Some airplane companies told people they were being good to the Earth, but they were not telling the truth. A group in the UK said the companies’ ads were not right. The ads said the airplane companies cared about the air and the Earth, but they are still making the air dirty. Two companies took away their ads, but one did not say much. This group in the UK has told companies before that they can’t say things that are not true about being good to the Earth.

Airplanes make a lot of dirty air that can hurt the Earth. People want the airplanes to make less dirty air. There is a special kind of airplane fuel that is better for the Earth, but there is not much of it yet. The UK wants airplanes to use more of this good fuel in the future. But right now, they don’t have many places to make this fuel.

Original news source: Airline adverts banned over ‘greenwashing’ claims (BBC)

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Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down words or phrases related to the article on small pieces of paper. One person from each team will come to the front of the class and pick a piece of paper. They must act out the word or phrase without speaking, and their team members must guess what it is. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Continue until all the words or phrases have been acted out.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the article to their partner. They should try to include the main points and key details. After each summary, the partner will give feedback and ask any questions they have. Then, they will switch roles and repeat the process.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write the following question on the board: “Do you think airplane companies should be allowed to advertise themselves as environmentally friendly if they are still polluting the air?” Have students stand on one side of the room if they agree with the statement, and on the other side if they disagree. Then, have them discuss their reasons with a partner. After a few minutes, randomly select a few students to share their opinions with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of vocabulary words from the article. One student from each group will pick a word and try to draw it on the board while their group members guess what it is. They must not speak or write any letters or numbers. The first group to guess correctly gets a point. Continue until all the words have been drawn.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns sharing two true statements and one false statement about airplanes or the environment. Their partner must guess which statement is the lie. After each round, they can discuss their reasoning and any additional information related to the statements. Then, they will switch roles and repeat the process.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What did some airplane companies say they were doing for the Earth?
2. What did a group in the UK say about the companies’ ads?
3. What did the ads say the airplane companies cared about?
4. What did the group in the UK tell the companies before?
5. Why do people want airplanes to make less dirty air?
6. What is the special kind of airplane fuel that is better for the Earth?
7. Why don’t they have many places to make this fuel right now?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some airplane (1)______ told people they were being (2)______ to the Earth, but they were not telling the truth. A group in the UK said the companies’ ads were not right. The ads said the airplane companies cared about the air and the Earth, but they are still making the air dirty. Two companies took away their ads, but one did not say much. This (3)______ in the UK has (4)______ companies before that they can’t say things that are not true about being good to the Earth.

Airplanes make a lot of dirty air that can hurt the Earth. People want the (5)______ to make less dirty air. There is a (6)______ kind of airplane fuel that is better for the Earth, but there is not much of it yet. The UK (7)______ airplanes to use more of this good fuel in the future. But right now, they don’t have many places to (8)______ this fuel.
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Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is an airplane?
2. How would you feel if someone told you they were being good to the Earth, but they were lying?
3. Do you like ads that are not true?
4. Do you think it is important for airplanes to care about the air and the Earth? Why or why not?
5. What is dirty air?
6. How would you feel if the air became dirty because of airplanes?
7. Do you think airplanes should make less dirty air? Why or why not?
8. What is special airplane fuel?
9. How would you feel if there was not much special airplane fuel?
10. Do you think it is important for airplanes to use more of the good fuel in the future? Why or why not?
11. Why do you think there are not many places to make the good fuel right now?
12. Have you ever seen an airplane? What was it like?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. airplanes
2. companies
3. ads
4. Earth
5. dirty
6. fuel
7. hurt
8. future
9. special
10. truth

Meanings:
(A) Telling what is real and not fake
(B) Not clean or tidy
(C) Something that is different or unique
(D) The time that will come after now
(E) Something that makes machines work, like gas for a car
(F) Groups of people who work together to sell things or provide services
(G) Pictures and words that try to make you want to buy something
(H) Big machines that fly in the sky
(I) The planet we live on
(J) To cause pain or damage to something
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did some airplane companies say in their ads?
(a) They didn’t care about the air and the Earth
(b) They cared about the air and the Earth
(c) They wanted to make the air dirty
(d) They wanted to hurt the Earth

2. What did a group in the UK say about the airplane companies’ ads?
(a) They were telling the truth
(b) They were making the air cleaner
(c) They were helping the Earth
(d) They were not telling the truth

3. How many companies took away their ads?
(a) None
(b) All
(c) Two
(d) One

4. What did the group in the UK tell companies before?
(a) They can’t say things that are not true about being good to the Earth
(b) They can say things that are not true about being good to the Earth
(c) They should make the air dirtier
(d) They should hurt the Earth

5. What do airplanes make that can hurt the Earth?
(a) Clean air
(b) Dirty air
(c) Water
(d) Trees

6. What do people want airplanes to make less of?
(a) Clean air
(b) Water
(c) Trees
(d) Dirty air

7. What kind of fuel is better for the Earth?
(a) Special kind of airplane fuel
(b) Regular kind of airplane fuel
(c) Car fuel
(d) Train fuel

8. What does the UK want airplanes to use more of in the future?
(a) Bad fuel
(b) No fuel
(c) Good fuel
(d) Water

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Some airplane companies said they were being bad to the Earth, but they were telling the truth.
2. People want the airplanes to make less dirty air.
3. The UK wants airplanes to use a regular kind of fuel that is worse for the Earth, but there is plenty of it.
4. Two companies kept their ads, but one did not say much.
5. A group in the UK said the companies’ ads were not right.
6. Airplanes make a lot of clean air that can help the Earth.
7. This group in the UK has told companies before that they can’t say things that are not true about being good to the Earth.
8. The ads said the airplane companies cared about the air and the Earth, but they are still making the air dirty.
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 some airplane companies say in their ads?
2. Why did a group in the UK say the companies’ ads were not right?
3. What did two companies do after the group in the UK said their ads were not right?
4. What problem do airplanes cause for the Earth?
5. What kind of fuel do people want airplanes to use in the future?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did some airplane companies say they were doing for the Earth?
Some airplane companies said they were being good to the Earth.

2. What did a group in the UK say about the companies’ ads?
A group in the UK said the companies’ ads were not right.

3. What did the ads say the airplane companies cared about?
The ads said the airplane companies cared about the air and the Earth.

4. What did the group in the UK tell the companies before?
The group in the UK told the companies before that they can’t say things that are not true about being good to the Earth.

5. Why do people want airplanes to make less dirty air?
People want airplanes to make less dirty air because it can hurt the Earth.

6. What is the special kind of airplane fuel that is better for the Earth?
The special kind of airplane fuel that is better for the Earth is not mentioned in the article.

7. Why don’t they have many places to make this fuel right now?
They don’t have many places to make this fuel right now because it is not mentioned in the article.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) companies
(2) good
(3) group
(4) told
(5) airplanes
(6) special
(7) wants
(8) make
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. airplanes
Answer: (H) Big machines that fly in the sky

2. companies
Answer: (F) Groups of people who work together to sell things or provide services

3. ads
Answer: (G) Pictures and words that try to make you want to buy something

4. Earth
Answer: (I) The planet we live on

5. dirty
Answer: (B) Not clean or tidy

6. fuel
Answer: (E) Something that makes machines work, like gas for a car

7. hurt
Answer: (J) To cause pain or damage to something

8. future
Answer: (D) The time that will come after now

9. special
Answer: (C) Something that is different or unique

10. truth
Answer: (A) Telling what is real and not fake
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did some airplane companies say in their ads?
Answer: (b) They cared about the air and the Earth

2. What did a group in the UK say about the airplane companies’ ads?
Answer: (d) They were not telling the truth

3. How many companies took away their ads?
Answer: (c) Two

4. What did the group in the UK tell companies before?
Answer: (a) They can’t say things that are not true about being good to the Earth

5. What do airplanes make that can hurt the Earth?
Answer: (b) Dirty air

6. What do people want airplanes to make less of?
Answer: (d) Dirty air

7. What kind of fuel is better for the Earth?
Answer: (a) Special kind of airplane fuel

8. What does the UK want airplanes to use more of in the future?
Answer: (c) Good fuel
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Some airplane companies said they were being bad to the Earth, but they were telling the truth. (Answer: False)
2. People want the airplanes to make less dirty air. (Answer: True)
3. The UK wants airplanes to use a regular kind of fuel that is worse for the Earth, but there is plenty of it. (Answer: False)
4. Two companies kept their ads, but one did not say much. (Answer: False)
5. A group in the UK said the companies’ ads were not right. (Answer: True)
6. Airplanes make a lot of clean air that can help the Earth. (Answer: False)
7. This group in the UK has told companies before that they can’t say things that are not true about being good to the Earth. (Answer: True)
8. The ads said the airplane companies cared about the air and the Earth, but they are still making the air dirty. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧