Two big places, America and China, said they will work together to help the Earth. They want to make less gas that warms the Earth and use more sun and wind to make power. They did not say they will stop using oil and coal. People think this is good before a big meeting about the Earth’s weather.

America and China talked and agreed to use more sun and wind power. They did not talk about using less coal. Still, people think this is a good small step. They will also have a special meeting about a bad gas called methane. This makes people at the big Earth weather meeting feel better.

Original news source: Climate change: US and China take ‘small but important steps’ (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary Charades
Instructions: Write down key words from the article on slips of paper (e.g., America, China, Earth, gas, sun, wind, power, coal, methane). Divide the class into two teams. Have students take turns drawing a slip and acting out the word without speaking. Their team must guess the word. This will help reinforce vocabulary from the article.

– Word Association
Instructions: Start with the word “environment” and ask a student to say a word they associate with it. The next student continues with another association. Keep the chain going until every student has participated. This activity builds vocabulary and encourages students to think about the article’s content.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Divide students into pairs. Give each pair a word or phrase from the article (e.g., “solar power,” “global warming,” “wind power”). Each student takes turns sketching the concept on paper without writing any words, while their partner guesses. This will help students associate words with their meanings visually.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Ask students to work in small groups to create a catchy headline for the article. Encourage them to think about the main idea and why it’s important. Each group presents their headline to the class, and the class votes on the most effective one. This helps with summarizing and understanding main ideas.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Pose a question to the class, such as “Why is it important for countries to work together to protect the Earth?” or “What are some ways we can make less gas that warms the Earth?” Students first think about the question individually, then pair up to discuss their thoughts, and finally share their ideas with the class. This encourages personal connection to the article’s content and practice in expressing opinions in English.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What two big places are going to work together?
2. What do America and China want to use more of to make power?
3. What do America and China want to make less of to help the Earth?
4. What did the two places not say they will stop using?
5. Why do people think America and China’s talk is good?
6. What kind of special meeting will America and China have?
7. What does the special meeting talk about, a good gas or a bad gas?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Two big places, (1)______ and China, said they will work together to help the Earth. They want to make (2)______ gas that warms the Earth and use more sun and (3)______ to make power. They did not say they will stop using oil and coal. People think this is (4)______ before a big meeting about the Earth’s weather.

America and China talked and agreed to use more sun and wind power. They did not talk about (5)______ less coal. Still, (6)______ think this is a good (7)______ step. They will also have a special meeting about a bad gas called methane. This makes people at the big Earth weather meeting feel (8)______.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is the Earth?
2. Do you like the sun? Why or why not?
3. What is wind?
4. How do you feel when the weather is warm?
5. Do you think it is good to help the Earth? Why?
6. Can you see gas in the air?
7. Do you like to play outside when it is sunny?
8. Have you seen big machines that use wind to make power? What do they look like?
9. What is a meeting?
10. Do you think it is important for places to work together? Why or why not?
11. Have you heard of America and China? What do you know about them?
12. Do you think using the sun and wind for power is a good idea? Why?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. America
2. China
3. gas
4. sun
5. wind
6. coal
7. small
8. methane

Meanings:
(a) Another big place with lots of people
(b) A big place with lots of people
(c) A bad gas that makes people sick
(d) The opposite of big
(e) Air that moves really fast
(f) Something that makes the Earth hot
(g) A black rock that we burn for power
(h) A big ball of fire in the sky
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What two countries are working together to help the Earth?
(a) America and China
(b) France and Germany
(c) Russia and Japan
(d) Australia and Brazil

2. What kind of power do America and China want to use more of?
(a) Oil and coal power
(b) Water and gas power
(c) Fire and ice power
(d) Sun and wind power

3. What gas do they want to make less of?
(a) Gas that cools the Earth
(b) Gas that warms the Earth
(c) Gas that smells bad
(d) Gas that makes people laugh

4. What did America and China not talk about using less of?
(a) Oil
(b) Coal
(c) Sun
(d) Wind

5. What is the special meeting about?
(a) A good gas called oxygen
(b) A big storm called tornado
(c) A bad gas called methane
(d) A small bug called ant

6. How do people feel about the small step America and China took?
(a) They think it is bad
(b) They think it is funny
(c) They think it is scary
(d) They think it is good

7. What is the purpose of the big Earth weather meeting?
(a) To talk about the Earth’s weather
(b) To eat ice cream
(c) To play games
(d) To watch a movie

8. Who will attend the big Earth weather meeting?
(a) Only people from America and China
(b) Only people who like the Earth
(c) People from all over the world
(d) Only people who don’t like the Earth

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. People think this is a bad small step.
2. They did say they will stop using oil and coal.
3. America and China talked and agreed to use less sun and wind power.
4. They did not talk about using less coal.
5. America and China want to harm the Earth together.
6. They want to use more sun and wind power.
7. People think this is good before a big meeting about the Earth’s weather.
8. They will have a special meeting about a bad gas called methane.
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 two big places want to help the Earth?
2. What do America and China want to use more of to make power?
3. What two things do they not want to stop using?
4. Why do people think America and China’s talk is good?
5. What is the special meeting going to be about?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What two big places are going to work together?
America and China are going to work together.

2. What do America and China want to use more of to make power?
They want to use more sun and wind to make power.

3. What do America and China want to make less of to help the Earth?
They want to make less gas that warms the Earth.

4. What did the two places not say they will stop using?
They did not say they will stop using oil and coal.

5. Why do people think America and China’s talk is good?
People think it is good because it is a small step to help the Earth before a big meeting.

6. What kind of special meeting will America and China have?
They will have a special meeting about a bad gas called methane.

7. What does the special meeting talk about, a good gas or a bad gas?
The special meeting talks about a bad gas.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) America
(2) less
(3) wind
(4) good
(5) using
(6) people
(7) small
(8) better
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Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. America
Answer: (b) A big place with lots of people

2. China
Answer: (a) Another big place with lots of people

3. gas
Answer: (f) Something that makes the Earth hot

4. sun
Answer: (h) A big ball of fire in the sky

5. wind
Answer: (e) Air that moves really fast

6. coal
Answer: (g) A black rock that we burn for power

7. small
Answer: (d) The opposite of big

8. methane
Answer: (c) A bad gas that makes people sick
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What two countries are working together to help the Earth?
Answer: (a) America and China

2. What kind of power do America and China want to use more of?
Answer: (d) Sun and wind power

3. What gas do they want to make less of?
Answer: (b) Gas that warms the Earth

4. What did America and China not talk about using less of?
Answer: (b) Coal

5. What is the special meeting about?
Answer: (c) A bad gas called methane

6. How do people feel about the small step America and China took?
Answer: (d) They think it is good

7. What is the purpose of the big Earth weather meeting?
Answer: (a) To talk about the Earth’s weather

8. Who will attend the big Earth weather meeting?
Answer: (c) People from all over the world
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. People think this is a bad small step. (Answer: False)
2. They did say they will stop using oil and coal. (Answer: False)
3. America and China talked and agreed to use less sun and wind power. (Answer: False)
4. They did not talk about using less coal. (Answer: True)
5. America and China want to harm the Earth together. (Answer: False)
6. They want to use more sun and wind power. (Answer: True)
7. People think this is good before a big meeting about the Earth’s weather. (Answer: True)
8. They will have a special meeting about a bad gas called methane. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧