A big meeting about the Earth’s weather is coming. It will happen in a place called the United Arab Emirates. People who care about the Earth are worried because this place likes oil and gas a lot. They think the place might try to make deals about oil and gas. The meeting is to talk about how to stop the Earth from getting too hot.

The people at the meeting will try to make big promises to help the Earth. They want to make less smoke that is bad for the air. They also want to help countries that don’t have much money to make clean energy. But some people are worried because the meeting is in a place that sells oil. They hope the meeting will still help the Earth a lot.

Original news source: COP28: Can a climate summit in an oil state change anything? (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Read the article aloud to the class or provide each student with a printed copy.
2. Ask the students to summarize the main points of the article in their own words.
3. Have the students share their summaries with a partner or in a small group.
4. As a class, discuss the main ideas and any questions or thoughts that came up during the activity.

– Sketch It
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Give each group a piece of paper and some drawing materials.
3. Instruct the students to read the article and choose a specific scene or concept from it.
4. Have the students work together to sketch a visual representation of their chosen scene or concept.
5. After a designated amount of time, have each group share their sketch with the class and explain their choice.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write down a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board or on a handout.
2. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
3. Instruct each group to choose a word from the list and draw a picture that represents that word.
4. The other groups must guess the word based on the drawing.
5. Rotate the groups and repeat the activity with different words.

– Headline Creation
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Instruct each group to come up with a catchy headline for the article.
3. Encourage the groups to be creative and use their English vocabulary.
4. Have each group share their headline with the class and explain their choice.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions:
1. Read the article aloud to the class or provide each student with a printed copy.
2. Ask the students to think about a question related to the article.
3. Have the students pair up and share their question with their partner.
4. After a few minutes of discussion, bring the whole class back together and have a few pairs share their questions and any insights they gained from the discussion.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Where is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather going to happen?
2. Why are people worried about the place where the meeting is happening?
3. What will the people at the meeting try to do to help the Earth?
4. What is something they want to make less of because it is bad for the air?
5. Who do they want to help at the meeting?
6. Why are some people worried about the meeting?
7. What do they hope the meeting will do for the Earth?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A big (1)______ about the Earth’s weather is coming. It will (2)______ in a place called the United Arab Emirates. People who care about the Earth are worried because this place (3)______ oil and gas a lot. They (4)______ the place might try to make deals about oil and gas. The meeting is to talk about how to stop the Earth from getting too hot.

The people at the meeting will try to (5)______ big promises to help the Earth. They (6)______ to make less smoke that is bad for the air. They also want to help countries that don’t have much money to make clean (7)______. But some people are worried because the meeting is in a place that sells oil. They hope the meeting will still (8)______ the Earth a lot.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a big meeting?
2. How would you feel if you were going to a big meeting?
3. Do you like the Earth? Why or why not?
4. What is oil and gas?
5. How would you feel if you had a lot of oil and gas?
6. Do you think it’s important to stop the Earth from getting too hot? Why or why not?
7. What is smoke?
8. How would you feel if there was a lot of smoke in the air?
9. Do you think it’s important to have clean energy? Why or why not?
10. What is money?
11. How would you feel if you didn’t have much money?
12. Do you think the meeting will help the Earth a lot? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. meeting
2. Earth
3. worried
4. promises
5. smoke
6. clean
7. money
8. help

Meanings:
(a) Things you say you will do
(b) To make things better or easier for someone
(c) The planet we live on
(d) Feeling anxious or concerned
(e) Not dirty or messy
(f) The gray stuff that comes out of a fire
(g) What you use to buy things
(h) A gathering of people to talk about something
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather happening?
(a) France
(b) China
(c) United Arab Emirates
(d) Australia

2. What are people worried about at the meeting?
(a) Talking about the weather
(b) Making deals about oil and gas
(c) Eating a lot of food
(d) Playing games

3. What is the meeting trying to do?
(a) Make the Earth colder
(b) Sell a lot of oil and gas
(c) Stop the Earth from getting too hot
(d) Make the air smoky

4. What promises will the people at the meeting make?
(a) Help the Earth by making more smoke
(b) Help the Earth by using more oil and gas
(c) Help the Earth by using less clean energy
(d) Help the Earth by making less smoke

5. Who do the people at the meeting want to help?
(a) Countries that don’t have much money
(b) Countries that have a lot of money
(c) People who don’t care about the Earth
(d) People who like to make smoke

6. Why are some people worried about the meeting?
(a) Because it is in a place that sells oil
(b) Because it is in a place that sells gas
(c) Because it is in a place that sells food
(d) Because it is in a place that sells clothes

7. What do the people hope the meeting will do?
(a) Help the Earth a little
(b) Help the Earth a lot
(c) Help the Earth get hotter
(d) Help the Earth get colder

8. What does the United Arab Emirates like a lot?
(a) Clean energy
(b) Wind and solar power
(c) Rain and snow
(d) Oil and gas

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The meeting will happen in a place called the United Arab Emirates.
2. They also want to help countries that have a lot of money to make clean energy.
3. They want to make less smoke that is bad for the air.
4. People who care about the Earth are worried because this place likes oil and gas a lot.
5. The meeting is to talk about how to accelerate the Earth from getting too hot.
6. They think the place might try to make deals about oil and gas.
7. The people at the meeting will not make big promises to help the Earth.
8. There is not going to be a big meeting about the Earth’s 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. Where is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather going to happen?
2. Why are people worried about the place where the meeting is happening?
3. What are the people at the meeting going to promise to do?
4. Why are some people worried about the meeting?
5. What do the people hope the meeting will do for the Earth?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Where is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather going to happen?
The big meeting is going to happen in the United Arab Emirates.

2. Why are people worried about the place where the meeting is happening?
People are worried because the United Arab Emirates likes oil and gas a lot, and they might try to make deals about it.

3. What will the people at the meeting try to do to help the Earth?
The people at the meeting will try to make big promises to help the Earth.

4. What is something they want to make less of because it is bad for the air?
They want to make less smoke because it is bad for the air.

5. Who do they want to help at the meeting?
They want to help countries that don’t have much money to make clean energy.

6. Why are some people worried about the meeting?
Some people are worried because the meeting is in a place that sells oil.

7. What do they hope the meeting will do for the Earth?
They hope the meeting will help the Earth a lot.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) meeting
(2) happen
(3) likes
(4) think
(5) make
(6) want
(7) energy
(8) help
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. meeting
Answer: (h) A gathering of people to talk about something

2. Earth
Answer: (c) The planet we live on

3. worried
Answer: (d) Feeling anxious or concerned

4. promises
Answer: (a) Things you say you will do

5. smoke
Answer: (f) The gray stuff that comes out of a fire

6. clean
Answer: (e) Not dirty or messy

7. money
Answer: (g) What you use to buy things

8. help
Answer: (b) To make things better or easier for someone
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather happening?
Answer: (c) United Arab Emirates

2. What are people worried about at the meeting?
Answer: (b) Making deals about oil and gas

3. What is the meeting trying to do?
Answer: (c) Stop the Earth from getting too hot

4. What promises will the people at the meeting make?
Answer: (d) Help the Earth by making less smoke

5. Who do the people at the meeting want to help?
Answer: (a) Countries that don’t have much money

6. Why are some people worried about the meeting?
Answer: (a) Because it is in a place that sells oil

7. What do the people hope the meeting will do?
Answer: (b) Help the Earth a lot

8. What does the United Arab Emirates like a lot?
Answer: (d) Oil and gas
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The meeting will happen in a place called the United Arab Emirates. (Answer: True)
2. They also want to help countries that have a lot of money to make clean energy. (Answer: False)
3. They want to make less smoke that is bad for the air. (Answer: True)
4. People who care about the Earth are worried because this place likes oil and gas a lot. (Answer: True)
5. The meeting is to talk about how to accelerate the Earth from getting too hot. (Answer: False)
6. They think the place might try to make deals about oil and gas. (Answer: True)
7. The people at the meeting will not make big promises to help the Earth. (Answer: False)
8. There is not going to be a big meeting about the Earth’s weather. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧