Some experts in the UK are worried that the forests there might get very sick and quiet in 50 years. Trees in other places like Europe and America are already having problems because of wind, fire, bugs, and sickness. The experts say if we do something now, we can save the forests and make them strong for the people who will live after us.

The forests in the UK have many problems like the weather getting warmer, animals and plants that don’t belong there, and too many deer and squirrels. There are not enough people who know how to take care of the forests, and this is making it hard for the government to plant more trees. People have ideas to fix this, like planting different kinds of trees that are good for animals and won’t get sick easily.

The study from Forestry England and the University of Cambridge talks about more problems for the forests, like not having enough water because people need it too, new bugs and sicknesses, and bad weather making it hard to take care of the trees. The experts say we need to start fixing these problems now so that the forests can stay healthy for the kids and grown-ups who will come after us.

Original news source: UK forests face ‘catastrophic ecosystem collapse’ (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Students will work in pairs to summarize the article in their own words, focusing on the main points: the threats to UK forests, the reasons for these threats, and the proposed solutions. Each pair will then share their summary with the class. This exercise helps students to practice speaking, listening, and summarizing skills.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Play a game of hangman using keywords from the article such as ‘forests’, ‘sickness’, ‘deer’, ‘squirrels’, ‘water’, ‘bugs’, and ‘trees’. This will help students to remember new vocabulary and understand the context in which the words are used.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Pose a question to the class: “What can we do to help save the forests?” Students will think individually for a minute, then pair up to discuss their ideas. Afterward, each pair will share their thoughts with the class. This activity encourages students to use their critical thinking skills and to practice speaking and listening.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Create a line in the classroom with one end labeled ‘Strongly Agree’ and the other ‘Strongly Disagree’. Read statements related to the article, such as “It is important to take care of the forests for future generations” and “The government is responsible for solving the problem of forest sickness”. Students will place themselves along the spectrum according to their opinion, then discuss why they chose their position. This encourages students to use language to express opinions and reasons.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask students to write down their predictions about the state of UK forests in 50 years based on the article. They should consider what will happen if the problems are not addressed and what the scenario would be if the suggested solutions are implemented. Students will then share their predictions with a partner or small group, practicing future tense verbs and discussing environmental vocabulary.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What are the experts in the UK worried about happening to the forests in 50 years?
2. What kinds of problems are trees in Europe and America facing?
3. What are some of the problems that the UK forests have?
4. Why is it difficult for the government to plant more trees in the UK?
5. What are some ideas people have to help the forests get better?
6. Who did the study about the forests’ problems with Forestry England?
7. What do the experts say we need to do now for the forests?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some experts in the UK are worried that the forests there might get very sick and quiet in 50 years. Trees in other (1)______ like Europe and (2)______ are already having problems because of wind, fire, bugs, and (3)______. The experts say if we do something now, we can save the forests and make them strong for the people who will live after us.

The forests in the UK have many (4)______ like the weather (5)______ warmer, animals and plants that don’t belong there, and too many deer and squirrels. There are not (6)______ people who know how to take care of the forests, and this is making it hard for the (7)______ to plant more (8)______. People have ideas to fix this, like planting different kinds of trees that are good for animals and won’t get sick easily.

The study from Forestry England and the University of Cambridge (9)______ about more problems for the forests, like not having enough water because people (10)______ it too, new bugs and sicknesses, and bad weather (11)______ it hard to take care of the trees. The experts say we need to start fixing these problems now so that the forests can stay healthy for the (12)______ and grown-ups who will come after us.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a forest?
2. How would you feel if there were no more forests where you live?
3. Do you like to visit forests? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s important to take care of forests?
5. What are some ways to make sick trees healthy again?
6. Can you think of a time when you saw a lot of trees in one place? Where was it?
7. Why do you think trees are important for animals?
8. Have you ever seen a forest with problems like too many bugs or bad weather? What did it look like?
9. Do you know any jobs that involve taking care of forests?
10. If you could help the forests, what would you like to do?
11. Do you think new kinds of trees should be planted in the forests? Why or why not?
12. What do you think will happen if we don’t take care of the forests now?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. forests
2. problems
3. trees
4. weather
5. animals
6. people
7. sickness
8. experts

Meanings:
(a) Humans, like you and me
(b) When you don’t feel well
(c) Tall plants with leaves and branches
(d) People who know a lot about something
(e) What the sky is like, such as sunny or rainy
(f) Living things that are not humans
(g) Lots of tall plants close together
(h) Things that are hard to solve
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What are some of the problems that the forests in the UK are facing?
(a) Pollution, noise, and traffic
(b) Lack of sunlight, too much water, and too many flowers
(c) Wind, fire, bugs, and sickness
(d) Too many birds, too many rabbits, and too many trees

2. Why are the forests in the UK having trouble getting enough water?
(a) There is too much water
(b) People need it too
(c) The animals drink it all
(d) The trees don’t like water

3. What is one idea to help the forests in the UK?
(a) Cutting down all the trees
(b) Building more houses in the forests
(c) Planting different kinds of trees that are good for animals and won’t get sick easily
(d) Bringing more animals and plants that don’t belong there

4. Who did the study about the problems in the forests in the UK?
(a) The government of the UK
(b) Forestry England and the University of Cambridge
(c) A group of kids
(d) A group of animals

5. What is one problem that makes it hard to take care of the trees in the forests?
(a) Bad weather
(b) Too many flowers
(c) Too much sunlight
(d) Too many birds

6. What do the experts say we need to do to help the forests?
(a) Wait and see what happens
(b) Ignore the problems
(c) Cut down all the trees
(d) Start fixing the problems now

7. Why are there not enough people who know how to take care of the forests?
(a) People don’t like trees
(b) The animals scare them
(c) There are too many people who know how to take care of the forests
(d) It is making it hard for the government to plant more trees

8. What do the experts say we can do to save the forests and make them strong for the future?
(a) Do something now
(b) Do nothing
(c) Cut down all the trees
(d) Plant more flowers

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Trees in Europe and America are already having problems because of wind, fire, bugs, and sickness.
2. Experts in the UK are worried that the forests there might become sick and quiet in 50 years.
3. There are not enough people who know how to take care of the forests, making it hard for the government to plant more trees.
4. People have no ideas to fix the problems, like planting different kinds of trees that are good for animals and won’t get sick easily.
5. The experts say we don’t need to start fixing these problems now so that the forests can stay healthy for future generations.
6. The experts believe that if we do nothing now, we can’t save the forests and make them strong for future generations.
7. A study from Forestry England and the University of Cambridge talks about fewer problems for the forests, like having enough water, new bugs and sicknesses, and good weather.
8. The forests in the UK have many problems like warmer weather, animals and plants that don’t belong there, and too many deer and squirrels.
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 some of the problems that trees in the UK forests are facing?
2. Why is it hard for the government to plant more trees?
3. What do some people think we should do to help the forests?
4. Who did the study about the forests’ problems?
5. Why do the experts think we should start fixing the forests’ problems now?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What are the experts in the UK worried about happening to the forests in 50 years?
Experts are worried that the forests might become very sick and quiet because of different problems.

2. What kinds of problems are trees in Europe and America facing?
Trees are having trouble because of strong winds, big fires, harmful bugs, and diseases.

3. What are some of the problems that the UK forests have?
The UK forests are getting too warm, and there are animals and plants that shouldn’t be there. There are also too many deer and squirrels, and not enough people who know how to look after the forests.

4. Why is it difficult for the government to plant more trees in the UK?
It’s hard to plant more trees because there aren’t enough experts to take care of the forests.

5. What are some ideas people have to help the forests get better?
Some ideas are to plant different kinds of trees that are good for wildlife and won’t get sick easily.

6. Who did the study about the forests’ problems with Forestry England?
The University of Cambridge worked with Forestry England on the study about the forests’ problems.

7. What do the experts say we need to do now for the forests?
Experts say we need to start fixing the problems now so that the forests can be healthy for future generations.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) places
(2) America
(3) sickness
(4) problems
(5) getting
(6) enough
(7) government
(8) trees
(9) talks
(10) need
(11) making
(12) kids
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. forests
Answer: (g) Lots of tall plants close together

2. problems
Answer: (h) Things that are hard to solve

3. trees
Answer: (c) Tall plants with leaves and branches

4. weather
Answer: (e) What the sky is like, such as sunny or rainy

5. animals
Answer: (f) Living things that are not humans

6. people
Answer: (a) Humans, like you and me

7. sickness
Answer: (b) When you don’t feel well

8. experts
Answer: (d) People who know a lot about something
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What are some of the problems that the forests in the UK are facing?
Answer: (c) Wind, fire, bugs, and sickness

2. Why are the forests in the UK having trouble getting enough water?
Answer: (b) People need it too

3. What is one idea to help the forests in the UK?
Answer: (c) Planting different kinds of trees that are good for animals and won’t get sick easily

4. Who did the study about the problems in the forests in the UK?
Answer: (b) Forestry England and the University of Cambridge

5. What is one problem that makes it hard to take care of the trees in the forests?
Answer: (a) Bad weather

6. What do the experts say we need to do to help the forests?
Answer: (d) Start fixing the problems now

7. Why are there not enough people who know how to take care of the forests?
Answer: (d) It is making it hard for the government to plant more trees

8. What do the experts say we can do to save the forests and make them strong for the future?
Answer: (a) Do something now
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Trees in Europe and America are already having problems because of wind, fire, bugs, and sickness. (Answer: True)
2. Experts in the UK are worried that the forests there might become sick and quiet in 50 years. (Answer: True)
3. There are not enough people who know how to take care of the forests, making it hard for the government to plant more trees. (Answer: True)
4. People have no ideas to fix the problems, like planting different kinds of trees that are good for animals and won’t get sick easily. (Answer: False)
5. The experts say we don’t need to start fixing these problems now so that the forests can stay healthy for future generations. (Answer: False)
6. The experts believe that if we do nothing now, we can’t save the forests and make them strong for future generations. (Answer: False)
7. A study from Forestry England and the University of Cambridge talks about fewer problems for the forests, like having enough water, new bugs and sicknesses, and good weather. (Answer: False)
8. The forests in the UK have many problems like warmer weather, animals and plants that don’t belong there, and too many deer and squirrels. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧