The Reading / Listening - The Colour Blue - Level 3

Everyone has a favourite colour. We tend to stick with just one colour throughout our lives. A new study has found that the most common favourite colour is blue. The BBC in the U.K. looked at how and why people like one colour more than another. There were two main findings in the research. One was that a majority of people around the world like the colour blue most. The other finding was that people change the colours they like as they get older. The researchers said our experiences in life change the way we feel about colour. In particular, people often like darker colours as they get older. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world's least liked colour.

The BBC looked into studies from two universities in the USA. They said blue has been a favourite since research began on colour in the 1800s. The researchers said most people's experiences of blue are positive. Many colours in nature that we love are blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue sky is enough to make many people very happy. The researchers say one of the only negative associations with blue was in the English language. In English, people say they "have the blues" or are "feeling blue," meaning they are sad. One factor in choosing a favourite colour was a sports team. Many people like the colour the team they support plays in.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    The Colour Blue - Level 0 The Colour Blue - Level 1   or  The Colour Blue - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220601-what-your-favourite-colour-says-about-you
  • https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a40207932/why-blue-is-probably-your-favorite-color/
  • https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/blue-is-probably-your-favorite-color-heres-why-according-to-science/ar-AAY9c7t


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. THE COLOUR BLUE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about the colour blue. 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?
       everyone / favourite / colour / BBC / research / majority / blue / experiences / brown
       universities / the 1800s / nature / sky / flowers / negative / happy / English / sports
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. BLUE: Students A strongly believe blue is the best colour; Students B strongly believe red is. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. THE COLOUR(S) OF: What are the colours of the things in the table? Why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What colour(s)

Why

Nature

 

 

Technology

 

 

Love

 

 

Old age

 

 

Music

 

 

Food

 

 

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

  • Blue
  • Yellow
  • Pink
  • Green
  • Red
  • White
  • Orange
  • Brown

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. tend to a. Keep doing' liking or using something you have done for a long time.
      2. stick b. Happening, found, or done often or everywhere.
      3. throughout c. Regularly or frequently behave in a particular way.
      4. common d. The bigger number of.
      5. main e. Most important.
      6. majority f. Smallest in amount.
      7. least g. From the beginning to end of an event or period of time.

    Paragraph 2

      8. positive h. Be actively interested in and concerned for the success of a sports team.
      9. nature i. Connections or links.
      10. especially j. A feeling of sadness.
      11. association k. Having all good things.
      12. blue l. All the things in the physical world, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth.
      13. factor m. Something that helps to bring a result.
      14. support n. Used to focus on or think about one person or thing over all others.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. People usually have the same favourite colour for all their life.     T / F
  2. The U.K. is the only country where blue isn't the favourite colour.     T / F
  3. People change their favourite colour the older they become.     T / F
  4. The world's least favourite colour is dark yellowish-brown.     T / F
  5. Blue has been a favourite colour since at least the 1800s.     T / F
  6. The article says many people have a negative experience of blue.     T / F
  7. The English language is unusual as it has negative links to blue.     T / F
  8. The article says most men chose the colours of their sports team.     T / F

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

  1. throughout
  2. main
  3. majority
  4. change
  5. showed
  6. studies
  7. enough
  8. associations
  9. blue
  10. support
  1. sufficient
  2. revealed
  3. sad
  4. larger part
  5. follow
  6. for the whole of
  7. links
  8. alter
  9. reports
  10. most important

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

  1. We tend to stick
  2. There were two main
  3. a majority
  4. our experiences in life change the way
  5. dark yellowish-
  6. since research began on colour
  7. Many colours
  8. enough to make
  9. one of the only negative
  10. the colour the team they support
  1. associations with blue
  2. we feel
  3. brown
  4. in nature
  5. plays in
  6. findings in the research
  7. in the 1800
  8. of people
  9. many people very happy
  10. with just one colour

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
common
older
tend
dark
majority
least
main
way

Everyone has a favourite colour. We (1) _____________________ to stick with just one colour throughout our lives. A new study has found that the most (2) _____________________ favourite colour is blue. The BBC in the U.K. looked at how and why people like one colour more than another. There were two (3) _____________________ findings in the research. One was that a (4) _____________________ of people around the world like the colour blue most. The other finding was that people change the colours they like as they get (5) _____________________. The researchers said our experiences in life change the (6) _____________________ we feel about colour. In particular, people often like darker colours as they get older. The studies showed that (7) _____________________ yellowish-brown was the world's (8) _____________________ liked colour.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
especially
blues
since
negative
support
positive
factor
enough

The BBC looked into studies from two universities in the USA. They said blue has been a favourite (9) _____________________ research began on colour in the 1800s. The researchers said most people's experiences of blue are (10) _____________________. Many colours in nature that we love are blue, (11) _____________________ a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue sky is (12) _____________________ to make many people very happy. The researchers say one of the only (13) _____________________ associations with blue was in the English language. In English, people say they "have the (14) _____________________ " or are "feeling blue," meaning they are sad. One (15) _____________________ in choosing a favourite colour was a sports team. Many people like the colour the team they (16) _____________________ plays in.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Everyone has a favourite colour. We tend to stick ______
     a.  with just one
     b.  with jars twin
     c.  with juice tin
     d.  with jesting
2)  The BBC in the U.K. looked at how and why people like one colour ______
     a.  more than on other
     b.  more than another
     c.  more than and other
     d.  more than an others
3)  One was that a majority of people around the world like the ______
     a.  colour blue moss
     b.  colour blue moats
     c.  colour blue most
     d.  colour blue must
4)  we feel about colour. In particular, people often ______
     a.  like darken colours
     b.  like darker colours
     c.  like dark car colours
     d.  like dark e-colours
5)  dark yellowish-brown was the world's ______
     a.  lost liked colour
     b.  last liked colour
     c.  lest liked colour
     d.  least liked colour

6)  They said blue has been a favourite since research began on colour ______
     a.  in them 1800s
     b.  in the 1800s
     c.  in then 1800s
     d.  inner 1800s
7)  colours in nature that we love are blue, ______ sky
     a.  especially the blue
     b.  especial light blue
     c.  especially a blue
     d.  as special a blue
8)  A blue sky is enough to make many ______
     a.  people very happily
     b.  people very hippy
     c.  people very happy
     d.  people very hoppy
9)  they "have the blues" or are "feeling blue," meaning ______
     a.  they are sadly
     b.  they are sad
     c.  they are sadden
     d.  they a sad
10)  Many people like the colour the team they ______
     a.  support plays on
     b.  support plays when
     c.  support plays in
     d.  support plays sin

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Everyone has a favourite colour. We (1) ____________________ with just one colour throughout our lives. A new study has found that (2) ____________________ favourite colour is blue. The BBC in the U.K. looked at how and why people like one colour more than another. There were two (3) ____________________ the research. One was that a majority of people around the world like the colour blue most. The other finding was that people change the colours they like as (4) ____________________. The researchers said our experiences in life change the way we feel about colour. In particular, people (5) ____________________ colours as they get older. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the (6) ____________________ colour.

The BBC (7) ____________________ from two universities in the USA. They said blue has been a favourite since research began on colour in the 1800s. The researchers said most people's experiences of (8) ____________________. Many colours in nature that we love are blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue (9) ____________________ to make many people very happy. The researchers say one of the only negative associations with blue was in the English language. In English, people say they "(10) ____________________" or are "feeling blue," meaning they are sad. One (11) ____________________ a favourite colour was a sports team. Many people like the colour the team they (12) ____________________.

Comprehension questions

  1. What do we tend to stick with throughout our lives?
  2. How many main findings in the research did the BBC find?
  3. Where did the majority of people like the colour blue most?
  4. What kinds of colours do people like as they get older?
  5. What was the least-liked colour in the world?
  6. When did research into colour begin?
  7. What three blue things in nature does the article say people like?
  8. What language had a negative association with the colour blue?
  9. What does "feel blue" mean?
  10. What is one factor behind why people choose a favourite colour?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What do we tend to stick with throughout our lives?
a) painting
b) pain
c) colour blindness
d) our favourite colour
2) How many main findings in the research did the BBC find?
a) three
b) two
c) one
d) four
3) Where did the majority of people like the colour blue most?
a) in the USA
b) the Pacific Ocean
c) around the world
d) in South America
4) What kinds of colours do people like as they get older?
a) darker colours
b) primary colours
c) pastel colours
d) vibrant colours

5) What was the least-liked colour in the world?
a) bluish grey
b) pink
c) dark yellowish-brown
d) greeny-yellow

6) When did research into colour begin?
a) the 1860s
b) the 1800s
c) the 1890s
d) the 1870s
7) What three blue things in nature does the article say people like?
a) the sea, rivers and blueberries
b) the sky, rocks and jewels
c) blueberries, blue cheese and tomatoes
d) the sky, sea and flowers
8) What language had a negative association with the colour blue?
a) English
b) Spanish
c) Xhosa
d) Thai
9) What does "feel blue" mean?
a) feel great
b) feel mad
c) feel sad
d) feel bad
10) What is one factor behind why people choose a favourite colour?
a) school
b) sports teams
c) music
d) furniture

Role play

Role  A – Blue
You think blue is the best colour. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their colours. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): pink, white or brown.

Role  B – Pink
You think pink is the best colour. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their colours. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): blue, white or brown.

Role  C – White
You think white is the best colour. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their colours. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): pink, blue or brown.

Role  D – Brown
You think brown is the best colour. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their colours. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): pink, white or blue.

After reading / listening

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

'colour'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'blue'.

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

    • tend
    • another
    • majority
    • older
    • particular
    • dark
    • since
    • positive
    • especially
    • only
    • feeling
    • team

    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 - The Colour Blue

    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 'colour'?
    3. What do you think of the colour blue?
    4. What are your favourite colours, and why?
    5. What colour would you choose as your national colour?
    6. Has your favourite colour changed over the years?
    7. Do you prefer darker or lighter colours?
    8. What colour clothes do you like?
    9. How does colour affect your mood?
    10. What do you think of dark yellowish-brown?

    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 'blue'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What colours do you not like?
    5. How does a blue sky make you feel?
    6. How do colourful flowers make you feel?
    7. Why is the colour blue associated with sadness in English?
    8. How often do you 'have the blues'?
    9. What blue things do you like and dislike?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

    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)

    Everyone has a favourite colour. We (1) ____ to stick with just one colour throughout our lives. A new study has found that the most (2) ____ favourite colour is blue. The BBC in the U.K. looked at how and why people like one colour (3) ____ than another. There were two main findings in the research. One was that a majority (4) ____ people around the world like the colour blue most. The other finding was that people change the colours they like as they get older. The researchers said our experiences in life change (5) ____ way we feel about colour. In particular, people often like darker colours as they get older. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world's (6) ____ liked colour.

    The BBC looked (7) ____ studies from two universities in the USA. They said blue has been a favourite since research began (8) ____ colour in the 1800s. The researchers said most people's experiences of blue are positive. Many colours in nature that we love (9) ____ blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue sky is enough to make many people very happy. The researchers say one of the only negative associations (10) ____ blue was in the English language. In English, people say they "have the (11) ____ " or are "feeling blue," meaning they are sad. One factor in choosing a favourite colour was a sports team. Many people like the colour the team they support plays (12) ____.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    (a)     lend     (b)     mend     (c)     fend     (d)     tend    
    (a)     commoner     (b)     commons     (c)     commonly     (d)     common    
    (a)     much     (b)     more     (c)     many     (d)     most    
    (a)     on     (b)     at     (c)     of     (d)     to    
    (a)     the     (b)     how     (c)     so     (d)     on    
    (a)     least     (b)     last     (c)     lost     (d)     lest    
    (a)     as to     (b)     onto     (c)     unto     (d)     into    
    (a)     on     (b)     at     (c)     in     (d)     of    
    (a)     be     (b)     are     (c)     was     (d)     being    
    (a)     to     (b)     at     (c)     with     (d)     by    
    (a)     blue     (b)     bluish     (c)     blues     (d)     bluey    
    (a)     on     (b)     in     (c)     over     (d)     under

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. We tend to stick with just one uolorc
    2. There were two main nidginsf
    3. a motarjiy of people
    4. our cernsexieep in life change
    5. In pcrlauiart, people often like darker colours
    6. dark ywloleihs-brown

    Paragraph 2

    1. since hresrcae began
    2. yieallpsec a blue sky
    3. A blue sky is uenhog
    4. vnageeit associations
    5. "have the blues" or are "elgfnei blue"
    6. the team they usrppto

    Put the text back together

    (...)  of people around the world like the colour blue most. The other finding was that people change
    (...)  began on colour in the 1800s. The researchers said most people's experiences of blue are
    (...)  older. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world's least liked colour.
    (...)  life change the way we feel about colour. In particular, people often like darker colours as they get
    (...)  blues" or are "feeling blue," meaning they are sad. One factor in choosing a favourite colour was
    (...)  a sports team. Many people like the colour the team they support plays in.
    (...)  found that the most common favourite colour is blue. The BBC in the U.K. looked at how and
    (...)  sky is enough to make many people very happy. The researchers say one of the only negative
    (...)  why people like one colour more than another. There were two main findings in the research. One was that a majority
    1  ) Everyone has a favourite colour. We tend to stick with just one colour throughout our lives. A new study has
    (...)  the colours they like as they get older. The researchers said our experiences in
    (...)  positive. Many colours in nature that we love are blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue
    (...)  The BBC looked into studies from two universities in the USA. They said blue has been a favourite since research
    (...)  associations with blue was in the English language. In English, people say they "have the

    Put the words in the right order

    1. tend   to   just   We   colour   .   with   stick   one
    2. more   than   one   people   colour   Why   like   another   .
    3. other   that   finding   was   people   The   change   .
    4. feel   the   about   we   Experiences   colour   .   change   way
    5. get   older   .   People   as   colours   they   darker   like
    6. BBC   two   universities   .   into   looked   from   The   studies
    7. colour   Since   in   1800s   .   began   research   the   on
    8. colours   love   nature   we   are   in   blue   .   Many
    9. happy   .   enough   skies   Blue   make   people   to   are
    10. colour   .   factor   a   choosing   in   favourite   One

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Everyone has a favourite colour. We tend / mend to stick with just one colour throughout our lives. A new study has found that the most commonly / common favourite colour is blue. The BBC in the U.K. looked at what / how and why people like one colour more than other / another. There were two main findings in the research. One was that a majority of / to people around the world like the colour blue must / most. The other finding was that people change the colours they like as they get oldest / older. The researchers said our experiences in life change / chance the way we feel about colour. In particular, people often like darker colours as / was they get older. The studies showed that dark yellowish-brown was the world's least / lost liked colour.

    The BBC looked onto / into studies from two universities in the USA. They said blue has been a favourite since / from research began on colour on / in the 1800s. The researchers said most people's experiences of blue be / are positive. Many colours in nature that we love / lovely are blue, especially a blue sky, the sea and many flowers. A blue sky is plenty / enough to make many people very happy. The researchers say one of the only negative associations with blue was on / in the English language. In English, people say they "have the blues / blue" or are "feeling blue," meaning they are sad / sadly. One factor in choosing a favourite colour was a sports team. Many people like the colour the team they support plays in / on.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _v_ry_n_  h_s  _  f_v__r_t_  c_l__r.  W_  t_nd  t_  st_ck  w_th  j_st  _n_  c_l__r  thr__gh__t  __r  l_v_s.  _  n_w  st_dy  h_s  f__nd  th_t  th_  m_st  c_mm_n  f_v__r_t_  c_l__r  _s  bl__.  Th_  BBC  _n  th_  _.K.  l__k_d  _t  h_w  _nd  why  p__pl_  l_k_  _n_  c_l__r  m_r_  th_n  _n_th_r.  Th_r_  w_r_  tw_  m__n  f_nd_ngs  _n  th_  r_s__rch.  _n_  w_s  th_t  _  m_j_r_ty  _f  p__pl_  _r__nd  th_  w_rld  l_k_  th_  c_l__r  bl__  m_st.  Th_  _th_r  f_nd_ng  w_s  th_t  p__pl_  ch_ng_  th_  c_l__rs  th_y  l_k_  _s  th_y  g_t  _ld_r.  Th_  r_s__rch_rs  s__d  __r  _xp_r__nc_s  _n  l_f_  ch_ng_  th_  w_y  w_  f__l  _b__t  c_l__r.  _n  p_rt_c_l_r,  p__pl_  _ft_n  l_k_  d_rk_r  c_l__rs  _s  th_y  g_t  _ld_r.  Th_  st_d__s  sh_w_d  th_t  d_rk  y_ll_w_sh-br_wn  w_s  th_  w_rld's  l__st  l_k_d  c_l__r.

    Th_  BBC  l__k_d  _nt_  st_d__s  fr_m  tw_  _n_v_rs_t__s  _n  th_  _S_.  Th_y  s__d  bl__  h_s  b__n  _  f_v__r_t_  s_nc_  r_s__rch  b_g_n  _n  c_l__r  _n  th_  1800s.  Th_  r_s__rch_rs  s__d  m_st  p__pl_'s  _xp_r__nc_s  _f  bl__  _r_  p_s_t_v_.  M_ny  c_l__rs  _n  n_t_r_  th_t  w_  l_v_  _r_  bl__,  _sp_c__lly  _  bl__  sky,  th_  s__  _nd  m_ny  fl_w_rs.  _  bl__  sky  _s  _n__gh  t_  m_k_  m_ny  p__pl_  v_ry  h_ppy.  Th_  r_s__rch_rs  s_y  _n_  _f  th_  _nly  n_g_t_v_  _ss_c__t__ns  w_th  bl__  w_s  _n  th_  _ngl_sh  l_ng__g_.  _n  _ngl_sh,  p__pl_  s_y  th_y  "h_v_  th_  bl__s"  _r  _r_  "f__l_ng  bl__,"  m__n_ng  th_y  _r_  s_d.  _n_  f_ct_r  _n  ch__s_ng  _  f_v__r_t_  c_l__r  w_s  _  sp_rts  t__m.  M_ny  p__pl_  l_k_  th_  c_l__r  th_  t__m  th_y  s_pp_rt  pl_ys  _n.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    everyone has a favourite colour we tend to stick with just one colour throughout our lives a new study has found that the most common favourite colour is blue the bbc in the uk looked at how and why people like one colour more than another there were two main findings in the research one was that a majority of people around the world like the colour blue most the other finding was that people change the colours they like as they get older the researchers said our experiences in life change the way we feel about colour in particular people often like darker colours as they get older the studies showed that dark yellowishbrown was the worlds least liked colour

    the bbc looked into studies from two universities in the usa they said blue has been a favourite since research began on colour in the 1800s the researchers said most peoples experiences of blue are positive many colours in nature that we love are blue especially a blue sky the sea and many flowers a blue sky is enough to make many people very happy the researchers say one of the only negative associations with blue was in the english language in english people say they have the blues or are feeling blue meaning they are sad one factor in choosing a favourite colour was a sports team many people like the colour the team they support plays in

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Everyonehasafavouritecolour.Wetendtostickwithjustonecolourthro
    ughoutourlives.Anewstudyhasfoundthatthemostcommonfavouritec
    olourisblue.TheBBCintheU.K.lookedathowandwhypeoplelikeonecol
    ourmorethananother.Thereweretwomainfindingsintheresearch.On
    ewasthatamajorityofpeoplearoundtheworldlikethecolourbluemost.
    Theotherfindingwasthatpeoplechangethecolourstheylikeastheyget
    older.Theresearcherssaidourexperiencesinlifechangethewaywefeel
    aboutcolour.Inparticular,peopleoftenlikedarkercoloursastheygetold
    er.Thestudiesshowedthatdarkyellowish-brownwastheworld'sleast
    likedcolour.TheBBClookedintostudiesfromtwouniversitiesintheUSA.
    Theysaidbluehasbeenafavouritesinceresearchbeganoncolourinthe1
    800s.Theresearcherssaidmostpeople'sexperiencesofbluearepositiv
    e.Manycoloursinnaturethatweloveareblue,especiallyabluesky,thes
    eaandmanyflowers.Ablueskyisenoughtomakemanypeopleveryhapp
    y.Theresearcherssayoneoftheonlynegativeassociationswithbluewa
    sintheEnglishlanguage.InEnglish,peoplesaythey"havetheblues"ora
    re"feelingblue,"meaningtheyaresad.Onefactorinchoosingafavourite
    colourwasasportsteam.Manypeoplelikethecolourtheteamtheysupp
    ortplaysin.

    Free writing

    Write about the colour blue for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Blue is the best colour. 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. THE COLOUR BLUE: Make a poster about the colour blue. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. NATIONAL COLOUR: Write a magazine article about all countries having an official national colour. 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 the colour blue. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on the colour blue. 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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