People are searching the internet more for information about feeling worried because of changes in the weather. Things like big fires, floods, and not enough rain show that the weather is changing. This can make people feel scared or sad, especially young people. In 2023, people looked up “climate anxiety” 27 times more than they did in 2017.
People all over the world are also looking online to learn about the future of the Earth. They want to know about the weather changing, how to live without hurting the planet, and gases that are bad for the air. Even though we don’t know if more women or men are searching, studies say women feel more worried about the weather changing than men. This might be because women talk more about their feelings and have more problems when the weather changes.
When the weather changes, it can make life harder for women and girls. Sometimes, families marry off their daughters early if they don’t have enough money because of the weather. Experts say that the changing weather can also make people feel bad in their minds. As the weather changes more, people are starting to think about how it can make us feel inside.
Original news source: Climate change: Rise in Google searches around ‘anxiety’ (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a weather-related word or phrase from the article (e.g. floods, climate anxiety, changing weather). One person from the group will act out the word or phrase without speaking, while the others try to guess what it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point.
– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually or in pairs. Then, ask them to write a brief summary of the main points in their own words. Afterward, have them share their summaries with a partner or in small groups. Encourage discussion and ask follow-up questions to check comprehension.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of statements related to the article (e.g. “I feel worried about climate change”, “I think women are more affected by changing weather”). Have the students walk around the classroom and ask their classmates for their opinions on each statement. They should record the responses (e.g. using tally marks) and then report back to the class with the overall results.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Choose key vocabulary words from the article (e.g. climate anxiety, gases, weather changes) and write each word on a separate piece of paper. Divide the class into teams. One person from each team comes to the front of the class and picks a word. They have one minute to draw a picture representing the word, while their team tries to guess what it is. The team that guesses correctly gets a point.
– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Pose a question related to the article (e.g. “How does the changing weather affect people’s emotions?”). Give the students a few moments to think about their answer individually. Then, have them pair up with a partner and discuss their thoughts. Finally, open up the discussion to the whole class and ask for volunteers to share their ideas. Encourage respectful listening and responding to different viewpoints.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What are some examples of changes in the weather that can make people worried?
2. Why do some people feel scared or sad when the weather changes?
3. How many times more did people search for “climate anxiety” in 2023 compared to 2017?
4. What are some things that people want to learn about the future of the Earth when they search online?
5. Do studies show that women or men feel more worried about the weather changing?
6. How can the changing weather make life harder for women and girls?
7. What do experts say about how the changing weather can make people feel in their minds?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
People are searching the (1)______ more for information about feeling worried because of changes in the weather. (2)______ like big fires, floods, and not enough rain show that the weather is changing. This can (3)______ people feel scared or sad, especially young people. In 2023, people looked up “climate anxiety” 27 times more than they did in 2017.
People all over the (4)______ are also looking online to learn about the future of the (5)______. They want to know about the weather changing, how to live without hurting the planet, and (6)______ that are bad for the air. Even though we don’t know if more (7)______ or men are searching, studies say women feel more worried about the weather changing than men. This might be because women talk more about their feelings and (8)______ more problems when the weather (9)______.
When the weather changes, it can make life harder for women and girls. Sometimes, families marry off their daughters early if they don’t have enough (10)______ because of the weather. Experts say that the changing weather can also make (11)______ feel bad in their (12)______. As the weather changes more, people are starting to think about how it can make us feel inside.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is climate anxiety and why do you think people are searching for information about it?
2. How would you feel if you were worried about the weather changing? Why?
3. Do you think it’s important to learn about the future of the Earth? Why or why not?
4. What are some ways we can live without hurting the planet?
5. Do you think more women or men are searching for information about the weather changing? Why?
6. How do you think talking about feelings can help when the weather changes?
7. Why do you think the weather changing can make life harder for women and girls?
8. How do you think the weather can affect our minds and emotions?
9. Do you know anyone who has been affected by the changing weather? How did it make them feel?
10. What are some problems that can happen when the weather changes?
11. How do you think the weather changing can make us feel inside?
12. What can we do to help people who are feeling worried or scared because of the weather changing?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. worried
2. changes
3. floods
4. scared
5. climate
6. gases
7. marry
8. inside
Meanings:
(a) How we feel on the inside, in our minds
(b) A lot of water covering the land
(c) When two people get married
(d) The long-term weather patterns of a place
(e) Things that are different or not the same
(f) Substances that can harm the air we breathe
(g) Feeling afraid or frightened
(h) Feeling afraid or frightened
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What are some examples of changes in the weather that people are worried about?
(a) Sunny days, cool breezes, and clear skies
(b) Big fires, floods, and not enough rain
(c) Snowstorms, thunderstorms, and hail
(d) Hot weather, cold weather, and windy days
2. In what year did people search for “climate anxiety” 27 times more than they did in 2017?
(a) 2017
(b) 2020
(c) 2021
(d) 2023
3. What are some things that people want to learn about the future of the Earth?
(a) Cooking recipes, fashion trends, and sports news
(b) Movie reviews, celebrity gossip, and video games
(c) History lessons, math problems, and science experiments
(d) Weather changing, living without hurting the planet, and bad gases for the air
4. According to studies, who feels more worried about the weather changing?
(a) Women
(b) Men
(c) Children
(d) Elderly people
5. Why do studies suggest that women might feel more worried about the weather changing than men?
(a) Men are better at handling their emotions and adapting to weather changes
(b) Women are less affected by changes in the weather compared to men
(c) Women talk more about their feelings and have more problems when the weather changes
(d) Men are more interested in sports and don’t care about the weather
6. How can the changing weather make life harder for women and girls?
(a) Women and girls have to wear different clothes depending on the weather
(b) Families may marry off their daughters early if they don’t have enough money because of the weather
(c) Women and girls enjoy the changing weather and have fun outdoors
(d) The changing weather has no impact on women and girls’ lives
7. What do experts say about the changing weather and its effect on people’s minds?
(a) The changing weather has no impact on people’s mental health
(b) The changing weather only affects children’s mental health
(c) The changing weather can make people feel bad in their minds
(d) The changing weather only affects elderly people’s mental health
8. What are people starting to think about as the weather changes more?
(a) How the weather can make us feel inside
(b) How to become professional meteorologists
(c) How to build better houses to withstand the weather changes
(d) How to stop the weather from changing
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. People are using the internet less to find information about feeling worried because the weather is changing.
2. When the weather changes, it can make life harder for women and girls, sometimes leading to early marriages if families don’t have enough money.
3. The weather changing, like big fires and floods, can make people feel scared or sad.
4. In 2023, people searched for “climate anxiety” 27 times more than they did in 2017.
5. People all over the world are not searching online to learn about the future of the Earth and how to live without hurting the planet.
6. Experts say that the unchanging weather can also affect people’s mental well-being.
7. Women may feel more worried about the weather changing because they talk more about their feelings and have more problems when the weather changes.
8. Studies suggest that men feel more worried about the weather changing than women.
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 examples of changes in the weather that can make people feel worried or sad?
2. Why are people searching more for information about “climate anxiety” now compared to a few years ago?
3. What are some things that people want to learn about when they search online about the future of the Earth?
4. According to studies, who feels more worried about the weather changing: women or men?
5. How can the changing weather make life harder for women and girls?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What are some examples of changes in the weather that can make people worried?
Some examples of changes in the weather that can make people worried are big fires, floods, and not enough rain.
2. Why do some people feel scared or sad when the weather changes?
Some people feel scared or sad when the weather changes because it can cause big problems like fires and floods, and it can also make it harder for them to live their daily lives.
3. How many times more did people search for “climate anxiety” in 2023 compared to 2017?
People searched for “climate anxiety” 27 times more in 2023 compared to 2017.
4. What are some things that people want to learn about the future of the Earth when they search online?
When people search online about the future of the Earth, they want to learn about how the weather is changing, how to live without hurting the planet, and about gases that are bad for the air.
5. Do studies show that women or men feel more worried about the weather changing?
Studies show that women feel more worried about the weather changing than men.
6. How can the changing weather make life harder for women and girls?
The changing weather can make life harder for women and girls because sometimes families marry off their daughters early if they don’t have enough money because of the weather.
7. What do experts say about how the changing weather can make people feel in their minds?
Experts say that the changing weather can make people feel bad in their minds, meaning it can make them feel scared, sad, or worried about the future.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
(1) internet
(2) Things
(3) make
(4) world
(5) Earth
(6) gases
(7) women
(8) have
(9) changes
(10) money
(11) people
(12) minds
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. worried
Answer: (g) Feeling afraid or frightened
2. changes
Answer: (e) Things that are different or not the same
3. floods
Answer: (b) A lot of water covering the land
4. scared
Answer: (g) Feeling afraid or frightened
5. climate
Answer: (d) The long-term weather patterns of a place
6. gases
Answer: (f) Substances that can harm the air we breathe
7. marry
Answer: (c) When two people get married
8. inside
Answer: (a) How we feel on the inside, in our minds
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What are some examples of changes in the weather that people are worried about?
Answer: (b) Big fires, floods, and not enough rain
2. In what year did people search for “climate anxiety” 27 times more than they did in 2017?
Answer: (d) 2023
3. What are some things that people want to learn about the future of the Earth?
Answer: (d) Weather changing, living without hurting the planet, and bad gases for the air
4. According to studies, who feels more worried about the weather changing?
Answer: (a) Women
5. Why do studies suggest that women might feel more worried about the weather changing than men?
Answer: (c) Women talk more about their feelings and have more problems when the weather changes
6. How can the changing weather make life harder for women and girls?
Answer: (b) Families may marry off their daughters early if they don’t have enough money because of the weather
7. What do experts say about the changing weather and its effect on people’s minds?
Answer: (c) The changing weather can make people feel bad in their minds
8. What are people starting to think about as the weather changes more?
Answer: (a) How the weather can make us feel inside
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. People are using the internet less to find information about feeling worried because the weather is changing. (Answer: False)
2. When the weather changes, it can make life harder for women and girls, sometimes leading to early marriages if families don’t have enough money. (Answer: True)
3. The weather changing, like big fires and floods, can make people feel scared or sad. (Answer: True)
4. In 2023, people searched for “climate anxiety” 27 times more than they did in 2017. (Answer: True)
5. People all over the world are not searching online to learn about the future of the Earth and how to live without hurting the planet. (Answer: False)
6. Experts say that the unchanging weather can also affect people’s mental well-being. (Answer: False)
7. Women may feel more worried about the weather changing because they talk more about their feelings and have more problems when the weather changes. (Answer: True)
8. Studies suggest that men feel more worried about the weather changing than women. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧
