Some scientists did a study and found out that almost half of the people in the UK did not get all the Covid-19 shots they needed last summer. They looked at the health records of everyone older than five years old. They saw that young people often didn’t get all their shots. If more people had gotten all their shots, over 7,000 people might not have had to go to the hospital because of Covid-19. The scientists think looking at everyone’s health records can help us learn about other sicknesses too.

The study showed that in different parts of the UK, different numbers of people didn’t get all their Covid-19 shots. In Northern Ireland, the most people missed their shots, and in Wales, the fewest people missed them. The scientists think that if everyone had gotten their shots, fewer people would have gotten really sick and had to go to the hospital. They also found out that older people who didn’t get all their shots were more likely to get very sick from Covid-19.

A smart professor named Sir Aziz Sheikh said that the Covid-19 shots are very important for keeping people alive. He thinks the study can help us know where to tell more people about getting their shots. The study found that young people, men, people with less money, and people from different cultures often didn’t get all their shots. The scientists believe that using health records to learn about sickness can help us keep people healthier.

Original news source: Covid jab skipped by 44%, entire UK study finds (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a few minutes to read the article. Then, ask them to write a summary of the article in 3-5 sentences. After they finish, have each group share their summaries with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board (e.g. Covid-19, shots, hospital, sickness). Divide the class into teams and give each team a turn to choose a word from the list. One student from the chosen team must draw a picture representing the word while their teammates try to guess it. The team that guesses correctly gets a point.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Ask the students to think about the following question: “Why do you think some people in the UK did not get all their Covid-19 shots?” Give them a few minutes to think about it individually. Then, pair them up and ask them to discuss their ideas with their partner. After that, bring the class back together and ask a few pairs to share their thoughts with the whole class.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups: one group representing the scientists in favor of using health records to learn about sickness, and the other group representing the critics who are against it. Give each group a few minutes to come up with a list of pros or cons for their respective positions. Then, have a debate where each group presents their arguments. Encourage the students to support their arguments with examples or evidence from the article.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Draw a line across the board and label one end “Strongly Agree” and the other end “Strongly Disagree”. Read a statement related to the article (e.g. “Using health records to learn about sickness is a good idea”). Ask the students to stand next to the point on the line that represents their opinion on the statement. Then, give them a chance to explain their position to their classmates.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the scientists study?
2. What did they find out about the people in the UK and their Covid-19 shots?
3. How many people might not have had to go to the hospital if they had gotten all their shots?
4. What do the scientists think looking at health records can help us learn about?
5. Which part of the UK had the most people who missed their shots?
6. Which part of the UK had the fewest people who missed their shots?
7. Who did the study find often didn’t get all their shots?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some scientists did a study and found out that almost (1)______ of the people in the UK did not get all the Covid-19 shots they needed last summer. They looked at the health (2)______ of everyone older than five years old. They saw that young people often didn’t get all their shots. If more people had gotten all their shots, over 7,000 people might not (3)______ had to go to the hospital because of Covid-19. The scientists (4)______ looking at everyone’s health records can help us (5)______ about other sicknesses too.

The study showed that in different parts of the UK, different numbers of people didn’t get all their Covid-19 shots. In Northern (6)______, the most people missed their shots, and in Wales, the fewest people missed them. The scientists think that if everyone had gotten their shots, fewer people would have gotten really (7)______ and had to go to the hospital. They also found out that older people who didn’t get all their shots were more likely to get very sick from Covid-19.

A smart professor (8)______ Sir Aziz Sheikh (9)______ that the Covid-19 shots are very important for keeping (10)______ alive. He thinks the study can help us know where to tell more people about getting their shots. The study found that young people, men, people with less money, and people from different cultures often didn’t get all their shots. The (11)______ believe that using (12)______ records to learn about sickness can help us keep people healthier.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a Covid-19 shot?
2. How would you feel if you had to go to the hospital because of Covid-19?
3. Do you like getting shots? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s important for everyone to get all their Covid-19 shots? Why?
5. What is a health record?
6. How would you feel if you found out that you didn’t get all your shots?
7. Do you think it’s fair that some people didn’t get all their Covid-19 shots? Why or why not?
8. What do you think can be done to make sure more people get all their shots?
9. Why do you think young people often didn’t get all their Covid-19 shots?
10. How would you feel if you were more likely to get very sick from Covid-19 because you didn’t get all your shots?
11. Do you think it’s important to use health records to learn about sickness? Why or why not?
12. What can we learn from this study about keeping people healthier?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. scientists
2. study
3. records
4. shots
5. hospital
6. sicknesses
7. Northern Ireland
8. Wales
9. professor
10. cultures
11. important
12. healthier

Meanings:
(A) Quick pokes with a needle that put medicine into your body to keep you from getting sick
(B) A part of the UK that is on an island next to England and Scotland
(C) The way people live, what they believe, and what is normal for them, which can be different in different places
(D) Something that is really needed or has a big effect on what happens
(E) A teacher who knows a lot about a certain subject and works at a university
(F) Illnesses or diseases that can make you feel bad or hurt your body
(G) A part of the UK that is on the same island as England and Scotland, but it is not England or Scotland
(H) People who learn about the world and how things work by doing experiments and tests
(I) A place where doctors and nurses take care of sick or hurt people
(J) In a better condition, not sick or hurt
(K) To look at something very carefully to learn more about it
(L) Pieces of paper or files that have information written on them
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did scientists study?
(a) Covid-19 symptoms
(b) Hospital visits
(c) Different sicknesses
(d) People’s health records

2. Who did the study find often didn’t get all their Covid-19 shots?
(a) Older people
(b) Young people
(c) Rich people
(d) People from different cultures

3. How many people might not have had to go to the hospital if they had gotten all their shots?
(a) Over 5,000
(b) Over 7,000
(c) Over 10,000
(d) Over 3,000

4. In which part of the UK did the most people miss their Covid-19 shots?
(a) Northern Ireland
(b) Wales
(c) Scotland
(d) England

5. Who did the study find were more likely to get very sick from Covid-19 if they didn’t get all their shots?
(a) Older people
(b) Young people
(c) Men
(d) People with more money

6. What did Sir Aziz Sheikh say about the Covid-19 shots?
(a) They are not necessary
(b) They are only for young people
(c) They are not effective
(d) They are very important for keeping people alive

7. Who did the study find often didn’t get all their shots?
(a) People with more money
(b) People from the same culture
(c) People with less money
(d) People from the same age group

8. What do the scientists believe using health records can help us do?
(a) Make people sicker
(b) Learn about Covid-19 symptoms
(c) Keep people healthier
(d) Learn about different sicknesses

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Young people were often the ones who got all their shots.
2. If more people had not gotten all their shots, around 7,000 individuals might have needed to go to the hospital because of Covid-19.
3. The study looked at the health records of everyone older than five years old.
4. The study found that older people who got all their shots were more likely to get very sick from Covid-19.
5. Scientists in the UK did a study and discovered that almost half of the people in the country didn’t get all their Covid-19 shots last summer.
6. The scientists think that if everyone had not received their shots, fewer people would have become seriously ill and had to go to the hospital.
7. Different parts of the UK had different numbers of people who missed their Covid-19 shots, with Northern Ireland having the most and Wales having the fewest.
8. The scientists believe that studying everyone’s health records can help us learn about other illnesses too.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What did scientists find out about the Covid-19 shots in the UK?
2. Who did the scientists look at in their study?
3. How many people might not have had to go to the hospital if they had gotten all their shots?
4. Which part of the UK had the most people who missed their shots?
5. Who is Sir Aziz Sheikh and what did he say about the Covid-19 shots?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did the scientists study?
The scientists studied the Covid-19 shots that people in the UK received.

2. What did they find out about the people in the UK and their Covid-19 shots?
They found out that almost half of the people in the UK did not get all the Covid-19 shots they needed.

3. How many people might not have had to go to the hospital if they had gotten all their shots?
Over 7,000 people might not have had to go to the hospital if they had gotten all their shots.

4. What do the scientists think looking at health records can help us learn about?
The scientists think looking at health records can help us learn about other sicknesses too.

5. Which part of the UK had the most people who missed their shots?
Northern Ireland had the most people who missed their shots.

6. Which part of the UK had the fewest people who missed their shots?
Wales had the fewest people who missed their shots.

7. Who did the study find often didn’t get all their shots?
The study found that young people, men, people with less money, and people from different cultures often didn’t get all their shots.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) half
(2) records
(3) have
(4) think
(5) learn
(6) Ireland
(7) sick
(8) named
(9) said
(10) people
(11) scientists
(12) health
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. scientists
Answer: (H) People who learn about the world and how things work by doing experiments and tests

2. study
Answer: (K) To look at something very carefully to learn more about it

3. records
Answer: (L) Pieces of paper or files that have information written on them

4. shots
Answer: (A) Quick pokes with a needle that put medicine into your body to keep you from getting sick

5. hospital
Answer: (I) A place where doctors and nurses take care of sick or hurt people

6. sicknesses
Answer: (F) Illnesses or diseases that can make you feel bad or hurt your body

7. Northern Ireland
Answer: (B) A part of the UK that is on an island next to England and Scotland

8. Wales
Answer: (G) A part of the UK that is on the same island as England and Scotland, but it is not England or Scotland

9. professor
Answer: (E) A teacher who knows a lot about a certain subject and works at a university

10. cultures
Answer: (C) The way people live, what they believe, and what is normal for them, which can be different in different places

11. important
Answer: (D) Something that is really needed or has a big effect on what happens

12. healthier
Answer: (J) In a better condition, not sick or hurt
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did scientists study?
Answer: (d) People’s health records

2. Who did the study find often didn’t get all their Covid-19 shots?
Answer: (b) Young people

3. How many people might not have had to go to the hospital if they had gotten all their shots?
Answer: (b) Over 7,000

4. In which part of the UK did the most people miss their Covid-19 shots?
Answer: (a) Northern Ireland

5. Who did the study find were more likely to get very sick from Covid-19 if they didn’t get all their shots?
Answer: (a) Older people

6. What did Sir Aziz Sheikh say about the Covid-19 shots?
Answer: (d) They are very important for keeping people alive

7. Who did the study find often didn’t get all their shots?
Answer: (c) People with less money

8. What do the scientists believe using health records can help us do?
Answer: (c) Keep people healthier
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Young people were often the ones who got all their shots. (Answer: False)
2. If more people had not gotten all their shots, around 7,000 individuals might have needed to go to the hospital because of Covid-19. (Answer: False)
3. The study looked at the health records of everyone older than five years old. (Answer: True)
4. The study found that older people who got all their shots were more likely to get very sick from Covid-19. (Answer: False)
5. Scientists in the UK did a study and discovered that almost half of the people in the country didn’t get all their Covid-19 shots last summer. (Answer: True)
6. The scientists think that if everyone had not received their shots, fewer people would have become seriously ill and had to go to the hospital. (Answer: False)
7. Different parts of the UK had different numbers of people who missed their Covid-19 shots, with Northern Ireland having the most and Wales having the fewest. (Answer: True)
8. The scientists believe that studying everyone’s health records can help us learn about other illnesses too. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧