A very important man named Henry Kissinger has died at 100 years old. He used to work for the American government, helping to make friends with other countries like Russia and China. He also helped to stop wars in places like Vietnam and the Middle East. But some people didn’t like him because he made choices that hurt people in countries like Chile and Cambodia.

Henry was born in Germany, but he moved to America when he was a boy because it was not safe for Jewish people in Germany. He fought for America in a big war and then studied at a school called Harvard. He wrote a book about war and became famous. Later, he helped the president make important decisions about how to be peaceful with other countries. But he also made some choices that made people very angry.

Even though Henry did some good things, he also did things that many people think were bad. He helped some leaders who were not nice to their people. He believed in doing whatever was needed for America, even if it wasn’t always the right thing. Now that he has died, people will talk about the things he did for a long time, trying to decide if he was good or bad.

Original news source: Henry Kissinger: Divisive diplomat who towered over world affairs (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into small groups.
2. Provide each group with a copy of the article.
3. Instruct the students to read the article and then summarize the key points in their own words.
4. After a designated time, have each group share their summaries with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs.
2. Instruct each pair to discuss and share their opinions on Henry Kissinger based on the article.
3. Provide a list of questions for the students to answer, such as “Do you think Henry Kissinger was a good or bad person? Why?” or “What do you think are the pros and cons of Henry Kissinger’s actions?”
4. After the discussion, bring the class together and have a few pairs share their opinions with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Select a few key vocabulary words from the article, such as “government,” “peaceful,” “leaders,” etc.
2. Write each vocabulary word on a small piece of paper or index card.
3. Divide the students into teams.
4. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and choose a vocabulary word without showing it to their team.
5. The student must then draw a picture to represent the vocabulary word while their team tries to guess the word.
6. The team that guesses the word correctly earns a point.
7. Repeat with different students and vocabulary words until all the words have been used.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs.
2. Give each pair a copy of the article.
3. Set a timer for a short amount of time (e.g. 2 minutes).
4. Instruct one student to summarize the article to their partner as quickly as possible, while the other student listens and takes notes.
5. After the timer goes off, have the students switch roles.
6. Repeat the activity with a longer timer (e.g. 4 minutes) and have the students try to include more details in their summaries.
7. Finally, have a few pairs share their summaries with the class.

– Headline Creation
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into small groups.
2. Instruct each group to create a headline for the article about Henry Kissinger’s death.
3. Encourage the groups to be creative and use catchy or attention-grabbing language.
4. After a designated time, have each group share their headline with the class and explain why they chose it.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Who was Henry Kissinger?
2. What did Henry Kissinger do for the American government?
3. Why did Henry Kissinger move to America?
4. What did Henry Kissinger write a book about?
5. Did Henry Kissinger always make choices that people liked?
6. Why are some people angry with Henry Kissinger?
7. What will people do now that Henry Kissinger has died?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A very (1)______ man named Henry (2)______ has died at 100 years old. He used to work for the American government, helping to make friends with other countries like Russia and China. He also helped to stop wars in places like Vietnam and the Middle (3)______. But some people didn’t like him because he made (4)______ that hurt people in countries like Chile and Cambodia.

Henry was born in Germany, but he moved to America when he was a boy because it was not (5)______ for Jewish people in Germany. He (6)______ for America in a big war and then studied at a school called Harvard. He wrote a book about war and became famous. Later, he helped the president make important (7)______ about how to be peaceful with other (8)______. But he also made some choices that made people very angry.

Even though Henry did some good things, he also did things that (9)______ people think were bad. He helped some leaders who were not nice to their people. He believed in doing whatever was (10)______ for America, even if it wasn’t always the right thing. Now that he has (11)______, people will (12)______ about the things he did for a long time, trying to decide if he was good or bad.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a diplomat?
2. How would you feel if you had to move to a different country because it wasn’t safe for you? Why?
3. Do you think it’s important for countries to be friends with each other? Why or why not?
4. What is a war?
5. How would you feel if you lived in a country where there was a war? Why?
6. Do you like reading books about history? Why or why not?
7. What is a leader?
8. How would you feel if your leader made choices that hurt people? Why?
9. What does it mean to be peaceful with other countries?
10. Do you think it’s always important to do the right thing? Why or why not?
11. Why do you think people have different opinions about Henry Kissinger?
12. How do you think history will remember Henry Kissinger? Why?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. important
2. government
3. choices
4. hurt
5. safe
6. famous
7. peaceful
8. angry

Meanings:
(a) Feeling strong displeasure or annoyance towards someone or something
(b) Not in danger or at risk of being hurt
(c) Calm and not violent or aggressive
(d) To cause pain or harm to someone or something
(e) Well-known and recognized by many people
(f) Decisions that you make between different options
(g) The group of people who make decisions and rules for a country
(h) Something or someone that is very special or has a lot of value
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What was Henry Kissinger’s job?
(a) He was a famous actor
(b) He was a doctor
(c) He worked for the American government
(d) He was a teacher

2. Where was Henry Kissinger born?
(a) America
(b) Germany
(c) Russia
(d) China

3. Why did Henry Kissinger move to America?
(a) It was not safe for Jewish people in Germany
(b) He wanted to study at Harvard
(c) He wanted to become famous
(d) He wanted to help other countries

4. What did Henry Kissinger do in a big war?
(a) He helped other countries
(b) He wrote a book
(c) He studied at Harvard
(d) He fought for America

5. What did Henry Kissinger do to help make peace with other countries?
(a) He helped the president make important decisions
(b) He wrote a book about war
(c) He worked for the American government
(d) He fought in a big war

6. Why did some people not like Henry Kissinger?
(a) He was not famous
(b) He didn’t help the president make important decisions
(c) He didn’t work for the American government
(d) He made choices that hurt people in some countries

7. What will people do now that Henry Kissinger has died?
(a) They will forget about him
(b) They will talk about the things he did for a long time
(c) They will write a book about him
(d) They will help other countries

8. What did Henry Kissinger believe in?
(a) Doing whatever was needed for other countries, even if it wasn’t always the right thing
(b) Doing whatever was needed for himself, even if it wasn’t always the right thing
(c) Doing whatever was needed for America, even if it wasn’t always the right thing
(d) Doing whatever was needed for peace, even if it wasn’t always the right thing

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. He fought for America in a big war and studied at Harvard.
2. Some people didn’t like him because he made choices that hurt people in countries like Chile and Cambodia.
3. He hindered to make friends with countries like Russia and China.
4. People have different opinions about Henry Kissinger because he did both good and bad things.
5. Henry Kissinger was an insignificant man who worked for the American government.
6. Henry Kissinger wrote a book about war and became famous.
7. Henry Kissinger played no role in stopping wars in Vietnam and the Middle East.
8. Henry Kissinger was born in Germany and stayed in America when he was a boy.
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. Who was Henry Kissinger and what did he do for the American government?
2. Why did Henry Kissinger move to America when he was a boy?
3. What did Henry Kissinger do after he fought in a war and studied at Harvard?
4. Why did some people not like Henry Kissinger?
5. What will people do now that Henry Kissinger has died?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who was Henry Kissinger?
Henry Kissinger was a very important man who used to work for the American government.

2. What did Henry Kissinger do for the American government?
Henry Kissinger helped to make friends with other countries like Russia and China. He also helped to stop wars in places like Vietnam and the Middle East.

3. Why did Henry Kissinger move to America?
Henry Kissinger moved to America because it was not safe for Jewish people in Germany.

4. What did Henry Kissinger write a book about?
Henry Kissinger wrote a book about war.

5. Did Henry Kissinger always make choices that people liked?
No, Henry Kissinger didn’t always make choices that people liked.

6. Why are some people angry with Henry Kissinger?
Some people are angry with Henry Kissinger because he made choices that hurt people in countries like Chile and Cambodia.

7. What will people do now that Henry Kissinger has died?
Now that Henry Kissinger has died, people will talk about the things he did for a long time, trying to decide if he was good or bad.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) important
(2) Kissinger
(3) East
(4) choices
(5) safe
(6) fought
(7) decisions
(8) countries
(9) many
(10) needed
(11) died
(12) talk
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. important
Answer: (h) Something or someone that is very special or has a lot of value

2. government
Answer: (g) The group of people who make decisions and rules for a country

3. choices
Answer: (f) Decisions that you make between different options

4. hurt
Answer: (d) To cause pain or harm to someone or something

5. safe
Answer: (b) Not in danger or at risk of being hurt

6. famous
Answer: (e) Well-known and recognized by many people

7. peaceful
Answer: (c) Calm and not violent or aggressive

8. angry
Answer: (a) Feeling strong displeasure or annoyance towards someone or something
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What was Henry Kissinger’s job?
Answer: (c) He worked for the American government

2. Where was Henry Kissinger born?
Answer: (b) Germany

3. Why did Henry Kissinger move to America?
Answer: (a) It was not safe for Jewish people in Germany

4. What did Henry Kissinger do in a big war?
Answer: (d) He fought for America

5. What did Henry Kissinger do to help make peace with other countries?
Answer: (a) He helped the president make important decisions

6. Why did some people not like Henry Kissinger?
Answer: (d) He made choices that hurt people in some countries

7. What will people do now that Henry Kissinger has died?
Answer: (b) They will talk about the things he did for a long time

8. What did Henry Kissinger believe in?
Answer: (c) Doing whatever was needed for America, even if it wasn’t always the right thing
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. He fought for America in a big war and studied at Harvard. (Answer: True)
2. Some people didn’t like him because he made choices that hurt people in countries like Chile and Cambodia. (Answer: True)
3. He hindered to make friends with countries like Russia and China. (Answer: False)
4. People have different opinions about Henry Kissinger because he did both good and bad things. (Answer: True)
5. Henry Kissinger was an insignificant man who worked for the American government. (Answer: False)
6. Henry Kissinger wrote a book about war and became famous. (Answer: True)
7. Henry Kissinger played no role in stopping wars in Vietnam and the Middle East. (Answer: False)
8. Henry Kissinger was born in Germany and stayed in America when he was a boy. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧