This year, the weather has been very hot and there have been many storms and less ice in the sea near Antarctica. People think this year might be the hottest ever, which was a surprise. The weather is changing because of something called El Niño, which makes the air warmer. Also, we used to have things in the air that blocked some sun and made the earth cooler, but now there are fewer of those things, so it might be getting warmer.

Scientists thought they knew how fast the earth was getting warmer, but now they are not so sure. They think it might start getting hotter faster than they expected. This is because even though we stopped some things that were making the earth cooler, the air still has a lot of stuff that makes it warmer. Big problems with the weather are happening now, and scientists say we need to stop using oil and gas to make it better.

The weather is changing a lot and it’s causing problems. The hot weather and big storms show that we need to do something fast. There is a big meeting coming up where leaders from all over the world will talk about the weather. They will try to find ways to stop using oil and gas to help the earth.

Original news source: Climate change: Is the world warming faster than expected? (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a slip of paper with a weather-related word or phrase from the article (e.g. hot weather, storms, El Niño). One student from each group will act out the word or phrase without speaking, while the others try to guess what it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Continue until all the words or phrases have been acted out.

– News Summary
Instructions: Give each student a copy of the article. Have them read the article and then summarize the main points in their own words. Encourage them to use their English skills to communicate the information clearly and concisely. Afterward, have a class discussion to compare and discuss their summaries.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write several statements related to the article on the board (e.g. “The weather is getting hotter because of El Niño”, “Using oil and gas is causing problems with the weather”). Have students indicate whether they agree or disagree with each statement by raising their hand or standing up. Then, ask a few students to explain their opinions and start a class discussion.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board (e.g. storms, Antarctica, El Niño). Divide the class into pairs. One student from each pair will choose a word and then draw a picture to represent it, while the other student tries to guess the word. After a set time limit, switch roles. The pair with the most correct guesses wins.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have students think about and write down their answers to the following question: “What do you think is the most important thing we can do to help the earth with the changing weather?” Then, have them pair up with a partner and discuss their answers. Finally, have a few pairs share their ideas with the class and facilitate a class discussion.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What has the weather been like this year?
2. Why do people think this year might be the hottest ever?
3. What is El Niño and how does it affect the weather?
4. Why are scientists not so sure about how fast the earth is getting warmer?
5. What are some things in the air that used to make the earth cooler?
6. Why is the weather causing problems?
7. What are leaders from all over the world going to talk about at the big meeting?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

This year, the weather has been very hot and there have been many (1)______ and less ice in the sea near Antarctica. (2)______ think this year might be the hottest ever, which was a surprise. The weather is (3)______ because of something called El Niño, which makes the air warmer. Also, we used to have (4)______ in the air that blocked some sun and made the earth (5)______, but now there are fewer of those things, so it might be (6)______ warmer.

Scientists thought they knew how fast the earth was getting warmer, but now they are not so sure. They think it might start getting hotter faster than they expected. This is because even though we stopped some things that were making the (7)______ cooler, the air still has a lot of (8)______ that makes it warmer. Big problems with the (9)______ are happening now, and scientists say we need to stop using oil and gas to make it better.

The weather is changing a lot and it’s (10)______ problems. The hot weather and big storms show that we (11)______ to do something fast. There is a big meeting coming up where (12)______ from all over the world will talk about the weather. They will try to find ways to stop using oil and gas 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 El Niño and how does it affect the weather?
2. How would you feel if the weather kept getting hotter and there were more storms?
3. Do you like hot weather or cold weather? Why?
4. What are some things that make the earth cooler?
5. Do you think it’s important to stop using oil and gas? Why or why not?
6. How do you think the weather changing can cause problems?
7. What do you think the leaders at the meeting can do to help the earth?
8. How would you feel if you had to stop using oil and gas?
9. What are some ways we can help the earth and the weather?
10. Why do you think scientists are not sure how fast the earth is getting warmer?
11. How do you think the hot weather and big storms are affecting people’s lives?
12. What do you think will happen if we don’t do anything to stop the weather from changing? Why?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. weather
2. hot
3. storms
4. surprise
5. air
6. warmer
7. problems
8. earth

Meanings:
(a) Something that happens unexpectedly
(b) The condition of the atmosphere at a certain time and place
(c) The planet we live on
(d) Strong winds and rain or snow
(e) Very warm or high in temperature
(f) Having a higher temperature than before
(g) The mixture of gases that we breathe
(h) Difficulties or challenges
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why has the weather been very hot this year?
(a) Because of El Niño
(b) Because of the ice in Antarctica
(c) Because of the air getting cooler
(d) Because of the storms

2. What is El Niño?
(a) Something that makes the air warmer
(b) Something that makes the air cooler
(c) Something that causes storms
(d) Something that causes ice in Antarctica

3. Why might this year be the hottest ever?
(a) Because of the ice in Antarctica
(b) Because of the air getting cooler
(c) Because of El Niño
(d) Because of the storms

4. Why are scientists not so sure about how fast the earth is getting warmer?
(a) Because they stopped using oil and gas
(b) Because they stopped some things that were making the earth cooler
(c) Because the air still has a lot of stuff that makes it warmer
(d) Because the weather is changing a lot

5. What do scientists say we need to do to make the weather better?
(a) Use more oil and gas
(b) Use more ice in Antarctica
(c) Stop using oil and gas
(d) Have more storms

6. What is the purpose of the big meeting that is coming up?
(a) To talk about the weather
(b) To have big storms
(c) To make the air cooler
(d) To find ways to stop using oil and gas

7. What is causing the big problems with the weather?
(a) El Niño
(b) The hot weather and big storms
(c) The ice in Antarctica
(d) The air getting cooler

8. What do people think might start happening faster than expected?
(a) The earth getting cooler
(b) The ice in Antarctica melting
(c) The air getting warmer
(d) The earth getting hotter

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The weather problems happening now show that we need to do something fast.
2. Scientists thought they knew how fast the earth was getting warmer, but now they are not so sure.
3. Leaders from all over the world will have a big meeting to talk about the weather and find ways to help the earth.
4. People think this year might be the coldest ever, which was surprising.
5. There used to be things in the air that blocked some sun and made the earth warmer, but now there are fewer of those things.
6. The weather is changing because of something called El Niño, which makes the air colder.
7. This year, the weather has been very hot and there have been many storms near Antarctica.
8. Scientists think the earth might start getting colder faster than they expected.
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 is El Niño and how does it affect the weather?
2. Why do scientists think this year might be the hottest ever?
3. What are some things in the air that used to make the earth cooler?
4. Why do scientists think the earth might be getting hotter faster than they expected?
5. What are leaders from all over the world going to talk about at the big meeting?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What has the weather been like this year?
The weather has been very hot and there have been many storms.

2. Why do people think this year might be the hottest ever?
People think this year might be the hottest ever because of the hot weather and less ice in the sea near Antarctica.

3. What is El Niño and how does it affect the weather?
El Niño is something that makes the air warmer. It affects the weather by making it hotter.

4. Why are scientists not so sure about how fast the earth is getting warmer?
Scientists are not so sure about how fast the earth is getting warmer because even though we stopped some things that were making the earth cooler, there are still a lot of things in the air that make it warmer.

5. What are some things in the air that used to make the earth cooler?
Some things in the air that used to make the earth cooler are things that blocked some sun.

6. Why is the weather causing problems?
The weather is causing problems because of the hot weather and big storms. It’s changing a lot and we need to do something fast.

7. What are leaders from all over the world going to talk about at the big meeting?
Leaders from all over the world are going to talk about ways to stop using oil and gas to help the earth.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) storms
(2) People
(3) changing
(4) things
(5) cooler
(6) getting
(7) earth
(8) stuff
(9) weather
(10) causing
(11) need
(12) leaders
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. weather
Answer: (b) The condition of the atmosphere at a certain time and place

2. hot
Answer: (e) Very warm or high in temperature

3. storms
Answer: (d) Strong winds and rain or snow

4. surprise
Answer: (a) Something that happens unexpectedly

5. air
Answer: (g) The mixture of gases that we breathe

6. warmer
Answer: (f) Having a higher temperature than before

7. problems
Answer: (h) Difficulties or challenges

8. earth
Answer: (c) The planet we live on
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why has the weather been very hot this year?
Answer: (a) Because of El Niño

2. What is El Niño?
Answer: (a) Something that makes the air warmer

3. Why might this year be the hottest ever?
Answer: (c) Because of El Niño

4. Why are scientists not so sure about how fast the earth is getting warmer?
Answer: (b) Because they stopped some things that were making the earth cooler

5. What do scientists say we need to do to make the weather better?
Answer: (c) Stop using oil and gas

6. What is the purpose of the big meeting that is coming up?
Answer: (d) To find ways to stop using oil and gas

7. What is causing the big problems with the weather?
Answer: (b) The hot weather and big storms

8. What do people think might start happening faster than expected?
Answer: (d) The earth getting hotter
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The weather problems happening now show that we need to do something fast. (Answer: True)
2. Scientists thought they knew how fast the earth was getting warmer, but now they are not so sure. (Answer: True)
3. Leaders from all over the world will have a big meeting to talk about the weather and find ways to help the earth. (Answer: True)
4. People think this year might be the coldest ever, which was surprising. (Answer: False)
5. There used to be things in the air that blocked some sun and made the earth warmer, but now there are fewer of those things. (Answer: False)
6. The weather is changing because of something called El Niño, which makes the air colder. (Answer: False)
7. This year, the weather has been very hot and there have been many storms near Antarctica. (Answer: True)
8. Scientists think the earth might start getting colder faster than they expected. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧