Breaking News English Lesson: Sugar Overdose

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Sugar overdose warning for coffee chain festive drinks (7th December, 2019)

The Reading / Listening - Sugar Overdose - Level 3

A health group has warned people to be careful about how much sugar is in their drinks when they go to coffee shops. Many cafes in the UK are adding extra sugar and syrup to their festive drinks in the run-up to Christmas. The health group is called Action on Sugar (AOS). It carried out research on how sweet hot drinks were in coffee chains around the country. It found that some lattes and hot chocolates contained as much as 23 spoons of sugar. It analysed over 200 different drinks. The researchers said they found "shockingly" high levels of sugar in many of the drinks. An AOS spokesperson said people with obesity, diabetes and other health conditions needed to check what they were drinking.

Action On Sugar analysed drinks from nine different coffee shop chains. It found the unhealthiest drink was the Starbucks "Venti" caramel hot chocolate. It contained 93.7g of sugar and 758 calories. AOS says it has as much sugar as three cans of Coca-Cola. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said: "We are committed to reducing sugar in all our beverages and since 2015 we've delivered a nine per cent reduction in the sugar content." Katharine Jenner, a director at AOS, said: "The hospitality industry has a key role to play in being transparent. It must help to reduce the amount of sugar we consume. Sugar is one of the biggest causes of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Sugar Overdose - Level 0, Sugar Overdose - Level 1 or Sugar Overdose - Level 2

Sources

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50628962
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/high-street-coffee-chains-selling-festive-drinks-which-contain-up-to-23-spoonfuls-of-sugar-a4303391.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/christmas-hot-drinks-sugar-content_uk_5de62d91e4b0d50f32a85008

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. SUGAR: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about sugar. 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?
health / careful / sugar / drinks / syrup / festive / Christmas / coffee / obesity / check
coffee shop / caramel / hot chocolate / Coca Cola / calories / diabetes / tooth decay
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. LIMIT: Students A strongly believe there should be a limit on the level of sugar in drinks ; Students B strongly believe there shouldn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. CHAINS: What are your favourite chains? Why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	What?	Why?
Coffee shop
Fast food
Fashion
Hotel
Technology
Ice cream

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

coffee
tea
orange juice
milk
water
cola
lassi
hot chocolate

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	warned	a.	The problem of being too fat or overweight.
2.	syrup	b.	About a celebration or period of special holidays.
3.	festive	c.	Have or hold someone or something inside.
4.	carried out	d.	Tell someone about a possible danger, problem, or other unpleasant situation.
5.	contained	e.	Looked at and checked something in detail to find out more about it.
6.	analysed	f.	A thick, super- sweet liquid made by dissolving sugar in boiling water.
7.	obesity	g.	Did; conducted.

Paragraph 2

8.	calories	h.	A drink, especially one other than water.
9.	spokeswoman	i.	Very, very important.
10.	committed	j.	Holes in your teeth because of eating too much sweet food and not cleaning your teeth; slowly becoming bad and rotting away.
11.	beverages	k.	A lady who makes statements for a country, business, group or person.
12.	key	l.	Easy to see and understand; totally clear.
13.	transparent	m.	Said you would definitely, definitely do something.
14.	decay	n.	The amount of energy value in food.

Before reading / listening

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

A coffee maker warned people to be careful about sugar in drinks. T / F
Many cafes are putting extra syrup in their drinks. T / F
A group found one drink with 23 spoons of sugar in it. T / F
A health group said some drinks had shockingly high levels of sugar. T / F
A health group said one Starbucks coffee contained over 1,000 calories. T / F
A hot chocolate had as much sugar as three cans of Coca Cola. T / F
A health group said the hospitality industry had a big responsibility. T / F
The article said sugar is a big cause of type-1 diabetes. T / F

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

warned
extra
carried out
contained
conditions
analysed
beverages
reduce
consume
causes

conducted
eat and drink
problems
reasons
cut
advised
had
drinks
more
examined

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

A health group has warned
adding extra sugar
hot chocolates contained as
they found "shockingly"
people with obesity, diabetes and
as much sugar as
We are committed
help to reduce the amount
Sugar is one of the biggest
type 2 diabetes

much as 23 spoons
of sugar we consume
other health conditions
causes of obesity
and tooth decay
high levels of sugar
and syrup
people to be careful
to reducing sugar
three cans of Coca-Cola

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

adding
contained
conditions
warned
obesity
research
drinks
levels

A health group has (1) _______________ people to be careful about how much sugar is in their (2) _______________ when they go to coffee shops. Many cafes in the UK are (3) ______________ extra sugar and syrup to their festive drinks in the run-up to Christmas. The health group is called Action on Sugar (AOS). It carried out (4) _______________ on how sweet hot drinks were in coffee chains around the country. It found that some lattes and hot chocolates (5) _______________ as much as 23 spoons of sugar. It analysed over 200 different drinks. The researchers said they found "shockingly" high (6) _______________ of sugar in many of the drinks. An AOS spokesperson said people with (7) _______________, diabetes and other health (8) _______________ needed to check what they were drinking.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

industry
chains
decay
reducing
consume
content
much
beverages

Action On Sugar analysed drinks from nine different coffee shop (9) _______________. It found the unhealthiest drink was the Starbucks "Venti" caramel hot chocolate. It contained 93.7g of sugar and 758 calories. AOS says it has as (10) _______________ sugar as three cans of Coca-Cola. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said: "We are committed to (11) _______________ sugar in all our (12) _______________ and since 2015 we've delivered a nine per cent reduction in the sugar (13) _______________." Katharine Jenner, a director at AOS, said: "The hospitality (14) _______________ has a key role to play in being transparent. It must help to reduce the amount of sugar we (15) _______________. Sugar is one of the biggest causes of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth (16) _______________."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) warned people to be careful about how much sugar ______ drinks
     a. is in their
     b. as in their
     c. was on their
     d. is on their
2) Many cafes in the UK are adding extra sugar and syrup to ______
     a. their festivity drinks
     b. their festival drinks
     c. their festive drinks
     d. their vest if drinks
3) It carried out research on how sweet hot drinks were in coffee ______ country
     a. chairs around the
     b. chains around the
     c. chins around the
     d. chimes around the
4) It found that some lattes and hot chocolates contained as much ______
     a. as 22 spoons
     b. as 24 spoons
     c. as 23 spoons
     d. as 21 spoons
5) 200 different drinks. The researchers said they found ______
     a. "shockingly" highly levels
     b. "shockingly" high levels
     c. "shocking" high levels
     d. "shockingly" highly levels

6) Starbucks "Venti" caramel hot chocolate. It contained 93.7g of sugar ______
     a. and 758 calories
     b. and 758 calorie
     c. and 758 calorific
     d. and 758 colours
7) Starbucks said: "We are committed to reducing sugar in _______ ..."
     a. all our beaver ages
     b. all our beverage is
     c. all our beverage
     d. all our beverages
8) The hospitality industry has a key role to play ______
     a. in being transparent
     b. in being transparency
     c. in being trans-apparent
     d. in being transplants
9) It must help to reduce the amount of ______
     a. sugary we consume
     b. sugars we consume
     c. sugared we consume
     d. sugar we consume
10) Sugar is one of the biggest causes of obesity, type 2 diabetes ______
     a. and tooth decay
     b. and tooth decal
     c. and tooth decayed
     d. and tooth decaled

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A health group has warned people to (1) ___________________ how much sugar is in their drinks when they go to coffee shops. Many cafes in the UK are (2) ___________________ and syrup to their festive drinks (3) ___________________ to Christmas. The health group is called Action on Sugar (AOS). It carried out research (4) ___________________ hot drinks were in coffee chains around the country. It found that some lattes and hot chocolates contained as much as 23 spoons of sugar. It analysed over 200 different drinks. The researchers said they (5) ___________________ levels of sugar in many of the drinks. An AOS spokesperson said people with obesity, diabetes and other (6) ___________________ to check what they were drinking.

Action On Sugar analysed (7) ___________________ different coffee shop chains. It found the unhealthiest drink was the Starbucks "Venti" caramel hot chocolate. It contained 93.7g of sugar and 758 calories. AOS says it has as much (8) ___________________ cans of Coca-Cola. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said: "We are committed to reducing sugar in (9) ___________________ and since 2015 we've delivered a nine per cent reduction in (10) ___________________." Katharine Jenner, a director at AOS, said: "The hospitality industry has (11) ___________________ to play in being transparent. It must help to reduce the amount of sugar we consume. Sugar is one of the biggest causes of obesity, type 2 diabetes (12) ___________________."

Comprehension questions

What kind of group warned people about sugar?
What are cafes adding to drinks besides sugar?
What is the name of the group mentioned in the article?
How many spoons of sugar did one drink contain?
How many different drinks did the group analyse?
How many calories did a Starbucks hot chocolate contain?
By how much did Starbucks say they have reduced sugar since 2015?
Who is Katherine Jenner?
What industry did someone say has a key role to play?
What is sugar a cause of besides obesity and type 2 diabetes?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What kind of group warned people about sugar?
a) a caffeine group
b) a fast food restaurant
c) a health group
d) a doctor
2) What are cafes adding to drinks besides sugar?
a) syrup
b) chocolate
c) hazelnuts
d) gold
3) What is the name of the group mentioned in the article?
a) Drink Less Coffee
b) Action On Sugar
c) Stop Obesity Now!
d) Better Drinks Today
4) How many spoons of sugar did one drink contain?
a) 21
b) 24
c) 22
d) 23

5) How many different drinks did the group analyse?
a) exactly 200
b) just fewer than 200
c) over 200
d) around 200

6) How many calories did a Starbucks hot chocolate contain?
a) 578
b) 758
c) 937
d) 739
7) By how much did Starbucks say they have reduced sugar since 2015?
a) 0.9%
b) 19%
c) 90%
d) nine per cent
8) Who is Katherine Jenner?
a) a coffee shop owner
b) a director of Action On Sugar
c) head of Action On Obesity
d) a dentist
9) What industry did someone say has a key role to play?
a) the sugar industry
b) the hospitality industry
c) the syrup industry
d) the cake industry
10) What is sugar a cause of besides obesity and type 2 diabetes?
a) tooth decay
b) heart disease
c) skin problems
d) high blood pressure

Role play

Role A – Coffee
You think coffee is the best drink. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their drinks. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): tea, water or cola.

Role B – Tea
You think tea is the best drink. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their drinks. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): coffee, water or cola.

Role C – Water
You think water is the best drink. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their drinks. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): tea, coffee or cola.

Role D – Cola
You think cola is the best drink. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their drinks. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): tea, water or coffee.

After reading / listening

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

'coffee'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'sugar'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

careful

syrup

carried

23

shockingly

check

nine

758

three

2015

help

2

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 - Sugar Overdose

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

What did you think when you read the headline?
What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'sugar'?
What do you think of sugar?
Why do we love sugar so much?
Can you live without sugar?
What is your favourite coffee-shop drink?
What do you think of Starbucks?
Why are the sugar levels 'shockingly' high?
Should coffee shops offer healthier drinks?
Should people be able to sue coffee shops for health problems?

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

Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
What do you think of when you hear the word 'drink'?
What do you think about what you read?
How healthy or unhealthy is sugar?
Would you like a Starbucks 'Venti' caramel hot chocolate?
Are sugary drinks or fruit juices better?
Have you ever had tooth decay?
How healthy are your teeth?
How can obese people be healthier?
What questions would you like to ask Action On Sugar?

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 health group has (1) ____ people to be careful about how much sugar is in their drinks when they go to coffee shops. Many cafes in the UK are (2) ____ extra sugar and syrup to their festive drinks (3) ____ the run-up to Christmas. The health group is called Action on Sugar (AOS). It carried out research on how sweet hot drinks (4) ____ in coffee chains around the country. It found that some lattes and hot chocolates contained as much as 23 spoons (5) ____ sugar. It analysed over 200 different drinks. The researchers said they found "shockingly" high levels of sugar in many of the drinks. An AOS spokesperson said people with obesity, diabetes and other health conditions (6) ____ to check what they were drinking.

Action On Sugar analysed drinks from nine (7) ____ coffee shop chains. It found the unhealthiest drink was the Starbucks "Venti" caramel hot chocolate. It contained 93.7g of sugar and 758 calories. AOS says it has as (8) ____ sugar as three cans of Coca-Cola. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said: "We are committed to reducing sugar in all our (9) ____ and since 2015 we've delivered a nine per cent reduction in the sugar (10) ____." Katharine Jenner, a director at AOS, said: "The hospitality industry has a (11) ____ role to play in being transparent. It must help to reduce the amount of sugar we consume. Sugar is one of the biggest causes of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth (12) ____."

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) warmed (b) waned (c) warned (d) weaned
(a) adding (b) addition (c) added (d) add
(a) in (b) at (c) of (d) by
(a) were (b) as (c) have (d) do
(a) all (b) on (c) at (d) of
(a) needs (b) needy (c) necessary (d) needed
(a) different (b) differential (c) difference (d) differed
(a) many (b) more (c) most (d) much
(a) beverages (b) averages (c) outages (d) outrages
(a) contain (b) content (c) cement (d) comment
(a) padlock (b) key (c) lock (d) solution
(a) decay (b) rotten (c) spoil (d) collapse

Spelling

Paragraph 1

extra sugar and sryup
ieetvsf drinks
It yeldaasn over 200 different drinks
iolyknsgch high levels
people with ytsobei
tibseead and other health conditions

Paragraph 2

758 eoairlcs
a nine per cent trondcieu
The hospitality rnytsiud
being srrnaettnpa
the amount of sugar we enscuom
tooth yadec

Put the text back together

(...) up to Christmas. The health group is called Action on Sugar (AOS). It carried out
(...) go to coffee shops. Many cafes in the UK are adding extra sugar and syrup to their festive drinks in the run-
(...) content." Katharine Jenner, a director at AOS, said: "The hospitality industry has a key role to
(...) Action On Sugar analysed drinks from nine different coffee shop chains. It found the unhealthiest drink
(...) said they found "shockingly" high levels of sugar in many of the drinks. An AOS spokesperson said people with
(...) much sugar as three cans of Coca-Cola. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said: "We are committed to reducing
( 1 ) A health group has warned people to be careful about how much sugar is in their drinks when they
(...) sugar in all our beverages and since 2015 we've delivered a nine per cent reduction in the sugar
(...) was the Starbucks "Venti" caramel hot chocolate. It contained 93.7g of sugar and 758 calories. AOS says it has as
(...) chocolates contained as much as 23 spoons of sugar. It analysed over 200 different drinks. The researchers
(...) obesity, diabetes and other health conditions needed to check what they were drinking.
(...) play in being transparent. It must help to reduce the amount of sugar we consume. Sugar
(...) is one of the biggest causes of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay."
(...) research on how sweet hot drinks were in coffee chains around the country. It found that some lattes and hot

Put the words in the right order

be warned health group people careful . to A
sugar . Cafes adding in UK are the extra
drinks how on hot Research were . sweet
much chocolates as spoons . Hot 23 as contained
sugar . They found high shockingly levels of
coffee shop nine chains . Analysed different drinks from
Coca-Cola . sugar cans three much As of as
Committed sugar in our to all reducing beverages .
The role . key hospitality has industry a
the must amount help It reduce of sugar .

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

A health / healthy group has warned people to be careful about how much sugar is on / in their drinks when they go to coffee shops. Many cafes in the UK are adding / addition extra sugar and syrup to their festive drinks in the leg-up / run-up to Christmas. The health group is called Action on Sugar (AOS). It carried out research on how sweetie / sweet hot drinks were in coffee chains around the country. It found that some slats / lattes and hot chocolates contained as much as 23 spoons of sugar. It analysed over 200 different / difference drinks. The researchers said they found "shockingly" high levels of sugar / sugary in many of the drinks. An AOS spokesperson said people with obesity, diabetes / diabetics and other health conditions needed to check what they were drunk / drinking.

Action On Sugar analysis / analysed drinks from nine different coffee shop chains. It found the unhealthiest drink was the Starbucks "Venti" caramel hot chocolate. It contained / contents 93.7g of sugar and 758 calories. AOS says it has as much / many sugar as three cans of Coca-Cola. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said: "We are committed of / to reducing sugar in all our beverages and for / since 2015 we've delivered a nine per cent induction / reduction in the sugar content." Katharine Jenner, a director by / at AOS, said: "The hospitality industry has a key / padlock role to play in being transparent. It must help to reduce the amount of sugar we resume / consume. Sugar is one of the biggest causes of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decal / decay."

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)

A h__ l t h g r__ p h_s w_r n_d p__ p l_ t_ b_ c_r_f_l _b__ t h_w m_c h s_g_r _s _n t h__ r d r_n k s w h_n t h_y g_ t_ c_f f__ s h_p s . M_n y c_f_s _n t h_ U K _r_ _d d_n g _x t r_ s_g_r _n d s y r_p t_ t h__ r f_s t_v_ d r_n k s _n t h_ r_n -_p t_ C h r_s t m_s . T h_ h__ l t h g r__ p _s c_l l_d A c t__ n _n S_g_r ( A O S ) . I t c_r r__ d __ t r_s__ r c h _n h_w s w__ t h_t d r_n k s w_r_ _n c_f f__ c h__ n s _r__ n d t h_ c__ n t r y . I t f__ n d t h_t s_m_ l_t t_s _n d h_t c h_c_l_t_s c_n t__ n_d _s m_c h _s 2 3 s p__ n s _f s_g_r . I t _n_l y s_d _v_r 2 0 0 d_f f_r_n t d r_n k s . T h_ r_s__ r c h_r s s__ d t h_y f__ n d " s h_c k_n g l y " h_g h l_v_l s _f s_g_r _n m_n y _f t h_ d r_n k s . A n A O S s p_k_s p_r s_n s__ d p__ p l_ w_t h _b_s_t y , d__ b_t_s _n d _t h_r h__ l t h c_n d_t__ n s n__ d_d t_ c h_c k w h_t t h_y w_r_ d r_n k_n g .

A c t__ n O n S_g_r _n_l y s_d d r_n k s f r_m n_n_ d_f f_r_n t c_f f__ s h_p c h__ n s . I t f__ n d t h_ _n h__ l t h__ s t d r_n k w_s t h_ S t_r b_c k s " V_n t_" c_r_m_l h_t c h_c_l_t_. I t c_n t__ n_d 9 3 . 7 g _f s_g_r _n d 7 5 8 c_l_r__ s . A O S s_y s _t h_s _s m_c h s_g_r _s t h r__ c_n s _f C_c_- C_l_. A s p_k_s w_m_n f_r S t_r b_c k s s__ d : " W_ _r_ c_m m_t t_d t_ r_d_c_n g s_g_r _n _l l __ r b_v_r_g_s _n d s_n c_ 2 0 1 5 w_' v_ d_l_v_r_d _ n_n_ p_r c_n t r_d_c t__ n _n t h_ s_g_r c_n t_n t . " K_t h_r_n_ J_n n_r , _ d_r_c t_r _t A O S , s__ d : " T h_ h_s p_t_l_t y _n d_s t r y h_s _ k_y r_l_ t_ p l_y _n b__ n g t r_n s p_r_n t . I t m_s t h_l p t_ r_d_c_ t h_ _m__ n t _f s_g_r w_ c_n s_m_. S_g_r _s _n_ _f t h_ b_g g_s t c__ s_s _f _b_s_t y , t y p_ 2 d__ b_t_s _n d t__ t h d_c_y . "

Punctuate the text and add capitals

a health group has warned people to be careful about how much sugar is in their drinks when they go to coffee shops many cafes in the uk are adding extra sugar and syrup to their festive drinks in the runup to christmas the health group is called action on sugar aos it carried out research on how sweet hot drinks were in coffee chains around the country it found that some lattes and hot chocolates contained as much as 23 spoons of sugar it analysed over 200 different drinks the researchers said they found shockingly high levels of sugar in many of the drinks an aos spokesperson said people with obesity diabetes and other health conditions needed to check what they were drinking

action on sugar analysed drinks from nine different coffee shop chains it found the unhealthiest drink was the starbucks venti caramel hot chocolate it contained 937g of sugar and 758 calories aos says it has as much sugar as three cans of coca cola a spokeswoman for starbucks said we are committed to reducing sugar in all our beverages and since 2015 weve delivered a nine per cent reduction in the sugar content katharine jenner a director at aos said the hospitality industry has a key role to play in being transparent it must help to reduce the amount of sugar we consume sugar is one of the biggest causes of obesity type 2 diabetes and tooth decay

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Ahealthgrouphaswarnedpeopletobecarefulabouthowmuchsugarisin
theirdrinkswhentheygotocoffeeshops.ManycafesintheUKareadding
extrasugarandsyruptotheirfestivedrinksintherun-uptoChristmas.Th
ehealthgroupiscalledActiononSugar(AOS).Itcarriedoutresearchonh
owsweethotdrinkswereincoffeechainsaroundthecountry.Itfoundtha
tsomelattesandhotchocolatescontainedasmuchas23spoonsofsugar.
Itanalysedover200differentdrinks.Theresearcherssaidtheyfound"s
hockingly"highlevelsofsugarinmanyofthedrinks.AnAOSspokesperso
nsaidpeoplewithobesity,diabetesandotherhealthconditionsneededt
ocheckwhattheyweredrinking.ActionOnSugaranalyseddrinksfromni
nedifferentcoffeeshopchains.ItfoundtheunhealthiestdrinkwastheSt
arbucks"Venti"caramelhotchocolate.Itcontained93.7gofsugarand7
58calories.AOSsaysithasasmuchsugarasthreecansofCoca-Cola.Asp
okeswomanforStarbuckssaid:"Wearecommittedtoreducingsugarin
allourbeveragesandsince2015we'vedeliveredaninepercentreductio
ninthesugarcontent."KatharineJenner,adirectoratAOS,said:"Theho
spitalityindustryhasakeyroletoplayinbeingtransparent.Itmusthelpt
oreducetheamountofsugarweconsume.Sugarisoneofthebiggestcau
sesofobesity,type2diabetesandtoothdecay."

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

There should be a maximum amount of sugar in any drink. 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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. SUGAR: Make a poster about sugar. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. LEGAL LIMIT: Write a magazine article about there being a legal limit on the amount of sugar in drinks. 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 sugar. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how we can reduce sugar. 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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Breaking News English Lesson: Sugar Overdose

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