Scientists are working on new ways to stop sicknesses that are spread by bugs like mosquitoes because the weather is changing. The weather is getting warmer, and this is making people sick in different ways. The scientists are looking at the weather and where mosquitoes have their babies to guess when people might get sick. They want to warn people early so they can do things to stay healthy, like getting rid of water where mosquitoes lay eggs.

The weather is getting hotter and rainier because of changes in the climate, and this is helping mosquitoes that make people sick go to new places. If we don’t stop putting gases into the air that make the earth warmer, mosquitoes will have an easier time living and making people sick. There are a lot more people getting sick with a disease called dengue now than there were 20 years ago. A special project is trying to guess when dengue will happen so people can get ready and stop it from spreading.

To really fight these sicknesses that come from the changing weather, people say we need to stop making the earth warmer and think about health when we talk about the climate. We need to keep an eye on mosquitoes and guess when sicknesses will happen, but we also need to fix the bigger problem of the climate changing. Our health and the weather are connected, and as more sicknesses spread, we need to pay more attention and spend more money to deal with these problems.

Original news source: How scientists are fighting climate-fuelled disease (BBC)

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Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Each team will take turns acting out a word or phrase related to the article, without using any words. The other team must guess what the word or phrase is. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner. They should try to include as many details as possible. After both partners have summarized the article, they can compare their summaries and discuss any differences.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: In groups of 4-5, students will discuss and share their opinions on the topic of climate change and its impact on health. Each group member should take turns expressing their opinion and providing reasons for their viewpoint. The group can then summarize their opinions and present them to the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: In pairs, one student will choose a word from the article and draw a picture to represent it. The other student must guess the word based on the picture. They can then switch roles. The pair with the most correct guesses wins.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns discussing their thoughts and ideas about the article. They should share their opinions, ask questions, and make connections to their own lives or experiences. After both partners have shared, they can then share their thoughts with the class.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What are scientists trying to do to stop sicknesses spread by bugs like mosquitoes?
2. Why is the weather getting warmer?
3. Why are scientists looking at the weather and where mosquitoes have their babies?
4. What can people do to stay healthy and prevent sicknesses from mosquitoes?
5. What will happen if we don’t stop putting gases into the air that make the earth warmer?
6. Why are more people getting sick with dengue now compared to 20 years ago?
7. What do people say we need to do to fight these sicknesses that come from the changing weather?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Scientists are working on new ways to stop sicknesses that are spread by bugs like mosquitoes because the weather is changing. The weather is getting warmer, and this is making (1)______ sick in different ways. The scientists are looking at the weather and where mosquitoes have their (2)______ to guess when people might get sick. They (3)______ to warn people early so they can do things to stay healthy, like (4)______ rid of water where mosquitoes lay eggs.

The weather is getting hotter and rainier because of (5)______ in the climate, and this is (6)______ mosquitoes that make people sick go to new places. If we don’t stop putting gases into the air that make the earth warmer, mosquitoes will have an easier time living and making people sick. There are a lot (7)______ people getting sick with a disease called dengue now than there (8)______ 20 years ago. A (9)______ project is trying to guess when dengue will happen so people can get ready and stop it from spreading.

To really fight these sicknesses that come from the changing weather, people say we need to stop making the earth warmer and think about health when we talk about the climate. We (10)______ to keep an eye on mosquitoes and (11)______ when sicknesses will happen, but we also need to fix the bigger problem of the climate changing. Our health and the weather are connected, and as more sicknesses (12)______, we need to pay more attention and spend more money to deal with these problems.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a sickness that can be spread by mosquitoes?
2. How would you feel if you got sick because of mosquitoes?
3. Do you like warm weather? Why or why not?
4. What do scientists want to do to help people stay healthy?
5. How is the weather changing?
6. Do you think it’s important to protect the environment? Why or why not?
7. What is dengue? Have you ever heard of it before?
8. How do you think climate change affects our health?
9. What can we do to stop the earth from getting warmer?
10. Do you think it’s important to pay attention to the weather? Why or why not?
11. How can we prevent sicknesses from spreading?
12. Why do you think it’s important to spend money on dealing with these problems?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. sicknesses
2. bugs
3. mosquitoes
4. climate
5. warmer
6. rainier
7. gases
8. dengue
9. project
10. spreading
11. health
12. attention

Meanings:
(A) When something moves from one place to another
(B) Paying close attention to something
(C) Things that are in the air and can make the earth warmer
(D) The weather and how it changes over a long time
(E) When people are not feeling well or have a disease
(F) When there is more rain than usual
(G) Small insects that bite people and can make them sick
(H) Being okay and not sick
(I) A special plan or idea to solve a problem
(J) A disease that mosquitoes can give to people
(K) When the temperature is higher than usual
(L) Small creatures that can fly and crawl around
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why are scientists working on new ways to stop sicknesses spread by bugs like mosquitoes?
(a) They want to study bugs like mosquitoes.
(b) The weather is changing and making people sick.
(c) They have nothing else to do.
(d) They want to make people scared of bugs.

2. What are scientists looking at to guess when people might get sick?
(a) The color of people’s clothes.
(b) The weather and where mosquitoes have their babies.
(c) The food people eat.
(d) The time of day.

3. What is happening to the weather because of changes in the climate?
(a) It is getting hotter and rainier.
(b) It is getting colder and drier.
(c) It is staying the same.
(d) It is getting windier.

4. How are the changes in the weather helping mosquitoes that make people sick?
(a) It is making them disappear.
(b) It is making them smaller.
(c) It is making it easier for them to live and make people sick.
(d) It is making them friendly.

5. What is the name of the disease that a lot more people are getting sick with now?
(a) Malaria
(b) Flu
(c) Dengue
(d) Chickenpox

6. What is a special project trying to do with dengue?
(a) Guess when it will happen so people can get ready and stop it from spreading.
(b) Make people scared of dengue.
(c) Ignore it and hope it goes away.
(d) Make it worse.

7. What do people say we need to do to fight these sicknesses?
(a) Ignore the sicknesses and hope they go away.
(b) Spend more money on things that don’t help.
(c) Keep making the earth warmer.
(d) Stop making the earth warmer and think about health when we talk about the climate.

8. Why do we need to pay more attention and spend more money to deal with these problems?
(a) We don’t need to spend more money, it’s a waste.
(b) We need to ignore the problems and hope they go away.
(c) We don’t need to pay attention, it’s not important.
(d) As more sicknesses spread, we need to take them seriously and find ways to stop them.

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The climate changes are causing the weather to become cooler and drier, which is preventing mosquitoes that make people sick from moving to new places.
2. Scientists want to warn people early so they can take steps to stay healthy, like getting rid of water where mosquitoes lay eggs.
3. More people are getting sick with dengue now compared to 20 years ago.
4. If we stop putting gases into the air that make the earth warmer, mosquitoes will have a harder time living and making people sick.
5. The weather is getting colder, which is making people sick in different ways.
6. Scientists are not looking at the weather and where mosquitoes have their babies to predict when people might get sick.
7. There is a special project trying to predict when dengue will happen so people can be prepared and prevent its spread.
8. Scientists are studying bugs like mosquitoes to find new ways to stop the spread of sicknesses.
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 are scientists trying to do to stop sicknesses spread by bugs like mosquitoes?
2. Why is the weather getting warmer and rainier?
3. What can people do to stay healthy and prevent mosquito-borne illnesses?
4. Why is it important to stop putting gases into the air that make the earth warmer?
5. Why do we need to pay more attention and spend more money on dealing with these problems?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What are scientists trying to do to stop sicknesses spread by bugs like mosquitoes?
They are trying to find new ways to prevent people from getting sick from mosquitoes.

2. Why is the weather getting warmer?
The weather is getting warmer because of changes in the climate.

3. Why are scientists looking at the weather and where mosquitoes have their babies?
Scientists are looking at the weather and where mosquitoes have their babies to predict when people might get sick and warn them early.

4. What can people do to stay healthy and prevent sicknesses from mosquitoes?
People can get rid of water where mosquitoes lay eggs and take precautions like using mosquito repellent and wearing long sleeves and pants.

5. What will happen if we don’t stop putting gases into the air that make the earth warmer?
If we don’t stop putting gases into the air that make the earth warmer, mosquitoes will have an easier time living and making people sick.

6. Why are more people getting sick with dengue now compared to 20 years ago?
More people are getting sick with dengue now compared to 20 years ago because the weather is changing and mosquitoes that spread dengue are going to new places.

7. What do people say we need to do to fight these sicknesses that come from the changing weather?
People say we need to stop making the earth warmer and pay more attention and spend more money to deal with these problems.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) people
(2) babies
(3) want
(4) getting
(5) changes
(6) helping
(7) more
(8) were
(9) special
(10) need
(11) guess
(12) spread
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. sicknesses
Answer: (E) When people are not feeling well or have a disease

2. bugs
Answer: (L) Small creatures that can fly and crawl around

3. mosquitoes
Answer: (G) Small insects that bite people and can make them sick

4. climate
Answer: (D) The weather and how it changes over a long time

5. warmer
Answer: (K) When the temperature is higher than usual

6. rainier
Answer: (F) When there is more rain than usual

7. gases
Answer: (C) Things that are in the air and can make the earth warmer

8. dengue
Answer: (J) A disease that mosquitoes can give to people

9. project
Answer: (I) A special plan or idea to solve a problem

10. spreading
Answer: (A) When something moves from one place to another

11. health
Answer: (H) Being okay and not sick

12. attention
Answer: (B) Paying close attention to something
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why are scientists working on new ways to stop sicknesses spread by bugs like mosquitoes?
Answer: (b) The weather is changing and making people sick.

2. What are scientists looking at to guess when people might get sick?
Answer: (b) The weather and where mosquitoes have their babies.

3. What is happening to the weather because of changes in the climate?
Answer: (a) It is getting hotter and rainier.

4. How are the changes in the weather helping mosquitoes that make people sick?
Answer: (c) It is making it easier for them to live and make people sick.

5. What is the name of the disease that a lot more people are getting sick with now?
Answer: (c) Dengue

6. What is a special project trying to do with dengue?
Answer: (a) Guess when it will happen so people can get ready and stop it from spreading.

7. What do people say we need to do to fight these sicknesses?
Answer: (d) Stop making the earth warmer and think about health when we talk about the climate.

8. Why do we need to pay more attention and spend more money to deal with these problems?
Answer: (d) As more sicknesses spread, we need to take them seriously and find ways to stop them.
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The climate changes are causing the weather to become cooler and drier, which is preventing mosquitoes that make people sick from moving to new places. (Answer: False)
2. Scientists want to warn people early so they can take steps to stay healthy, like getting rid of water where mosquitoes lay eggs. (Answer: True)
3. More people are getting sick with dengue now compared to 20 years ago. (Answer: True)
4. If we stop putting gases into the air that make the earth warmer, mosquitoes will have a harder time living and making people sick. (Answer: False)
5. The weather is getting colder, which is making people sick in different ways. (Answer: False)
6. Scientists are not looking at the weather and where mosquitoes have their babies to predict when people might get sick. (Answer: False)
7. There is a special project trying to predict when dengue will happen so people can be prepared and prevent its spread. (Answer: True)
8. Scientists are studying bugs like mosquitoes to find new ways to stop the spread of sicknesses. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧