The Reading / Listening - Cutting the Grass - Level 1

A charity called Plantlife wants people not to cut their grass. It is a project called "No Mow May". When spring arrives, gardeners mow their lawn. This means there are fewer flowers and insects. Not cutting the grass leaves a habitat that will help "bees, butterflies, wildlife and us". Bees are important because they pollinate flowers. Plantlife also wants people to count the types of wild flowers in their garden.

Plantlife said wild lawns are "biodiversity hotspots". It said there can be 250 kinds of plants on lawns, including wild strawberry. Plantlife wants us to value wild lawns. One gardener said wild gardens bring joy. He said people care too much about neat gardens. He said not mowing the lawn lets us "reconnect with the natural world". Plantlife agreed. It said a wild garden "makes you feel like you're somewhere tropical".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Cutting the Grass - Level 0 Cutting the Grass - Level 2   or  Cutting the Grass - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61264905
  • https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/no-mow-may-county-council-joins-in-biodiversity-initiative-9252289/
  • https://nomowmay.plantlife.org.uk/what-is-no-mow-may/


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 :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. A charity called
  2. When spring
  3. there are fewer flowers
  4. a habitat that will
  5. butterflies, wildlife
  6. Bees are
  7. they pollinate
  8. count the types of wild flowers
  1. important
  2. help bees
  3. in their garden
  4. arrives
  5. flowers
  6. and us
  7. and insects
  8. Plantlife

Paragraph 2

  1. wild lawns are biodiversity
  2. there can be 250 kinds
  3. wild
  4. Plantlife wants us to
  5. One gardener said wild
  6. people care
  7. reconnect with the
  8. feel like you're somewhere
  1. gardens bring joy
  2. strawberry
  3. tropical
  4. of plants
  5. natural world
  6. hotspots
  7. too much
  8. value wild lawns

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A charity called Plantlife wants (1) ___________________ cut their grass. It is a project called "No Mow May". (2) ___________________, gardeners mow their lawn. This means there (3) ___________________ and insects. Not cutting the grass leaves (4) ___________________ will help "bees, butterflies, wildlife and us". Bees are important because (5) ___________________. Plantlife also wants people to count the (6) ___________________ flowers in their garden.

Plantlife said wild lawns (7) ___________________. It said there can be 250 kinds of plants (8) ___________________ wild strawberry. Plantlife wants us to (9) ___________________. One gardener said wild (10) ___________________. He said people care too much (11) ___________________. He said not mowing the lawn lets us "reconnect with the natural world". Plantlife agreed. It said a wild garden "makes you feel like (12) ___________________".

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

AcharitycalledPlantlifewantspeoplenottocuttheirgrass.Itisaprojectc
alled"NoMowMay".Whenspringarrives,gardenersmowtheirlawn.Thi
smeanstherearefewerflowersandinsects.Notcuttingthegrassleaves
ahabitatthatwillhelp"bees,butterflies,wildlifeandus".Beesareimport
antbecausetheypollinateflowers.Plantlifealsowantspeopletocountth
etypesofwildflowersintheirgarden.Plantlifesaidwildlawnsare"biodiv
ersityhotspots".Itsaidtherecanbe250kindsofplantsonlawns,includin
gwildstrawberry.Plantlifewantsustovaluewildlawns.Onegardenersai
dwildgardensbringjoy.Hesaidpeoplecaretoomuchaboutneatgardens
.Hesaidnotmowingthelawnletsus"reconnectwiththenaturalworld".Pl
antlifeagreed.Itsaidawildgarden"makesyoufeellikeyou'resomewher
etropical".

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 — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

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

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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