Morocco wants to help Europe with its energy problem. They plan to send electricity made from the sun and the wind. Moundir Zniber, a Moroccan businessman, thinks his country can help Europe depend less on Russian gas.
Morocco has very good sunlight and wind for making electricity. They want 52% of their electricity to come from these sources by 2030. They hope to send extra electricity to Europe through cables under the sea. But first, they need to build more solar and wind farms.
Morocco already has a big solar project called Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Complex. It is the largest solar power plant in the world. It uses mirrors to turn sunlight into electricity.
The World Bank thinks more solar and wind power could help Morocco’s economy. It could create many new jobs. But it will cost a lot of money to reach their 2030 goal. The government needs help from private companies.
Morocco wants to work with Europe to sell electricity across borders. They signed an agreement with France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. Some people think Morocco should use more renewable energy for their own needs before sending it to other countries.
Original news source: Can Morocco solve Europe’s energy crisis? (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Sentence Unscramble
Instructions: Write scrambled sentences from the article on the board. Ask students to work in pairs to unscramble the sentences and write them correctly in their notebooks. Example sentences: “Europe help to wants Morocco with energy problem its” or “solar largest the is It world in plant power.”
– Picture Descriptions
Instructions: Show students pictures related to the article, such as solar panels, wind turbines, or a map of Morocco and Europe. Ask students to describe the pictures using vocabulary and simple sentences from the article. Encourage them to use words like sunlight, wind, electricity, solar power, and renewable energy.
– Role Play
Instructions: Divide students into pairs. Assign one student in each pair the role of a Moroccan business person and the other student the role of a European leader. Have them create a short conversation about how Morocco can help Europe with its energy problem using vocabulary and ideas from the article. Encourage them to use phrases like “send electricity,” “depend less on Russian gas,” and “renewable energy.”
Comprehension Questions:
1. What does Morocco want to help Europe with?
2. How does Morocco plan to send electricity to Europe?
3. What does Moundir Zniber want Europe to depend less on?
4. What two sources does Morocco want to use to make electricity?
5. What is the name of Morocco’s big solar project?
6. What does the World Bank think about more solar and wind power in Morocco?
7. What does Morocco need to reach their 2030 goal?
8. Which countries did Morocco sign an agreement with?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Morocco wants to help Europe with its energy problem. They plan to send electricity made from the sun and the (1)______. Moundir Zniber, a Moroccan businessman, thinks his country can help Europe depend less on Russian gas.
Morocco has very good sunlight and wind for making electricity. They want 52% of their electricity to come from these sources by 2030. They hope to send extra electricity to Europe through cables under the (2)______. But first, they need to build more solar and wind farms.
Morocco already has a big solar project called Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Complex. It is the largest solar power plant in the (3)______. It uses mirrors to turn sunlight into electricity.
The World Bank thinks more solar and wind power could help Morocco’s economy. It could create many new (4)______. But it will cost a lot of money to reach their 2030 goal. The government needs help from private companies.
Morocco wants to work with Europe to sell electricity across (5)______. They signed an agreement with France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. Some people think Morocco should use more renewable energy for their own needs before sending it to other (6)______.
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Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is Morocco’s plan to help Europe?
2. What kind of electricity does Morocco want to make?
3. Can the sun and wind make electricity?
4. How does Morocco want to send electricity to Europe?
5. What is a solar farm?
6. What is a wind farm?
7. Does Morocco have a big solar project already?
8. What is the Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Complex?
9. How does the solar power plant make electricity?
10. Can solar and wind power create new jobs?
11. What does Morocco need to reach their goal?
12. Who does Morocco want to work with?
13. How does Morocco want to sell electricity?
14. Why do some people think Morocco should use more energy for themselves?
15. Do you think using solar and wind power is a good idea?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. electricity
2. sunlight
3. wind
4. cables
5. solar
6. mirrors
7. economy
8. agreement
Shuffled Meanings:
A) A way to use the sun’s light to make energy
B) A big piece of glass that shows your reflection
C) A way to use the air that moves to make energy
D) Power that we use to make things work, like lights and machines
E) A deal or promise between people or countries
F) The money and jobs in a country
G) The light and heat that come from the sun
H) Wires that are used to send power from one place to another
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What does Morocco want to help Europe with?
(a) food
(b) energy
(c) water
(d) clothes
2. What does Morocco want to send to Europe?
(a) gas
(b) oil
(c) sunlight
(d) electricity
3. What does Morocco have a lot of?
(a) rain
(b) snow
(c) sunlight and wind
(d) clouds
4. What does Morocco want to build more of?
(a) houses
(b) schools
(c) solar and wind farms
(d) factories
5. What is the Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Complex?
(a) a wind farm
(b) the largest solar power plant in the world
(c) a factory
(d) a school
6. What could help Morocco’s economy?
(a) more cars
(b) more solar and wind power
(c) more gas
(d) more oil
7. What does Morocco need help with?
(a) building houses
(b) reaching their 2030 goal
(c) making clothes
(d) growing food
8. Who did Morocco sign an agreement with?
(a) Russia
(b) China
(c) Japan
(d) France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. Morocco wants to help Europe with its energy problem.
2. Morocco wants to send electricity made from the sun and the wind to Europe.
3. Morocco wants 52% of their electricity to come from the sun and the wind by 2020.
4. Morocco has the largest solar power plant in the world.
5. The World Bank thinks more solar and wind power could hurt Morocco’s economy.
6. It will cost a lot of money for Morocco to reach their 2030 goal.
7. Morocco signed an agreement with France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain.
8. Some people think Morocco should use more renewable energy for their own needs before sending it to other countries.
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 Morocco’s plan to help Europe with its energy problem?
2. What sources does Morocco use to make electricity?
3. What is the name of the largest solar power plant in the world, and where is it located?
4. What does the World Bank think will happen if Morocco invests more in solar and wind power?
5. Who did Morocco sign an agreement with to sell electricity across borders?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What does Morocco want to help Europe with?
Morocco wants to help Europe with its energy problem.
2. How does Morocco plan to send electricity to Europe?
Morocco plans to send electricity to Europe through cables under the sea.
3. What does Moundir Zniber want Europe to depend less on?
Moundir Zniber wants Europe to depend less on Russian gas.
4. What two sources does Morocco want to use to make electricity?
Morocco wants to use sunlight and wind to make electricity.
5. What is the name of Morocco’s big solar project?
Morocco’s big solar project is called Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Complex.
6. What does the World Bank think about more solar and wind power in Morocco?
The World Bank thinks more solar and wind power could help Morocco’s economy and create many new jobs.
7. What does Morocco need to reach their 2030 goal?
Morocco needs a lot of money and help from private companies to reach their 2030 goal.
8. Which countries did Morocco sign an agreement with?
Morocco signed an agreement with France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. wind
2. sea
3. world
4. jobs
5. borders
6. countries
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. electricity
Answer: D) Power that we use to make things work, like lights and machines
2. sunlight
Answer: G) The light and heat that come from the sun
3. wind
Answer: C) A way to use the air that moves to make energy
4. cables
Answer: H) Wires that are used to send power from one place to another
5. solar
Answer: A) A way to use the sun’s light to make energy
6. mirrors
Answer: B) A big piece of glass that shows your reflection
7. economy
Answer: F) The money and jobs in a country
8. agreement
Answer: E) A deal or promise between people or countries
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What does Morocco want to help Europe with?
Answer: (b) energy
2. What does Morocco want to send to Europe?
Answer: (d) electricity
3. What does Morocco have a lot of?
Answer: (c) sunlight and wind
4. What does Morocco want to build more of?
Answer: (c) solar and wind farms
5. What is the Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Complex?
Answer: (b) the largest solar power plant in the world
6. What could help Morocco’s economy?
Answer: (b) more solar and wind power
7. What does Morocco need help with?
Answer: (b) reaching their 2030 goal
8. Who did Morocco sign an agreement with?
Answer: (d) France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. Morocco wants to help Europe with its energy problem.
Answer: True
2. Morocco wants to send electricity made from the sun and the wind to Europe.
Answer: True
3. Morocco wants 52% of their electricity to come from the sun and the wind by 2020.
Answer: False
4. Morocco has the largest solar power plant in the world.
Answer: True
5. The World Bank thinks more solar and wind power could hurt Morocco’s economy.
Answer: False
6. It will cost a lot of money for Morocco to reach their 2030 goal.
Answer: True
7. Morocco signed an agreement with France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain.
Answer: True
8. Some people think Morocco should use more renewable energy for their own needs before sending it to other countries.
Answer: True
Go back to questions ⇧
