The Reading / Listening - Black Lives Matter - Level 3

Black Lives Matter protests have spread around the world after the death two weeks ago of George Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man. Protestors in many cities around the world marched in the streets. They held signs with the words, "Black Lives Matter" and other slogans written on them. Many people wore T-shirts with the words "I can't breathe," "No justice, no peace," and "Silence is violence". In Ottawa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined an anti-racism demonstration. He took the knee alongside thousands of other people who silently got down on one knee. Similar protests have taken place in Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Poland, Norway and many other countries in support of equality.

Protestors told journalists why they joined the Black Lives Matter marches. A primary school teacher in London said: "I have come down in support of black people who have been ill-treated for many, many, many, many, years. It is time for change." An IT specialist said: "We are all human beings. There should be fairness for all of us." She added that Black Lives Matter doesn't mean anyone else's life doesn't. A 21-year-old Londoner stressed the need for dialogue. He said: "There are a lot of uncomfortable conversations that people have been avoiding...but, they're conversations that need to be had if...we want to finally create a kind of society where black bodies are treated equally."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Black Lives Matter - Level 0 Black Lives Matter - Level 1   or  Black Lives Matter - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-protests-global/your-pain-is-my-pain-global-anti-racism-protests-rage-idUSKBN23C289
  • https://www.dw.com/en/germany-thousands-attend-anti-racism-protests-honoring-george-floyd/a-53700909
  • https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200607_05/


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. BLACK LIVES MATTER: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Black Lives Matter. 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?
       Black Lives Matter / handcuffed / protestors / slogan / silence / breathe / equality /
       journalist / primary / support / human beings / dialogue / fairness / conversations
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. PROTESTS: Students A strongly believe protests are the best way to defeat racism; Students B strongly believe they aren't.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. RACISM: What forms of racism exist in the areas? How can we reduce this? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Forms of Racism

How We Reduce It

Education

 

 

Government

 

 

Police

 

 

Courts

 

 

Jobs

 

 

The streets

 

 

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

  • Street marches
  • Petitions
  • Writing to politicians
  • Websites and blogs
  • Sit-ins
  • Labour strikes
  • Boycotts
  • Vigils

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. spread a. The state of being the same as everyone else, with the rights, and opportunities.
      2. unarmed b. Walked along a route with others to protest against something.
      3. marched c. Behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.
      4. slogan d. Moved over a wider and wider area.
      5. violence e. Bent down on one knee in order to publicly protest about something.
      6. took the knee f. Not carrying any weapons (like guns, knives, etc.).
      7. equality g. A short and memorable phrase used in advertising.

    Paragraph 2

      8. ill-treated h. Put a lot of importance on a point, statement, or idea.
      9. IT i. Conversation between two or more people.
      10. specialist j. All of the people living together in a country or a community.
      11. stressed k. Information Technology.
      12. dialogue l. Keeping away from or stopping yourself from doing something.
      13. avoiding m. A person who is highly skilled in one area.
      14. society n. Acted very badly towards somebody or something.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The article said protestors marched in every city in the world.     T / F
  2. Protestors wore T-shirts with the words "Silence is violence" on them.    T / F
  3. Canada's Prime Minister took the knee with other protestors.     T / F
  4. The article says protests took place in North and South Korea.     T / F
  5. A university teacher told reporters why he joined the marches.     T / F
  6. A specialist in information technology called for fairness for all.     T / F
  7. A man in his late teens stressed the need for dialogue.     T / F
  8. The man said we should not avoid conversations about race.     T / F

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

  1. protests
  2. held
  3. justice
  4. alongside
  5. support
  6. ill-treated
  7. time
  8. all
  9. dialogue
  10. treated
  1. abused
  2. next to
  3. everyone
  4. clutched
  5. behaved toward
  6. conversation
  7. demonstrations
  8. backing
  9. the moment
  10. fairness

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

  1. Black Lives Matter protests have spread
  2. an unarmed and handcuffed
  3. He took
  4. Similar protests have taken
  5. in support
  6. black people who have
  7. We are all human
  8. There should be fairness for
  9. stressed the need
  10. they're conversations that
  1. been ill-treated
  2. of equality
  3. need to be had
  4. black man
  5. for dialogue
  6. beings
  7. all of us
  8. around the world
  9. the knee
  10. place in Australia

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
breathe
place
marched
violence
slogans
equality
spread
alongside

Black Lives Matter protests have (1) ____________ around the world after the death two weeks ago of George Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man. Protestors in many cities around the world (2) ____________ in the streets. They held signs with the words, "Black Lives Matter" and other (3) ____________ written on them. Many people wore T-shirts with the words "I can't (4) ____________," "No justice, no peace," and "Silence is (5) ____________". In Ottawa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined an anti-racism demonstration. He took the knee (6) ____________ thousands of other people who silently got down on one knee. Similar protests have taken (7) ____________ in Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Poland, Norway and many other countries in support of (8) ____________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
human
joined
life
avoiding
equally
treated
support
dialogue

Protestors told journalists why they (9) ____________ the Black Lives Matter marches. A primary school teacher in London said: "I have come down in (10) ____________ of black people who have been ill-(11) ____________ for many, many, many, many, years. It is time for change." An IT specialist said: "We are all (12) ____________ beings. There should be fairness for all of us." She added that Black Lives Matter doesn't mean anyone else's (13) ____________ doesn't. A 21-year-old Londoner stressed the need for (14) ____________. He said: "There are a lot of uncomfortable conversations that people have been (15) ____________...but, they're conversations that need to be had if...we want to finally create a kind of society where black bodies are treated (16) ____________."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  after the death two weeks ago of George Floyd, an unarmed and ______
     a.  handcuffed black man
     b.  handcuff black man
     c.  hand coughed black man
     d.  handcuffs black man
2)  Protestors in many cities around the world ______ streets
     a.  matched in the
     b.  marched in the
     c.  march it in the
     d.  march din the
3)  Many people wore T-shirts with the words "______"
     a.  I can't breath
     b.  I can't breathy
     c.  I can't breather
     d.  I can't breathe
4)  He took the knee alongside thousands of other people who ______
     a.  silently sat down
     b.  silently got down
     c.  silently jot down
     d.  silently dot down
5)  South Korea, Poland, Norway and many other countries in ______
     a.  support of equally
     b.  support of e-qualify
     c.  support of equal-a-tea
     d.  support of equality

6)  Protestors told journalists why ______
     a.  they join
     b.  they joint
     c.  they joined
     d.  they enjoyed
7)  I have come down in support of black people who have ______
     a.  been will-treated
     b.  been nil-treated
     c.  bee nil-treated
     d.  been ill-treated
8)  An IT specialist said: "We are all ______."
     a.  human beings
     b.  humane beings
     c.  humanly beings
     d.  human being
9)  A 21-year-old Londoner stressed the ______
     a.  needy for dialogue
     b.  kneed for dialogue
     c.  need for dialogue
     d.  needless for dialogue
10)  we want to finally create a kind of society where black bodies ______
     a.  are treat it equally
     b.  art reacted equally
     c.  are treated equally
     d.  a tree did equally

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Black Lives Matter protests (1) ___________________ the world after the death two weeks ago of George Floyd, (2) ___________________ handcuffed black man. Protestors in many cities around the world marched (3) ___________________. They held signs with the words, "Black Lives Matter" and other (4) ___________________ them. Many people wore T-shirts with the words "I can't breathe," "No justice, no peace," and "Silence is violence". In Ottawa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (5) ___________________-racism demonstration. He took the knee alongside thousands of other people who silently got down on one knee. Similar protests have taken place in Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Poland, Norway and many other countries (6) ___________________ equality.

Protestors told journalists (7) ___________________ the Black Lives Matter marches. A primary school teacher in London said: "I have come down in support of black people who have (8) ___________________ for many, many, many, many, years. It is time for change." An IT specialist said: "We are (9) ___________________. There should be fairness for all of us." She added that Black Lives Matter doesn't mean anyone else's life doesn't. A 21-year-old Londoner stressed the (10) ___________________. He said: "There are a lot of uncomfortable conversations that people (11) ___________________...but, they're conversations that need to be had if...we want to finally create a kind of society where black bodies (12) ___________________."

Comprehension questions

  1. Where did the article say people marched?
  2. What did protestors wear that had words and slogans on them?
  3. What did a slogan say was "violence"?
  4. In what city did Canada's leader take the knee?
  5. How many other people took the knee next to Justin Trudeau?
  6. Who told journalists he joined the protests in support of black people?
  7. Who said: "We are all human beings?"
  8. What did a 21-year-old say there was a need for?
  9. What did the 21-year-old say people were avoiding?
  10. Who did the 21-year-old say needed to be treated equally?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Where did the article say people marched?
a) in shopping malls
b) on beaches
c) in the streets
d) in small, rural towns
2) What did protestors wear that had words and slogans on them?
a) T-shirts
b) masks
c) baseball caps
d) wrist bands
3) What did a slogan say was "violence"?
a) screaming
b) shouting
c) whispering
d) silence
4) In what city did Canada's leader take the knee?
a) Vancouver
b) Ottawa
c) Toronto
d) Montreal
5) How many other people took the knee next to Justin Trudeau?
a) 691
b) hundreds
c) thousands
d) dozens

6) Who told journalists he joined the protests in support of black people?
a) a journalist
b) a primary school teacher
c) a student
d) a university teacher
7) Who said: "We are all human beings?"
a) a part-time worker
b) a soccer player
c) a young mother
d) an IT specialist
8) What did a 21-year-old say there was a need for?
a) peace
b) dialogue
c) peace
d) police reform
9) What did the 21-year-old say people were avoiding?
a) uncomfortable conversations
b) exercise
c) going outside
d) each other

10) Who did the 21-year-old say needed to be treated equally?
a) his friends
b) his co-workers
c) everyone
d) black bodies

Role play

Role  A – Street Marches
You think street marches are the best way to protest. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): petitions, boycotts or letters to politicians.

Role  B – Petitions
You think petitions are the best way to protest. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): street marches, boycotts or letters to politicians.

Role  C – Boycotts
You think boycotts are the best way to protest. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): petitions, street marches or letters to politicians.

Role  D – Letters to Politicians
You think letters to politicians are the best way to protest. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): petitions, boycotts or street marches.

After reading / listening

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

'black'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'racism'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • 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:

    • ago
    • streets
    • signs
    • words
    • took
    • place
    • journalists
    • down
    • human
    • mean
    • need
    • kind

    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 - Black Lives Matter

    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 'black'?
    3. What do you know about the Black Lives Matter movement?
    4. Would you join a Black Lives Matter protest?
    5. What do you think of the 'No justice, no peace' slogan?
    6. Do you think that 'silence is violence'?
    7. Why is there so much racism in the world?
    8. How racist is your country?
    9. What experiences of racism have you felt or experienced?
    10. Should all world leaders follow Justin Trudeau and take the knee?

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

    1. Why is it that young children are not racist?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'racism'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think about the Black Lives Matter movement?
    5. What can we do to end racism?
    6. Why are people so afraid of someone with a different skin colour?
    7. What harm does racism do to society?
    8. Why should people feel fear because of their skin colour?
    9. What conversations do we need to have?
    10. What questions would you like to ask a racist?

    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)

    Black Lives Matter protests have (1) ____ around the world after the death two weeks ago of George Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man. Protestors in many cities around the world (2) ____ in the streets. They held signs with the words, "Black Lives Matter" and other slogans written on (3) ____. Many people wore T-shirts with the words "I can't (4) ____," "No justice, no peace," and "Silence is violence". In Ottawa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined an anti-racism demonstration. He (5) ____ the knee alongside thousands of other people who silently got down on one knee. Similar protests have taken place in Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Poland, Norway and many other countries (6) ____ support of equality.

    Protestors told journalists why they (7) ____ the Black Lives Matter marches. A (8) ____ school teacher in London said: "I have come down in support of black people who have been (9) ____-treated for many, many, many, many, years. It is time for change." An IT specialist said: "We are all human beings. There should be fairness (10) ____ all of us." She added that Black Lives Matter doesn't mean anyone else's life doesn't. A 21-year-old Londoner stressed the need for dialogue. He said: "There are a lot of uncomfortable conversations (11) ____ people have been avoiding...but, they're conversations that need to be had if...we want to finally create a kind of society where black bodies are (12) ____ equally."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     speared     (b)     spread     (c)     speed     (d)     spared    
    2. (a)     mulched     (b)     matched     (c)     munched     (d)     marched    
    3. (a)     that     (b)     them     (c)     every     (d)     ink    
    4. (a)     breath     (b)     breathing     (c)     breathe     (d)     breather    
    5. (a)     took     (b)     gave     (c)     did     (d)     had    
    6. (a)     in     (b)     on     (c)     at     (d)     of    
    7. (a)     joiner     (b)     joint     (c)     joining     (d)     joined    
    8. (a)     primary     (b)     primarily     (c)     primed     (d)     primer    
    9. (a)     sick     (b)     ill     (c)     poor     (d)     unhealthy    
    10. (a)     at     (b)     to     (c)     for     (d)     as    
    11. (a)     what     (b)     why     (c)     that     (d)     for    
    12. (a)     cared     (b)     treated     (c)     looked     (d)     caught

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. protests have edsrap around the world
    2. unarmed and cahfedufdn
    3. other olsgsna written on them
    4. an anti-iacmsr demonstration
    5. people who yiltlnse got down on one knee
    6. in support of yqiluate

    Paragraph 2

    1. Protestors told uajlsortisn why they joined
    2. A miraryp school teacher
    3. come down in ostrupp of black people
    4. An IT aesiplicst
    5. stressed the need for uogadlei
    6. create a kind of oceyits

    Put the text back together

    (...)  for all of us." She added that Black Lives Matter doesn't mean anyone else's life
    (...)  demonstration. He took the knee alongside thousands of other people who silently got down on one knee. Similar protests have taken
    (...)  ago of George Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man. Protestors in many cities around the world marched
    (...)  on them. Many people wore T-shirts with the words "I can't breathe," "No justice, no peace," and "Silence is
    (...)  place in Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Poland, Norway and many other countries in support of equality.
    (...)  of uncomfortable conversations that people have been avoiding...but, they're conversations
    (...)  violence". In Ottawa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined an anti-racism
    (...)  Protestors told journalists why they joined the Black Lives Matter marches. A primary school teacher
    (...)  doesn't. A 21-year-old Londoner stressed the need for dialogue. He said: "There are a lot
    (...)  years. It is time for change." An IT specialist said: "We are all human beings. There should be fairness
    (...)  in the streets. They held signs with the words, "Black Lives Matter" and other slogans written
    (...)  that need to be had if...we want to finally create a kind of society where black bodies are treated equally."
    (...)  in London said: "I have come down in support of black people who have been ill-treated for many, many, many, many,
    1  ) Black Lives Matter protests have spread around the world after the death two weeks

    Put the words in the right order

    1. around   Matter   spread   the   protests   Lives   world   .   Black
    2. in   many   cities   world   .   Protestors   the   around
    3. with   the   T-shirts   words   .   Many   wore   people
    4. knee   took   others   .   thousands   of   He   the   alongside
    5. other   Many   of   countries   support   equality   .   in
    6. in   people   .   I've   come   support   down   black   of
    7. should   fairness   be   There   us   .   of   for   all
    8. for   A   dialogue   .   stressed   21-year-old   the   need   Londoner
    9. conversations   .   lot   There   of   uncomfortable   a   are
    10. treated   A   equally   .   are   bodies   where   society   black

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Black Lives Matter protests have spread / spared around the world after the death two weeks ago of George Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffs / handcuffed black man. Protestors in many cities around the world matched / marched in the streets. They held / hold signs with the words, "Black Lives Matter" and other signals / slogans written on them. Many people wore T-shirts with the words "I can't breathe / breath," "No justice, no peace," and "Silence are / is violence". In Ottawa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined an anti-racism demonstration. He took / gave the knee alongside thousands of other people who silently got down / up on one knee. Similar protests have taken place in Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Poland, Norway and many other countries on / in support of equality.

    Protestors told journalists why they joint / joined the Black Lives Matter marches. A primarily / primary school teacher in London said: "I have come down in support of black people who have been ill-treated for much / many, many, many, many, years. It is time for change / chance." An IT specialist said: "We are all human beings. There should be fair / fairness for all of us." She added that Black Lives Matter doesn't meaning / mean anyone else's life doesn't. A 21-year-old Londoner stressed / stress the need for dialogue. He said: "There are a lots / lot of uncomfortable conversations that people have been avoiding...but, they're conversations that need to be have / had if...we want to finally create a kind of society where black bodies are treated equally / equal."

    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)

    B l_c k L_v_s M_t t_r p r_t_s t s h_v_ s p r__ d _r__ n d t h_ w_r l d _f t_r t h_ d__ t h t w_ w__ k s _g_ _f G__ r g_ F l_y d , _n _n_r m_d _n d h_n d c_f f_d b l_c k m_n . P r_t_s t_r s _n m_n y c_t__ s _r__ n d t h_ w_r l d m_r c h_d _n t h_ s t r__ t s . T h_y h_l d s_g n s w_t h t h_ w_r d s , " B l_c k L_v_s M_t t_r " _n d _t h_r s l_g_n s w r_t t_n _n t h_m . M_n y p__ p l_ w_r_ T - s h_r t s w_t h t h_ w_r d s " I c_n ' t b r__ t h_, " " N_ j_s t_c_, n_ p__ c_, " _n d " S_l_n c_ _s v__ l_n c_" . I n O t t_w_, C_n_d_' s P r_m_ M_n_s t_r J_s t_n T r_d___ j__ n_d _n _n t_- r_c_s m d_m_n s t r_t__ n . H_ t__ k t h_ k n__ _l_n g s_d_ t h__ s_n d s _f _t h_r p__ p l_ w h_ s_l_n t l y g_t d_w n _n _n_ k n__ . S_m_l_r p r_t_s t s h_v_ t_k_n p l_c_ _n A_s t r_l__ , M_x_c_, S__ t h K_r__ , P_l_n d , N_r w_y _n d m_n y _t h_r c__ n t r__ s _n s_p p_r t _f _q__ l_t y .

    P r_t_s t_r s t_l d j__ r n_l_s t s w h y t h_y j__ n_d t h_ B l_c k L_v_s M_t t_r m_r c h_s . A p r_m_r y s c h__ l t__ c h_r _n L_n d_n s__ d : " I h_v_ c_m_ d_w n _n s_p p_r t _f b l_c k p__ p l_ w h_ h_v_ b__ n _l l - t r__ t_d f_r m_n y , m_n y , m_n y , m_n y , y__ r s . I t _s t_m_ f_r c h_n g_. " A n I T s p_c__ l_s t s__ d : " W_ _r_ _l l h_m_n b__ n g s . T h_r_ s h__ l d b_ f__ r n_s s f_r _l l _f _s . " S h_ _d d_d t h_t B l_c k L_v_s M_t t_r d__ s n ' t m__ n _n y_n_ _l s_' s l_f_ d__ s n ' t . A 2 1 - y__ r -_l d L_n d_n_r s t r_s s_d t h_ n__ d f_r d__ l_g__ . H_ s__ d : " T h_r_ _r_ _ l_t _f _n c_m f_r t_b l_ c_n v_r s_t__ n s t h_t p__ p l_ h_v_ b__ n _v__ d_n g . . . b_t , t h_y ' r_ c_n v_r s_t__ n s t h_t n__ d t_ b_ h_d _f . . . w_ w_n t t_ f_n_l l y c r__ t_ _ k_n d _f s_c__ t y w h_r_ b l_c k b_d__ s _r_ t r__ t_d _q__ l l y . "

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    black lives matter protests have spread around the world after the death two weeks ago of george floyd an unarmed and handcuffed black man protestors in many cities around the world marched in the streets they held signs with the words black lives matter and other slogans written on them many people wore tshirts with the words i cant breathe no justice no peace and silence is violence in ottawa canadas prime minister justin trudeau joined an antiracism demonstration he took the knee alongside thousands of other people who silently got down on one knee similar protests have taken place in australia mexico south korea poland norway and many other countries in support of equality

    protestors told journalists why they joined the black lives matter marches a primary school teacher in london said i have come down in support of black people who have been illtreated for many many many many years it is time for change an it specialist said we are all human beings there should be fairness for all of us she added that black lives matter doesnt mean anyone elses life doesnt a 21yearold londoner stressed the need for dialogue he said there are a lot of uncomfortable conversations that people have been avoidingbut theyre conversations that need to be had ifwe want to finally create a kind of society where black bodies are treated equally

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    BlackLivesMatterprotestshavespreadaroundtheworldafterthedeath
    twoweeksagoofGeorgeFloyd,anunarmedandhandcuffedblackman.P
    rotestorsinmanycitiesaroundtheworldmarchedinthestreets.Theyhel
    dsignswiththewords,"BlackLivesMatter"andothersloganswrittenont
    hem.ManypeopleworeT-shirtswiththewords"Ican'tbreathe,""Nojust
    ice,nopeace,"and"Silenceisviolence".InOttawa,Canada'sPrimeMinis
    terJustinTrudeaujoinedananti-racismdemonstration.Hetookthekn
    eealongsidethousandsofotherpeoplewhosilentlygotdownononekne
    e.SimilarprotestshavetakenplaceinAustralia,Mexico,SouthKorea,Po
    land,Norwayandmanyothercountriesinsupportofequality.Protestors
    toldjournalistswhytheyjoinedtheBlackLivesMattermarches.Aprimar
    yschoolteacherinLondonsaid:"Ihavecomedowninsupportofblackpeo
    plewhohavebeenill-treatedformany,many,many,many,years.Itist
    imeforchange."AnITspecialistsaid:"Weareallhumanbeings.Theresh
    ouldbefairnessforallofus."SheaddedthatBlackLivesMatterdoesn'tme
    ananyoneelse'slifedoesn't.A21-year-oldLondonerstressedtheneedf
    ordialogue.Hesaid:"Therearealotofuncomfortableconversationsthat
    peoplehavebeenavoiding...but,they'reconversationsthatneedtobeh
    adif...wewanttofinallycreateakindofsocietywhereblackbodiesaretre
    atedequally."

    Free writing

    Write about Black Lives Matter for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    What can countries do to create greater racial equality? Will governments do this?

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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. RACIAL EQUALITY: Make a poster about racial equality. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. BLACK LIVES MATTER: Write a magazine article about the Black Lives Matter protests. Include imaginary interviews with people who think they are the best way to bring change, and with people who don't.
    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 Black Lives Matter. Ask him/her three questions about Black Lives Matter. Give him/her three of your ideas. 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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