A car company called Nissan is going to spend a lot of money to make new electric cars in a place called Sunderland in the UK. They will make three kinds of electric cars, and this will help keep many people’s jobs safe. They will also need to build a big new place to make batteries for the cars. Nissan is going to teach the people who work there how to make these new cars. This is good news because making cars in the UK has been hard lately.

The UK government is helping by making a special area where companies can do well, and this will make more jobs. Nissan’s big plan to make electric cars is very important for them because they send most of the cars they make to other countries. The UK was going to stop letting people buy cars that use gas soon, but they decided to wait a little longer. Because of this, not as many electric cars might be sold as people thought before.

Original news source: Nissan to lead £2bn investment in UK electric car plant (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Give each team a list of vocabulary words related to the article (e.g. car, electric, jobs, government). One member from each team will come to the front of the class and act out the word without speaking. The team members must guess the word within a certain time limit. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a set of vocabulary words related to the article. One student from each group will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it, while the other group members try to guess what word it is. The group with the most correct guesses wins.

– Keyword Taboo
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a set of vocabulary words related to the article. One student from each pair will try to describe the word to their partner without using the keyword itself or any of the related words. The partner must guess the word based on the description. The pair with the most correct guesses wins.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually. Then, ask them to think about one thing they found interesting or surprising in the article. Pair the students up and have them share their thoughts with their partner. Finally, ask a few pairs to share their thoughts with the whole class.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Ask each group to discuss and make predictions about the future of electric cars in the UK based on the information in the article. They can discuss questions such as: Will more people buy electric cars in the future? What challenges might Nissan face in making electric cars? Each group should present their predictions to the class.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What is the name of the car company that is going to make new electric cars?
2. Where is the car company going to make the new electric cars?
3. How many kinds of electric cars will the company make?
4. What will the company need to build in order to make the electric cars?
5. Why is it good news that Nissan is going to teach the people how to make the new cars?
6. How is the UK government helping companies like Nissan?
7. Why is it important for Nissan to make electric cars?
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Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A car (1)______ called Nissan is going to spend a lot of money to make new electric (2)______ in a place called Sunderland in the UK. They will make three kinds of electric cars, and this will help keep many people’s jobs safe. They will also need to build a big new place to make batteries for the cars. Nissan is going to teach the people who (3)______ there how to make these new cars. This is good news because (4)______ cars in the UK has been hard lately.

The UK government is (5)______ by making a special area where companies can do well, and this will make (6)______ jobs. Nissan’s big plan to make electric cars is very important for them because they send most of the cars they make to (7)______ countries. The UK was going to stop letting people buy cars that use gas soon, but they decided to wait a (8)______ longer. Because of this, not as many electric cars might be sold as people thought before.
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Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a car company called Nissan going to do in Sunderland?
2. How would you feel if your job was at risk of going away?
3. Do you like electric cars? Why or why not?
4. What do you think Nissan will teach the people who work there?
5. How do you think making cars in the UK has been lately?
6. What is the UK government doing to help companies?
7. What is a special area where companies can do well?
8. How do you think making more jobs is a good thing?
9. What do you think will happen if not as many electric cars are sold?
10. How would you feel if you couldn’t buy a car that uses gas?
11. Do you think it’s important for Nissan to make electric cars? Why or why not?
12. Why do you think Nissan sends most of the cars they make to other countries?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Nissan
2. electric
3. Sunderland
4. batteries
5. jobs
6. government
7. cars
8. gas

Meanings:
(a) A type of fuel that cars use to run
(b) A company that makes cars
(c) Powered by electricity instead of gas
(d) The people who make rules for the country
(e) A place in the UK where cars will be made
(f) Things that you drive on the road
(g) Things that store energy for the cars
(h) Work that people do to earn money
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Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What car company is going to make new electric cars in Sunderland?
(a) Ford
(b) Toyota
(c) Nissan
(d) Honda

2. How many kinds of electric cars will Nissan make?
(a) Two
(b) Four
(c) Five
(d) Three

3. What will Nissan need to build for the electric cars?
(a) Batteries
(b) Tires
(c) Seats
(d) Windows

4. What will Nissan teach the people who work there?
(a) How to make new cars
(b) How to fix old cars
(c) How to sell cars
(d) How to drive cars

5. Why is the UK government making a special area for companies?
(a) To make more jobs
(b) To build houses
(c) To sell cars
(d) To help companies do well

6. Where does Nissan send most of the cars they make?
(a) Other cities in the UK
(b) Other countries
(c) Other car companies
(d) Other planets

7. What was the UK going to stop letting people buy?
(a) Cars that use electricity
(b) Cars that use water
(c) Cars that use gas
(d) Cars that use air

8. Why might not as many electric cars be sold?
(a) Because people don’t like electric cars
(b) Because people can still buy cars that use gas
(c) Because the UK government changed their mind
(d) Because Nissan is not making enough cars

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True or False Questions:

1. The UK government is helping by making a special area for companies to do well.
2. Nissan will not build a big new place to make batteries for the cars.
3. Because of this, as many electric cars might be sold as people thought before.
4. The new electric cars will not help keep people’s jobs safe.
5. The people who work at Nissan will be taught how to make the new cars.
6. Nissan’s plan to make electric cars is very important for them because they send most of their cars to other countries.
7. The UK was not going to stop letting people buy cars that use gas soon, but they decided to wait a little longer.
8. Nissan is a car company that will make new electric cars in Sunderland, UK.
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 Nissan going to make in Sunderland?
2. How many kinds of electric cars will Nissan make?
3. Why is it important for Nissan to make electric cars?
4. Who is helping Nissan make the electric cars?
5. Why might not as many electric cars be sold as people thought?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What is the name of the car company that is going to make new electric cars?
The car company is called Nissan.

2. Where is the car company going to make the new electric cars?
The car company is going to make the new electric cars in Sunderland, in the UK.

3. How many kinds of electric cars will the company make?
The company will make three kinds of electric cars.

4. What will the company need to build in order to make the electric cars?
The company will need to build a big new place to make batteries for the cars.

5. Why is it good news that Nissan is going to teach the people how to make the new cars?
It is good news because it will help keep many people’s jobs safe and they will learn new skills.

6. How is the UK government helping companies like Nissan?
The UK government is making a special area where companies can do well, which will create more jobs.

7. Why is it important for Nissan to make electric cars?
It is important for Nissan to make electric cars because they send most of the cars they make to other countries. Also, the UK is going to stop letting people buy cars that use gas soon, so they need to make more electric cars.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) company
(2) cars
(3) work
(4) making
(5) helping
(6) more
(7) other
(8) little
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Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Nissan
Answer: (b) A company that makes cars

2. electric
Answer: (c) Powered by electricity instead of gas

3. Sunderland
Answer: (e) A place in the UK where cars will be made

4. batteries
Answer: (g) Things that store energy for the cars

5. jobs
Answer: (h) Work that people do to earn money

6. government
Answer: (d) The people who make rules for the country

7. cars
Answer: (f) Things that you drive on the road

8. gas
Answer: (a) A type of fuel that cars use to run
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What car company is going to make new electric cars in Sunderland?
Answer: (c) Nissan

2. How many kinds of electric cars will Nissan make?
Answer: (d) Three

3. What will Nissan need to build for the electric cars?
Answer: (a) Batteries

4. What will Nissan teach the people who work there?
Answer: (a) How to make new cars

5. Why is the UK government making a special area for companies?
Answer: (d) To help companies do well

6. Where does Nissan send most of the cars they make?
Answer: (b) Other countries

7. What was the UK going to stop letting people buy?
Answer: (c) Cars that use gas

8. Why might not as many electric cars be sold?
Answer: (b) Because people can still buy cars that use gas
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The UK government is helping by making a special area for companies to do well. (Answer: True)
2. Nissan will not build a big new place to make batteries for the cars. (Answer: False)
3. Because of this, as many electric cars might be sold as people thought before. (Answer: False)
4. The new electric cars will not help keep people’s jobs safe. (Answer: False)
5. The people who work at Nissan will be taught how to make the new cars. (Answer: True)
6. Nissan’s plan to make electric cars is very important for them because they send most of their cars to other countries. (Answer: True)
7. The UK was not going to stop letting people buy cars that use gas soon, but they decided to wait a little longer. (Answer: False)
8. Nissan is a car company that will make new electric cars in Sunderland, UK. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧