The Reading / Listening - Measles - Level 6

UNICEF has reported that measles cases worldwide have surged by 300% in the first three months of 2019. UNICEF's report came out on the same day that the USA's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that confirmed measles cases in the U.S. are the highest they've been since the disease was declared eradicated in 2000. UNICEF reported that an estimated 169 million children worldwide have missed out on measles vaccines. It added that 110,000 people (mostly children) died from measles in 2017, up 22 per cent from the year before. UNICEF said: "The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children....We need to vaccinate every child, in rich and poor countries alike."

The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer (anti-vaccination) movement for a drop in the number of parents vaccinating their children. The anti-vaccination movement began in France in 1763, when doctors believed vaccines were harmful. The anti-vaxxer message is now being widely spread across social media websites. Facebook has vowed to take down anti-vaxxer posts. The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer movement for the rise in measles cases. It said: "A significant factor contributing to the outbreaks...is misinformation...about the safety of the measles vaccine. Some organizations are deliberately targeting...communities with inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Measles - Level 4  or  Measles - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716953746/cdc-reports-largest-u-s-measles-outbreak-since-year-2000
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48039524
  • https://www.marketwatch.com/story/unicef-blames-anti-vaxxers-for-the-300-spike-in-global-measles-outbreaks-2019-04-25


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. MEASLES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about measles. 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?
       measles / worldwide / UNICEF / eradicated / disease / vaccine / virus / children /
       anti-vaxxer / movement / harmful / message / rise / outbreaks / safety / information
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. VACCINES: Students A strongly believe everyone should be vaccinated against all diseases; Students B strongly believe the opposite.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. DISEASES: What do you know about these diseases? How are they treated? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What I Know

How It Is Treated

Measles

 

 

Typhoid

 

 

Cholera

 

 

AIDS

 

 

Influenza

 

 

Cancer

 

 
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. VIRUS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "virus". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. VIRUSES: Rank these with your partner. Put the worst viruses at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Rabies
  • Rotavirus
  • Hepatitis
  • Shingles
  • Measles
  • Influenza
  • Polio
  • Yellow fever

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. surged a. A substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and protect against one or several diseases.
      2. prevention b. Establish the truth or correctness of something.
      3. confirmed c. The action of stopping something from happening or arising.
      4. eradicated d. Used to show that something applies equally to a number of specified subjects.
      5. vaccine e. Increased suddenly and powerfully.
      6. virus f. Destroyed completely; put an end to.
      7. alike g. A tiny organism that is too small to be seen and causes disease or infection.

    Paragraph 2

      8. movement h. A fall in amount, quality, or rate.
      9. drop i. A circumstance, fact, or influence that contributes to a result or outcome.
      10. vowed j. Inexact, imprecise, incorrect, wrong.
      11. significant k. Promised to do a specified thing.
      12. factor l. Consciously and intentionally; on purpose.
      13. deliberately m. Sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy.
      14. inaccurate n. A group of people working together to advance their shared political, social, or artistic ideas.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Cases of measles went up by 300% last year.     T / F
  2. People said measles was eradicated in the USA in 2000.     T / F
  3. Around 110,000 children died from measles in 2017.     T / F
  4. UNICEF said the priority is to vaccinate children in poor countries.     T / F
  5. The anti-vaccination movement began in France in 1763.     T / F
  6. Facebook said it would remove posts made by anti-vaxxers.     T / F
  7. The CDC blamed anti-vaxxers for the rise in cases of measles.     T / F
  8. The CDC said anti-vaxxers always provided correct information.     T / F

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

  1. worldwide
  2. first
  3. confirmed
  4. eradicated
  5. blamed
  6. drop
  7. movement
  8. vowed
  9. deliberately
  10. misleading
  1. verified
  2. intentionally
  3. accused
  4. initial
  5. campaign
  6. globally
  7. deceptive
  8. fall
  9. promised
  10. eliminated

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

  1. measles cases worldwide have
  2. the disease was declared
  3. missed out on measles
  4. The measles virus will always find
  5. in rich and poor countries
  6. a drop in the number of parents vaccinating
  7. Facebook has vowed to take
  8. A significant factor contributing
  9. deliberately targeting
  10. inaccurate and
  1. vaccines
  2. alike
  3. communities
  4. eradicated in 2000
  5. to the outbreaks
  6. surged by 300%
  7. misleading information
  8. down anti-vaxxer posts
  9. unvaccinated children
  10. their children

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
eradicated
worldwide
virus
out
vaccinate
surged
cases
mostly

UNICEF has reported that measles cases worldwide have (1) ____________ by 300% in the first three months of 2019. UNICEF's report came (2) ____________ on the same day that the USA's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that confirmed measles (3) ____________ in the U.S. are the highest they've been since the disease was declared (4) ____________ in 2000. UNICEF reported that an estimated 169 million children (5) ____________ have missed out on measles vaccines. It added that 110,000 people ((6) ____________ children) died from measles in 2017, up 22 per cent from the year before. UNICEF said: "The measles (7) ____________ will always find unvaccinated children....We need to (8) ____________ every child, in rich and poor countries alike."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
harmful
blamed
misleading
rise
drop
safety
widely
factor

The CDC (9) ____________ the anti-vaxxer (anti-vaccination) movement for a (10) ____________ in the number of parents vaccinating their children. The anti-vaccination movement began in France in 1763, when doctors believed vaccines were (11) ____________. The anti-vaxxer message is now being (12) ____________ spread across social media websites. Facebook has vowed to take down anti-vaxxer posts. The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer movement for the (13) ____________ in measles cases. It said: "A significant (14) ____________ contributing to the outbreaks...is misinformation...about the (15) ____________ of the measles vaccine. Some organizations are deliberately targeting...communities with inaccurate and (16) ____________ information about vaccines."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  UNICEF has reported that measles cases worldwide have ______ 300%
     a.  purged by
     b.  budged by
     c.  aged by
     d.  surged by
2)  the highest they've been since the disease was declared ______ 2000
     a.  eradicate it in
     b.  eradicated in
     c.  eradicate in
     d.  eradicating in
3)  an estimated 169 million children worldwide have missed out ______
     a.  measles vaccines
     b.  on measles vaccines
     c.  in measles vaccines
     d.  of measles vaccines
4)  The measles virus will always find ______
     a.  then vaccinated children
     b.  non-vaccinated children
     c.  up vaccinated children
     d.  unvaccinated children
5)  We need to vaccinate every child, in rich and poor ______
     a.  countries to like
     b.  countries alike
     c.  countries liked
     d.  countries likely

6)  The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer (anti-vaccination) movement for a ______ number
     a.  drops in the
     b.  drop sin the
     c.  drops sin the
     d.  drop in the
7)  The anti-vaxxer message is now being widely spread across ______ websites
     a.  socially media
     b.  socialist media
     c.  social media
     d.  socialized media
8)  The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer movement for the rise in ______
     a.  measles case its
     b.  measles castes
     c.  measles case is
     d.  measles cases
9)  A significant factor contributing to ______
     a.  the outbreaks
     b.  the updates
     c.  the art takes
     d.  the uptakes
10)  organizations are deliberately targeting communities with inaccurate and ______
     a.  missed lead information
     b.  miss lead information
     c.  miss leading in form nation
     d.  misleading information

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

UNICEF has reported that measles cases worldwide (1) ___________________ 300% in the first three months of 2019. UNICEF's report (2) ___________________ the same day that the USA's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that confirmed measles cases in the U.S. are the highest they've (3) ___________________ disease was declared eradicated in 2000. UNICEF reported (4) ___________________ 169 million children worldwide have missed out on measles vaccines. It added that 110,000 people (mostly children) died from measles in 2017, up 22 per cent from the year before. UNICEF said: "The measles (5) ___________________ find unvaccinated children....We need to vaccinate every child, in rich and (6) ___________________."

The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer (anti-vaccination) (7) ___________________ drop in the number of parents vaccinating their children. The anti-vaccination movement began in France in 1763, when doctors believed (8) ___________________. The anti-vaxxer message is now being (9) ___________________ social media websites. Facebook has vowed to take down anti-vaxxer posts. The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer movement for the (10) ___________________ cases. It said: "A significant factor contributing to the outbreaks...is misinformation...about (11) ___________________ the measles vaccine. Some organizations are deliberately targeting...communities (12) ___________________ misleading information about vaccines."

Comprehension questions

  1. In what months did the cases of measles surge by 300%?
  2. When did the USA say measles had been eradicated?
  3. How many children have missed out on measles vaccines?
  4. When did 110,000 people die from measles?
  5. Where did UNICEF say children should be vaccinated?
  6. Who did the CDC blame for the drop in children being vaccinated?
  7. When did the anti-vaxxer movement begin?
  8. Who vowed to remove anti-vaxxer posts from the Internet?
  9. What did the CDC say significantly contributed to outbreaks?
  10. Who did the CDC say anti-vaxxers were targeting?

Multiple choice quiz

1) In what months did the cases of measles surge by 300%?
a) July and August 2018
b) March, April and May 2017
c) the first three months of this year
d) September to December last year
2) When did the USA say measles had been eradicated?
a) 2000
b) 2001
c) 2002
d) 2003
3) How many children have missed out on measles vaccines?
a) 169 million
b) 179 million
c) 189 million
d) 199 million
4) When did 110,000 people die from measles?
a) 1617
b) 2017
c) 1917
d) 1817
5) Where did UNICEF say children should be vaccinated?
a) Paraguay
b) in Asia
c) Lesotho
d) rich and poor countries

6) Who did the CDC blame for the drop in children being vaccinated?
a) governments
b) the anti-vaxxer movement
c) the WHO
d) a scientist
7) When did the anti-vaxxer movement begin?
a) 1763
b) 1673
c) 1367
d) 1637
8) Who vowed to remove anti-vaxxer posts from the Internet?
a) the CDC
b) Twitter
c) Facebook
d) governments
9) What did the CDC say significantly contributed to outbreaks?
a) leaflets
b) fake news
c) the Internet
d) misinformation
10) Who did the CDC say anti-vaxxers were targeting?
a) communities
b) children
c) parents
d) UNICEF

Role play

Role  A – Measles
You think measles is the worst virus. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their viruses aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the most-easily curable of these (and why): influenza, rabies or yellow fever.

Role  B – Influenza
You think influenza is the worst virus. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their viruses aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the most-easily curable of these (and why): measles, rabies or yellow fever.

Role  C – Rabies
You think rabies is the worst virus. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their viruses aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the most-easily curable of these (and why): influenza, measles or yellow fever.

Role  D – Yellow Fever
You think yellow fever is the worst virus. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their viruses aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the most-easily curable of these (and why): influenza, rabies or measles.

After reading / listening

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

'virus'

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

    • and 'vaccine'.

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

    • • 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:

    • drop
    • 1763
    • vowed
    • cases
    • safety
    • targeting
    • surged
    • same
    • since
    • 169
    • 2017
    • rich

    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 - Anti-vaxxers blamed for 300% rise in measles

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'virus'?
    3. What do you know about measles?
    4. Why do you think has caused the surge in measles cases?
    5. How do you think measles reappeared after it was eradicated?
    6. What vaccinations have you had?
    7. What would the world be like without vaccinations?
    8. How worried are you about viruses?
    9. How can we eradicate all disease?
    10. What do you know about UNICEF?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'vaccine'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you know about vaccinations?
    5. What do you know about the anti-vaxxer movement?
    6. What do you think about the anti-vaxxer movement?
    7. Is Facebook right to remove anti-vaxxer posts?
    8. Who do we believe about measles?
    9. What does measles do to someone's body?
    10. What questions would you like to ask UNICEF?

    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)

    UNICEF has reported that measles (1) ____ worldwide have surged by 300% in the first three months of 2019. UNICEF's report came (2) ____ on the same day that the USA's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that (3) ____ measles cases in the U.S. are the highest they've been since the disease was declared (4) ____ in 2000. UNICEF reported that an estimated 169 million children worldwide have missed (5) ____ on measles vaccines. It added that 110,000 people (mostly children) died from measles in 2017, up 22 per cent from the year before. UNICEF said: "The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children....We need to vaccinate every child, in rich and poor countries (6) ____."

    The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer (anti-vaccination) movement for a (7) ____ in the number of parents vaccinating their children. The anti-vaccination movement began in France in 1763, when doctors believed vaccines were (8) ____. The anti-vaxxer message is now being (9) ____ spread across social media websites. Facebook has vowed to take down anti-vaxxer posts. The CDC (10) ____ the anti-vaxxer movement for the rise in measles cases. It said: "A significant factor contributing to the outbreaks...is misinformation...about the (11) ____ of the measles vaccine. Some organizations are (12) ____ targeting...communities with inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     causes     (b)     cases     (c)     castes     (d)     casts    
    2. (a)     on     (b)     out     (c)     to     (d)     here    
    3. (a)     affirmed     (b)     farmed     (c)     formed     (d)     confirmed    
    4. (a)     desiccated     (b)     eradicated     (c)     contradicted     (d)     dedicated    
    5. (a)     through     (b)     out     (c)     over     (d)     under    
    6. (a)     likely     (b)     liking     (c)     alike     (d)     likes    
    7. (a)     drip     (b)     collapse     (c)     drop     (d)     blob    
    8. (a)     harm     (b)     harmed     (c)     harmful     (d)     harms    
    9. (a)     narrowly     (b)     deeply     (c)     longingly     (d)     widely    
    10. (a)     banned     (b)     blamed     (c)     burned     (d)     binned    
    11. (a)     safety     (b)     safe     (c)     safer     (d)     save    
    12. (a)     debating     (b)     debilitating     (c)     deliberately     (d)     dabbling

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. rusged by 300%
    2. onicmrfed measles cases
    3. since the disease was cdalered
    4. adciearetd in 2000
    5. an tmisaeetd 169 million children
    6. iccvnaate every child

    Paragraph 2

    1. The CDC lmabed the anti-vaxxer movement
    2. idewly spread across social media
    3. ovewd to take down anti-vaxxer posts
    4. contributing to the trbueokas
    5. lbeaeritedly targeting communities
    6. ncirucaate and misleading

    Put the text back together

    (...)  in measles cases. It said: "A significant factor contributing to the outbreaks...is
    (...)  months of 2019. UNICEF's report came out on the same day that the USA's Centers for Disease
    (...)  Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that confirmed measles cases in the U.S. are the highest they've been
    (...)  worldwide have missed out on measles vaccines. It added that 110,000 people (mostly children) died from
    (...)  websites. Facebook has vowed to take down anti-vaxxer posts. The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer movement for the rise
    (...)  measles in 2017, up 22 per cent from the year before. UNICEF said: "The measles virus will always find unvaccinated
    (...)  children....We need to vaccinate every child, in rich and poor countries alike."
    (...)  The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer (anti-vaccination) movement for a drop in the number of parents vaccinating
    (...)  their children. The anti-vaccination movement began in France in 1763, when doctors believed vaccines were
    (...)  since the disease was declared eradicated in 2000. UNICEF reported that an estimated 169 million children
    (...)  misinformation...about the safety of the measles vaccine. Some organizations are deliberately
    (...)  harmful. The anti-vaxxer message is now being widely spread across social media
    (...)  targeting...communities with inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines."
    (  1  ) UNICEF has reported that measles cases worldwide have surged by 300% in the first three

    Put the words in the right order

    1. surged have worldwide by Measles 300 percent. cases
    2. on the day. out report came UNICEF's same
    3. eradicated the 2000. Since in declared disease was
    4. 110,000 that measles. added died from It people
    5. virus always The will find measles unvaccinated children.
    6. parents of number vaccinating The their children.
    7. being spread Now social across widely media websites.
    8. contributing factor significant to A the outbreaks.
    9. about safety Misinformation the of the measles vaccine.
    10. with communities Deliberately inaccurate targeting misleading and 
         information.

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    UNICEF has reported that measles cases worldwide have / has surged by 300% in the first three months of 2019. UNICEF's report came out on the same day that / what the USA's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that confirmed / confirmation measles cases in the U.S. are the highest they've been for / since the disease was declared eradicated / educated in 2000. UNICEF reported that an estimate / estimated 169 million children worldwide have missed out in / on measles vaccines. It added / addition that 110,000 people (mostly children) died from measles in 2017, up 22 per cent from the year before. UNICEF said: "The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children....We need to vaccinate all / every child, in rich and poor countries likely / alike."

    The CDC blamed / blaming the anti-vaxxer (anti-vaccination) movement for a droop / drop in the number of parents vaccinating their children. The anti-vaccination movement began in France in 1763, when doctors belief / believed vaccines were harmful. The anti-vaxxer messages / message is now being widely / width spread across social media websites. Facebook has vowed to take up / down anti-vaxxer posts. The CDC blamed the anti-vaxxer movement for the rise / rose in measles cases. It said: "A significant factor contributing to the outbreaks...is misinformation...about the safe / safety of the measles vaccine. Some organizations are deliberate / deliberately targeting...communities / community with inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines."

    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)

    U N I C E F h_s r_p_r t_d t h_t m__ s l_s c_s_s w_r l d w_d_ h_v_ s_r g_d b y 3 0 0 % _n t h_ f_r s t t h r__ m_n t h s _f 2 0 1 9 . U N I C E F ' s r_p_r t c_m_ __ t _n t h_ s_m_ d_y t h_t t h_ U S A ' s C_n t_r s f_r D_s__ s_ C_n t r_l _n d P r_v_n t__ n ( C D C ) r_p_r t_d t h_t c_n f_r m_d m__ s l_s c_s_s _n t h_ U . S . _r_ t h_ h_g h_s t t h_y ' v_ b__ n s_n c_ t h_ d_s__ s_ w_s d_c l_r_d _r_d_c_t_d _n 2 0 0 0 . U N I C E F r_p_r t_d t h_t _n _s t_m_t_d 1 6 9 m_l l__ n c h_l d r_n w_r l d w_d_ h_v_ m_s s_d __ t _n m__ s l_s v_c c_n_s . I t _d d_d t h_t 1 1 0 , 0 0 0 p__ p l_ ( m_s t l y c h_l d r_n ) d__ d f r_m m__ s l_s _n 2 0 1 7 , _p 2 2 p_r c_n t f r_m t h_ y__ r b_f_r_. U N I C E F s__ d : " T h_ m__ s l_s v_r_s w_l l _l w_y s f_n d _n v_c c_n_t_d c h_l d r_n . . . . W_ n__ d t_ v_c c_n_t_ _v_r y c h_l d , _n r_c h _n d p__ r c__ n t r__ s _l_k_. "

    T h_ C D C b l_m_d t h_ _n t_- v_x x_r (_n t_- v_c c_n_t__ n ) m_v_m_n t f_r _ d r_p _n t h_ n_m b_r _f p_r_n t s v_c c_n_t_n g t h__ r c h_l d r_n . T h_ _n t_- v_c c_n_t__ n m_v_m_n t b_g_n _n F r_n c_ _n 1 7 6 3 , w h_n d_c t_r s b_l__ v_d v_c c_n_s w_r_ h_r m f_l . T h_ _n t_- v_x x_r m_s s_g_ _s n_w b__ n g w_d_l y s p r__ d _c r_s s s_c__ l m_d__ w_b s_t_s . F_c_b__ k h_s v_w_d t_ t_k_ d_w n _n t_- v_x x_r p_s t s . T h_ C D C b l_m_d t h_ _n t_- v_x x_r m_v_m_n t f_r t h_ r_s_ _n m__ s l_s c_s_s . I t s__ d : " A s_g n_f_c_n t f_c t_r c_n t r_b_t_n g t_ t h_ __ t b r__ k s . . ._s m_s_n f_r m_t__ n . . ._b__ t t h_ s_f_t y _f t h_ m__ s l_s v_c c_n_. S_m_ _r g_n_z_t__ n s _r_ d_l_b_r_t_l y t_r g_t_n g . . . c_m m_n_t__ s w_t h _n_c c_r_t_ _n d m_s l__ d_n g _n f_r m_t__ n _b__ t v_c c_n_s . "

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    unicef has reported that measles cases worldwide have surged by 300 in the first three months of 2019 unicefs report came out on the same day that the usas centers for disease control and prevention cdc reported that confirmed measles cases in the us are the highest theyve been since the disease was declared eradicated in 2000 unicef reported that an estimated 169 million children worldwide have missed out on measles vaccines it added that 110000 people mostly children died from measles in 2017 up 22 per cent from the year before unicef said the measles virus will always find unvaccinated children we need to vaccinate every child in rich and poor countries alike

    the cdc blamed the antivaxxer antivaccination movement for a drop in the number of parents vaccinating their children the antivaccination movement began in france in 1763 when doctors believed vaccines were harmful the antivaxxer message is now being widely spread across social media websites facebook has vowed to take down antivaxxer posts the cdc blamed the antivaxxer movement for the rise in measles cases it said a significant factor contributing to the outbreaks is misinformation about the safety of the measles vaccine some organizations are deliberately targeting communities with inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    UNICEFhasreportedthatmeaslescasesworldwidehavesurgedby300
    %inthefirstthreemonthsof2019.UNICEF'sreportcameoutonthesame
    daythattheUSA'sCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC)rep
    ortedthatconfirmedmeaslescasesintheU.S.arethehighestthey'vebe
    ensincethediseasewasdeclarederadicatedin2000.UNICEFreportedt
    hatanestimated169millionchildrenworldwidehavemissedoutonmea
    slesvaccines.Itaddedthat110,000people(mostlychildren)diedfrom
    measlesin2017,up22percentfromtheyearbefore.UNICEFsaid:"The
    measlesviruswillalwaysfindunvaccinatedchildren....Weneedtovacci
    nateeverychild,inrichandpoorcountriesalike."TheCDCblamedtheant
    i-vaxxer(anti-vaccination)movementforadropinthenumberofparent
    svaccinatingtheirchildren.Theanti-vaccinationmovementbeganinFr
    ancein1763,whendoctorsbelievedvaccineswereharmful.Theanti-va
    xxermessageisnowbeingwidelyspreadacrosssocialmediawebsites.F
    acebookhasvowedtotakedownanti-vaxxerposts.TheCDCblamedth
    eanti-vaxxermovementfortheriseinmeaslescases.Itsaid:"Asignif
    icantfactorcontributingtotheoutbreaks...ismisinformation...aboutth
    esafetyofthemeaslesvaccine.Someorganizationsaredeliberatelytar
    geting...communitieswithinaccurateandmisleadinginformationabo
    utvaccines."

    Free writing

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

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    Academic writing

    Everyone in the world should be vaccinated against measles. 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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. MEASLES: Make a poster about measles. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. VACCINATIONS: Write a magazine article about vaccinations for everyone. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    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 measles. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to eradicate measles. 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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