Many people got in trouble with the police for blocking a big coal port in Australia. They used small boats and swam to stop ships from moving to show they are upset about the Earth getting warmer. Because of what they did, a lot of coal could not be sent to other places. Australia sells a lot of coal to other countries and uses it to make electricity.
A group called Rising Tide set up the protest. They want the government to make coal companies pay more money and to stop new projects that make the Earth warmer. The leader of Australia said he wants to help stop the Earth from getting warmer, but his government is still saying yes to new coal mines. Even young people joined the protest because they care about their future.
The protest shows that many people around the world don’t want coal to be used anymore. They want to stop the Earth from getting too warm. Over 100 people were arrested because they want to make sure the Earth is a good place to live in the future. With a big meeting about the Earth’s climate coming soon, the protest tells us that we need to do something big and fast to help the Earth.
Original news source: Climate protest: More than 100 arrested at world’s largest coal port (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually and then summarize the main points in their own words. They can then share their summaries with a partner or in small groups.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Have them discuss their opinions on the protest and whether they think it was effective or not. Each group can then present their opinions to the class and explain their reasoning.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary words from the article on separate slips of paper and put them in a hat. Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team will come up and pick a slip of paper. They have to draw a picture representing the word and their team has to guess what it is. The team with the most correct guesses wins.
– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. One group will discuss the pros of the protest (e.g. raising awareness, showing government accountability) and the other group will discuss the cons (e.g. disrupting trade, potential legal consequences). Each group can then present their arguments to the class and have a class discussion on the topic.
– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have the students think individually about what they would do to help stop the Earth from getting warmer. Then, pair them up and have them discuss their ideas. Finally, have a class discussion where students share their ideas and discuss the different strategies that could be effective.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Why did people get in trouble with the police in Australia?
2. How did the people try to stop the ships from moving?
3. Why are the people upset about the Earth getting warmer?
4. What does Rising Tide want the government to do?
5. What did the leader of Australia say about stopping the Earth from getting warmer?
6. Why did young people join the protest?
7. What does the protest show about what people want for the Earth’s future?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Many people got in trouble with the police for blocking a big coal port in Australia. They used small boats and (1)______ to (2)______ ships from moving to show they are upset about the Earth getting warmer. Because of what they did, a lot of coal could not be sent to (3)______ places. Australia sells a lot of coal to other countries and uses it to make (4)______.
A group called (5)______ Tide set up the protest. They (6)______ the government to make coal companies pay more money and to stop new projects that make the Earth warmer. The leader of Australia said he wants to help stop the Earth from getting warmer, but his government is still saying yes to new (7)______ (8)______. Even young people joined the protest because they care about their future.
The protest shows that many people around the (9)______ don’t want coal to be used anymore. They want to stop the (10)______ from getting too warm. Over 100 people were arrested because they want to make sure the Earth is a good place to live in the future. With a big meeting about the Earth’s climate (11)______ soon, the (12)______ tells us that we need to do something big and fast to help the Earth.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is a coal port?
2. How would you feel if you were one of the people who got in trouble with the police for protesting?
3. Do you like swimming? Why or why not?
4. What do you think about people using small boats to block ships?
5. How would you feel if you couldn’t use electricity anymore?
6. What is Rising Tide?
7. Do you think coal companies should have to pay more money? Why or why not?
8. Why do you think the leader of Australia wants to help stop the Earth from getting warmer, but still says yes to new coal mines?
9. Do you care about the Earth’s climate? Why or why not?
10. How would you feel if you were one of the young people who joined the protest?
11. What do you think about the people who were arrested for protesting?
12. Do you think we need to do something big and fast to help the Earth? Why or why not?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. trouble
2. police
3. protest
4. coal
5. government
6. future
7. arrested
8. climate
Meanings:
(a) A black rock that is burned to make heat or electricity
(b) The time that will come after the present
(c) When something bad happens or you get into difficulty
(d) People who enforce the law and keep others safe
(e) When someone is taken by the police because they did something wrong
(f) The weather conditions in a particular area over a long period of time
(g) A demonstration or action to show disagreement or disapproval
(h) The group of people who make decisions and rules for a country
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Why did people block the coal port in Australia?
(a) To show they are upset about the Earth getting warmer
(b) To protest against the government
(c) To stop ships from moving
(d) To sell more coal to other countries
2. What is Rising Tide?
(a) A group that set up the protest
(b) A type of boat used in the protest
(c) A new coal company in Australia
(d) A government organization
3. What does Rising Tide want the government to do?
(a) Sell more coal to other countries
(b) Build more coal mines in Australia
(c) Make coal companies pay more money and stop new projects that make the Earth warmer
(d) Ignore the protest and continue as usual
4. Who joined the protest?
(a) Only the leader of Australia
(b) People who work in the coal industry
(c) People who want to buy more coal
(d) Young people and others who care about their future
5. What does the protest show about people’s feelings towards coal?
(a) People want to buy more coal
(b) Many people around the world don’t want coal to be used anymore
(c) People want to use coal for electricity
(d) People want to make sure the Earth is a good place to live in the future
6. How many people were arrested during the protest?
(a) None
(b) Only the leader of Australia
(c) Over 100
(d) Less than 10
7. What does the protest tell us about the upcoming meeting?
(a) The meeting is about selling more coal
(b) We need to do something big and fast to help the Earth
(c) The meeting is about building more coal mines
(d) The meeting is not important
8. What is the main message of the article?
(a) People want to buy more coal and use it for electricity
(b) The government is ignoring the protest and continuing with new coal projects
(c) The Earth is already too warm and nothing can be done to help it
(d) People are upset about the Earth getting warmer and want to stop using coal
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. They used small boats and swam to stop ships from moving.
2. This made it easy for a lot of coal to be sent to other countries.
3. Even young people joined the protest because they care about their future.
4. The protest shows that many people around the world still want coal to be used.
5. The protest was not organized by a group called Rising Tide.
6. The protest reminds us that we need to take big and fast action to help the Earth.
7. Rising Tide wants the government to make coal companies pay less money and continue new projects that make the Earth warmer.
8. People in Australia blocked a big coal port to show they are upset about the Earth getting warmer.
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 did people block the coal port in Australia?
2. What do the people want the government to do about coal companies?
3. Why did young people join the protest?
4. Why do people around the world not want coal to be used anymore?
5. What does the protest tell us about helping the Earth?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. Why did people get in trouble with the police in Australia?
They got in trouble with the police because they were blocking a big coal port.
2. How did the people try to stop the ships from moving?
They used small boats and swam to stop the ships from moving.
3. Why are the people upset about the Earth getting warmer?
They are upset because they are worried about the future and they want to stop the Earth from getting too warm.
4. What does Rising Tide want the government to do?
Rising Tide wants the government to make coal companies pay more money and to stop new projects that make the Earth warmer.
5. What did the leader of Australia say about stopping the Earth from getting warmer?
The leader of Australia said he wants to help stop the Earth from getting warmer, but his government is still saying yes to new coal mines.
6. Why did young people join the protest?
Young people joined the protest because they care about their future and they want to make sure the Earth is a good place to live in.
7. What does the protest show about what people want for the Earth’s future?
The protest shows that people want to stop using coal and want to stop the Earth from getting too warm. They want to make sure the Earth is a good place to live in the future.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
(1) swam
(2) stop
(3) other
(4) electricity
(5) Rising
(6) want
(7) coal
(8) mines
(9) world
(10) Earth
(11) coming
(12) protest
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. trouble
Answer: (c) When something bad happens or you get into difficulty
2. police
Answer: (d) People who enforce the law and keep others safe
3. protest
Answer: (g) A demonstration or action to show disagreement or disapproval
4. coal
Answer: (a) A black rock that is burned to make heat or electricity
5. government
Answer: (h) The group of people who make decisions and rules for a country
6. future
Answer: (b) The time that will come after the present
7. arrested
Answer: (e) When someone is taken by the police because they did something wrong
8. climate
Answer: (f) The weather conditions in a particular area over a long period of time
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. Why did people block the coal port in Australia?
Answer: (a) To show they are upset about the Earth getting warmer
2. What is Rising Tide?
Answer: (a) A group that set up the protest
3. What does Rising Tide want the government to do?
Answer: (c) Make coal companies pay more money and stop new projects that make the Earth warmer
4. Who joined the protest?
Answer: (d) Young people and others who care about their future
5. What does the protest show about people’s feelings towards coal?
Answer: (b) Many people around the world don’t want coal to be used anymore
6. How many people were arrested during the protest?
Answer: (c) Over 100
7. What does the protest tell us about the upcoming meeting?
Answer: (b) We need to do something big and fast to help the Earth
8. What is the main message of the article?
Answer: (d) People are upset about the Earth getting warmer and want to stop using coal
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. They used small boats and swam to stop ships from moving. (Answer: True)
2. This made it easy for a lot of coal to be sent to other countries. (Answer: False)
3. Even young people joined the protest because they care about their future. (Answer: True)
4. The protest shows that many people around the world still want coal to be used. (Answer: False)
5. The protest was not organized by a group called Rising Tide. (Answer: False)
6. The protest reminds us that we need to take big and fast action to help the Earth. (Answer: True)
7. Rising Tide wants the government to make coal companies pay less money and continue new projects that make the Earth warmer. (Answer: False)
8. People in Australia blocked a big coal port to show they are upset about the Earth getting warmer. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧
