The Reading / Listening - Level 6

A road safety organisation in Australia has created a mock-up of the perfect body needed to survive a car crash. Australia's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has called its human-looking creation 'Graham'. TAC commissioned a sculpture of Graham and released a video to educate road users about road safety. Although Graham is humanesque, he is somewhat grotesque in parts and resembles a character from a horror movie. The BBC says: "He has a head shaped like a boulder, feet snarled like tree roots and a chest like a wrinkled battering ram." A spokesperson from TAC said Graham was designed to highlight how frail and vulnerable the human body is when involved in a vehicle collision on the roads.

TAC commissioned celebrated artist Patricia Piccinini to create the artwork for Graham. She collaborated with a leading trauma surgeon and a road crash investigation expert to get the right look and build for Graham. She gave Graham a thick skull, a wider neck, an inflatable chest that acts like airbags, and hoof-like legs that allow Graham to jump out of dangerous situations. TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore commented on why his organisation commissioned Graham as an educational tool. He said: "Cars have evolved a lot faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every aspect of our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes."

Meet Graham online 'or look at this video:

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Level 4  or  Level 5

Sources
  • http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36863324
  • http://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-have-created-this-creepy-as-hell-spokesperson-to-promote-road-safety
  • http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/meet-graham-the-graphic-warrior-whos-the-latest-weapon-against-road-deaths/news-story/b5ad267598b212dbc3551a8f9103ae21


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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about traffic accidents. 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?

       road safety / perfect body / survive / car crash / sculpture / horror movie / tree roots
       artwork / collaborated / trauma / surgeon / dangerous / educational / mistakes

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

3. SPEED LIMIT: Students A strongly believe cars should have technology that limits their speed; Students B strongly believe this is a silly idea.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

4. COLLISONS: How can we protect people from or make people safer in collisions? Discuss this with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

  • Roads
  • Police
  • CCTV
  • On-board cameras
  • Crash helmets
  • Car design
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. CRASH: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "crash". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

6. DANGERS: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest dangers for motorists at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • overtaking
  • lack of sleep
  • inexperience
  • bad roads
  • speed
  • tailgating
  • using mobile phones
  • ignoring red lights

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. An Australian organisation has made a crash-proof car.     T / F
  2. 'TAC' means Transport Accident Commission.     T / F
  3. A creation called Graham came directly from a BBC horror movie.     T / F
  4. TAC said its creation would make the human body less frail.     T / F
  5. An artist, a surgeon and a crash investigator helped create Graham.     T / F
  6. Graham has a thicker skull and a wider neck.     T / F
  7. A TAC spokesman said Graham was an educational tool.     T / F
  8. The spokesperson said cars evolved less slowly than humans.     T / F

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

  1. mock-up
  2. survive
  3. commissioned
  4. grotesque
  5. frail
  6. celebrated
  7. collaborated
  8. expert
  9. tool
  10. aspect
  1. ordered
  2. joined forces
  3. instrument
  4. live through
  5. specialist
  6. easily broken
  7. admired
  8. model
  9. feature
  10. ugly

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

  1. A road safety
  2. he is somewhat
  3. feet snarled like tree
  4. highlight how frail and vulnerable
  5. involved in a
  6. a leading trauma
  7. a road crash investigation
  8. an inflatable chest
  9. cars have evolved a
  10. improve every
  1. roots
  2. expert
  3. vehicle collision
  4. that acts like airbags
  5. aspect of our roads system
  6. lot faster than humans
  7. organisation
  8. surgeon
  9. the human body is
  10. grotesque in parts

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
grotesque
mock
boulder
frail
sculpture
collision
survive
roots

A road safety organisation in Australia has created a (1) _____-up of the perfect body needed to (2) _____ a car crash. Australia's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has called its human-looking creation 'Graham'. TAC commissioned a (3) _____ of Graham and released a video to educate road users about road safety. Although Graham is humanesque, he is somewhat (4) _____ in parts and resembles a character from a horror movie. The BBC says: "He has a head shaped like a (5) _____, feet snarled like tree (6) _____ and a chest like a wrinkled battering ram." A spokesperson from TAC said Graham was designed to highlight how (7) _____ and vulnerable the human body is when involved in a vehicle (8) _____ on the roads.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
collaborated
executive
build
aspect
celebrated
trauma
evolved
inflatable

TAC commissioned (9) _____ artist Patricia Piccinini to create the artwork for Graham. She (10) _____ with a leading (11) _____ surgeon and a road crash investigation expert to get the right look and (12) _____ for Graham. She gave Graham a thick skull, a wider neck, an (13) _____ chest that acts like airbags, and hoof-like legs that allow Graham to jump out of dangerous situations. TAC chief (14) _____ Joe Calafiore commented on why his organisation commissioned Graham as an educational tool. He said: "Cars have (15) _____ a lot faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every (16) _____ of our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  A road safety organisation in Australia has created a mock-up of ______
     a.  the perfection body
     b.  the prefect body
     c.  the purr flecked body
     d.  the perfect body

2)  TAC commissioned a ______ Graham
     a.  sculpture of
     b.  scripture of
     c.  sculptured of
     d.  sculptor of

3)  Although Graham is humanesque, he is somewhat ______
     a.  grow test in parts
     b.  grotesquely in parts
     c.  grotesque in parts
     d.  grotesque in part

4)  feet snarled like tree roots and a chest like a wrinkled ______
     a.  batter in ram
     b.  butter in rum
     c.  battering ram
     d.  batter in lamb

5)  designed to highlight how frail and vulnerable the ______
     a.  humane body is
     b.  humans body is
     c.  human body is
     d.  human's body is

6)  TAC commissioned celebrated artist Patricia Piccinini to ______
     a.  create the artwork
     b.  create the arty work
     c.  create the artworks
     d.  create the at work

7)  She collaborated with a leading ______
     a.  traumatic surgeon
     b.  drama surgeon
     c.  traumatise surgeon
     d.  trauma surgeon

8)  She gave Graham a thick skull, a wider neck, ______
     a.  an inflatable gest
     b.  an inflatable checks
     c.  an inflatable chest
     d.  an inflated chest

9)  hoof-like legs that allow Graham to jump out of ______
     a.  dangerously situations
     b.  dangerous situation
     c.  dangerously situation
     d.  dangerous situations

10)  Graham helps us understand why we need to improve ______
     a.  every respect
     b.  every aspect
     c.  every inspect
     d.  every suspect

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A road safety organisation in Australia has (1) ___________________ of the perfect body needed to survive a car crash. Australia's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has called its (2) ___________________ 'Graham'. TAC commissioned (3) ___________________ Graham and released a video to educate road users about road safety. Although Graham is humanesque, he is somewhat (4) ___________________ and resembles a character from a horror movie. The BBC says: "He has a head shaped like a boulder, feet snarled like tree (5) ___________________ like a wrinkled battering ram." A spokesperson from TAC said Graham was designed to highlight how frail and vulnerable the human body is when involved in (6) ___________________ on the roads.

TAC commissioned (7) ___________________ Patricia Piccinini to create the artwork for Graham. She collaborated with a leading trauma surgeon and a road crash investigation (8) ___________________ right look and build for Graham. She gave Graham a thick skull, a wider neck, an inflatable chest that (9) ___________________, and hoof-like legs that allow Graham to jump out of dangerous situations. TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore (10) ___________________ his organisation commissioned Graham as an educational tool. He said: "Cars have (11) ___________________ than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every (12) ___________________ system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes."

Comprehension questions

  1. What did Australia's TAC make something to be able to survive?
  2. What did Australia's TAC commission?
  3. What does Australia's TAC want to educate people about?
  4. What did the BBC compare Graham's feet to?
  5. What did Australia's TAC want to highlight as being vulnerable?
  6. What kind of surgeon worked with the artist who created Graham?
  7. What kind of skull does Graham have?
  8. What does Graham's chest act like?
  9. What did the chief executive say have evolved faster than humans?
  10. What did the chief executive say we needed to protect ourselves from?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What did Australia's TAC make something to be able to survive?
a) mock-ups
b) creation
c) long drives
d) a car crash

2) What did Australia's TAC commission?
a) a human
b) a sculpture
c) interest rates
d) an organisation

3) What does Australia's TAC want to educate people about?
a) parts
b) cars
c) road safety
d) horror movies

4) What did the BBC compare Graham's feet to?
a) tree roots
b) spaghetti
c) boulders
d) wrinkles

5) What did Australia's TAC want to highlight as being vulnerable?
a) trees
b) our feet
c) the human body
d) cars

6) What kind of surgeon worked with the artist who created Graham?
a) a neurosurgeon
b) a trauma surgeon
c) a tree surgeon
d) a plastic surgeon

7) What kind of skull does Graham have?
a) a high-tech one
b) a nice one
c) a plastic one
d) a thick skull

8) What does Graham's chest act like?
a) airbags
b) drums
c) rams
d) hooves

9) What did the chief executive say have evolved faster than humans?
a) accidents
b) aspects
c) cars
d) roads

10) What did the chief executive say we needed to protect ourselves from?
a) aspects
b) our own mistake
c) Graham
d) road systems

Role play

Role A — Speeding

You think speeding is the most dangerous thing drivers do. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): tailgating, using mobile phones or overtaking.

Role B — Tailgating

You think tailgating is the most dangerous thing drivers do. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): speeding, using mobile phones or overtaking.

Role C — Using mobile phones

You think using mobile phones is the most dangerous thing drivers do. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): tailgating, speeding or overtaking.

Role D — Overtaking

You think overtaking is the most dangerous thing drivers do. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): tailgating, using mobile phones or speeding.

After reading / listening

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

'traffic'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'accident'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • artwork
    • leading
    • thick
    • tool
    • faster
    • own
    • mock
    • video
    • parts
    • feet
    • ram
    • vehicle

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Perfect body to survive traffic accidents created

    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 term 'traffic accident'?
    3. How dangerous are the roads in your town?
    4. What can towns do to increase road safety?
    5. Should there be stricter rules on motorists?
    6. Why do people drive dangerously?
    7. Are pedestrians, cyclists or motorists more careless?
    8. What do you think of road technology that slows cars down?
    9. What advice do you have for road users?
    10. What do you think of the idea of Graham?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. Do you ever worry about traveling on the roads in your country?
    3. What is the scariest thing about being in a traffic accident?
    4. How safe are cars?
    5. Should all speed limits be reduced?
    6. What do you think about driverless cars?
    7. Should cars have a machine fitted that limits their top speed?
    8. What makes you angry about other road users?
    9. Why do we need cars with powerful engines?
    10. What questions would you like to ask a road safety expert?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    A road safety organisation in Australia has created a (1) ____-up of the perfect body needed to survive a car crash. Australia's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has called its human-looking creation 'Graham'. TAC commissioned a         (2) ____ of Graham and released a video to (3) ____ road users about road safety. Although Graham is humanesque, he is (4) ____ grotesque in parts and resembles a character from a horror movie. The BBC says: "He has a head shaped like a      (5) ____, feet snarled like tree roots and a chest like a wrinkled battering ram." A spokesperson from TAC said Graham was designed to highlight how (6) ____ and vulnerable the human body is when involved in a vehicle collision on the roads.

    TAC commissioned celebrated artist Patricia Piccinini to create the artwork for Graham. She collaborated with a (7) ____ trauma surgeon and a road crash investigation expert to get the right look and (8) ____ for Graham. She gave Graham a thick skull, a wider neck, an inflatable chest that acts like airbags, and hoof-like legs that allow Graham to jump (9) ____ of dangerous situations. TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore commented on why his organisation commissioned Graham as an educational (10) ____. He said: "Cars have evolved a lot faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve (11) ____ aspect of our roads system to (12) ____ ourselves from our own mistakes."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     mock     (b)     dock     (c)     lock     (d)     sock    
    2. (a)     scripture     (b)     specter     (c)     sculpture     (d)     scripter    
    3. (a)     elucidate     (b)     eradicate     (c)     educate     (d)     implicate    
    4. (a)     sometime     (b)     somebodies     (c)     something     (d)     somewhat    
    5. (a)     bladder     (b)     bowl     (c)     boulder     (d)     builder    
    6. (a)     grail     (b)     frail     (c)     flail     (d)     hail    
    7. (a)     loading     (b)     leading     (c)     lading     (d)     leaded    
    8. (a)     built     (b)     build     (c)     builder     (d)     built-in    
    9. (a)     up     (b)     to     (c)     out     (d)     on    
    10. (a)     gizmo     (b)     gadget     (c)     equipment     (d)     tool    
    11. (a)     entire     (b)     whole     (c)     all     (d)     every    
    12. (a)     pretense     (b)     predict     (c)     project     (d)     protect

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. TAC commissioned a trspucuel of Graham
    2. he is somewhat qeoruetgs in parts
    3. slmberese a character from a horror movie
    4. a head shaped like a edrulbo
    5. how frail and alerlbvenu the human body is
    6. involved in a vehicle lslioconi

    Paragraph 2

    1. She aecobdlaotlr with…
    2. a leading mtauar surgeon
    3. an ellfabtian chest
    4. TAC chief xecveieut
    5. Cars have eevdlov a lot faster
    6. improve every ceptsa

    Put the text back together

    (    )     of our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes.

    (    )     like a wrinkled battering ram." A spokesperson from TAC said Graham was designed to highlight how frail

    (    )     commissioned Graham as an educational tool. He said: "Cars have evolved a lot

    (    )     about road safety. Although Graham is humanesque, he is somewhat grotesque in parts and resembles a character

    (    )     from a horror movie. The BBC says: "He has a head shaped like a boulder, feet snarled like tree roots and a chest

    (    )     trauma surgeon and a road crash investigation expert to get the right look and build for Graham. She gave Graham a thick

    (    )     faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every aspect

    (  1  )     A road safety organisation in Australia has created a mock-up of the perfect body needed to survive a car

    (    )     and vulnerable the human body is when involved in a vehicle collision on the roads.

    (    )     creation 'Graham'. TAC commissioned a sculpture of Graham and released a video to educate road users

    (    )     skull, a wider neck, an inflatable chest that acts like airbags, and hoof-like legs that allow Graham to jump

    (    )     out of dangerous situations. TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore commented on why his organisation

    (    )     TAC commissioned celebrated artist Patricia Piccinini to create the artwork for Graham. She collaborated with a leading

    (    )     crash. Australia's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has called its human-looking

    Put the words in the right order

    1. a  perfect   mock-  survive  the  A  to  of  crash  needed  up  car  body  .
    2. to   users  safety   video   road   road   a   educate   about   Released   .
    3. BBC   like   "He   The   shaped   .   head   boulder"   a   says:   a   has
    4. how   human   frail   body   and   is   vulnerable   Highlight   the   .
    5. the   on   collision   vehicle   a   in   Involved   roads   .
    6. leading   surgeon   collaborated   a   trauma   She   with   .
    7. allow  jump   dangerous  that   to  of   Legs   Graham  out   situations  .
    8. Graham  commissioned   organisation   His   tool  educational  an   as   .
    9. evolved   He   than   a   "Cars   said:   humans"   lot   have   .   faster
    10. aspect   roads   need   every   our   We   improve   of   system   to   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A road safety organisation in Australia has created a mock-up / mop-up of the perfect body needed / needy to survive a car crash. Australia's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has called its human-looking created / creation 'Graham'. TAC commissioned a sculpture of Graham and released a video to educate road users / usages about road safety. Although Graham is humanesque, he is somewhat / some grotesque in parts and preambles / resembles a character from a horror movie. The BBC says: "He has a head shaped like a bolder / boulder, feet snarled like tree roots and a chest like a wrinkled battering / bartering ram." A spokesperson from TAC said Graham was designed to highlight how frail / grail and vulnerable the human body is when involved in a vehicle colliding / collision on the roads.

    TAC commissioned celebrated / celebration artist Patricia Piccinini to create the artwork for Graham. She collaboration / collaborated with a leading trauma / traumatic surgeon and a road crash investigation expert to get the right look and build by / for Graham. She gave Graham a thick skull, a wider neck, an inflatable chest what / that acts like airbags, and hoof-like legs that allow Graham to jump out / up of dangerous situations. TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore commented on / in why his organisation commissioned Graham as an educated / educational tool. He said: "Cars have evolved / involved a lot faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every aspect of your / our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes."

    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)

    _ r__d s_f_ty _rg_n_s_t__n _n __str_l__ h_s cr__t_d _ m_ck-_p _f th_ p_rf_ct b_dy n__d_d t_ s_rv_v_ _ c_r cr_sh. __str_l__'s Tr_nsp_rt _cc_d_nt C_mm_ss__n (T_C) h_s c_ll_d _ts h_m_n-l__k_ng cr__t__n 'Gr_h_m'. T_C c_mm_ss__n_d _ sc_lpt_r_ _f Gr_h_m _nd r_l__s_d _ v_d__ t_ _d_c_t_ r__d _s_rs _b__t r__d s_f_ty. _lth__gh Gr_h_m _s h_m_n_sq__, h_ _s s_m_wh_t gr_t_sq__ _n p_rts _nd r_s_mbl_s _ ch_r_ct_r fr_m _ h_rr_r m_v__. Th_ BBC s_ys: "H_ h_s _ h__d sh_p_d l_k_ _ b__ld_r, f__t sn_rl_d l_k_ tr__ r__ts _nd _ ch_st l_k_ _ wr_nkl_d b_tt_r_ng r_m." _ sp_k_sp_rs_n fr_m T_C s__d Gr_h_m w_s d_s_gn_d t_ h_ghl_ght h_w fr__l _nd v_ln_r_bl_ th_ h_m_n b_dy _s wh_n _nv_lv_d _n _ v_h_cl_ c_ll_s__n _n th_ r__ds.

    T_C c_mm_ss__n_d c_l_br_t_d _rt_st P_tr_c__ P_cc_n_n_ t_ cr__t_ th_ _rtw_rk f_r Gr_h_m. Sh_ c_ll_b_r_t_d w_th _ l__d_ng tr__m_ s_rg__n _nd _ r__d cr_sh _nv_st_g_t__n _xp_rt t_ g_t th_ r_ght l__k _nd b__ld f_r Gr_h_m. Sh_ g_v_ Gr_h_m _ th_ck sk_ll, _ w_d_r n_ck, _n _nfl_t_bl_ ch_st th_t _cts l_k_ __rb_gs, _nd h__f-l_k_ l_gs th_t _ll_w Gr_h_m t_ j_mp __t _f d_ng_r__s s_t__t__ns. T_C ch__f _x_c_t_v_ J__ C_l_f__r_ c_mm_nt_d _n why h_s _rg_n_s_t__n c_mm_ss__n_d Gr_h_m _s _n _d_c_t__n_l t__l. H_ s__d: "C_rs h_v_ _v_lv_d _ l_t f_st_r th_n h_m_ns _nd Gr_h_m h_lps _s _nd_rst_nd why w_ n__d t_ _mpr_v_ _v_ry _sp_ct _f __r r__ds syst_m t_ pr_t_ct __rs_lv_s fr_m __r _wn m_st_k_s."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a road safety organisation in australia has created a mock-up of the perfect body needed to survive a car crash australia's transport accident commission (tac) has called its human-looking creation 'graham' tac commissioned a sculpture of graham and released a video to educate road users about road safety although graham is humanesque he is somewhat grotesque in parts and resembles a character from a horror movie the bbc says "he has a head shaped like a boulder feet snarled like tree roots and a chest like a wrinkled battering ram" a spokesperson from tac said graham was designed to highlight how frail and vulnerable the human body is when involved in a vehicle collision on the roads

    tac commissioned celebrated artist patricia piccinini to create the artwork for graham she collaborated with a leading trauma surgeon and a road crash investigation expert to get the right look and build for graham she gave graham a thick skull a wider neck an inflatable chest that acts like airbags and hoof-like legs that allow graham to jump out of dangerous situations tac chief executive joe calafiore commented on why his organisation commissioned graham as an educational tool he said "cars have evolved a lot faster than humans and graham helps us understand why we need to improve every aspect of our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes"

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    AroadsafetyorganisationinAustraliahascreatedamock-upoftheperf
    ectbodyneededtosurviveacarcrash.Australia'sTransportAccidentCo
    mmission(TAC)hascalleditshuman-lookingcreation'Graham'.TACc
    ommissionedasculptureofGrahamandreleasedavideotoeducateroad
    usersaboutroadsafety.AlthoughGrahamishumanesque,heissomew
    hatgrotesqueinpartsandresemblesacharacterfromahorrormovie.Th
    eBBCsays:"Hehasaheadshapedlikeaboulder,feetsnarledliketreeroo
    tsandachestlikeawrinkledbatteringram."AspokespersonfromTACsai
    dGrahamwasdesignedtohighlighthowfrailandvulnerablethehumanb
    odyiswheninvolvedinavehiclecollisionontheroads.TACcommissione
    dcelebratedartistPatriciaPiccininitocreatetheartworkforGraham.Sh
    ecollaboratedwithaleadingtraumasurgeonandaroadcrashinvestigati
    onexperttogettherightlookandbuildforGraham.ShegaveGrahamathi
    ckskull,awiderneck,aninflatablechestthatactslikeairbags,andhoof-
    likelegsthatallowGrahamtojumpoutofdangeroussituations.TACchief
    executiveJoeCalafiorecommentedonwhyhisorganisationcommissio
    nedGrahamasaneducationaltool.Hesaid:"Carshaveevolvedalotfaste
    rthanhumansandGrahamhelpsusunderstandwhyweneedtoimprove
    everyaspectofourroadssystemtoprotectourselvesfromourownmista
    kes."

    Free writing

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

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    Academic writing

    There should be a limit on the engine size and speed of all cars. Discuss.

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    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 road safety. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

    3. CAR PROTECTION: Make a poster about the different ways we can protect ourselves in cars. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

    4. LIMITS: Write a magazine article about putting limits on the engine size and speed of all cars. 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. 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 road safety. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how we can make the roads safer. 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

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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