Some women in Pakistan called shepherdesses take care of animals in the mountains. They walk a long way to find grass for the animals to eat. The money they make helps their village have doctors, schools, and roads. But now, there are only seven of these women left because it’s getting too hard to walk to the mountains.

The way these women live is going away. The walk to the mountains is dangerous because of falling rocks and bad weather. But they have done a lot for their village. They make things like cheese to sell, and the money has built the only road to their village.

The trip to the mountains used to take three days, but now it takes five. Some of their kids have grown up to be doctors and engineers. The women are happy for their kids but sad that they can’t keep walking to the mountains. They love the mountains and want to be buried there when they die.

Original news source: The last of their kind: The unique life of Pakistan’s Wakhi shepherdesses (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Divide the students into pairs or small groups. Give each group a few minutes to read the article. Then, ask them to summarize the main points of the article in 2-3 sentences. Have each group share their summaries with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down some key vocabulary words from the article on separate pieces of paper. Divide the students into two teams. One person from each team comes up to the front of the class and picks a word. They have to draw a picture to represent the word, while their team tries to guess what it is. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Continue until all the words have been used.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have the students individually read the article. Then, pair them up and ask them to discuss one thing they found interesting or surprising in the article. After a few minutes, have the pairs share their thoughts with the rest of the class.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. One group represents the shepherdesses and the other group represents the people who think they should stop walking to the mountains. Each group brainstorms and writes down the pros and cons of their position. Then, have a debate where each group presents their arguments and tries to convince the other group.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask the students to imagine what will happen in the future for the shepherdesses and their village. Will they find a solution to the problem of walking to the mountains? Will their village continue to prosper? Will their way of life completely disappear? Have the students write a short paragraph or discuss their predictions in pairs. Then, have a class discussion where students share their ideas.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What do the shepherdesses in Pakistan do?
2. Why is it getting harder for the shepherdesses to walk to the mountains?
3. Why is the walk to the mountains dangerous?
4. What do the shepherdesses do to make money for their village?
5. What has the money from selling cheese helped to build in the village?
6. How long did the trip to the mountains used to take?
7. How do the shepherdesses feel about their kids growing up to be doctors and engineers?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some women in Pakistan (1)______ shepherdesses take care of animals in the mountains. They walk a long way to find grass for the animals to eat. The money they make (2)______ their (3)______ have doctors, schools, and roads. But now, there are only seven of these women left because it’s (4)______ too hard to walk to the mountains.

The way these women live is (5)______ away. The walk to the mountains is dangerous because of (6)______ rocks and bad weather. But they have done a lot for their village. They make things like (7)______ to sell, and the money has built the only road to their village.

The trip to the mountains (8)______ to (9)______ three days, but now it takes five. Some of their kids have (10)______ up to be doctors and engineers. The women are happy for their kids but sad that they can’t keep (11)______ to the (12)______. They love the mountains and want to be buried there when they die.
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Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a shepherdess and what do they do?
2. How would you feel if you had to walk a long way to find food for animals every day?
3. Do you think it’s important for villages to have doctors, schools, and roads? Why or why not?
4. How do you think the falling rocks and bad weather make the walk to the mountains dangerous?
5. Do you like cheese? Why or why not?
6. What do you think it means when it says “the way these women live is going away”?
7. How do you think the money the women make from selling cheese helps their village?
8. How long did it used to take the women to walk to the mountains? How long does it take now?
9. How would you feel if you couldn’t do something you love anymore, like walking to the mountains?
10. Do you think it’s important for kids to become doctors and engineers? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the women feel about their kids growing up and becoming successful?
12. Why do you think the women want to be buried in the mountains when they die?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. shepherdesses
2. grass
3. dangerous
4. cheese
5. engineers
6. buried
7. mountains
8. village

Meanings:
(a) A small community of houses and buildings
(b) People who design and build things
(c) Women who take care of animals in the mountains
(d) A type of food made from milk
(e) Green plants that animals eat
(f) Not safe
(g) Tall, rocky areas of land
(h) Put in the ground after death
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Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What do the shepherdesses in Pakistan do?
(a) Work in the city
(b) Teach in schools
(c) Take care of animals in the mountains
(d) Build roads

2. How does the money the shepherdesses make help their village?
(a) It helps the village have doctors, schools, and roads
(b) It helps the village buy new clothes
(c) It helps the village throw parties
(d) It helps the village build houses

3. Why is it getting too hard for the shepherdesses to walk to the mountains?
(a) Because they are too tired
(b) Because they don’t want to anymore
(c) Because of falling rocks and bad weather
(d) Because the animals don’t need grass

4. What do the shepherdesses make to sell?
(a) Clothes
(b) Toys
(c) Books
(d) Cheese

5. How long does it take to walk to the mountains now?
(a) Three days
(b) Five days
(c) One day
(d) Seven days

6. What have some of the shepherdesses’ kids grown up to be?
(a) Teachers and farmers
(b) Doctors and engineers
(c) Artists and musicians
(d) Athletes and chefs

7. What do the shepherdesses want when they die?
(a) To be buried in the mountains
(b) To be buried in the city
(c) To be cremated
(d) To be buried at sea

8. What has the money from the shepherdesses built?
(a) A big shopping mall
(b) A new school
(c) A hospital
(d) The only road to their village

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. There are no women in Pakistan who take care of animals in the mountains.
2. These women do not walk a long way to find grass for the animals to eat.
3. The women make things like cheese to sell but the money has not built the only road to their village.
4. The money these women make does not help their village have doctors, schools, and roads.
5. Some of their children have become doctors and engineers.
6. The walk to the mountains is dangerous because of falling rocks and bad weather.
7. The trip to the mountains used to take three days, but now it takes five.
8. There are only seven of these women left because it’s becoming too difficult to walk to the mountains.
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 do the shepherdesses in Pakistan do for their village?
2. Why is it becoming harder for the shepherdesses to walk to the mountains?
3. What are some of the dangers the shepherdesses face on their way to the mountains?
4. How has the money made by the shepherdesses helped their village?
5. Why are the shepherdesses sad that they can’t keep walking to the mountains?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What do the shepherdesses in Pakistan do?
The shepherdesses in Pakistan take care of animals in the mountains.

2. Why is it getting harder for the shepherdesses to walk to the mountains?
It is getting harder for the shepherdesses to walk to the mountains because of falling rocks and bad weather.

3. Why is the walk to the mountains dangerous?
The walk to the mountains is dangerous because of falling rocks and bad weather.

4. What do the shepherdesses do to make money for their village?
The shepherdesses make things like cheese to sell and make money for their village.

5. What has the money from selling cheese helped to build in the village?
The money from selling cheese has helped build the only road in the village.

6. How long did the trip to the mountains used to take?
The trip to the mountains used to take three days.

7. How do the shepherdesses feel about their kids growing up to be doctors and engineers?
The shepherdesses feel happy for their kids but sad that they can’t keep walking to the mountains.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) called
(2) helps
(3) village
(4) getting
(5) going
(6) falling
(7) cheese
(8) used
(9) take
(10) grown
(11) walking
(12) mountains
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. shepherdesses
Answer: (c) Women who take care of animals in the mountains

2. grass
Answer: (e) Green plants that animals eat

3. dangerous
Answer: (f) Not safe

4. cheese
Answer: (d) A type of food made from milk

5. engineers
Answer: (b) People who design and build things

6. buried
Answer: (h) Put in the ground after death

7. mountains
Answer: (g) Tall, rocky areas of land

8. village
Answer: (a) A small community of houses and buildings
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What do the shepherdesses in Pakistan do?
Answer: (c) Take care of animals in the mountains

2. How does the money the shepherdesses make help their village?
Answer: (a) It helps the village have doctors, schools, and roads

3. Why is it getting too hard for the shepherdesses to walk to the mountains?
Answer: (c) Because of falling rocks and bad weather

4. What do the shepherdesses make to sell?
Answer: (d) Cheese

5. How long does it take to walk to the mountains now?
Answer: (b) Five days

6. What have some of the shepherdesses’ kids grown up to be?
Answer: (b) Doctors and engineers

7. What do the shepherdesses want when they die?
Answer: (a) To be buried in the mountains

8. What has the money from the shepherdesses built?
Answer: (d) The only road to their village
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. There are no women in Pakistan who take care of animals in the mountains. (Answer: False)
2. These women do not walk a long way to find grass for the animals to eat. (Answer: False)
3. The women make things like cheese to sell but the money has not built the only road to their village. (Answer: False)
4. The money these women make does not help their village have doctors, schools, and roads. (Answer: False)
5. Some of their children have become doctors and engineers. (Answer: True)
6. The walk to the mountains is dangerous because of falling rocks and bad weather. (Answer: True)
7. The trip to the mountains used to take three days, but now it takes five. (Answer: True)
8. There are only seven of these women left because it’s becoming too difficult to walk to the mountains. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧