Breaking News English Lesson: Laxatives

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TikTok trend causes laxative shortage in USA (14th September 2023)

The Reading / Listening - Laxatives - Level 3

A trend on TikTok has caused a shortage of laxative drugs in the USA. A laxative is a medicine for people who have constipation. This is the problem of people having difficulty going to the toilet because of hardened "poo". The medicine loosens the poo to make it easier to go to the toilet. TikTok influencers are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help them lose weight. The videos have been viewed over one billion times on social media. Hundreds of thousands of youngsters are emptying drugstore shelves of laxatives. This means people who really need the medicine cannot get it. Doctors prescribe the drug for conditions like constipation, Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Doctors and people with stomach problems are worried about the new social media trend. Doctors say the online posts contain incorrect information, as laxatives do not lead to weight loss. People should only use them after talking to a doctor. This is because the drugs do not work for weight loss. They only lead to "water weight" being lost. Laxatives can also have side effects. These can include headaches, thirst, fatigue, dry skin, and dizziness. Any weight lost from taking laxatives is quickly put back on after having a drink. Doctors say it is healthier and more effective to lose weight through lifestyle changes. Eating more fruit and vegetables, and exercising are better than using laxatives.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Laxatives - Level 0, Laxatives - Level 1 or Laxatives - Level 2

Sources

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12504975/Wave-American-teens-using-laxatives-budget-Ozempic-TikTok-trend-causing-shortage-stool-loosening-drugs.html
https://news.yahoo.com/us-apparently-backed-running-short-195000989.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/09/09/budget-ozempic-tiktok-trend-how-its-contributing-to-the-laxative-shortage/

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. WEIGHT LOSS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about weight loss. 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?
trend / TikTok / laxative / medicine / constipation / toilet / teenagers / weight loss /
stomach problems / social media / doctors / side effects / headaches / thirst / exercise
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. INFLUENCER: Students A strongly believe being an influencer is a great job; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. LOSING WEIGHT: How good are these ways of losing weight? Would they work for you? Complete this table and share what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners often.

	How Good?	Effective for You?
Medicines
Dieting
Exercise
Fasting
Surgery
Saunas

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

TikTok
Instagram
X (formerly Twitter)
YouTube
LinkedIn
Facebook
Pinterest
Threads

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	trend	a.	(Of a doctor) writing a note for the medicine you need.
2.	medicine	b.	A topic that is the subject of many posts on social media within a short period of time.
3.	constipation	c.	A person who can change the minds of people on social media (and get them to buy things).
4.	loosens	d.	A drug to treat or stop disease or illnesses.
5.	influencer	e.	Becomes more relaxed or less tight.
6.	youngster	f.	A situation where it is really difficult to go to the toilet because of very hard poo.
7.	prescribe	g.	A child or teenager.

Paragraph 2

8.	contain	h.	Be made up of a number of things.
9.	weight	i.	Successful in getting the result you want.
10.	side effect	j.	How light or heavy someone or something is.
11.	thirst	k.	A feeling of seeing everything spinning around and losing one's balance.
12.	fatigue	l.	A bad thing that can happen to your body after taking a drug / medicine.
13.	dizziness	m.	A feeling of needing or wanting to drink something.
14.	effective	n.	Great tiredness because of mental or physical effort or illness.

Before reading / listening

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

You can buy laxatives on TikTok. T / F
The article says constipation is when your poo is too soft. T / F
Laxative videos have been viewed over a billion times on TikTok. T / F
The article says doctors describe laxatives for constipation. T / F
Doctors say laxatives are one of the best things to lose weight. T / F
Laxatives only lead to the body losing water. T / F
One side effect of taking laxatives is dry skin. T / F
Doctors think eating fruit is better for losing weight. T / F

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

trend
medicine
believe
viewed
conditions
worried
incorrect
fatigue
effective
exercising

illnesses
think
working out
wrong
fashion
looked at
successful
drug
concerned
tiredness

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

A laxative is a medicine for people
The medicine loosens
TikTok influencers are making
emptying drugstore
Doctors prescribe the drug for
people with stomach
laxatives do not lead to
Laxatives can also have side
thirst, fatigue, dry skin,
lifestyle

and dizziness
conditions like constipation
shelves of laxatives
weight loss
the poo
effects
changes
who have constipation
teenagers believe that
problems

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

hardened
viewed
constipation
prescribe
caused
emptying
problem
influencers

A trend on TikTok has (1) _____________________ a shortage of laxative drugs in the USA. A laxative is a medicine for people who have (2) _____________________. This is the (3) _____________________ of people having difficulty going to the toilet because of (4) _____________________ "poo". The medicine loosens the poo to make it easier to go to the toilet. TikTok (5) _____________________ are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help them lose weight. The videos have been (6) _____________________ over one billion times on social media. Hundreds of thousands of youngsters are (7) _____________________ drugstore shelves of laxatives. This means people who really need the medicine cannot get it. Doctors (8) _____________________ the drug for conditions like constipation, Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

skin
incorrect
effective
worried
exercising
side
quickly
loss

Doctors and people with stomach problems are (9) _____________________ about the new social media trend. Doctors say the online posts contain (10) _____________________ information, as laxatives do not lead to weight loss. People should only use them after talking to a doctor. This is because the drugs do not work for weight (11) _____________________. They only lead to "water weight" being lost. Laxatives can also have (12) _____________________ effects. These can include headaches, thirst, fatigue, dry (13) _____________________, and dizziness. Any weight lost from taking laxatives is (14) _____________________ put back on after having a drink. Doctors say it is healthier and more (15) _____________________ to lose weight through lifestyle changes. Eating more fruit and vegetables, and (16) _____________________ are better than using laxatives.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) the problem of people having difficulty going to the toilet because ______
     a. of harden "poo"
     b. of hardy "poo"
     c. of hardened "poo"
     d. of hard dinned "poo"
2) TikTok influencers are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help ______
     a. them loose weight
     b. them lose weigh
     c. them lose weight
     d. them loose weigh
3) Hundreds of thousands of youngsters are emptying drugstore ______
     a. shelves of laxatives
     b. elves of laxatives
     c. shelf of laxatives
     d. sheaves of laxatives
4) This means people who really need the medicine ______
     a. cannot do it
     b. cannot make it
     c. cannot gel it
     d. cannot get it
5) conditions like constipation, Crohn's disease and ______
     a. irritable bowl syndrome
     b. irritable bow syndrome
     c. irritable bowel syndrome
     d. irritable ball syndrome

6) people with stomach problems are worried about the new ______
     a. social media tread
     b. social media trend
     c. social media treads
     d. social media trendy
7) the online posts contain incorrect information, as laxatives do not lead ______
     a. to weighty loss
     b. to weigh loss
     c. to wait loss
     d. to weight loss
8) They only lead to "water weight" being lost. Laxatives can also ______
     a. have side infects
     b. have side effects
     c. have side reflects
     d. have side defects
9) Any weight lost from taking laxatives is quickly put back on after ______
     a. having a dink
     b. having a drink
     c. having a brink
     d. having a shrink
10) Doctors say it is healthier and more effective to lose weight ______
     a. though lifestyle changes
     b. thorough lifestyle changes
   c. threw lifestyle changes
     d. through lifestyle changes

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A trend on TikTok (1) ____________________ shortage of laxative drugs in the USA. A laxative is (2) ____________________ people who have constipation. This is the problem of people having difficulty going to the toilet because of hardened "poo". The medicine (3) ____________________ to make it easier to go to the toilet. TikTok influencers are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help (4) ____________________. The videos have been viewed over one billion times on social media. Hundreds of thousands (5) ____________________ emptying drugstore shelves of laxatives. This means people who really need the medicine cannot get it. Doctors prescribe the (6) ____________________ like constipation, Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Doctors and people with (7) ____________________ worried about the new social media trend. Doctors say the online (8) ____________________ information, as laxatives do not lead to weight loss. People should only use them after talking to a doctor. This is because the drugs do not work for weight loss. They (9) ____________________ "water weight" being lost. Laxatives can also have side effects. These can include headaches, thirst, fatigue, dry (10) ____________________. Any weight lost from taking laxatives is (11) ____________________ on after having a drink. Doctors say it is healthier and more effective to lose weight (12) ____________________. Eating more fruit and vegetables, and exercising are better than using laxatives.

Comprehension questions

What condition does the article say laxative is a medicine for?
What do laxatives do to hardened poo?
Who is making teenagers believe laxatives can lead to weight loss?
How many times have the TikTok videos been looked at?
Who prescribes laxatives?
Who is worried about the trend besides doctors?
Who does the article say people should talk to before taking laxatives?
What does the body lose after taking laxatives?
What can become dry after using laxatives?
What do doctors say is more effective than laxatives for losing weight?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What condition does the article say laxative is a medicine for?
a) constipation
b) obesity
c) diarrhoea
d) stomach ache
2) What do laxatives do to hardened poo?
a) harden it
b) turn it into water
c) loosen it
d) make it bigger
3) Who is making teenagers believe laxatives can lead to weight loss?
a) drug companies
b) influencers
c) health experts
d) weight loss magazines
4) How many times have the TikTok videos been looked at?
a) 100 million times
b) two billion times
c) over 10 billion times
d) over one billion times
5) Who prescribes laxatives?
a) doctors
b) CEOs
c) social media influencers
d) weight loss magazines

6) Who is worried about the trend besides doctors?
a) laxative company CEOs
b) the WHO
c) people with constipation
d) people with stomach problems
7) Who does the article say people should talk to before taking laxatives?
a) friends
b) a doctor
c) stomach experts
d) pharmacists
8) What does the body lose after taking laxatives?
a) minerals
b) weight
c) energy
d) water
9) What can become dry after using laxatives?
a) poo
b) the throat
c) skin
d) the tongue
10) What do doctors say is more effective than laxatives for losing weight?
a) prune juice
b) lifestyle changes
c) spinach
d) sit-ups

Role play

Role A – TikTok
You think TikTok is the best social media platform. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their platforms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): X, Facebook or YouTube.

Role B – X (formerly Twitter)
You think X is the best social media platform. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their platforms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): TikTok, Facebook or YouTube.

Role C – Facebook
You think Facebook is the best social media platform. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their platforms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): X, TikTok or YouTube.

Role D – YouTube
You think YouTube is the best social media platform. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their platforms. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): X, Facebook or TikTok.

After reading / listening

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

'trend'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'weight'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

caused

problem

loosens

videos

hundreds

need

new

contain

talking

side

quickly

better

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 - Laxatives

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

What did you think when you read the headline?
What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'toilet'?
What do you think of TikTok?
Have you ever had stomach problems?
Which is worse – constipation or diarrhoea?
How happy or unhappy are you with your weight?
What do you think of social media influencers?
Should laxative medicines only be available from doctors?
What do you think of social media?
What advice do you have for people who need the medicine?

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

Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
What do you think of when you hear the word 'weight'?
What do you think about what you read?
What do you think of social media trends?
What's the best way to control your weight?
What's the best thing to do for a headache?
What's the best thing to do for fatigue?
How easy is it to change your lifestyle?
How can you eat better and exercise more?
What questions would you like to ask TikTok influencers?

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 trend on TikTok has (1) ____ a shortage of laxative drugs in the USA. A laxative is a medicine for people who have (2) ____. This is the problem of people having difficulty going to the toilet because of hardened "poo". The medicine (3) ____ the poo to make it easier to go to the toilet. TikTok influencers are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help (4) ____ lose weight. The videos have been viewed over one billion times on social media. Hundreds (5) ____ thousands of youngsters are emptying drugstore shelves of laxatives. This means people who really need the medicine cannot get it. Doctors prescribe the drug for conditions (6) ____ constipation, Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Doctors and people with stomach problems are worried (7) ____ the new social media trend. Doctors say the online posts contain incorrect information, as laxatives do not lead (8) ____ weight loss. People should only use them after talking to a doctor. This is because the drugs do not work for weight loss. They only lead to "water weight" (9) ____ lost. Laxatives can also have side effects. These can include headaches, thirst, fatigue, dry skin, and dizziness. Any weight lost from taking laxatives is (10) ____ put back on after having a drink. Doctors say it is healthier and more (11) ____ to lose weight through lifestyle changes. Eating more fruit and vegetables, and exercising are better than (12) ____ laxatives.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) caused (b) causes (c) causal (d) causing
(a) competition (b) caution (c) constipation (d) creation
(a) loses (b) lassoes (c) loosens (d) lessens
(a) they (b) that (c) their (d) them
(a) of (b) to (c) on (d) at
(a) of (b) like (c) such (d) same
(a) at (b) of (c) on (d) about
(a) of (b) to (c) at (d) by
(a) been (b) be (c) being (d) are
(a) quicken (b) quick (c) quicker (d) quickly
(a) affective (b) reflective (c) infective (d) effective
(a) used (b) using (c) user (d) uses

Spelling

Paragraph 1

The medicine eosolsn the poo
TikTok cliunernefs
Hundreds of thousands of nrgeyssout
emptying drugstore vesehsl
ncntisodoi like constipation
irritable bowel snmroedy

Paragraph 2

people with cmsatoh problems
online posts contain notcricre information
twiehg loss
Laxatives can also have side cfsefte
headaches, shritt, fatigue…
feylstlei changes

Put the text back together

(...)   youngsters are emptying drugstore shelves of laxatives. This means people who really need the medicine cannot
(...)   weight. The videos have been viewed over one billion times on social media. Hundreds of thousands of
(...)   go to the toilet. TikTok influencers are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help them lose
(...)   changes. Eating more fruit and vegetables, and exercising are better than using laxatives.
( 1 ) A trend on TikTok has caused a shortage of laxative drugs in the USA. A laxative is a medicine for
(...)   get it. Doctors prescribe the drug for conditions like constipation, Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
(...)   toilet because of hardened "poo". The medicine loosens the poo to make it easier to
(...)   headaches, thirst, fatigue, dry skin, and dizziness. Any weight lost from taking laxatives is quickly put
(...)   people who have constipation. This is the problem of people having difficulty going to the
(...)   back on after having a drink. Doctors say it is healthier and more effective to lose weight through lifestyle
(...)   Doctors and people with stomach problems are worried about the new social media
(...)   trend. Doctors say the online posts contain incorrect information, as laxatives do not lead to weight
(...)   work for weight loss. They only lead to "water weight" being lost. Laxatives can also have side effects. These can include
(...)   loss. People should only use them after talking to a doctor. This is because the drugs do not

Put the words in the right order

with laxative for medicine constipation . is people A
lose will weight . help believe them Teenagers laxatives
shelves laxatives . emptying drugstore of are Youngsters
need medicine get People really who cannot it .
the conditions like for Doctors prescribe constipation . drug
people problems stomach are Doctors worried . with and
loss . Laxatives not weight do lead to
lead water weight to They lost . only being
from laxatives quickly is lost back . put Weight
changes . weight More lose effective through lifestyle to

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

A trend on TikTok has caused a shortage of laxative drugs in the USA. A laxative is a medic / medicine for people who have constipation. This is the problem of people having difficulty / difficult going to the toilet because of hardened / hardy "poo". The medicine loosens / loses the poo to make it easier to go to the toilet / toiletries. TikTok influencers are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help them loser / lose weight. The videos have been viewed over one billion times in / on social media. Hundreds of thousands of youngsters are emptied / emptying drugstore shelves of laxatives. This means people who really need / needy the medicine cannot get it. Doctors prescribe the drug for conditions / conditionals like constipation, Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Doctors and people with stomach problem / problems are worried about the new social media trend. Doctors say the online posts contents / contain incorrect information, as laxatives do not lead for / to weight loss. People should only use them after talking / spoken to a doctor. This is because the drugs do not work for weight loss. They only lead to "water weight" being losing / lost. Laxatives can also have side / back effects. These can include headaches, thirsty / thirst, fatigue, dry skin, and dizziness / dizzy. Any weight lost from taking laxatives is quickly put back on / off after having a drink. Doctors say it is healthier and more effective to lose weight through lifestyle changes. Eating more fruit and vegetables, and exercising are better than using / used laxatives.

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)

_ tr_nd _n T_kT_k h_s c__s_d _ sh_rt_g_ _f l_x_t_v_ dr_gs _n th_ _S_. _ l_x_t_v_ _s _ m_d_c_n_ f_r p__pl_ wh_ h_v_ c_nst_p_t__n. Th_s _s th_ pr_bl_m _f p__pl_ h_v_ng d_ff_c_lty g__ng t_ th_ t__l_t b_c__s_ _f h_rd_n_d "p__". Th_ m_d_c_n_ l__s_ns th_ p__ t_ m_k_ _t __s__r t_ g_ t_ th_ t__l_t. T_kT_k _nfl__nc_rs _r_ m_k_ng t__n_g_rs b_l__v_ th_t l_x_t_v_s w_ll h_lp th_m l_s_ w__ght. Th_ v_d__s h_v_ b__n v__w_d _v_r _n_ b_ll__n t_m_s _n s_c__l m_d__. H_ndr_ds _f th__s_nds _f y__ngst_rs _r_ _mpty_ng dr_gst_r_ sh_lv_s _f l_x_t_v_s. Th_s m__ns p__pl_ wh_ r__lly n__d th_ m_d_c_n_ c_nn_t g_t _t. D_ct_rs pr_scr_b_ th_ dr_g f_r c_nd_t__ns l_k_ c_nst_p_t__n, Cr_hn's d_s__s_ _nd _rr_t_bl_ b_w_l syndr_m_.

D_ct_rs _nd p__pl_ w_th st_m_ch pr_bl_ms _r_ w_rr__d _b__t th_ n_w s_c__l m_d__ tr_nd. D_ct_rs s_y th_ _nl_n_ p_sts c_nt__n _nc_rr_ct _nf_rm_t__n, _s l_x_t_v_s d_ n_t l__d t_ w__ght l_ss. P__pl_ sh__ld _nly _s_ th_m _ft_r t_lk_ng t_ _ d_ct_r. Th_s _s b_c__s_ th_ dr_gs d_ n_t w_rk f_r w__ght l_ss. Th_y _nly l__d t_ "w_t_r w__ght" b__ng l_st. L_x_t_v_s c_n _ls_ h_v_ s_d_ _ff_cts. Th_s_ c_n _ncl_d_ h__d_ch_s, th_rst, f_t_g__, dry sk_n, _nd d_zz_n_ss. _ny w__ght l_st fr_m t_k_ng l_x_t_v_s _s q__ckly p_t b_ck _n _ft_r h_v_ng _ dr_nk. D_ct_rs s_y _t _s h__lth__r _nd m_r_ _ff_ct_v_ t_ l_s_ w__ght thr__gh l_f_styl_ ch_ng_s. __t_ng m_r_ fr__t _nd v_g_t_bl_s, _nd _x_rc_s_ng _r_ b_tt_r th_n _s_ng l_x_t_v_s.

Punctuate the text and add capitals

a trend on tiktok has caused a shortage of laxative drugs in the usa a laxative is a medicine for people who have constipation this is the problem of people having difficulty going to the toilet because of hardened poo the medicine loosens the poo to make it easier to go to the toilet tiktok influencers are making teenagers believe that laxatives will help them lose weight the videos have been viewed over one billion times on social media hundreds of thousands of youngsters are emptying drugstore shelves of laxatives this means people who really need the medicine cannot get it doctors prescribe the drug for conditions like constipation crohns disease and irritable bowel syndrome

doctors and people with stomach problems are worried about the new social media trend doctors say the online posts contain incorrect information as laxatives do not lead to weight loss people should only use them after talking to a doctor this is because the drugs do not work for weight loss they only lead to water weight being lost laxatives can also have side effects these can include headaches thirst fatigue dry skin and dizziness any weight lost from taking laxatives is quickly put back on after having a drink doctors say it is healthier and more effective to lose weight through lifestyle changes eating more fruit and vegetables and exercising are better than using laxatives

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

AtrendonTikTokhascausedashortageoflaxativedrugsintheUSA.Alax
ativeisamedicineforpeoplewhohaveconstipation.Thisistheproblemo
fpeoplehavingdifficultygoingtothetoiletbecauseofhardened"poo".Th
emedicineloosensthepootomakeiteasiertogotothetoilet.TikTokinflu
encersaremakingteenagersbelievethatlaxativeswillhelpthemlosewe
ight.Thevideoshavebeenviewedoveronebilliontimesonsocialmedia.
Hundredsofthousandsofyoungstersareemptyingdrugstoreshelvesof
laxatives.Thismeanspeoplewhoreallyneedthemedicinecannotgetit.
Doctorsprescribethedrugforconditionslikeconstipation,Crohn'sdise
aseandirritablebowelsyndrome.Doctorsandpeoplewithstomachprob
lemsareworriedaboutthenewsocialmediatrend.Doctorssaytheonline
postscontainincorrectinformation,aslaxativesdonotleadtoweightlos
s.Peopleshouldonlyusethemaftertalkingtoadoctor.Thisisbecausethe
drugsdonotworkforweightloss.Theyonlyleadto"waterweight"beingl
ost.Laxativescanalsohavesideeffects.Thesecanincludeheadaches,t
hirst,fatigue,dryskin,anddizziness.Anyweightlostfromtakinglaxativ
esisquicklyputbackonafterhavingadrink.Doctorssayitishealthierand
moreeffectivetoloseweightthroughlifestylechanges.Eatingmorefruit
andvegetables,andexercisingarebetterthanusinglaxatives.

Free writing

Write about laxative shortage for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

We should control our weight only through healthy eating and exercise. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Homework

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. WEIGHT LOSS: Make a poster about weight loss. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. WEIGHT: Write a magazine article about banning weight loss products and getting everyone to control their weight through diet and exercise. 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 weight loss. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to be a healthy weight. 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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