The air in Delhi is very dirty right now, much worse than what is safe. In the winter, it gets even dirtier because of things like farmers burning plants and not much wind. The government has closed schools and stopped some building work to help make the air better. They hope the big court will let them try making rain.
But even if rain makes the air cleaner for a little while, it doesn't last long. After a few days, the air can get dirty again. We don't know if making rain will really make the air a lot cleaner. People who understand this say we need a good plan with many smart people working together, not just trying one thing at a time.
Original news source: Delhi AQI: Can artificial rain fix toxic air in India's capital? (BBC)
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions: Pair up students and give them a few minutes to read the article. Then, ask them to summarize the article to their partner in their own words, focusing on the main points: why Delhi wants to make rain, the current air pollution problem, and the concerns about the effectiveness of the rain-making plan.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of statements about the article, such as "Making rain is a good solution for pollution," or "The government should find other ways to clean the air." Students walk around the room and sign their names under the statements they agree with. Afterward, discuss the results as a class and encourage students to explain their choices.
– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word "rain" on the board. Ask students to call out words that they associate with rain, which could be from the article (e.g., "clouds," "salt," "clean," "dirty air") or from their own ideas (e.g., "umbrella," "wet"). Write down the words around "rain" to create a word web on the board.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary words from the article on slips of paper (e.g., "government," "pollution," "winter," "farmers," "court"). Divide the class into two teams. One student from each team comes to the board and draws a picture representing the word they picked, while their team tries to guess the word. The team that guesses correctly first gets a point.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask students to imagine it's the future after the government has tried making rain to clear the air. Students work in small groups to predict the results of this attempt. They can discuss whether it was successful or not, and what the air quality in Delhi is like. Then, each group can share their predictions with the class and explain their reasoning.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The government in Delhi wants to make it rain to clean the air.
You put salt in clouds to make it rain faster.
Some people think making rain is hard to do and might not work well because it's tricky to make rain happen on purpose.
The air is dirtier in the winter because farmers burn plants and there is not much wind.
The government has closed schools and stopped some building work to help make the air better.
The rain will only make the air cleaner for a little while, not forever.
Experts say we need a good plan with many smart people working together, not just trying one thing.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
The government in Delhi wants to try making to clean the air. Making rain means putting in clouds to make it rain faster. They think rain will wash away the dirty stuff in the air. But some people who a lot about this say it's to do and might not work well. The air in Delhi is very dirty right now, much worse than what is safe. In the winter, it gets even because of things like farmers plants and not much wind. The government has closed schools and stopped some building to help make the air better. They hope the big will let them try making rain. But even if rain makes the air cleaner for a little , it doesn't last long. After a few days, the air can get dirty again. We don't know if making rain will really make the air a lot . People who understand this say we need a plan with many smart people together, not just trying one thing at a time.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is dirty air?
2. How would you feel if you had to breathe dirty air every day?
3. Do you like when it rains? Why or why not?
4. Do you think rain can clean things? Why do you think that?
5. Have you ever seen people try to make it rain? What did they do?
6. Why do you think the air gets dirtier in the winter?
7. What do you do when your school is closed for a day?
8. If you were in charge, what would you do to clean the air?
9. Do you think working together is important to solve big problems? Why or why not?
10. Can you think of a time when you had to work with others to fix something?
11. Do you think it's a good idea to try many different ways to solve a problem?
12. What is one thing you can do to help make the air cleaner where you live?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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