The Panama Canal is a very important water path that ships use to move goods quickly between places. Lately, it hasn't rained enough, so there's not enough water for the canal to work as usual. Because of this, fewer ships can go through the canal each day, and they can't carry as much stuff. This is causing problems for businesses around the world because a lot of them depend on this canal to send their products to different places.
To fix this problem, the people who take care of the canal plan to spend a lot of money on projects that will help save water. They want to use water more than once and build big tanks to store more water. They are also thinking about taking salt out of sea water so they can use it in the canal and trying to make it rain more. But, these ideas will take time to start, and they need to get permission and money to do them.
The trouble with the Panama Canal shows how changes in the weather can make it hard to do business like we used to. If it doesn't rain enough, it could cause big problems for the canal in the future. Right now, they are hoping it will rain in May so more ships can go through. But, they really need to find a good way to make sure the canal can keep working even if the weather changes.
Original news source: Can the Panama Canal save itself? (BBC)
π§ Listen:
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will read the article and write a one-sentence summary of the main idea. They will then share their summaries with the class.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into teams. Give each team a vocabulary word from the article. They will have three minutes to draw a picture representing the word. The other teams will try to guess the word based on the drawing.
– Pros and Cons
Instructions: In pairs, students will discuss the pros and cons of the proposed solutions to fix the Panama Canal problem. They will then share their ideas with the class.
– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Students will individually think about and write down their ideas for alternative solutions to fix the Panama Canal problem. They will then pair up with a classmate and discuss their ideas. Finally, they will share their best ideas with the whole class.
– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word "Panama Canal" on the board. Students will take turns saying a word that is associated with the canal, such as "water," "ships," or "business." The game continues until no one can think of any more related words.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The Panama Canal is used for ships to move goods quickly between places.
There are problems with the Panama Canal right now because there hasn't been enough rain, so there's not enough water for the canal to work as usual.
The people in charge of the canal are planning to fix the problem by using water more than once, building big tanks to store more water, taking salt out of sea water, and trying to make it rain more.
Businesses around the world depend on the Panama Canal because they use it to send their products to different places quickly.
Changes in the weather can make it hard to do business because if it doesn't rain enough, there might not be enough water for the canal to work properly, which can cause problems for businesses.
The people in charge of the canal are hoping for rain in May so that more ships can go through the canal.
It is important to find a good way to keep the canal working even if the weather changes because if the canal can't work properly, it can cause big problems for businesses around the world that depend on it.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
The Panama Canal is a very important that ships use to move goods quickly between places. Lately, it hasn't rained enough, so there's not enough water for the canal to work as usual. Because of this, fewer ships can go through the canal each day, and they can't carry as much . This is causing problems for around the world because a lot of them depend on this to send their products to different places. To fix this problem, the people who take care of the canal plan to spend a lot of money on projects that will save water. They want to use water more than once and build big tanks to store water. They are also thinking about taking salt out of sea water so they can use it in the canal and trying to make it rain more. But, these ideas will take time to start, and they need to get permission and money to do them. The trouble with the Panama shows how changes in the can make it hard to do business like we to. If it doesn't rain enough, it could cause big problems for the canal in the future. Right now, they are hoping it will rain in May so more ships can go through. But, they really need to a way to make sure the canal can keep working even if the weather changes.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is the Panama Canal and why is it important?
2. How do ships use the Panama Canal to move goods quickly?
3. How do you think businesses around the world are affected by the problems with the canal?
4. Do you think it's a good idea to spend a lot of money on projects to save water in the canal? Why or why not?
5. How would you feel if you had to wait longer for your products to be delivered because of the problems with the canal?
6. What do you think about the idea of using water more than once in the canal? Why or why not?
7. Do you like the idea of building big tanks to store more water in the canal? Why or why not?
8. How do you think taking salt out of sea water could help with the canal's water problem?
9. Do you think it's possible to make it rain more in the area of the canal? Why or why not?
10. How would you feel if you were in charge of finding a solution to the canal's water problem?
11. What do you think could happen if it doesn't rain enough in May?
12. Do you think it's important to find a good way to make sure the canal can keep working even if the weather changes? Why or why not?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
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Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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