People from different countries are meeting to talk about the Earth’s weather problems. They decided to make a special pot of money to help places that get hurt by really bad weather like big storms and long times without rain. Some countries said they would put money into this pot, about $400 million. Everyone thinks this is a good first step to help places that get hurt by the changing weather.

The people at the meeting clapped a lot when they agreed to make this money pot. This money will help places that get broken by bad weather. Before, there was money to help places get ready for hotter weather and to make less smoke that hurts the air, but not for fixing things after bad weather. People first talked about this idea a long time ago, but the rich places didn’t want to pay for the air problems they made before.

This new agreement is a big deal for helping the Earth. Over the last year, countries talked about how this money pot should work. The United Arab Emirates, the place where the meeting is happening, wanted to start the meeting with good news. Places like the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom are giving money to help. But some people say it’s not enough money and we need to do more to help.

Original news source: COP28: Poor countries win 30-year fight for climate cash (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs.
2. Give each pair a copy of the article.
3. Ask the pairs to read the article together.
4. After reading, instruct one student from each pair to summarize the main points of the article to their partner in their own words.
5. Encourage the students to use the target language and practice their speaking skills.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write down key vocabulary words from the article on separate pieces of paper.
2. Divide the class into teams of two.
3. Give each team a set of vocabulary words.
4. Instruct one student from each team to choose a word from the set and draw a picture representing the word.
5. The other student must then guess the word based on the drawing.
6. Encourage the students to use the target language to describe the drawing and guess the word.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into two groups.
2. Assign one group to discuss the pros of the new agreement mentioned in the article, and the other group to discuss the cons.
3. Give the students a few minutes to brainstorm their ideas.
4. Ask each group to take turns presenting their arguments to the class.
5. Encourage the students to use the target language to express their opinions and support their arguments.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions:
1. Choose key words from the article and write down the number of letters for each word on the board, replacing the letters with dashes.
2. Divide the class into two teams.
3. Call on a student from one team to guess a letter.
4. If the letter is in the word, write it in the correct position on the board.
5. If the letter is not in the word, draw one part of a hangman on the board.
6. Alternate turns between the teams until one team guesses the word correctly, or the hangman is completed.
7. Encourage the students to use the target language to guess letters and words.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions:
1. Ask the students to think about the following question: “What are some other ways we can help places that get hurt by changing weather?”
2. Divide the class into pairs.
3. Instruct the students to discuss their ideas with their partner.
4. After a few minutes, ask some pairs to share their ideas with the class.
5. Encourage the students to use the target language to express their ideas and engage in a discussion.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What are people from different countries meeting to talk about?
2. What did they decide to make to help places that get hurt by bad weather?
3. How much money are some countries putting into the pot?
4. Why did people at the meeting clap a lot?
5. What did the money before this new agreement help with?
6. Who wanted to start the meeting with good news?
7. What do some people say about the amount of money being put into the pot?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

People from different countries are meeting to talk about the Earth’s weather problems. They decided to (1)______ a (2)______ pot of money to help (3)______ that get hurt by really bad weather like big storms and long times without rain. Some countries said they would put money into this pot, about $400 million. Everyone thinks this is a (4)______ first step to help places that get hurt by the changing (5)______.

The people at the meeting (6)______ a lot when they agreed to make this money pot. This money will help places that get broken by bad weather. Before, there was money to help places get ready for hotter weather and to make less smoke that hurts the air, but not for fixing things after bad weather. People first talked about this idea a long time ago, but the (7)______ places didn’t want to pay for the air problems they made before.

This new agreement is a big deal for helping the (8)______. Over the (9)______ year, countries talked about how this money pot should work. The United Arab Emirates, the place where the meeting is happening, wanted to start the meeting with good news. (10)______ like the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom are (11)______ money to help. But some people say it’s not enough money and we (12)______ to do more to help.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is the purpose of the special pot of money that people are talking about at the meeting?
2. How would you feel if your country was affected by really bad weather and there was no money to help fix things?
3. Do you think it’s fair for rich countries to pay for the air problems they caused before? Why or why not?
4. What do you think about the idea of countries putting money into a pot to help places affected by bad weather?
5. How do you think this money pot will help the Earth?
6. What other things do you think countries should do to help with the Earth’s weather problems?
7. Do you like the idea of the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom giving money to help? Why or why not?
8. How do you think the meeting participants felt when they agreed to make the money pot?
9. What do you think about the people who say that the money being put into the pot is not enough?
10. How would you feel if your country was giving money to help places affected by bad weather?
11. What do you think about the idea of countries working together to solve the Earth’s weather problems?
12. Why do you think it’s important to have money to help fix things after bad weather?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. countries
2. money
3. weather
4. hurt
5. storms
6. pot
7. help
8. Earth

Meanings:
(a) A container where you keep things, like money
(b) Places where people live, like France and Germany
(c) When something is damaged or in pain
(d) Big, strong winds with lots of rain
(e) What the sky is like, if it’s hot or cold or rainy
(f) The planet we live on, where all living things are
(g) Something you use to buy things
(h) When you do something to make someone feel better
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What are people meeting to talk about?
(a) Sports
(b) Food
(c) Music
(d) The Earth’s weather problems

2. How much money are countries putting into the money pot?
(a) About $100 million
(b) About $1 billion
(c) About $400 million
(d) About $10 million

3. What will the money be used for?
(a) To build new houses
(b) To buy new cars
(c) To help places that get hurt by bad weather
(d) To start a new business

4. Why is this agreement a big deal?
(a) It will help the Earth
(b) It will help people get richer
(c) It will help people travel more
(d) It will help people get jobs

5. Which country is giving money to help?
(a) Germany
(b) China
(c) Brazil
(d) Australia

6. Where is the meeting happening?
(a) Germany
(b) The United Arab Emirates
(c) The United States
(d) The United Kingdom

7. What did the rich places not want to pay for before?
(a) The water problems they made
(b) The food problems they made
(c) The transportation problems they made
(d) The air problems they made

8. What do some people say about the amount of money being given?
(a) It’s too much and we don’t need to do more to help
(b) It’s not enough and we need to do more to help
(c) It’s just right and we don’t need to do more to help
(d) It’s not important and we don’t need to do more to help

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Some people think that the amount of money being contributed is more than enough and no more needs to be done to help.
2. This money will be used to help places that are damaged by bad weather.
3. Everyone thinks this is a good first step to help places that are affected by changing weather.
4. People from the same country are meeting to talk about the Earth’s weather problems.
5. The people at the meeting clapped a lot when they agreed to create the money pot.
6. Some countries have agreed to contribute about $400 million to this money pot.
7. They decided not to create a special pot of money to help places that are affected by bad weather.
8. Before, there was no money to prepare for hotter weather and reduce air pollution, but only for fixing things after bad 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. What are people from different countries meeting to talk about?
2. What is the special pot of money for?
3. Why are some countries putting money into the pot?
4. What did the rich places not want to pay for before?
5. Who is giving money to help?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. People from different countries are meeting to talk about the Earth’s weather problems.
2. They decided to make a special pot of money to help places that get hurt by really bad weather like big storms and long times without rain.
3. Some countries are putting about $400 million into the pot.
4. People at the meeting clapped a lot because they agreed to make this money pot, which will help places that get broken by bad weather.
5. The money before this new agreement helped with getting ready for hotter weather and making less smoke that hurts the air.
6. The United Arab Emirates wanted to start the meeting with good news.
7. Some people say that the amount of money being put into the pot is not enough and we need to do more to help.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) make
(2) special
(3) places
(4) good
(5) weather
(6) clapped
(7) rich
(8) Earth
(9) last
(10) Places
(11) giving
(12) need
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. countries
Answer: (b) Places where people live, like France and Germany

2. money
Answer: (g) Something you use to buy things

3. weather
Answer: (e) What the sky is like, if it’s hot or cold or rainy

4. hurt
Answer: (c) When something is damaged or in pain

5. storms
Answer: (d) Big, strong winds with lots of rain

6. pot
Answer: (a) A container where you keep things, like money

7. help
Answer: (h) When you do something to make someone feel better

8. Earth
Answer: (f) The planet we live on, where all living things are
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What are people meeting to talk about?
Answer: (d) The Earth’s weather problems

2. How much money are countries putting into the money pot?
Answer: (c) About $400 million

3. What will the money be used for?
Answer: (c) To help places that get hurt by bad weather

4. Why is this agreement a big deal?
Answer: (a) It will help the Earth

5. Which country is giving money to help?
Answer: (a) Germany

6. Where is the meeting happening?
Answer: (b) The United Arab Emirates

7. What did the rich places not want to pay for before?
Answer: (d) The air problems they made

8. What do some people say about the amount of money being given?
Answer: (b) It’s not enough and we need to do more to help
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Some people think that the amount of money being contributed is more than enough and no more needs to be done to help. (Answer: False)
2. This money will be used to help places that are damaged by bad weather. (Answer: True)
3. Everyone thinks this is a good first step to help places that are affected by changing weather. (Answer: True)
4. People from the same country are meeting to talk about the Earth’s weather problems. (Answer: False)
5. The people at the meeting clapped a lot when they agreed to create the money pot. (Answer: True)
6. Some countries have agreed to contribute about $400 million to this money pot. (Answer: True)
7. They decided not to create a special pot of money to help places that are affected by bad weather. (Answer: False)
8. Before, there was no money to prepare for hotter weather and reduce air pollution, but only for fixing things after bad weather. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧