The Reading / Listening - Balloon World Cup - Level 6

A new sporting fixture was added to the calendar of world sports events this week - the Balloon World Cup. The "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning is probably a familiar one. We have all, at one time or another, partaken in the decades-old pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer legend and Barcelona star Gerard Pique loved this sport so much he decided to develop it into an international event. The inaugural Balloon World Cup was held in Tarragona, Spain, on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was crowned as the very first world champion. His athleticism and deftness saw him fend off a challenge from Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory.

Gerard Pique got his inspiration for establishing the annual tournament from videos that went viral on the social media site TikTok. He loved watching clips of the Arrendondo family from the USA playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdown. It developed from the family's living room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique then intervened and made the game global. The World Cup contests took place on an 8m x 8m court, which contained living room furniture as obstacles. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "It's been amazing. It's something totally different. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Balloon World Cup - Level 4  or  Balloon World Cup - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/sport/58922689
  • https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4497731/barcelonas-gerard-pique-organises-inaugural-balloon-world-cup
  • https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news-reactions-gerard-pique-lays-into-his-team-mates-after-barcas-abject-defeat-20211003


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. BALLOONS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Balloons. 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?
       fixture / calendar / sport / balloon / pastime / air / legend / international / event /
       inspiration / tournament / clips / living room / global / furniture / obstacles / hope
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. OLYMPICS: Students A strongly believe keepy-uppy ballooning should be an Olympics event; Students B strongly believe otherwise. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. ALTERNATIVE SPORTS: What do you know about these sports? How exciting are they? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What I Know

How Exciting

Keepy-uppy ballooning

 

 

Cheese rolling

 

 

Wife carrying

 

 

Underwater hockey

 

 

Zorbing

 

 

Pillow fighting

 

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

  • Balloon World Cup
  • FIFA World Cup
  • Tour de France
  • Formula One
  • Horse racing
  • Winter Olympics
  • Heavyweight boxing
  • Ski jumping

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. fixture a. Marking the beginning of an institution, activity, or period of office.
      2. calendar b. Defend oneself from a challenger.
      3. partaken c. A sporting event arranged to take place on a particular date.
      4. pastime d. A list of days or events of a specified kind.
      5. inaugural e. An activity that someone does regularly for enjoyment rather than work; a hobby.
      6. deftness f. Neatly skillful and quick in one's movements.
      7. fend off g. Joined in an activity.

    Paragraph 2

      8. inspiration h. A thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress.
      9. annual i. Took part in something so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events.
      10. viral j. A short sequence taken from a video, film or broadcast.
      11. clip k. The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
      12. intervened l. A situation where one feels safe or at ease.
      13. obstacle m. Occurring once every year.
      14. comfort zone n. Of an image, video, piece of information, etc. circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. A new sporting calendar has been made with balloons on it.     T / F
  2. The article says everyone has played keepy-uppy ballooning.     T / F
  3. The first Balloon World Cup was held in Peru.     T / F
  4. The final of the Balloon World Cup was between Peru and Germany.     T / F
  5. The idea for the Balloon World Cup came from TikTok.     T / F
  6. Before the Balloon World Cup, there was a Keep-Up Balloon League.     T / F
  7. The Balloon World Cup games took part in a 8m x 8m court.     T / F
  8. Keepy-uppy ballooning will become an Olympics event.     T / F

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

  1. fixture
  2. familiar
  3. pastime
  4. inaugural
  5. deftness
  6. inspiration
  7. clips
  8. intervened
  9. obstacles
  10. zone
  1. nimbleness
  2. first
  3. stepped in
  4. well-known
  5. area
  6. stumbling blocks
  7. motivation
  8. contest
  9. excerpts
  10. hobby

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

  1. A new sporting
  2. partaken in the decades-
  3. without letting
  4. His athleticism
  5. fend
  6. videos that went
  7. Pique then
  8. took place on an
  9. furniture as
  10. get out of your comfort
  1. obstacles
  2. off a challenge
  3. intervened
  4. old pastime
  5. zone
  6. and deftness
  7. 8m x 8m court
  8. viral
  9. fixture
  10. it touch the floor

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
familiar
crowned
legend
fixture
victory
deftness
pastime
develop

A new sporting (1) _____________________ was added to the calendar of world sports events this week - the Balloon World Cup. The "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning is probably a (2) _____________________ one. We have all, at one time or another, partaken in the decades-old (3) _____________________ of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer (4) _____________________ and Barcelona star Gerard Pique loved this sport so much he decided to (5) _____________________ it into an international event. The inaugural Balloon World Cup was held in Tarragona, Spain, on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was (6) _____________________ as the very first world champion. His athleticism and (7) _____________________ saw him fend off a challenge from Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 (8) _____________________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
lockdown
court
hopes
inspiration
intervened
zone
viral
obstacles

Gerard Pique got his (9) _____________________ for establishing the annual tournament from videos that went (10) _____________________ on the social media site TikTok. He loved watching clips of the Arrendondo family from the USA playing the game during the COVID-19 (11) _____________________. It developed from the family's living room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique then (12) _____________________ and made the game global. The World Cup contests took place on an 8m x 8m (13) _____________________, which contained living room furniture as (14) _____________________. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "It's been amazing. It's something totally different. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort (15) _____________________ and try new things." There are (16) _____________________ it could become an Olympics event.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  A new sporting fixture was added to the calendar of world sports ______
     a.  event this week
     b.  eventers this week
     c.  eventing this week
     d.  events this week
2)  The "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning is probably ______
     a.  a familiarity one
     b.  a familiar one
     c.  a familiars one
     d.  a familiarised one
3)  We have all, at one time or another, partaken in the decades-______
     a.  old pastime
     b.  older pastime
     c.  olds pastime
     d.  oldest pastime
4)  Spain, on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz ______
     a.  was clowned
     b.  was crowned
     c.  was crowed
     d.  was crowns
5)  His athleticism and deftness saw him ______ challenge
     a.  send off a
     b.  tend off a
     c.  vend off a
     d.  fend off a

6) Pique got his inspiration for establishing the annual tournament from videos ______
     a.  that went buy-all
     b.  that went vital
     c.  that went rival
     d.  that went viral
7)  Pique then intervened and made ______
     a.  the game globe all
     b.  the game glow ball
     c.  the game global
     d.  the game grow ball
8)  contests took place on an 8m ______
     a.  x 8m count
     b.  x 8m cart
     c.  x 8m caught
     d.  x 8m court
9)  Teams from 32 ______
     a.  countries participate it
     b.  countries part anticipated
     c.  countries participated
     d.  countries participation
10)  Sometimes you have to get out of ______
     a.  your comfort tone
     b.  your comfort lone
     c.  your comfort zone
     d.  your comfort hone

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A new sporting fixture was added to (1) ____________________ world sports events this week - the Balloon World Cup. The "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning is probably (2) ____________________. We have all, at one time or another, partaken in the decades-old pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it (3) ____________________. Spanish soccer legend and Barcelona star Gerard Pique loved this sport so much he (4) ____________________ it into an international event. The inaugural Balloon World Cup was held in Tarragona, Spain, on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz (5) ____________________ the very first world champion. His athleticism and deftness saw him (6) ____________________ challenge from Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory.

Gerard Pique got his (7) ____________________ the annual tournament from videos that (8) ____________________ the social media site TikTok. He loved (9) ____________________ the Arrendondo family from the USA playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdown. It developed from the family's living room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique (10) ____________________ made the game global. The World Cup contests took place on an 8m x 8m court, which contained living room (11) ____________________. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "It's been amazing. It's something totally different. Sometimes you have to get out of (12) ____________________ and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.

Comprehension questions

  1. What was the Balloon World Cup added to?
  2. How old does the article say keepy-uppy ballooning is?
  3. Who promoted the Balloon World Cup?
  4. Where was the Balloon World Cup held?
  5. What was the score in the final?
  6. What social media site had videos of a family ballooning?
  7. How large is a Balloon World Cup court?
  8. What did the obstacles in the Balloon World Cup consist of?
  9. What did someone say we have to get out of?
  10. What are there hopes the Balloon World Cup might become?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  What was the Balloon World Cup added to?
a) a list of alternative sports
b) the calendar of world sports events
c) a book of party games
d) the Guinness World Records
2) How old does the article say keepy-uppy ballooning is?
a) about 20 years old
b) 82 years old
c) centuries old
d) decades old
3) Who promoted the Balloon World Cup?
a) Gerard Pique
b) a balloon company
c) a toy company
d) a billionaire
4) Where was the Balloon World Cup held?
a) Canada
b) Japan
c) Spain
d) South Africa
5) What was the score in the final?
a) 5-2
b) 6-2
c) 6-3
d) 5-3

6) What social media site had videos of a family ballooning?
a) Instagram
b) YouTube
c) TikTok
d) Facebook
7) How large is a Balloon World Cup court?
a) 6m x 8m
b) 8m x 6m
c) 6m x 6m
d) 8m x 8m
8) What did the obstacles in the Balloon World Cup consist of?
a) living room furniture
b) cones
c) people
d) giant balloons
9) What did someone say we have to get out of?
a) the house
b) our comfort zone
c) this place
d) being in a rut
10) What are there hopes the Balloon World Cup might become?
a) huge
b) an Olympics event
c) played worldwide
d) a school sports event

Role play

Role  A – Balloon World Cup
You think the Balloon World Cup is the best sporting event. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their events. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): heavyweight boxing, the Tour de France or Formula One.

Role  B – Heavyweight Boxing
You think heavyweight boxing is the best sporting event. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their events. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Balloon World Cup, the Tour de France or Formula One.

Role  C – Tour de France
You think the Tour de France is the best sporting event. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their events. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): heavyweight boxing, Balloon World Cup or Formula One.

Role  D – Formula One
You think Formula One is the best sporting event. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their events. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): heavyweight boxing, the Tour de France or Balloon World Cup.

After reading / listening

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

'balloon'

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

    • and 'sport'.

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

    • • 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:

    • calendar
    • familiar
    • decades
    • legend
    • held
    • victory
    • annual
    • loved
    • room
    • 8
    • 32
    • hopes

    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 - Balloon World Cup

    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 'Peru'?
    3. What do you know about Peru?
    4. What do you know about balloons?
    5. What do you think of the Balloon World Cup?
    6. Have you played balloon keepy-uppy?
    7. Is balloon keepy-uppy a real sport?
    8. How exciting do you think the Balloon World Cup is?
    9. How athletic and deft must you be for keepy-uppy ballooning?
    10. Would you be good at keepy-uppy ballooning?

    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 'balloon'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think of TikTok?
    5. What did you do during the COVID-19 lockdowns?
    6. Do you think the Balloon World Cup will become more popular?
    7. What obstacles are needed for keepy-uppy ballooning?
    8. What variations of keepy-uppy ballooning could there be?
    9. Should keepy-uppy ballooning become an Olympics sport?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the tournament winner?

    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 new sporting (1) ____ was added to the calendar of world sports events this week - the Balloon World Cup. The "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning is probably a familiar one. We have all, at one time or another, (2) ____ in the decades-old pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it (3) ____ the floor. Spanish soccer legend and Barcelona star Gerard Pique loved this sport so much he decided to develop it into an international event. The (4) ____ Balloon World Cup was held in Tarragona, Spain, on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was (5) ____ as the very first world champion. His athleticism and deftness saw him fend (6) ____ a challenge from Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory.

    Gerard Pique got his inspiration (7) ____ establishing the annual tournament from videos that went viral on the social media site TikTok. He loved watching clips of the Arrendondo family from the USA playing the game (8) ____ the COVID-19 lockdown. It developed from the family's living room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique then (9) ____ and made the game global. The World Cup contests took place on an 8m x 8m court, which contained living room furniture as (10) ____. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "It's been amazing. It's something totally different. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort (11) ____ and try new things." There are (12) ____ it could become an Olympics event.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     fitting     (b)     fixture     (c)     fixing     (d)     fixative    
    2. (a)     mistaken     (b)     partaken     (c)     overtaken     (d)     retaken    
    3. (a)     attain     (b)     fiddle     (c)     caress     (d)     touch    
    4. (a)     ogre     (b)     inaugural     (c)     agricultural     (d)     gruel    
    5. (a)     boarded     (b)     topped     (c)     capped     (d)     crowned    
    6. (a)     over     (b)     in     (c)     off     (d)     unto    
    7. (a)     for     (b)     to     (c)     as     (d)     on    
    8. (a)     while     (b)     thorough     (c)     during     (d)     via    
    9. (a)     interned     (b)     intertwined     (c)     interviewed     (d)     intervened    
    10. (a)     obstacles     (b)     receptacles     (c)     spectacles     (d)     tentacles    
    11. (a)     zone     (b)     hone     (c)     tone     (d)     lone    
    12. (a)     hopes     (b)     wish     (c)     aspires     (d)     yearning

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. A new sporting xftirue
    2. partaken in the decades-old imsetap
    3. Spanish soccer gleden
    4. The iauulgran Balloon World Cup
    5. His athleticism and dtesfsne
    6. a 6-2 rictyvo

    Paragraph 2

    1. Pique got his nripintsioa
    2. establishing the annual tnnaemrtou
    3. went rivla on the social media site
    4. Pique then iedveerntn
    5. living room furniture as lstasbeco
    6. 32 countries eirpcdpttaia

    Put the text back together

    (  1  ) A new sporting fixture was added to the calendar of world sports events this week - the Balloon World Cup. The "sport"
    (...)  and deftness saw him fend off a challenge from Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory.
    (...)  zone and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.
    (...)  of keepy-uppy ballooning is probably a familiar one. We have all, at one time or another, partaken
    (...)  the floor. Spanish soccer legend and Barcelona star Gerard Pique loved this sport so much he decided to
    (...)  during the COVID-19 lockdown. It developed from the family's living room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique
    (...)  been amazing. It's something totally different. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort
    (...)  develop it into an international event. The inaugural Balloon World Cup was held
    (...)  then intervened and made the game global. The World Cup contests took place on an 8m x 8m court, which contained
    (...)  in Tarragona, Spain, on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was crowned as the very first world champion. His athleticism
    (...)  Gerard Pique got his inspiration for establishing the annual tournament from videos that went
    (...)  viral on the social media site TikTok. He loved watching clips of the Arrendondo family from the USA playing the game
    (...)  living room furniture as obstacles. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "It's
    (...)  in the decades-old pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it touch

    Put the words in the right order

    1. to   new   fixture   was   the   calendar   .   added   A
    2. The   sport   of   familiar   ballooning   a   is   one   .
    3. a   Keeping   in   balloon   the   air   .   up
    4. the   was   crowned   Cruz   as   very   champion   .   first
    5. a   His   him   saw   off   athleticism   fend   challenge   .
    6. viral   went   on   the   site   .   Videos   social   media
    7. the   made   and   Pique   game   intervened   global   .   then
    8. living   room   obstacles   .   The   as   furniture   court   contained
    9. out   comfort   zone   .   You   should   of   get   your
    10. Olympics   event   .   an   become   could   it   Hopes

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A new sporting fixture / fixing was added to the calendar of world sports events this week - the Balloon World Cup. The "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning is probable / probably a familiar one. We have all, at one time or another, partaken / mistaken in the decades-old pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without abetting / letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer legendary / legend and Barcelona star Gerard Pique loved this sport so much he decided to develop it into / onto an international event. The inaugural Balloon World Cup was held / grasped Tarragona, Spain, on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was crowned / capped as the very first world champion. His athleticism and deftly / deftness saw him fend off a challenge from Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory / victor.

    Gerard Pique got his inspire / inspiration for establishing the annual tournament from videos that went / took viral on the social media site TikTok. He loved watching clips at / of the Arrendondo family from the USA playing the game during / while the COVID-19 lockdown. It developed from the family's living / live room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique then intervened and gave / made the game global. The World Cup contests took place on an 8m x 8m spurt / court, which contained living room furniture as tentacles / obstacles. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "It's been amazing. It's something totally different. Sometimes you have to get out / about of your comfort zone / hone and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.

    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)

    _  n_w  sp_rt_ng  f_xt_r_  w_s  _dd_d  t_  th_  c_l_nd_r  _f  w_rld  sp_rts  _v_nts  th_s  w__k  -  th_  B_ll__n  W_rld  C_p.  Th_  "sp_rt"  _f  k__py-_ppy  b_ll__n_ng  _s  pr_b_bly  _  f_m_l__r  _n_.  W_  h_v_  _ll,  _t  _n_  t_m_  _r  _n_th_r,  p_rt_k_n  _n  th_  d_c_d_s-_ld  p_st_m_  _f  k__p_ng  _  b_ll__n  _p  _n  th_  __r  w_th__t  l_tt_ng  _t  t__ch  th_  fl__r.  Sp_n_sh  s_cc_r  l_g_nd  _nd  B_rc_l_n_  st_r  G_r_rd  P_q__  l_v_d  th_s  sp_rt  s_  m_ch  h_  d_c_d_d  t_  d_v_l_p  _t  _nt_  _n  _nt_rn_t__n_l  _v_nt.  Th_  _n__g_r_l  B_ll__n  W_rld  C_p  w_s  h_ld  _n  T_rr_g_n_,  Sp__n,  _n  Th_rsd_y.  P_r_'s  Fr_nc_sc_  d_  l_  Cr_z  w_s  cr_wn_d  _s  th_  v_ry  f_rst  w_rld  ch_mp__n.  H_s  _thl_t_c_sm  _nd  d_ftn_ss  s_w  h_m  f_nd  _ff  _  ch_ll_ng_  fr_m  G_rm_ny's  J_n  Sp__ss  _n  th_  f_n_l  w_th  _  6-2  v_ct_ry.

    G_r_rd  P_q__  g_t  h_s  _nsp_r_t__n  f_r  _st_bl_sh_ng  th_  _nn__l  t__rn_m_nt  fr_m  v_d__s  th_t  w_nt  v_r_l  _n  th_  s_c__l  m_d__  s_t_  T_kT_k.  H_  l_v_d  w_tch_ng  cl_ps  _f  th_  _rr_nd_nd_  f_m_ly  fr_m  th_  _S_  pl_y_ng  th_  g_m_  d_r_ng  th_  C_V_D-19  l_ckd_wn.  _t  d_v_l_p_d  fr_m  th_  f_m_ly's  l_v_ng  r__m  _nt_  _  "K__p-_p  B_ll__n  L__g__".  P_q__  th_n  _nt_rv_n_d  _nd  m_d_  th_  g_m_  gl_b_l.  Th_  W_rld  C_p  c_nt_sts  t__k  pl_c_  _n  _n  8m  x  8m  c__rt,  wh_ch  c_nt__n_d  l_v_ng  r__m  f_rn_t_r_  _s  _bst_cl_s.  T__ms  fr_m  32  c__ntr__s  p_rt_c_p_t_d.  P_q__  s__d:  "_t's  b__n  _m_z_ng.  _t's  s_m_th_ng  t_t_lly  d_ff_r_nt.  S_m_t_m_s  y__  h_v_  t_  g_t  __t  _f  y__r  c_mf_rt  z_n_  _nd  try  n_w  th_ngs."  Th_r_  _r_  h_p_s  _t  c__ld  b_c_m_  _n  _lymp_cs  _v_nt.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a new sporting fixture was added to the calendar of world sports events this week  the balloon world cup the sport of keepyuppy ballooning is probably a familiar one we have all at one time or another partaken in the decadesold pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it touch the floor spanish soccer legend and barcelona star gerard pique loved this sport so much he decided to develop it into an international event the inaugural balloon world cup was held in tarragona spain on thursday perus francesco de la cruz was crowned as the very first world champion his athleticism and deftness saw him fend off a challenge from germanys jan spiess in the final with a 62 victory

    gerard pique got his inspiration for establishing the annual tournament from videos that went viral on the social media site tiktok he loved watching clips of the arrendondo family from the usa playing the game during the covid19 lockdown it developed from the familys living room into a keepup balloon league pique then intervened and made the game global the world cup contests took place on an 8m x 8m court which contained living room furniture as obstacles teams from 32 countries participated pique said its been amazing its something totally different sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things there are hopes it could become an olympics event.

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Anewsportingfixturewasaddedtothecalendarofworldsportseventsth
    isweek-theBalloonWorldCup.The"sport"ofkeepy-uppyballooningis
    probablyafamiliarone.Wehaveall,atonetimeoranother,partakeninth
    edecades-oldpastimeofkeepingaballoonupintheairwithoutlettingi
    ttouchthefloor.SpanishsoccerlegendandBarcelonastarGerardPiquel
    ovedthissportsomuchhedecidedtodevelopitintoaninternationaleven
    t.TheinauguralBalloonWorldCupwasheldinTarragona,Spain,onThur
    sday.Peru'sFrancescodelaCruzwascrownedastheveryfirstworldcha
    mpion.HisathleticismanddeftnesssawhimfendoffachallengefromGer
    many'sJanSpiessinthefinalwitha6-2victory.GerardPiquegothisinspi
    rationforestablishingtheannualtournamentfromvideosthatwentviral
    onthesocialmediasiteTikTok.HelovedwatchingclipsoftheArrendondo
    familyfromtheUSAplayingthegameduringtheCOVID-19lockdown.It
    developedfromthefamily'slivingroomintoa"Keep-UpBalloonLeagu
    e".Piquethenintervenedandmadethegameglobal.TheWorldCupcont
    eststookplaceonan8mx8mcourt,whichcontainedlivingroomfurnitur
    easobstacles.Teamsfrom32countriesparticipated.Piquesaid:"It'sbe
    enamazing.It'ssomethingtotallydifferent.Sometimesyouhavetoget
    outofyourcomfortzoneandtrynewthings."Therearehopesitcouldbec

    Free writing

    Write about Balloon World Cup for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    The sport of keepy-uppy ballooning should be in the Olympics. 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. BALLOONS: Make a poster about balloons. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. OLYMPICS: Write a magazine article about making the sport of keepy-uppy ballooning an Olympic sport. 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 balloons. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on the Balloon World Cup. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

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

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