One town that's been hit hard is Normanton. People there say that rats are everywhere. One person said that the rats chewed through the wiring of a car overnight and wrecked it. The rats have also invaded the nearby town of Karumba, which is a popular place for fishing and birdwatching. This is worrying because the rats might scare away tourists.
People have been sharing really gross pictures and videos on social media. They show piles of dead rats on the beaches and a lot of them floating in the river. The rat population has gotten so big because there are good conditions for them to have babies and plenty of food for them to eat. Experts think that things might get even worse because it's going to rain a lot in Queensland. Some parts of Queensland and New South Wales are already dealing with a ton of rats, like they did in 2011.
The people who live in these towns, especially the ones who work in the fishing industry, are worried about what this rat problem will mean for the future. They're afraid that it will give Karumba a bad name and make people not want to visit. People are trying to control the rat population and fix the damage they've caused. But it's a tough situation, and the people who live there are getting ready for things to possibly get worse in the next few months.
Original news source: Rat plague spreads to Australia's fishing towns (BBC)
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a few minutes to read the article. Then, ask each group to create a summary of the article in their own words. Afterward, have one person from each group share their summary with the rest of the class.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Ask the students to form pairs or small groups. Give each group a list of questions related to the article, such as "Do you think the rat problem will affect tourism in Karumba?" or "What do you think should be done to control the rat population?" Each group should discuss the questions and record their opinions. Then, have each group share their responses with the class.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board, such as "rat population," "annoyance," or "fishing industry." Divide the class into teams. Each team takes turns choosing a word and having one member of the team draw a picture to represent that word. The other team members must guess the word based on the drawing. The team with the most correct guesses wins.
– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. One group will list the pros of the rat problem in the fishing towns, while the other group will list the cons. Give each group a few minutes to brainstorm their ideas. Then, have a class discussion where each group presents their lists and explains their reasoning.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, have the students discuss and make predictions about the future of the rat problem in the fishing towns. Encourage them to consider factors such as weather conditions, control measures, and the impact on tourism. Afterward, have each group share their predictions with the class and discuss the likelihood of each scenario.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The big problem that fishing towns in Australia are dealing with is a large number of rats.
There are so many rats showing up on the beaches in Queensland because they are heading towards the coast to find food.
The rats have been causing damage to people's homes and cars by chewing through wiring and wrecking vehicles.
The town that has been hit hard by the rat problem is Normanton.
People in Karumba are worried about the rats because they might scare away tourists, and Karumba is a popular place for fishing and birdwatching.
Some of the pictures and videos that people have been sharing on social media show piles of dead rats on the beaches and rats floating in the river.
The rat population has gotten so big because there are good conditions for them to have babies and plenty of food for them to eat.
The people who live in these towns are worried about the rat problem because it might give their towns a bad name and discourage people from visiting. They are also concerned about the damage the rats are causing and the potential for the problem to worsen in the future.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Fishing towns in Australia are dealing with a big problem: lots and lots of rats. These rats have been spreading for a few months now, and they're heading towards the coast to find food. But many of them don't make it and end up dead on the in Queensland. This has caused a huge of rats, both dead and alive, to show up on the beaches. living there have reported rats into their homes and cars, causing damage and being a big annoyance. One town that's been hit hard is Normanton. People there say that rats are everywhere. One person said that the rats chewed through the of a car overnight and wrecked it. The rats have also invaded the nearby town of Karumba, which is a popular for fishing and . This is worrying because the rats might scare away tourists. People have been sharing really gross pictures and on social media. They show piles of dead rats on the beaches and a lot of them floating in the . The rat has so big because there are good conditions for them to have babies and plenty of food for them to eat. think that things might get even worse because it's going to rain a lot in Queensland. Some parts of Queensland and New South Wales are already dealing with a ton of rats, like they did in 2011. The people who live in these , especially the ones who work in the fishing industry, are worried about what this rat will mean for the future. They're afraid that it will give Karumba a bad name and make people not want to visit. People are trying to the rat population and fix the damage they've caused. But it's a tough situation, and the people who live there are getting ready for things to possibly get worse in the next few .
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is a fishing town?
2. How would you feel if rats were everywhere in your town?
3. Do you like rats? Why or why not?
4. How do you think the rats are getting into people's homes and cars?
5. What do you think the rats are eating to survive?
6. Do you think the rat problem will scare away tourists? Why or why not?
7. Have you ever seen a rat in real life? If so, where?
8. How do you think the people in Normanton feel about the rat problem?
9. Do you think the rat problem will get worse when it rains? Why or why not?
10. What do you think the fishing industry workers are most worried about?
11. Have you ever had a problem with pests in your home? If so, what did you do to fix it?
12. How do you think the people in these towns are trying to control the rat population?
13. Do you think the rat problem will affect the future of these towns? Why or why not?
14. How would you feel if your town had a bad reputation because of a rat problem?
15. What do you think the people in these towns should do to prepare for the possibility of things getting worse?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
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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