The Reading / Listening - Climate Crisis - Level 3

A 20,000-km walk from central Africa to the Arctic Circle has started in Congo. The epic trek is to raise awareness of the climate crisis. The journey will take over four months. It is called The Herds. A herd is a large group of animals. The hundreds of creatures in this project are life-sized puppets. They include lions, zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons. More than 2,000 people will be trained to make more puppets, all from recyclable materials. The Herds organizers said the walk symbolizes the flight of animals from climate disaster. A spokesperson said: "The Herds is public art and climate action on an unprecedented scale. It's an ambitious coming together of culture and climate."

The animal puppets from The Herds will visit more than 20 cities across the continents of Africa and Europe, including Casablanca, Madrid, Paris, London, and Stockholm. The final event will be inside the Arctic Circle in August. Each city will host street performances that focus on how we can help Earth. Alister Scott of the Global Rewilding Alliance said: "The Herds is going to reach millions of people and bring the fierce, exciting beauty of nature right onto the streets and into people's lives." The UK Peatland Programme said: "The Herds is a stunning representation of the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and the journey we must all make towards a brighter future."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Climate Crisis - Level 0,  Climate Crisis - Level 1   or  Climate Crisis - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.theherds.org/about
  • https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/apr/25/puppet-herd-animals-climate-crisis-africa-arctic-circle-little-amal
  • https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/07/16/the-herds-the-animal-puppets-art-project-set-to-travel-20000km-across-the-world


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 CLIMATE CRISIS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about the climate crisis. 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?
       20,000-km walk / central Africa / Arctic Circle / climate crisis / puppets / ambitious /
       herd / continents / street performances / rewilding / beauty / nature / biodiversity
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. CLIMATE ACTION: Students A strongly believe we all need to take action to help Earth; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. RAISING AWARENESS: How can these things raise awareness of the climate crisis? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How?

Effectiveness

The Internet

 

 

Schools

 

 

Supermarkets

 

 

Train Stations

 

 

Parents

 

 

Street Performances

 

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

  • Across the Sahara Desert
  • Through the Amazon
  • Along the River Thames
  • Around Mt Fuji
  • Along the Great Wall of China
  • Around Rome
  • Across the USA
  • In the Himalayas

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. epic a. An animal or living thing.
      2. trek b. Wanting to do something very big or important.
      3. awareness c. Very big or exciting.
      4. creature d. Knowing or understanding something.
      5. puppet e. A very long walk, usually in the mountains.
      6. unprecedented f. A toy that you can move with your hands to make it act or talk.
      7. ambitious g. Something that has never happened before.

    Paragraph 2

      8. continents h. Welcome guests to your house or lead an event or party.
      9. host i. When people act, sing, dance, or play music for others to watch.
      10. performance j. A very bad or dangerous situation.
      11. rewilding k. The seven big land areas on Earth, like Africa or Asia.
      12. stunning l. All the different kinds of plants and animals in a place.
      13. crisis m. Very beautiful or amazing.
      14. biodiversity n. Helping nature go back to how it was before, by bringing back plants and animals.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The 20,000-km walk started in Rwanda.     T / F
  2. The walk will take six months.     T / F
  3. The article says there are more than 2,000 puppets in the walk.     T / F
  4. A spokesperson said The Herds was an ambitious project.     T / F
  5. The Herds will cross three continents.     T / F
  6. Twenty cities along the walk's route will have street performances.     T / F
  7. An environmentalist said the walk will reach a billion people.     T / F
  8. An environmentalist said the walk should lead to a brighter future.     T / F

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

  1. epic
  2. journey
  3. creatures
  4. unprecedented
  5. ambitious
  6. visit
  7. final
  8. beauty
  9. crisis
  10. brighter
  1. last
  2. very long
  3. challenging
  4. disaster
  5. appeal
  6. animals
  7. more hopeful
  8. unusual
  9. spend time in
  10. trip

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

  1. The epic
  2. The journey will
  3. A herd is
  4. recyclable
  5. the flight of animals
  6. 20 cities across the continents
  7. The final event will be
  8. The Herds is going to reach
  9. the twin crises of climate change
  10. a brighter
  1. from climate disaster
  2. future
  3. take over four months
  4. inside the Arctic Circle
  5. materials
  6. a large group of animals
  7. and biodiversity loss
  8. trek is to raise awareness
  9. millions of people
  10. of Africa and Europe

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
trained
central
together
flight
art
group
trek
include

A 20,000-km walk from (1) ______________________________________________ Africa to the Arctic Circle has started in Congo. The epic (2) ______________________________________________ is to raise awareness of the climate crisis. The journey will take over four months. It is called The Herds. A herd is a large (3) ______________________________________________ of animals. The hundreds of creatures in this project are life-sized puppets. They (4) ______________________________________________ lions, zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons. More than 2,000 people will be (5) ______________________________________________ to make more puppets, all from recyclable materials. The Herds organizers said the walk symbolizes the (6) ______________________________________________ of animals from climate disaster. A spokesperson said: "The Herds is public (7) ______________________________________________ and climate action on an unprecedented scale. It's an ambitious coming (8) ______________________________________________ of culture and climate."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
fierce
continents
stunning
brighter
host
lives
final
loss

The animal puppets from The Herds will visit more than 20 cities across the (9) ______________________________________________ of Africa and Europe, including Casablanca, Madrid, Paris, London, and Stockholm. The (10) ______________________________________________ event will be inside the Arctic Circle in August. Each city will (11) ______________________________________________ street performances that focus on how we can help Earth. Alister Scott of the Global Rewilding Alliance said: "The Herds is going to reach millions of people and bring the (12) ______________________________________________, exciting beauty of nature right onto the streets and into people's (13) ______________________________________________." The UK Peatland Programme said: "The Herds is a (14) ______________________________________________ representation of the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity (15) ______________________________________________, and the journey we must all make towards a (16) ______________________________________________ future."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) A 20,000-km walk from central Africa to the Arctic Circle has ______
     a.  start it in Congo
     b.  started in Congo
     c.  started on Congo
     d.  star tied in Congo
2)  The epic trek is to raise awareness of ______
     a.  a climate crisis
     b.  the climate critic
     c.  the climate crisis
     d.  the climate critics
3)  The hundreds of creatures in this project are ______
     a.  life-sized puppet
     b.  life-sized puppets
     c.  live-sized puppets
     d.  life-seized puppets
4)  2,000 people will be trained to make more puppets, all ______
     a.  firm recyclable materials
     b.  farm recyclable materials
     c.  for recyclable materials
     d.  from recyclable materials
5)  The Herds is public art and climate action on ______
     a.  an unprecedented shale
     b.  an unprecedented sale
     c.  an unprecedented scale
     d.  an unprecedented snail

6)  The animal puppets from The Herds will visit more than 20 cities ______
     a.  across a continents
     b.  across the continents
     c.  across the continent
     d.  a cross the continents
7)  The final event will be inside the Arctic Circle in August. Each city will ______
     a.  haste street performances
     b.  ghost street performances
     c.  host street performance is
     d.  host street performances
8)  exciting beauty of nature right onto the streets and ______
     a.  into people's live
     b.  into people's alive
     c.  into people's lives
     d.  into people's olives
9)  a stunning representation of the twin crises of climate change ______
     a.  and biodiversity loss
     b.  and biodiversity lost
     c.  and biodiversity lose
     d.  and biodiversity floss
10)  and the journey we must all make towards ______
     a.  a blighted future
     b.  a brighten future
     c.  a brighter future
     d.  a biter future

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A 20,000-km (1) __________________________________________________ Africa to the Arctic Circle has started in Congo. The epic trek is (2) __________________________________________________ of the climate crisis. The journey will take over four months. It is called The Herds. A herd is a large group of animals. The (3) __________________________________________________ in this project are life-sized puppets. They include lions, zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons. More than 2,000 people will (4) __________________________________________________ make more puppets, all from recyclable materials. The Herds organizers said the walk symbolizes (5) __________________________________________________ animals from climate disaster. A spokesperson said: "The Herds is public art and climate action on an unprecedented scale. It's an ambitious (6) __________________________________________________ culture and climate."

The animal puppets from The Herds will visit more than 20 cities across (7) __________________________________________________ Africa and Europe, including Casablanca, Madrid, Paris, London, and Stockholm. The (8) __________________________________________________ be inside the Arctic Circle in August. Each city will host street performances that focus on how we can help Earth. Alister Scott of the Global Rewilding Alliance said: "The Herds is going (9) __________________________________________________ of people and bring the fierce, exciting (10) __________________________________________________ right onto the streets and into people's lives." The UK Peatland Programme said: "The Herds (11) __________________________________________________ representation of the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and the journey we must all make towards (12) __________________________________________________."

Comprehension questions

  1. What is The Herds to raise awareness of?
  2. What is a herd?
  3. How big are the animal puppets?
  4. What are the puppets made from?
  5. What kind of art is The Herds?
  6. How many continents will The Herds cross?
  7. Where will the final event of The Herds be?
  8. What will each city host?
  9. How many people will The Herds reach?
  10. What did an environmentalist say we must make a journey towards?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What is The Herds to raise awareness of?
a) veganism
b) animal cruelty
c) the climate crisis
d) farming
2) What is a herd?
a) a large group of animals
b) something you listened to
c) straight forward
d) a weather pattern
3) How big are the animal puppets?
a) life-sized
b) tiny
c) huge
d) a metre tall
4) What are the puppets made from?
a) fur and leather
b) recyclable materials
c) paper
d) plastic
5) What kind of art is The Herds?
a) modern art
b) sculpture
c) painting
d) public art

6) How many continents will The Herds cross?
a) one
b) two
c) three
d) four
7) Where will the final event of The Herds be?
a) in the Arctic Circle
b) Antarctica
c) Siberia
d) Alaska
8) What will each city host?
a) homestay students
b) animals
c) street performances
d) environmentalists
9) How many people will The Herds reach?
a) billions of people
b) half a million people
c) a million people
d) millions of people
10) What did an environmentalist say we must make a journey towards?
a) a brighter future
b) veganism
c) no fossil fuels
d) the North Pole

Role play

Role  A – Across the Sahara Desert
You think a walk across the Sahara Desert is the best walk. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their walks. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): the Great Wall of China, across the USA or around Mt Fuji.

Role  B – Along the Great Wall of China
You think a walk along the Great Wall of China is the best walk. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their walks. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): the Sahara Desert, across the USA or around Mt Fuji.

Role  C – Across the USA
You think a walk across the USA is the best walk. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their walks. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): the Great Wall of China, the Sahara Desert or around Mt Fuji.

Role  D – Around Mt Fuji
You think a walk around Mt Fuji is the best walk. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their walks. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): the Great Wall of China, across the USA or the Sahara Desert.

After reading / listening

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

'climate'

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

    • and 'crisis'.

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

    • • 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:

    • central
    • take
    • sized
    • trained
    • flight
    • public
    • 20
    • final
    • host
    • reach
    • lives
    • loss

    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 - Climate Crisis

    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 'climate'?
    3. What is the climate crisis?
    4. How do you feel about the climate crisis?
    5. How interested are you in following The Herds?
    6. Why is The Herds finishing in the Arctic Circle?
    7. What can we do to help animals in danger?
    8. What animals are most at risk from climate change?
    9. Has climate change changed your life?
    10. What advice do you have for the organizers of The Herds?

    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 'crisis'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Which of the cities would you like to visit?
    5. What do you think the street performances will be like?
    6. How important are rewilding projects?
    7. What do you think of nature?
    8. How can we reverse biodiversity loss?
    9. How bright do you think the future is?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the organizers?

    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 20,000-km walk from (1) ____ Africa to the Arctic Circle has started in Congo. The epic trek is to (2) ____ awareness of the climate crisis. The journey will take over four months. It is called The Herds. A herd is a large group of animals. The hundreds (3) ____ creatures in this project are life-sized puppets. They include lions, zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons. More than 2,000 people will be trained (4) ____ make more puppets, all from recyclable materials. The Herds organizers said the walk symbolizes the (5) ____ of animals from climate disaster. A spokesperson said: "The Herds is public art and climate action on an unprecedented scale. It's an ambitious (6) ____ together of culture and climate."

    The animal puppets from The Herds will visit more than 20 cities across the (7) ____ of Africa and Europe, including Casablanca, Madrid, Paris, London, and Stockholm. The (8) ____ event will be inside the Arctic Circle in August. Each city will host street performances that focus (9) ____ how we can help Earth. Alister Scott of the Global Rewilding Alliance said: "The Herds is going to reach millions of people and bring the fierce, exciting beauty of nature (10) ____ onto the streets and into people's lives." The UK Peatland Programme said: "The Herds is a stunning representation of the (11) ____ crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and the journey we must all (12) ____ towards a brighter future."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     central     (b)     centered     (c)     center     (d)     centers    
    2. (a)     rise     (b)     arise     (c)     raise     (d)     risen    
    3. (a)     to     (b)     at     (c)     of     (d)     in    
    4. (a)     on     (b)     by     (c)     for     (d)     to    
    5. (a)     slight     (b)     blight     (c)     flight     (d)     light    
    6. (a)     seen     (b)     coming     (c)     walking     (d)     travelling    
    7. (a)     incontinence     (b)     continents     (c)     continental     (d)     containment    
    8. (a)     finality     (b)     final     (c)     finally     (d)     finalize    
    9. (a)     at     (b)     of     (c)     on     (d)     by    
    10. (a)     along     (b)     left     (c)     up     (d)     right    
    11. (a)     single     (b)     triplet     (c)     quadruplet     (d)     twin    
    12. (a)     take     (b)     fake     (c)     bake     (d)     make

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. A 20,000-km walk from lctrane Africa
    2. raise aeesrsnwa of the climate crisis
    3. The yojuner will take over four months
    4. hundreds of eestrcaru in this project
    5. monkeys, ffisgera and baboons
    6. all from eecyrlbacl materials

    Paragraph 2

    1. the nnttneoics of Africa and Europe
    2. street rpefomracnes
    3. reach lmnloiis of people
    4. the fierce, exciting bayeut of nature
    5. ibvdyroiesti loss
    6. towards a btrrhgie future

    Put the text back together

    (  1  )   A 20,000-km walk from central Africa to the Arctic Circle has started in Congo. The epic trek is to raise
    (    )     awareness of the climate crisis. The journey will take over four months. It is called The Herds. A herd is a large group
    (    )     beauty of nature right onto the streets and into people's lives." The UK Peatland Programme said: "The Herds is a
    (    )     Circle in August. Each city will host street performances that focus on how we can help Earth. Alister Scott of the
    (    )     disaster. A spokesperson said: "The Herds is public art and climate action on an
    (    )     Global Rewilding Alliance said: "The Herds is going to reach millions of people and bring the fierce, exciting
    (    )     lions, zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons. More than 2,000 people will be trained to make more
    (    )     loss, and the journey we must all make towards a brighter future."
    (    )     of Africa and Europe, including Casablanca, Madrid, Paris, London, and Stockholm. The final event will be inside the Arctic
    (    )     of animals. The hundreds of creatures in this project are life-sized puppets. They include
    (    )     puppets, all from recyclable materials. The Herds organizers said the walk symbolizes the flight of animals from climate
    (    )     stunning representation of the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity
    (    )     The animal puppets from The Herds will visit more than 20 cities across the continents
    (    )     unprecedented scale. It's an ambitious coming together of culture and climate."

    Put the words in the right order

    1. The   trek   epic   is   to   raise   awareness   .
    2. The   over   journey   will   take   four   months   .
    3. The   in   creatures   this   project   are   life-sized   puppets   .
    4. People   more   to   make   puppets   will   be   trained   .
    5. An   of   ambitious   and   climate   coming   together   culture   .
    6. The   than   more   20   cities   Herds   will   visit   .
    7. The   inside   be   will   event   the   Arctic   Circle   .
    8. Focus   we   on   can   help   how   Earth   .
    9. Herds   millions   to   going   is   reach   of   people   .
    10. The   towards   we   journey   a   brighter   make   future   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A 20,000-km walk from central / center Africa to the Arctic Circle has started in Congo. The epic / optic trek is to raise awareness at / of the climate crisis. The journey will take over / more four months. It is called The Herds. A herd is a large group of animals. The hundreds of creature / creatures in this project are life-sized puppets. They include lions, zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons. More than 2,000 people will be trained for / to make more puppets, all from recyclable materials. The Herds organizers said the walk symbolizes the flight / fly of animals from climate disaster. A spokesperson said: "The Herds is public arty / art and climate action on an unprecedented scale / sale. It's an ambitious coming with / together of culture and climate."

    The animal puppets from The Herds will visit / visitor more than 20 cities across the continent / continents of Africa and Europe, including Casablanca, Madrid, Paris, London, and Stockholm. The final / finally event will be inside the Arctic Circle in August. Each city will host / ghost street performances that focus on / in how we can help Earth. Alister Scott of the Global Rewilding Alliance said: "The Herds is going to reach millions to / of people and bring the fierce, exciting beautiful / beauty of nature right onto the streets and into people's live / lives." The UK Peatland Programme said: "The Herds is a stunning representation of the twin crises / crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss, and the journey we must all make towards a brighter past / future."

    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)

    _  20,000-km  w_lk  fr_m  c_ntr_l  _fr_c_  t_  th_  _rct_c  C_rcl_  h_s  st_rt_d  _n  C_ng_.  Th_  _p_c  tr_k  _s  t_  r__s_  _w_r_n_ss  _f  th_  cl_m_t_  cr_s_s.  Th_  j__rn_y  w_ll  t_k_  _v_r  f__r  m_nths.  _t  _s  c_ll_d  Th_  H_rds.  _  h_rd  _s  _  l_rg_  gr__p  _f  _n_m_ls.  Th_  h_ndr_ds  _f  cr__t_r_s  _n  th_s  pr_j_ct  _r_  l_f_-s_z_d  p_pp_ts.  Th_y  _ncl_d_  l__ns,  z_br_s,  w_ld_b__st,  m_nk_ys,  g_r_ff_s  _nd  b_b__ns.  M_r_  th_n  2,000  p__pl_  w_ll  b_  tr__n_d  t_  m_k_  m_r_  p_pp_ts,  _ll  fr_m  r_cycl_bl_  m_t_r__ls.  Th_  H_rds  _rg_n_z_rs  s__d  th_  w_lk  symb_l_z_s  th_  fl_ght  _f  _n_m_ls  fr_m  cl_m_t_  d_s_st_r.  _  sp_k_sp_rs_n  s__d:  "Th_  H_rds  _s  p_bl_c  _rt  _nd  cl_m_t_  _ct__n  _n  _n  _npr_c_d_nt_d  sc_l_.  _t's  _n  _mb_t___s  c_m_ng  t_g_th_r  _f  c_lt_r_  _nd  cl_m_t_."

    Th_  _n_m_l  p_pp_ts  fr_m  Th_  H_rds  w_ll  v_s_t  m_r_  th_n  20  c_t__s  _cr_ss  th_  c_nt_n_nts  _f  _fr_c_  _nd  __r_p_,  _ncl_d_ng  C_s_bl_nc_,  M_dr_d,  P_r_s,  L_nd_n,  _nd  St_ckh_lm.  Th_  f_n_l  _v_nt  w_ll  b_  _ns_d_  th_  _rct_c  C_rcl_  _n  __g_st.  __ch  c_ty  w_ll  h_st  str__t  p_rf_rm_nc_s  th_t  f_c_s  _n  h_w  w_  c_n  h_lp  __rth.  _l_st_r  Sc_tt  _f  th_  Gl_b_l  R_w_ld_ng  _ll__nc_  s__d:  "Th_  H_rds  _s  g__ng  t_  r__ch  m_ll__ns  _f  p__pl_  _nd  br_ng  th_  f__rc_,  _xc_t_ng  b___ty  _f  n_t_r_  r_ght  _nt_  th_  str__ts  _nd  _nt_  p__pl_'s  l_v_s."  Th_  _K  P__tl_nd  Pr_gr_mm_  s__d:  "Th_  H_rds  _s  _  st_nn_ng  r_pr_s_nt_t__n  _f  th_  tw_n  cr_s_s  _f  cl_m_t_  ch_ng_  _nd  b__d_v_rs_ty  l_ss,  _nd  th_  j__rn_y  w_  m_st  _ll  m_k_  t_w_rds  _  br_ght_r  f_t_r_."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a 20000km walk from central africa to the arctic circle has started in congo the epic trek is to raise awareness of the climate crisis the journey will take over four months it is called the herds a herd is a large group of animals the hundreds of creatures in this project are lifesized puppets they include lions zebras wildebeest monkeys giraffes and baboons more than 2000 people will be trained to make more puppets all from recyclable materials the herds organizers said the walk symbolizes the flight of animals from climate disaster a spokesperson said the herds is public art and climate action on an unprecedented scale its an ambitious coming together of culture and climate

    the animal puppets from the herds will visit more than 20 cities across the continents of africa and europe including casablanca madrid paris london and stockholm the final event will be inside the arctic circle in august each city will host street performances that focus on how we can help earth alister scott of the global rewilding alliance said the herds is going to reach millions of people and bring the fierce exciting beauty of nature right onto the streets and into peoples lives the uk peatland programme said the herds is a stunning representation of the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss and the journey we must all make towards a brighter future

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    A20,000-kmwalkfromcentralAfricatotheArcticCirclehasstartedinC
    ongo.Theepictrekistoraiseawarenessoftheclimatecrisis.Thejourney
    willtakeoverfourmonths.ItiscalledTheHerds.Aherdisalargegroupofa
    nimals.Thehundredsofcreaturesinthisprojectarelife-sizedpuppets.T
    heyincludelions,zebras,wildebeest,monkeys,giraffesandbaboons.M
    orethan2,000peoplewillbetrainedtomakemorepuppets,allfromrecyc
    lablematerials.TheHerdsorganizerssaidthewalksymbolizestheflight
    ofanimalsfromclimatedisaster.Aspokespersonsaid:"TheHerdsispubl
    icartandclimateactiononanunprecedentedscale.It'sanambitiouscom
    ingtogetherofcultureandclimate."TheanimalpuppetsfromTheHerds
    willvisitmorethan20citiesacrossthecontinentsofAfricaandEurope,inc
    ludingCasablanca,Madrid,Paris,London,andStockholm.Thefinaleve
    ntwillbeinsidetheArcticCircleinAugust.Eachcitywillhoststreetperfor
    mancesthatfocusonhowwecanhelpEarth.AlisterScottoftheGlobalRe
    wildingAlliancesaid:"TheHerdsisgoingtoreachmillionsofpeopleandbr
    ingthefierce,excitingbeautyofnaturerightontothestreetsandintopeo
    ple'slives."TheUKPeatlandProgrammesaid:"TheHerdsisastunningre
    presentationofthetwincrisesofclimatechangeandbiodiversityloss,an
    dthejourneywemustallmaketowardsabrighterfuture."

    Free writing

    Write about The Herds for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    We must all change our lives to create a brighter future. Discuss.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

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    _____________________________________________________________________________

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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 CLIMATE CRISIS: Make a poster about the climate crisis. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. STREET PERFORMANCES: Write a magazine article about all cities putting on more street performances to highlight the climate crisis. 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 climate crisis. Ask him/her three questions about the climate crisis. Give him/her three of your ideas. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Also...

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

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

    Buy my book

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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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