A big meeting about the Earth’s weather is coming up in a place called the United Arab Emirates. This meeting is important because leaders from all over the world will talk about how to take better care of our planet. They will try to make new promises to stop the air from getting dirty with gases that are bad for the Earth. They also want to help people make energy from things like the sun and wind, and help poor countries deal with the changing weather.

But some people are worried because the place where the meeting will happen makes a lot of money from oil and gas. Oil and gas can make the Earth’s weather worse. The leaders at the meeting will try to make stronger promises to keep the air clean. They will also talk about how to get money to change to cleaner ways of making energy and help countries that don’t have a lot of money.

No one knows if the meeting will really help the Earth. The leaders will talk a lot, but it’s hard to say if they will really do what they promise. Still, this meeting is a chance for countries to work together. They can agree to make less dirty air, use more sun and wind for energy, and help poorer countries.

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:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the students into teams. Each team will take turns acting out words or phrases related to the article, such as “air pollution,” “renewable energy,” or “climate change.” The other teams will have to guess what they are acting out. This activity will help the students practice vocabulary and improve their communication skills.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Give each student a piece of paper and a pencil. Ask them to draw a picture that represents an idea or concept from the article, such as “clean air” or “renewable energy.” After they finish drawing, have the students share their drawings with a partner or the whole class and explain what they have drawn. This activity will help the students practice their speaking skills and think creatively.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the students into teams. Give each team a set of vocabulary words related to the article. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and draw a picture representing one of the words. The other team members will have to guess what word it is. This activity will help the students practice their vocabulary and improve their teamwork and communication skills.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Give each student a sentence or two from the article. They will have a few minutes to read and understand their sentence(s). Then, have the students pair up and take turns summarizing their sentences to their partners in one minute or less. After the time is up, the partners can discuss and compare their summaries. This activity will help the students practice their reading comprehension and speaking skills.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: Have each student come up with two true statements and one false statement about the article. They will take turns sharing these statements with a partner or the whole class. The other students will have to guess which statement is the lie. This activity will help the students practice their speaking and listening skills, as well as their critical thinking skills.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Why is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather important?
2. What are leaders from all over the world going to talk about at the meeting?
3. Why are some people worried about the meeting?
4. What will the leaders at the meeting try to do about the air getting dirty?
5. What are some ways they want to make energy?
6. What will they talk about in relation to poor countries?
7. Why is this meeting a chance for countries to work together?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A big meeting about the Earth’s weather is coming up in a place (1)______ the United Arab Emirates. This meeting is important because leaders from all over the world will (2)______ about how to take better care of our planet. They will try to make new promises to stop the air from getting (3)______ with gases that are bad for the Earth. They also want to help people make (4)______ from things like the sun and wind, and help poor countries deal with the changing weather.

But some people are (5)______ because the place where the (6)______ will happen makes a lot of money from oil and gas. Oil and gas can make the Earth’s weather worse. The (7)______ at the meeting will try to make stronger promises to keep the air clean. They will also talk about how to get money to change to (8)______ ways of making energy and help countries that don’t have a lot of money.

No one (9)______ if the meeting will really (10)______ the Earth. The leaders will talk a lot, but it’s hard to say if they will really do what they promise. Still, this meeting is a chance for countries to work together. They can (11)______ to make less dirty air, use (12)______ sun and wind for energy, and help poorer countries.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is the big meeting in the United Arab Emirates about?
2. How would you feel if you were a leader at the meeting?
3. Do you like the idea of using the sun and wind for energy? Why or why not?
4. What do you think will happen if the air gets dirty with bad gases?
5. Why do you think some people are worried about the meeting?
6. What do you think it means to make stronger promises to keep the air clean?
7. How would you feel if your country didn’t have a lot of money to deal with the changing weather?
8. Do you think the meeting will really help the Earth? Why or why not?
9. What do you think it means to work together?
10. How would you feel if your country agreed to use more sun and wind for energy?
11. Do you think it’s important to help poorer countries? Why or why not?
12. What do you think the leaders at the meeting should do to make a difference?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. meeting
2. Earth
3. leaders
4. promises
5. air
6. energy
7. countries
8. together

Meanings:
(a) People who are in charge
(b) Power that makes things work
(c) The stuff we breathe
(d) The planet we live on
(e) Working as a team
(f) Places with their own governments
(g) Things you say you will do
(h) A gathering of people to discuss something
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather going to take place?
(a) United States
(b) United Arab Emirates
(c) United Kingdom
(d) United Nations

2. Why is the meeting important?
(a) The meeting will discuss the latest fashion trends.
(b) The meeting will focus on new video games.
(c) The meeting will discuss how to make more money.
(d) Leaders from all over the world will talk about how to take better care of the planet.

3. What do the leaders want to do about the air?
(a) They want to make it smell better.
(b) They want to make it hotter.
(c) They want to stop it from getting dirty with bad gases.
(d) They want to make it rain more.

4. What kind of energy do the leaders want to help people make?
(a) Energy from the sun and wind.
(b) Energy from oil and gas.
(c) Energy from coal and nuclear power.
(d) Energy from fire and lightning.

5. What are some people worried about?
(a) The place where the meeting will happen is too far away.
(b) The meeting will be boring.
(c) The place where the meeting will happen makes a lot of money from oil and gas.
(d) The meeting will be cancelled.

6. What can the leaders at the meeting agree to do?
(a) Make the air dirtier, use more oil and gas for energy, and ignore poorer countries.
(b) Make more dirty air, use more sun and wind for energy, and ignore poorer countries.
(c) Make less dirty air, use more oil and gas for energy, and help richer countries.
(d) Make less dirty air, use more sun and wind for energy, and help poorer countries.

7. What is the main purpose of the meeting?
(a) To discuss the latest movies and TV shows.
(b) To discuss how to take better care of the planet and help poor countries.
(c) To discuss how to make more money.
(d) To discuss the latest fashion trends.

8. What is the outcome of the meeting uncertain?
(a) It’s hard to say if the leaders will really do what they promise.
(b) The leaders will definitely do what they promise.
(c) The leaders will definitely not do what they promise.
(d) The meeting will be cancelled.

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The leaders will try to make weaker promises to keep the air polluted and find ways to continue relying on fossil fuels.
2. Some people are worried because the place where the meeting will happen makes a lot of money from oil and gas.
3. Leaders from nowhere are going to have an unimportant meeting in the United Arab Emirates.
4. The meeting is a chance for countries to work against each other and agree to make more dirty air while hindering poorer countries.
5. The meeting is about finding ways to take better care of our planet and its weather.
6. They also want to discourage people from using solar and wind energy and encourage the use of oil and gas.
7. It is hard to know if the meeting will really help the Earth, but it is important for the leaders to talk and make promises.
8. The leaders want to make promises to stop the air from getting dirty with bad gases.
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. Why is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather important?
2. What are some of the things the leaders will talk about at the meeting?
3. Why are some people worried about the meeting?
4. What are some of the promises the leaders might make at the meeting?
5. Why is this meeting a chance for countries to work together?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Why is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather important?
The big meeting is important because leaders from all over the world will talk about how to take better care of our planet.

2. What are leaders from all over the world going to talk about at the meeting?
The leaders will talk about how to stop the air from getting dirty with gases that are bad for the Earth. They also want to help people make energy from things like the sun and wind, and help poor countries deal with the changing weather.

3. Why are some people worried about the meeting?
Some people are worried because the place where the meeting will happen makes a lot of money from oil and gas, which can make the Earth’s weather worse.

4. What will the leaders at the meeting try to do about the air getting dirty?
The leaders will try to make stronger promises to keep the air clean.

5. What are some ways they want to make energy?
They want to make energy from things like the sun and wind.

6. What will they talk about in relation to poor countries?
They will talk about how to help poor countries deal with the changing weather.

7. Why is this meeting a chance for countries to work together?
This meeting is a chance for countries to work together because they can agree to make less dirty air, use more sun and wind for energy, and help poorer countries.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) called
(2) talk
(3) dirty
(4) energy
(5) worried
(6) meeting
(7) leaders
(8) cleaner
(9) knows
(10) help
(11) agree
(12) more
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

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

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

3. leaders
Answer: (a) People who are in charge

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

5. air
Answer: (c) The stuff we breathe

6. energy
Answer: (b) Power that makes things work

7. countries
Answer: (f) Places with their own governments

8. together
Answer: (e) Working as a team
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where is the big meeting about the Earth’s weather going to take place?
Answer: (b) United Arab Emirates

2. Why is the meeting important?
Answer: (d) Leaders from all over the world will talk about how to take better care of the planet.

3. What do the leaders want to do about the air?
Answer: (c) They want to stop it from getting dirty with bad gases.

4. What kind of energy do the leaders want to help people make?
Answer: (a) Energy from the sun and wind.

5. What are some people worried about?
Answer: (c) The place where the meeting will happen makes a lot of money from oil and gas.

6. What can the leaders at the meeting agree to do?
Answer: (d) Make less dirty air, use more sun and wind for energy, and help poorer countries.

7. What is the main purpose of the meeting?
Answer: (b) To discuss how to take better care of the planet and help poor countries.

8. What is the outcome of the meeting uncertain?
Answer: (a) It’s hard to say if the leaders will really do what they promise.
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The leaders will try to make weaker promises to keep the air polluted and find ways to continue relying on fossil fuels. (Answer: False)
2. Some people are worried because the place where the meeting will happen makes a lot of money from oil and gas. (Answer: True)
3. Leaders from nowhere are going to have an unimportant meeting in the United Arab Emirates. (Answer: False)
4. The meeting is a chance for countries to work against each other and agree to make more dirty air while hindering poorer countries. (Answer: False)
5. The meeting is about finding ways to take better care of our planet and its weather. (Answer: True)
6. They also want to discourage people from using solar and wind energy and encourage the use of oil and gas. (Answer: False)
7. It is hard to know if the meeting will really help the Earth, but it is important for the leaders to talk and make promises. (Answer: True)
8. The leaders want to make promises to stop the air from getting dirty with bad gases. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧