The weather is changing. It is getting hotter and there is less rain. This is bad for some plants. One of these plants is grapes. Grapes are used to make wine. Australia makes a lot of wine. But the weather is making it hard for them to grow good grapes.
Some people are trying new ways to grow grapes. They are planting different kinds of grapes. These grapes can grow in hotter weather. They also need less water. This is good for the Earth. Other people are growing grapes in cooler places. They hope this will help them make good wine. But some people are worried. They think the hot weather might be too much for the grapes. They worry that they will not be able to make good wine in the future.
Original news source: (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Sentence Scramble
Instructions: Write a few sentences from the article on small pieces of paper, one word per piece. Mix the words up and divide the students into pairs or small groups. Give each group a set of scrambled sentence words. The students must work together to arrange the words into the correct sentence order.
– Weather Forecast Role Play
Instructions: Divide the students into pairs. One student will be a weather reporter and the other will be a grape farmer. The weather reporter will share the weather forecast (e.g., hot and dry or cool and rainy), and the grape farmer will explain how it will affect their grape growing and wine production. Encourage students to use vocabulary from the article in their conversation.
– Hot or Cold Mime
Instructions: Divide the students into pairs. One student will mime an activity related to hot weather (e.g., fanning themselves, drinking water) or cold weather (e.g., shivering, wearing a scarf). The other student must guess if the mime is showing hot or cold weather. Encourage students to use vocabulary from the article to describe the weather and its effects on grape growing.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What is happening to the weather?
2. What plant is the changing weather bad for?
3. What do we use grapes for?
4. Which country makes a lot of wine?
5. What are some people doing to grow grapes in hotter weather?
6. Why are these new grapes good for the Earth?
7. Where are other people growing grapes?
8. Why are some people worried about making good wine?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
The weather is changing. It is getting (1)______ and there is less (2)______. This is bad for some plants. One of these plants is (3)______. Grapes are used to make wine. Australia makes a lot of wine. But the weather is making it hard for them to grow good grapes.
Some people are trying new ways to grow grapes. They are planting different kinds of grapes. These grapes can grow in hotter weather. They also need less (4)______. This is good for the Earth. Other people are growing grapes in cooler (5)______. They hope this will help them make good wine. But some people are worried. They think the hot weather might be too much for the grapes. They worry that they will not be able to make good (6)______ in the future.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is the weather doing?
2. Is it good or bad for plants?
3. What is one plant that is having trouble?
4. What do we use grapes for?
5. What country makes a lot of wine?
6. Why is it hard for them to grow good grapes?
7. What are some people trying to do?
8. Are they planting the same grapes or different ones?
9. Why are these new grapes better?
10. What are other people doing to grow grapes?
11. Where are they growing grapes now?
12. Why do they hope this helps make good wine?
13. Are some people worried?
14. What are they worried about?
15. Do you think the weather will stop us from making good wine?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. weather
2. grapes
3. wine
4. Australia
5. planting
6. hotter
7. cooler
8. future
Shuffled Meanings:
A) A country in the southern hemisphere known for its unique animals
B) A time that is coming after now
C) Putting seeds or plants into the ground to grow
D) The state of the air outside, like if it’s sunny, rainy, or cold
E) Small round fruits that grow on vines and can be used to make a drink
F) Having a higher temperature, like when the sun is very strong
G) A drink made from fermented grapes
H) Having a lower temperature, like when there is a nice breeze
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Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What is happening to the weather?
(a) It is getting colder
(b) It is getting hotter
(c) There is more rain
(d) Nothing is changing
2. What plant is having trouble growing because of the weather?
(a) Apples
(b) Grapes
(c) Oranges
(d) Strawberries
3. What do people use grapes for?
(a) Making juice
(b) Making clothes
(c) Building houses
(d) Making wine
4. What country is having trouble growing grapes?
(a) China
(b) Brazil
(c) Australia
(d) Canada
5. What are some people doing to grow grapes in hot weather?
(a) Planting different kinds of grapes
(b) Using more water
(c) Moving to colder places
(d) Not growing grapes anymore
6. Why are these new grapes good for the Earth?
(a) They need more water
(b) They need less water
(c) They grow faster
(d) They are bigger
7. What are other people doing to grow grapes?
(a) Planting them in cooler places
(b) Using more sunlight
(c) Planting them in the desert
(d) Growing them indoors
8. What are some people worried about?
(a) There will be too much wine
(b) The weather will not change
(c) They will not be able to make good wine in the future
(d) Grapes will become too expensive
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. The weather is staying the same.
2. Grapes are used to make wine.
3. Australia does not make wine.
4. The weather is making it easy to grow grapes.
5. People are trying new ways to grow grapes.
6. The new grapes need more water.
7. Some people are growing grapes in cooler places.
8. Everyone is happy about the hot weather.
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 is happening to the weather?
2. Why is the hot weather bad for grapes?
3. What is wine made from?
4. Where does Australia make a lot of wine?
5. What are some people trying to do to grow grapes in the changing weather?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What is happening to the weather?
The weather is getting hotter and there is less rain.
2. What plant is the changing weather bad for?
The changing weather is bad for grapes.
3. What do we use grapes for?
We use grapes to make wine.
4. Which country makes a lot of wine?
Australia makes a lot of wine.
5. What are some people doing to grow grapes in hotter weather?
Some people are planting different kinds of grapes that can grow in hotter weather.
6. Why are these new grapes good for the Earth?
These new grapes need less water, which is good for the Earth.
7. Where are other people growing grapes?
Other people are growing grapes in cooler places.
8. Why are some people worried about making good wine?
Some people are worried because they think the hot weather might be too much for the grapes and they won’t be able to make good wine in the future.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. hotter
2. rain
3. grapes
4. water
5. places
6. wine
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. weather
Answer: D) The state of the air outside, like if it’s sunny, rainy, or cold
2. grapes
Answer: E) Small round fruits that grow on vines and can be used to make a drink
3. wine
Answer: G) A drink made from fermented grapes
4. Australia
Answer: A) A country in the southern hemisphere known for its unique animals
5. planting
Answer: C) Putting seeds or plants into the ground to grow
6. hotter
Answer: F) Having a higher temperature, like when the sun is very strong
7. cooler
Answer: H) Having a lower temperature, like when there is a nice breeze
8. future
Answer: B) A time that is coming after now
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What is happening to the weather?
Answer: (b) It is getting hotter
2. What plant is having trouble growing because of the weather?
Answer: (b) Grapes
3. What do people use grapes for?
Answer: (d) Making wine
4. What country is having trouble growing grapes?
Answer: (c) Australia
5. What are some people doing to grow grapes in hot weather?
Answer: (a) Planting different kinds of grapes
6. Why are these new grapes good for the Earth?
Answer: (b) They need less water
7. What are other people doing to grow grapes?
Answer: (a) Planting them in cooler places
8. What are some people worried about?
Answer: (c) They will not be able to make good wine in the future
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. The weather is staying the same.
Answer: False
2. Grapes are used to make wine.
Answer: True
3. Australia does not make wine.
Answer: False
4. The weather is making it easy to grow grapes.
Answer: False
5. People are trying new ways to grow grapes.
Answer: True
6. The new grapes need more water.
Answer: False
7. Some people are growing grapes in cooler places.
Answer: True
8. Everyone is happy about the hot weather.
Answer: False
Go back to questions ⇧
