The government in Delhi wants to try making rain to clean the air. Making rain means putting salt in clouds to make it rain faster. They think rain will wash away the dirty stuff in the air. But some people who know a lot about this say it’s hard to do and might not work well.
The air in Delhi is very dirty right now, much worse than what is safe. In the winter, it gets even dirtier because of things like farmers burning plants and not much wind. The government has closed schools and stopped some building work to help make the air better. They hope the big court will let them try making rain.
But even if rain makes the air cleaner for a little while, it doesn’t last long. After a few days, the air can get dirty again. We don’t know if making rain will really make the air a lot cleaner. People who understand this say we need a good plan with many smart people working together, not just trying one thing at a time.
Original news source: Delhi AQI: Can artificial rain fix toxic air in India’s capital? (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions: Pair up students and give them a few minutes to read the article. Then, ask them to summarize the article to their partner in their own words, focusing on the main points: why Delhi wants to make rain, the current air pollution problem, and the concerns about the effectiveness of the rain-making plan.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of statements about the article, such as “Making rain is a good solution for pollution,” or “The government should find other ways to clean the air.” Students walk around the room and sign their names under the statements they agree with. Afterward, discuss the results as a class and encourage students to explain their choices.
– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word “rain” on the board. Ask students to call out words that they associate with rain, which could be from the article (e.g., “clouds,” “salt,” “clean,” “dirty air”) or from their own ideas (e.g., “umbrella,” “wet”). Write down the words around “rain” to create a word web on the board.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary words from the article on slips of paper (e.g., “government,” “pollution,” “winter,” “farmers,” “court”). Divide the class into two teams. One student from each team comes to the board and draws a picture representing the word they picked, while their team tries to guess the word. The team that guesses correctly first gets a point.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask students to imagine it’s the future after the government has tried making rain to clear the air. Students work in small groups to predict the results of this attempt. They can discuss whether it was successful or not, and what the air quality in Delhi is like. Then, each group can share their predictions with the class and explain their reasoning.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What does the government in Delhi want to do to clean the air?
2. How do you make rain by using salt?
3. Why do some people think making rain might not work well?
4. Why is the air in Delhi even dirtier in the winter?
5. What has the government done to help make the air better?
6. Will the rain keep the air clean forever, or just for a little while?
7. What do experts say is needed instead of just trying to make rain?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
The government in Delhi wants to try making (1)______ to clean the air. Making rain means putting (2)______ in clouds to make it rain faster. They think rain will wash away the dirty stuff in the air. But some people who (3)______ a lot about this say it’s (4)______ to do and might not work well.
The air in Delhi is very dirty right now, much worse than what is safe. In the winter, it gets even (5)______ because of things like farmers (6)______ plants and not much wind. The government has closed schools and stopped some building (7)______ to help make the air better. They hope the big (8)______ will let them try making rain.
But even if rain makes the air cleaner for a little (9)______, it doesn’t last long. After a few days, the air can get dirty again. We don’t know if making rain will really make the air a lot (10)______. People who understand this say we need a (11)______ plan with many smart people (12)______ together, not just trying one thing at a time.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is dirty air?
2. How would you feel if you had to breathe dirty air every day?
3. Do you like when it rains? Why or why not?
4. Do you think rain can clean things? Why do you think that?
5. Have you ever seen people try to make it rain? What did they do?
6. Why do you think the air gets dirtier in the winter?
7. What do you do when your school is closed for a day?
8. If you were in charge, what would you do to clean the air?
9. Do you think working together is important to solve big problems? Why or why not?
10. Can you think of a time when you had to work with others to fix something?
11. Do you think it’s a good idea to try many different ways to solve a problem?
12. What is one thing you can do to help make the air cleaner where you live?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. rain
2. clean
3. air
4. dirty
5. government
6. try
7. work
8. plan
Meanings:
(a) The people who make rules for a country
(b) To make something not dirty
(c) A strategy or idea to achieve something
(d) To do something and get a result
(e) The stuff we breathe
(f) Not clean, has a lot of dirt
(g) Water that falls from the sky
(h) To attempt or give something a go
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What is the government in Delhi trying to do to clean the air?
(a) Make rain
(b) Plant more trees
(c) Close all the schools
(d) Build more factories
2. Why does the air in Delhi get even dirtier in the winter?
(a) Farmers burn plants and there is not much wind
(b) People stop driving cars
(c) The government cleans the air
(d) It rains a lot
3. What has the government done to try to make the air better?
(a) Opened more factories
(b) Closed schools and stopped some building work
(c) Planted more trees
(d) Started burning more plants
4. Why might making rain not work well to clean the air?
(a) It’s too expensive
(b) The government doesn’t want to try it
(c) It’s hard to do
(d) Rain doesn’t clean the air
5. How long does the air stay clean after it rains?
(a) A few weeks
(b) A few days
(c) A few months
(d) Forever
6. What do people who understand this say we need to do to make the air cleaner?
(a) Do nothing and wait for the air to get better on its own
(b) Close all the factories
(c) Burn more plants
(d) Have a good plan with many smart people working together
7. What is the purpose of putting salt in clouds to make it rain?
(a) To make the clouds disappear
(b) To make the air even dirtier
(c) To wash away the dirty stuff in the air
(d) To make it snow instead of rain
8. What is the current state of the air in Delhi?
(a) Very clean and safe to breathe
(b) The same as it always is
(c) It changes every day
(d) Very dirty and worse than what is safe
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. The government in Delhi wants to try making rain to clean the air.
2. The government has opened schools and boosted some building work to help make the air better.
3. The air in Delhi is very clean right now, much better than what is safe.
4. Some people who know a lot about this say it’s hard to do and might not work well.
5. The government hopes the big court will prevent them from trying making rain.
6. In the winter, the air in Delhi gets cleaner because of things like farmers planting plants and lots of wind.
7. Even if rain makes the air cleaner for a little while, it doesn’t last long.
8. Making rain means putting salt in clouds to make it rain faster.
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 does the government in Delhi want to do to clean the air?
2. How do they plan to make it rain?
3. Why is the air even dirtier in the winter in Delhi?
4. What did the government do to help make the air better besides trying to make rain?
5. Why do some people think that making rain might not be the best solution?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What does the government in Delhi want to do to clean the air?
The government in Delhi wants to make it rain to clean the air.
2. How do you make rain by using salt?
You put salt in clouds to make it rain faster.
3. Why do some people think making rain might not work well?
Some people think making rain is hard to do and might not work well because it’s tricky to make rain happen on purpose.
4. Why is the air in Delhi even dirtier in the winter?
The air is dirtier in the winter because farmers burn plants and there is not much wind.
5. What has the government done to help make the air better?
The government has closed schools and stopped some building work to help make the air better.
6. Will the rain keep the air clean forever, or just for a little while?
The rain will only make the air cleaner for a little while, not forever.
7. What do experts say is needed instead of just trying to make rain?
Experts say we need a good plan with many smart people working together, not just trying one thing.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
(1) rain
(2) salt
(3) know
(4) hard
(5) dirtier
(6) burning
(7) work
(8) court
(9) while
(10) cleaner
(11) good
(12) working
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. rain
Answer: (g) Water that falls from the sky
2. clean
Answer: (b) To make something not dirty
3. air
Answer: (e) The stuff we breathe
4. dirty
Answer: (f) Not clean, has a lot of dirt
5. government
Answer: (a) The people who make rules for a country
6. try
Answer: (h) To attempt or give something a go
7. work
Answer: (d) To do something and get a result
8. plan
Answer: (c) A strategy or idea to achieve something
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What is the government in Delhi trying to do to clean the air?
Answer: (a) Make rain
2. Why does the air in Delhi get even dirtier in the winter?
Answer: (a) Farmers burn plants and there is not much wind
3. What has the government done to try to make the air better?
Answer: (b) Closed schools and stopped some building work
4. Why might making rain not work well to clean the air?
Answer: (c) It’s hard to do
5. How long does the air stay clean after it rains?
Answer: (b) A few days
6. What do people who understand this say we need to do to make the air cleaner?
Answer: (d) Have a good plan with many smart people working together
7. What is the purpose of putting salt in clouds to make it rain?
Answer: (c) To wash away the dirty stuff in the air
8. What is the current state of the air in Delhi?
Answer: (d) Very dirty and worse than what is safe
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. The government in Delhi wants to try making rain to clean the air. (Answer: True)
2. The government has opened schools and boosted some building work to help make the air better. (Answer: False)
3. The air in Delhi is very clean right now, much better than what is safe. (Answer: False)
4. Some people who know a lot about this say it’s hard to do and might not work well. (Answer: True)
5. The government hopes the big court will prevent them from trying making rain. (Answer: False)
6. In the winter, the air in Delhi gets cleaner because of things like farmers planting plants and lots of wind. (Answer: False)
7. Even if rain makes the air cleaner for a little while, it doesn’t last long. (Answer: True)
8. Making rain means putting salt in clouds to make it rain faster. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧
