Breaking News English Lesson: Hairy Panic

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Fast-growing weed covering Australian town (20th February, 2016)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

A fast-growing weed is causing havoc in a small Australian town. It almost resembles a scene from a horror movie. The weed is called "hairy panic". It is clogging up homes, farmyards and other buildings in the small Australian town of Wangaratta in the state of Victoria. Hairy panic is a grass that is found in every Australian state. It gets its name from the long hairs along the edges of grass stalks. The dead grass accumulates in large bundles, which are blown across the land by the wind. It has become a real nuisance in Wangaratta because of the large quantity of weed that is collecting in the town. It has reached roof level in some areas. Residents cannot see or reach their garages because of the piles of weed.

Many of the residents have left the town until authorities remove the weed. They are fed up with having to spend several hours a day clearing the piles of dead grass from their driveways and gardens. For some residents, it is a battle to fight through the wall of weeds to get into their home. Local resident Pam Twitchett told Australia's ABC news agency that the weed was physically and mentally draining. Another resident, Jason Perna, spoke about the extent of the problem. He said: "It makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning - if you can find it." He also put the problem into context, saying: "It's a first-world problem. We don't put it on the scale of any of the famine or poverty going on in the world."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-35600546
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-18/giant-tumbleweeds-invade-wangaratta/7181600
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/12162443/Australian-town-Wangaratta-in-Victoria-blanketed-by-hairy-panic-tumbleweed.html

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. PANIC: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about panic. 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?

weed / havoc / horror movie / hairy / panic / farmyard / bundles / residents / piles / fed up / driveways / gardens / news agency / mentally / first-world problem / famine

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

3. FIRST-WORLD PROBLEMS: Complete this table. Change partners often and share what you wrote with your partner(s).

Problems	Is this a problem for you?	What can you do about it?
Slow Internet
Lost remote control
Items out of stock
Too much milk in latte
No taxis
Bad boss

4. WEEDS: Students A strongly believe we should destroy all weeds; Students B strongly believe we shouldn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

See a sample

5. NUISANCES: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest nuisances at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• barking dogs

• spam mail

• mosquitos

• little brothers

• noisy neighbours

• poor wi-fi

• door-to-door salespeople

• weeds

6. GRASS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "grass". 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.	A horror movie is being filmed in a small Australian town.	T / F
b.	The town is in the Australian state of Victoria.	T / F
c.	The weed gets its name because it looks like human hair.	T / F
d.	The weed is piled as high as the roof in some parts of the town.	T / F
e.	Some people have moved out until the weeds have gone.	T / F
f.	Some residents spend hours a day clearing the weeds.	T / F
g.	A guy called Jason said it was easy to get his car out of the garage.	T / F
h.	Jason said the weed was a developing-world problem.	T / F

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

1.	havoc	a.	alarm
2.	resembles	b.	tired
3.	panic	c.	gathers
4.	accumulates	d.	occurring
5.	quantity	e.	devastation
6.	removed	f.	fight
7.	fed up	g.	scale
8.	battle	h.	looks like
9.	extent	i.	amount
10.	going on	j.	took away

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

1.	A fast-growing weed is causing	a.	nuisance
2.	It is clogging	b.	world problem
3.	It has become a real	c.	of weed
4.	It has reached roof	d.	up
5.	piles	e.	wall of weeds
6.	They are fed	f.	level in some areas
7.	fight through the	g.	havoc
8.	physically and mentally	h.	into context
9.	He also put the problem	i.	up homes
10.	It's a first-	j.	draining

GAP FILL

A fast-growing weed is causing (1) ____________ in a small Australian town. It almost resembles a scene from a horror movie. The weed is called "hairy panic". It is (2) ____________ up homes, farmyards and other buildings in the small Australian town of Wangaratta in the (3) ____________ of Victoria. Hairy panic is a grass that is found in every Australian state. It gets its name from the long hairs along the (4) ____________ of grass stalks. The dead grass (5) ____________ in large bundles, which are blown across the land by the wind. It has become a real (6) ____________ in Wangaratta because of the large quantity of weed that is collecting in the town. It has reached roof (7) ____________ in some areas. Residents cannot see or reach their garages because of the (8) ____________ of weed.

state
nuisance
havoc
piles
edges
clogging
level
accumulates

Many of the residents have left the town until (9) ____________ remove the weed. They are (10) ____________ up with having to spend several hours a day clearing the piles of dead grass from their driveways and gardens. For some residents, it is a (11) ____________ to fight through the wall of weeds to get into their home. Local resident Pam Twitchett told Australia's ABC news agency that the weed was physically and mentally (12) ____________. Another resident, Jason Perna, spoke about the (13) ____________ of the problem. He said: "It makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning - if you can find it." He also put the problem into (14) ____________, saying: "It's a first-(15) ____________ problem. We don't put it on the scale of any of the famine or (16) ____________ going on in the world."

fed
extent
world
authorities
poverty
draining
battle
context

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	It almost resembles a scene from ______
	a. a horrible movie b. a horrific movie c. a horrifying movie d. a horror movie
2)	It gets its name from the long hairs along the edges ______
	a. of grass stalks b. of grassy stalks c. of grass stalk d. of grasses stalks
3)	The dead grass accumulates in large bundles, which are blown across the ______
	a. land by the windy b. land by the wind c. lands by the wind d. landed by the wind
4)	a real nuisance in Wangaratta because of the large ______
	a. quality of weed b. quantities of weed c. quantity of weed d. qualities of weed
5)	Residents cannot see or reach their garages because of ______
	a. the piles for weed b. the piles of weed c. the pile of weed d. the piles of weeds
6)	Many of the residents have left the town until authorities ______
	a. remove the weed b. removal the weed c. removed the weed d. removes the weed
7)	For some residents, it is a battle to fight through ______
	a. the walls of weeds b. the wall of weed c. the walls of weed d. the wall of weeds
8)	Twitchett told Australia's ABC news agency that the weed was physically ______
	a. and mentally training b. and mentally raining c. and mentally draining d. and mentally graining
9)	He also put the problem into context, saying: "It's a ______"
	a. first-worldly problem b. first-world problem c. first-world problems d. firstly-world problem
10)	We don't put it on the scale of any of the famine or poverty going ______
	a. on in the worlds b. off in the world c. on in the world d. up in the world

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A fast-growing weed is (1) ___________________ a small Australian town. It almost resembles (2) ___________________ horror movie. The weed is called "hairy panic". It is clogging up homes, farmyards and other buildings in the small Australian town of Wangaratta in the state of Victoria. Hairy panic is a grass that is found in every Australian state. (3) ___________________ from the long hairs along the edges of grass stalks. The dead grass accumulates in large bundles, which (4) ___________________ the land by the wind. It has become a real nuisance in Wangaratta because of the large quantity of weed (5) ___________________ in the town. It has reached roof level in some areas. Residents cannot (6) ___________________ garages because of the piles of weed.

Many of the residents have left the town until (7) ___________________ the weed. They are fed up with having to spend (8) ___________________ day clearing the piles of dead grass from their driveways and gardens. For some residents, it is a battle to fight (9) ___________________ of weeds to get into their home. Local resident Pam Twitchett told Australia's ABC news agency that the weed was physically and (10) ___________________. Another resident, Jason Perna, spoke about (11) ___________________ the problem. He said: "It makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning - if you can find it." He also put the problem into context, saying: "It's a first-world problem. We don't put it on (12) ___________________ of the famine or poverty going on in the world."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What is the weed causing in the Australian town?
2.	What did the article say the weed resembled?
3.	Where in Australia is 'hairy panic' found?
4.	What accumulates in large bundles?
5.	What level has the weed reached in some parts of the town?
6.	When will some residents return to the town?
7.	What do some residents have to fight through to get into their home?
8.	What did Pam Twitchett say about the weed?
9.	What does Jason Perna have difficulty getting out in the morning?
10.	What kind of problem did Jason Perna call the weed?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What is the weed causing in the Australian town?	6.	When will some residents return to the town?
	a) disease b) symptoms c) havoc d) good business		a) never b) after the weed has gone c) in 2 weeks d) tomorrow
2.	What did the article say the weed resembled?	7.	What do some residents have to fight through to get into their home?
	a) a scene from a horror movie b) human hair c) trees d) cotton candy		a) their front door b) pain c) a crowd of journalists d) a wall of weeds
3.	Where in Australia is 'hairy panic' found?	8.	What did Pam Twitchett say about the weed?
	a) the desert b) every state c) just Victoria d) the south		a) it was a national disaster b) it was mentally draining c) it was very interesting d) it was dangerous
4.	What accumulates in large bundles?	9.	What does Jason Perna have difficulty getting out in the morning?
	a) seeds b) people c) flowers d) the dead grass		a) money from the bank b) his car c) a clean shirt d) butter from his fridge
5.	What level has the weed reached in some parts of the town?	10.	What kind of problem did Jason Perna call the weed?
	a) level 5 b) danger level c) roof level d) the amber level		a) a first-world problem b) a serious problem c) an easy-to-solve problem d) a grassy problem

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Barking dogs

You think barking dogs are the biggest nuisance. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so bad. Also, tell the others which is the least annoying of these (and why): spam mail, mosquitos or sales people.

Role B – Spam mail

You think spam mail is the biggest nuisance. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so bad. Also, tell the others which is the least annoying of these (and why): barking dogs are, mosquitos or sales people.

Role C – Mosquitos

You think mosquitos are the biggest nuisance. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so bad. Also, tell the others which is the least annoying of these (and why): spam mail, barking dogs are or sales people.

Role D – Sales people

You think sales people are the biggest nuisance. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so bad. Also, tell the others which is the least annoying of these (and why): spam mail, mosquitos or barking dogs are.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

hairy

panic

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:

havoc
movie
name
wind
quantity
reach

left
fed
wall
car
first
world

PANIC SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about panic 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.

PANIC 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 'panic'?
3)	What do you think about what you read?
4)	Why does the article compare the story to a horror movie?
5)	What do you think it's like to live in the town?
6)	What problems do weeds cause?
7)	What are the differences between weeds and flowers?
8)	What do you think of the name, 'hairy panic'?
9)	What kind of nuisances are there in your town?
10)	What do you think residents should do about the weeds?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	What do you know about weeds?
13)	Are there any good things about weeds?
14)	Would you leave your home if you had a similar problem?
15)	How would you feel about having to fight through a wall of weeds?
16)	What three adjectives best describe this story, and why?
17)	What things do you find to be physically and mentally draining?
18)	What advice do you have for the residents?
19)	What first-world problems do you have?
20)	What questions would you like to ask a local resident?

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

A fast-growing weed is causing (1) ____ in a small Australian town. It almost resembles a scene from a horror movie. The weed is called "hairy panic". It is clogging (2) ____ homes, farmyards and other buildings in the small Australian town of Wangaratta in the state of Victoria. Hairy panic is a grass that is (3) ____ in every Australian state. It gets its name from the long hairs along the (4) ____ of grass stalks. The dead grass accumulates in large bundles, which are blown across the land by the wind. It has become a (5) ____ nuisance in Wangaratta because of the large quantity of weed that is collecting in the town. It has reached roof level in some areas. Residents cannot see or reach their garages because of the (6) ____ of weed.

Many of the residents have left the town until authorities remove the weed. They are fed (7) ____ with (8) ____ to spend several hours a day clearing the piles of dead grass from their driveways and gardens. For some residents, it is a battle to fight through the wall of weeds to get into their home. (9) ____ resident Pam Twitchett told Australia's ABC news agency that the weed was physically and mentally (10) ____. Another resident, Jason Perna, spoke about the extent of the problem. He said: "It makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning - if you can find it." He also put the problem into (11) ____, saying: "It's a (12) ____-world problem. We don't put it on the scale of any of the famine or poverty going on in the world."

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

1.	(a)	hammock	(b)	habit	(c)	havoc	(d)	harbinger
2.	(a)	up	(b)	in	(c)	over	(d)	through
3.	(a)	flora	(b)	found	(c)	fund	(d)	friend
4.	(a)	pests	(b)	proteins	(c)	atoms	(d)	edges
5.	(a)	really	(b)	reality	(c)	real	(d)	realism
6.	(a)	amasses	(b)	piles	(c)	bumps	(d)	lays
7.	(a)	up	(b)	over	(c)	down	(d)	on
8.	(a)	had	(b)	has	(c)	have	(d)	having
9.	(a)	Locally	(b)	Locals	(c)	Local	(d)	Locale
10.	(a)	piping	(b)	plumbing	(c)	sinking	(d)	draining
11.	(a)	contract	(b)	context	(c)	contact	(d)	pretext
12.	(a)	first	(b)	second	(c)	third	(d)	fourth

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	causing ocvha
2.	elsreesmb a scene from a horror movie
3.	gglinocg up homes
4.	grass uecmlaasuct in large bundles
5.	It has become a real anceunis
6.	eidetrnss cannot see
Paragraph 2
7.	ttheasuorii remove the weed
8.	asrveel hours a day
9.	physically and mentally iirngadn
10.	the neetxt of the problem
11.	put the problem into tcnxoet
12.	nmeifa or poverty

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	Many of the residents have left the town until authorities remove the weed. They are fed up with having to spend several
( )	movie. The weed is called "hairy panic". It is clogging up homes, farmyards and other
( )	level in some areas. Residents cannot see or reach their garages because of the piles of weed.
( )	to fight through the wall of weeds to get into their home. Local resident Pam Twitchett told Australia's ABC news
( )	buildings in the small Australian town of Wangaratta in the state of Victoria. Hairy panic is a grass that is
( )	stalks. The dead grass accumulates in large bundles, which are blown across the land by the wind. It has become
( )	found in every Australian state. It gets its name from the long hairs along the edges of grass
( )	a real nuisance in Wangaratta because of the large quantity of weed that is collecting in the town. It has reached roof
( )	agency that the weed was physically and mentally draining. Another resident, Jason Perna, spoke about the
( )	put it on the scale of any of the famine or poverty going on in the world."
( )	extent of the problem. He said: "It makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning - if you can find it." He also
( )	put the problem into context, saying: "It's a first-world problem. We don't
( )	hours a day clearing the piles of dead grass from their driveways and gardens. For some residents, it is a battle
( 1 )	A fast-growing weed is causing havoc in a small Australian town. It almost resembles a scene from a horror

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	a causing growing A small havoc weed fast town in is - .
2.	resembles from movie almost scene horror It a a .
3.	of hairs edges stalks long the grass The along .
4.	quantity large The town the in collecting is that weed of .
5.	weeds cannot garages the Residents their of see because .
6.	remove left authorities weed have until the Residents town .
7.	of piles the clearing day a hours several Spend grass dead .
8.	to battle a is It weeds of wall the through fight .
9.	car to makes morning out get it in the difficult It the .
10.	problem the put also He context into .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

A fast-growing weed is causing hammock / havoc in a small Australian town. It almost resembles a scene / scenery from a horror movie. The weed is called "hairy panic". It is clocking / clogging up homes, farmyards and other buildings / building in the small Australian town of Wangaratta in the state of Victoria. Hairy panic is a grass that is finding / found in every Australian state. It gets its naming / name from the long hairs along the edges of grass stalks. The dead grass accumulates in large udders / bundles, which are blown across the land by the wind. It has become a real nuance / nuisance in Wangaratta because of the large quantity of weed that is collection / collecting in the town. It has reached roof level in some areas. Residents cannot see or reach their garages because of the piles / pines of weed.

Many of the residents / residence have left the town until authorities remove the weed. They are fed / feed up with having to spend several / numeral hours a day clearance / clearing the piles of dead grass from their driveways and gardens. For some residents, it is a battle to fight through the well / wall of weeds to get into their home. Local resident Pam Twitchett told Australia's ABC news agency that the weed was physically and mentally droning / draining. Another resident, Jason Perna, spoke about the extant / extent of the problem. He said: "It makes it difficult to get the car out / up in the morning - if you can find it." He also put the problem into context, saying: "It's a first-world problem. We don't put it on the stale / scale of any of the famine or poverty going off / on in the world."

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)

_ f_st-gr_w_ng w__d _s c__s_ng h_v_c _n _ sm_ll __str_l__n t_wn. _t _lm_st r_s_mbl_s _ sc_n_ fr_m _ h_rr_r m_v__. Th_ w__d _s c_ll_d "h__ry p_n_c". _t _s cl_gg_ng _p h_m_s, f_rmy_rds _nd _th_r b__ld_ngs _n th_ sm_ll __str_l__n t_wn _f W_ng_r_tt_ _n th_ st_t_ _f V_ct_r__. H__ry p_n_c _s _ gr_ss th_t _s f__nd _n _v_ry __str_l__n st_t_. _t g_ts _ts n_m_ fr_m th_ l_ng h__rs _l_ng th_ _dg_s _f gr_ss st_lks. Th_ d__d gr_ss _cc_m_l_t_s _n l_rg_ b_ndl_s, wh_ch _r_ bl_wn _cr_ss th_ l_nd by th_ w_nd. _t h_s b_c_m_ _ r__l n__s_nc_ _n W_ng_r_tt_ b_c__s_ _f th_ l_rg_ q__nt_ty _f w__d th_t _s c_ll_ct_ng _n th_ t_wn. _t h_s r__ch_d r__f l_v_l _n s_m_ _r__s. R_s_d_nts c_nn_t s__ _r r__ch th__r g_r_g_s b_c__s_ _f th_ p_l_s _f w__d.

M_ny _f th_ r_s_d_nts h_v_ l_ft th_ t_wn _nt_l __th_r_t__s r_m_v_ th_ w__d. Th_y _r_ f_d _p w_th h_v_ng t_ sp_nd s_v_r_l h__rs _ d_y cl__r_ng th_ p_l_s _f d__d gr_ss fr_m th__r dr_v_w_ys _nd g_rd_ns. F_r s_m_ r_s_d_nts, _t _s _ b_ttl_ t_ f_ght thr__gh th_ w_ll _f w__ds t_ g_t _nt_ th__r h_m_. L_c_l r_s_d_nt P_m Tw_tch_tt t_ld __str_l__'s _BC n_ws _g_ncy th_t th_ w__d w_s phys_c_lly _nd m_nt_lly dr__n_ng. _n_th_r r_s_d_nt, J_s_n P_rn_, sp_k_ _b__t th_ _xt_nt _f th_ pr_bl_m. H_ s__d: "_t m_k_s _t d_ff_c_lt t_ g_t th_ c_r __t _n th_ m_rn_ng - _f y__ c_n f_nd _t." H_ _ls_ p_t th_ pr_bl_m _nt_ c_nt_xt, s_y_ng: "_t's _ f_rst-w_rld pr_bl_m. W_ d_n't p_t _t _n th_ sc_l_ _f _ny _f th_ f_m_n_ _r p_v_rty g__ng _n _n th_ w_rld."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

a fast-growing weed is causing havoc in a small australian town it almost resembles a scene from a horror movie the weed is called "hairy panic" it is clogging up homes farmyards and other buildings in the small australian town of wangaratta in the state of victoria hairy panic is a grass that is found in every australian state it gets its name from the long hairs along the edges of grass stalks the dead grass accumulates in large bundles which are blown across the land by the wind it has become a real nuisance in wangaratta because of the large quantity of weed that is collecting in the town it has reached roof level in some areas residents cannot see or reach their garages because of the piles of weed

many of the residents have left the town until authorities remove the weed they are fed up with having to spend several hours a day clearing the piles of dead grass from their driveways and gardens for some residents it is a battle to fight through the wall of weeds to get into their home local resident pam twitchett told australia's abc news agency that the weed was physically and mentally draining another resident jason perna spoke about the extent of the problem he said "it makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning - if you can find it" he also put the problem into context saying "it's a first-world problem we don't put it on the scale of any of the famine or poverty going on in the world"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Afast-growingweediscausinghavocinasmallAustraliantown.Ital
mostresemblesascenefromahorrormovie.Theweediscalled"hairypa
nic".Itisclogginguphomes,farmyardsandotherbuildingsinthesmallA
ustraliantownofWangarattainthestateofVictoria.Hairypanicisagrass
thatisfoundineveryAustralianstate.Itgetsitsnamefromthelonghairsa
longtheedgesofgrassstalks.Thedeadgrassaccumulatesinlargebundl
es,whichareblownacrossthelandbythewind.Ithasbecomearealnuisa
nceinWangarattabecauseofthelargequantityofweedthatiscollectingi
nthetown.Ithasreachedrooflevelinsomeareas.Residentscannotseeo
rreachtheirgaragesbecauseofthepilesofweed.Manyoftheresidentsh
aveleftthetownuntilauthoritiesremovetheweed.Theyarefedupwithh
avingtospendseveralhoursadayclearingthepilesofdeadgrassfromth
eirdrivewaysandgardens.Forsomeresidents,itisabattletofightthroug
hthewallofweedstogetintotheirhome.LocalresidentPamTwitchetttol
dAustralia'sABCnewsagencythattheweedwasphysicallyandmentally
draining.Anotherresident,JasonPerna,spokeabouttheextentofthepr
oblem.Hesaid:"Itmakesitdifficulttogetthecaroutinthemorning-
ifyoucanfindit."Healsoputtheproblemintocontext,saying:"It'safirst-
worldproblem.Wedon'tputitonthescaleofanyofthefamineorpovertyg
oingonintheworld."

FREE WRITING

Write about panic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

People in first-world countries should look at poor people before they worry. 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 the weed "hairy panic". Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. WEEDS: Write a magazine article about weeds and whether or not we should destroy them all. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against their destruction.

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 panic. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three pieces of advice on how to get someone to stop panicking. 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

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

F

d

T

e

T

f

T

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	havoc	a.	devastation
2.	resembles	b.	looks like
3.	panic	c.	alarm
4.	accumulates	d.	gathers
5.	quantity	e.	amount
6.	removed	f.	took away
7.	fed up	g.	tired
8.	battle	h.	fight
9.	extent	i.	scale
10.	going on	j.	occurring

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Havoc
2.	A scene from a horror movie
3.	Every state
4.	Dead grass
5.	Roof level
6.	After the weed has gone
7.	A wall of weeds
8.	It was physically and mentally draining
9.	His car
10.	A first-world problem

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

c

2.

a

3.

b

4.

d

5.

c

6.

b

7.

d

8.

b

9.

b

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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Breaking News English Lesson: Hairy Panic

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Fast-growing weed covering Australian town (20th February, 2016)

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