.	next few weeks
6.	the catastrophe is affecting seven	f.	times more people
7.	disappear into the pockets	g.	of corrupt officials
8.	becoming less sensitive	h.	to human disaster
9.	What we need is substantial foreign	i.	aid
10.	meet the enormous	j.	challenge ahead

GAP FILL:

UN appeals for more Pakistan aid

The United Nations has appealed for $460 million in urgent aid for Pakistan’s flood relief. The devastating floods may so far have killed 1,600 people, according to UN estimates, but have made 15 million homeless. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said half-a-billion dollars of funds are needed urgently for food, water, tents, blankets and medical supplies. He said: “Our biggest fear is that waterborne diseases - diarrhea, cholera… may start to spread and cause a much greater death toll amongst the survivors…. We have a huge task in front of us to deliver all that is required as soon as possible.” He added: “This $460 million we're asking for from governments around the world is only just the first step for the next few weeks.”

Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussein Haroon, said the catastrophe is affecting seven times more people than the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2005 and 2010 Kashmir and Haiti earthquakes combined. He said it was urgent people start donating more aid, but fears many people don’t want to give money because they think it will disappear into the pockets of corrupt officials. Many charity workers also worry about the public becoming less sensitive to human disaster as they are now so common. The chief minister of Pakistan’s badly-hit Sindh province, Syed Ali Shah, warned: "What we need is substantial foreign aid and not peanuts. The aid being pledged so far is peanuts and not enough to meet the enormous challenge ahead."

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

Breaking News English

PRINT

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities

LISTEN

MP3 (2:01 - 971KB)

UN Appeals for More Pakistan Aid (12th August, 2010)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT AID FOR PAKISTAN SURVEY

AID FOR PAKISTAN DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

UN appeals for more Pakistan aid

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

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

PRINT

13-Page PDF Handout - with all-skills activities

LISTEN

MP3 (2:01 - 971KB)

UN Appeals for More Pakistan Aid (12th August, 2010)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT AID FOR PAKISTAN SURVEY

AID FOR PAKISTAN DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

UN appeals for more Pakistan aid

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities