The leader of Indonesia wants soldiers to help farmers grow rice. There hasn’t been much rain, and it’s making it hard to grow rice, which is very important food in Indonesia. The leader says the soldiers should use the little rain that has come to help plant rice. Soldiers have helped farmers before, and it worked well. The leader wants to make sure there is enough rice for everyone to eat.

The weather is very hot and dry because of something called El Niño. This makes it hard to grow rice in many places. Also, not many people want to work on the farms because they can get more money working in big buildings in the city. The soldiers will help do the work on the farms so there can be more rice. The government will also bring in some rice from other countries to make sure there is enough.

Original news source: Indonesia asks military to help farmers plant rice (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. One student from each pair will act out a word or phrase related to the article, while the other student guesses what it is. Encourage the use of body language and gestures to convey meaning.

– News Summary
Instructions: In groups of 3-4, have students take turns summarizing the main points of the article. Encourage them to use their own words and focus on the most important information.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Give each student a piece of paper and ask them to write down their opinion on whether soldiers should help farmers grow rice. Collect the papers and tally the responses. Then, have a class discussion where students can share and explain their opinions.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down a list of vocabulary words from the article on separate pieces of paper. Divide the class into teams and give each team a word. One student from each team will have to draw a picture representing the word, while their team members try to guess what it is.

– Synonym Challenge
Instructions: Write down a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board. In pairs, students take turns giving a synonym for each word. Encourage them to use a dictionary or their own knowledge to come up with the synonyms.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Why does the leader of Indonesia want soldiers to help farmers grow rice?
2. Why is it hard to grow rice in Indonesia right now?
3. What is making the weather very hot and dry?
4. Why don’t many people want to work on the farms?
5. What will the soldiers do to help with the rice farming?
6. What will the government do to make sure there is enough rice?
7. Why is rice an important food in Indonesia?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

The (1)______ of Indonesia wants soldiers to help farmers grow rice. There hasn’t been much rain, and it’s making it hard to grow rice, which is very important food in Indonesia. The leader (2)______ the soldiers should use the (3)______ rain that has come to help plant rice. (4)______ have helped farmers before, and it worked well. The leader wants to make sure there is enough rice for everyone to eat.

The weather is very hot and dry because of something called El Niño. This makes it hard to grow rice in many places. Also, not many (5)______ want to work on the farms because they can get more (6)______ working in big buildings in the city. The soldiers will help do the work on the farms so there can be more (7)______. The government will also bring in some rice from other countries to make (8)______ there is enough.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is rice?
2. How would you feel if it was hard to grow rice?
3. Do you like eating rice? Why or why not?
4. What is El Niño?
5. How does El Niño affect the weather?
6. Do you know anyone who works on a farm? What do they do?
7. Why do some people prefer to work in big buildings in the city instead of on a farm?
8. How do you think the soldiers can help the farmers grow rice?
9. Do you think it is important for everyone to have enough rice to eat? Why or why not?
10. Why do you think the government will bring in rice from other countries?
11. Have you ever tried rice from another country? How did it taste?
12. What other foods do you like to eat besides rice?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. leader
2. soldiers
3. farmers
4. rice
5. rain
6. plant
7. weather
8. buildings
9. government
10. country

Meanings:
(A) A place with lots of houses, people, and land
(B) Water that falls from the sky like tears
(C) To put a seed in the dirt so it can grow
(D) A white food that you can eat with lots of things
(E) People who grow food in the dirt
(F) If it’s hot or cold, sunny or cloudy outside
(G) Tall places where people work or live
(H) People who work to protect their place where they live
(I) The group of people who make rules for everyone
(J) The person who is in charge and tells others what to do
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why does the leader of Indonesia want soldiers to help farmers grow rice?
(a) The soldiers need something to do.
(b) The leader wants to make the soldiers happy.
(c) The leader doesn’t like rice.
(d) There hasn’t been much rain and it’s hard to grow rice.

2. What is making it hard to grow rice in Indonesia?
(a) The hot and dry weather.
(b) The lack of rain.
(c) The soldiers not helping.
(d) The government not bringing in rice.

3. What is El Niño?
(a) Something that makes the weather hot and dry.
(b) A type of rice.
(c) A city in Indonesia.
(d) A type of building.

4. Why don’t many people want to work on the farms?
(a) They don’t like rice.
(b) They don’t know how to grow rice.
(c) They are too busy.
(d) They can get more money working in big buildings in the city.

5. What will the soldiers do on the farms?
(a) Help with the work.
(b) Eat the rice.
(c) Play games.
(d) Watch TV.

6. What will the government do to make sure there is enough rice?
(a) Make the soldiers work harder.
(b) Stop the rain from falling.
(c) Bring in rice from other countries.
(d) Close the farms.

7. Why is rice important in Indonesia?
(a) The leader likes rice.
(b) It is a very important food.
(c) The soldiers like rice.
(d) It is a type of building.

8. Who has helped farmers before and it worked well?
(a) The government.
(b) The leader.
(c) The soldiers.
(d) The rain.

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. El Niño makes it easy to grow rice in many places.
2. The leader of Indonesia wants soldiers to harm farmers grow rice.
3. The weather is very cold and wet because of something called El Niño.
4. The government will bring in some rice from other countries to make sure there is enough.
5. Many people want to work on the farms because they can get more money working in big buildings in the city.
6. It’s hard to grow rice because there hasn’t been much rain.
7. The leader wants to make sure there is enough rice for everyone to eat.
8. Soldiers have helped farmers before and it worked well.
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. Why does the leader of Indonesia want soldiers to help farmers grow rice?
2. Why is it hard to grow rice in Indonesia right now?
3. What is making the weather hot and dry in Indonesia?
4. Why don’t many people want to work on the farms?
5. What will the government do to make sure there is enough rice for everyone to eat?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Why does the leader of Indonesia want soldiers to help farmers grow rice?
Because there hasn’t been much rain and it’s hard to grow rice.

2. Why is it hard to grow rice in Indonesia right now?
Because there is not much rain and the weather is hot and dry.

3. What is making the weather very hot and dry?
Something called El Niño.

4. Why don’t many people want to work on the farms?
Because they can make more money working in big buildings in the city.

5. What will the soldiers do to help with the rice farming?
They will help do the work on the farms.

6. What will the government do to make sure there is enough rice?
They will bring in rice from other countries.

7. Why is rice an important food in Indonesia?
Because many people eat rice and it is a staple food in their diet.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) leader
(2) says
(3) little
(4) Soldiers
(5) people
(6) money
(7) rice
(8) sure
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. leader
Answer: (J) The person who is in charge and tells others what to do

2. soldiers
Answer: (H) People who work to protect their place where they live

3. farmers
Answer: (E) People who grow food in the dirt

4. rice
Answer: (D) A white food that you can eat with lots of things

5. rain
Answer: (B) Water that falls from the sky like tears

6. plant
Answer: (C) To put a seed in the dirt so it can grow

7. weather
Answer: (F) If it’s hot or cold, sunny or cloudy outside

8. buildings
Answer: (G) Tall places where people work or live

9. government
Answer: (I) The group of people who make rules for everyone

10. country
Answer: (A) A place with lots of houses, people, and land
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why does the leader of Indonesia want soldiers to help farmers grow rice?
Answer: (d) There hasn’t been much rain and it’s hard to grow rice.

2. What is making it hard to grow rice in Indonesia?
Answer: (b) The lack of rain.

3. What is El Niño?
Answer: (a) Something that makes the weather hot and dry.

4. Why don’t many people want to work on the farms?
Answer: (d) They can get more money working in big buildings in the city.

5. What will the soldiers do on the farms?
Answer: (a) Help with the work.

6. What will the government do to make sure there is enough rice?
Answer: (c) Bring in rice from other countries.

7. Why is rice important in Indonesia?
Answer: (b) It is a very important food.

8. Who has helped farmers before and it worked well?
Answer: (c) The soldiers.
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. El Niño makes it easy to grow rice in many places. (Answer: False)
2. The leader of Indonesia wants soldiers to harm farmers grow rice. (Answer: False)
3. The weather is very cold and wet because of something called El Niño. (Answer: False)
4. The government will bring in some rice from other countries to make sure there is enough. (Answer: True)
5. Many people want to work on the farms because they can get more money working in big buildings in the city. (Answer: False)
6. It’s hard to grow rice because there hasn’t been much rain. (Answer: True)
7. The leader wants to make sure there is enough rice for everyone to eat. (Answer: True)
8. Soldiers have helped farmers before and it worked well. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧