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The Departure of Justice Kennedy = A Dark Future for This Country…Vote!

“If the last few days hadn’t been dispiriting enough for those who believed the Supreme Court could still stand for reproductive freedom, equal rights for all Americans, a check on presidential power, a more humane criminal justice system and so much more, Wednesday afternoon brought the coup de grâce… Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement… It sends a stark message to the tens of millions of Americans who have long turned to the court for the vindication of many of their most cherished rights and protections: Look somewhere else. That place is the ballot box. So show up and vote.” The New York Times Editorial Board

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key

Image: People For The American Way

Excerpt: Kennedy Is Gone.  Now Vote. NYT Editorial Board

“In the absence of a Supreme Court majority that will reliably protect human dignity, universal equality and women’s right to control their own bodies, it is up to Americans who cherish these values to elect politicians at every level of government who share them.

TED ideas-TED talks

Justice Kennedy, who was nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed in 1988, defended these values, however imperfectly. He was the last in a line of Republican-appointed justices who moderated some of the reactionary tendencies on the court, which has now had a majority of Republican appointees for nearly half a century. All of those justices were confirmed in the days before ultraconservative activists hijacked the nomination process and ensured that only faithful right-wing ideologues would get a nod… Once [Trump] names his second pick and the Senate confirms that person, you can forget about new or enhanced protections for gays and lesbians, or saving the last shreds of affirmative action at public universities.

womensmarchmn.com

Longstanding precedents are now at extreme risk. Foremost among these is a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion under Roe v. Wade, which was preserved solely on the strength of Justice Kennedy’s vote… Even this scenario, of course, assumes the continued longevity of Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who provide an essential counterweight to the court’s conservative wing, but who are 79 and 85, respectively, and have endured their share of health problems…For those who face the future in fear after Wednesday, there are no easy answers — but there is a clear duty.

Do not for a moment underestimate the importance of getting out and voting in November. Four years ago, only 36 percent of Americans cast ballots in the midterm elections. Had more people showed up, the Senate may well have remained in Democratic control, Mitch McConnell would not be the majority leader and Judge Merrick Garland would now be Justice Garland. In the days and months ahead, remember this.”

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

NOTE: Lessons can also be used with native English speakers.

Level: Intermediate – Advanced


Language Skills: Reading, writing, and speaking. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.


Time: Approximately 2 hours.


Materials: Student handout (from this lesson) and access to news article.


Objective: Students will read and discuss the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through group work and writing.

I. Pre-Reading Activities

 Predictions: Using a Pre-reading Organizer

Directions:  Ask students to examine the title of the post and of the actual article they are about to read. Then, have them  examine the photos. Ask students to write a paragraph describing what they think this article will discuss. Students can use a Pre-reading organizer for assistance.

Pre-reading chart by J. Swann

 

II. While Reading Activities

Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. They may use a dictionary, thesaurus, and Word Chart for assistance.

  1. Kennedy’s retirement is a dispiriting event in U.S. history.
  2. Wednesday afternoon brought the coup de grâce.
  3. You can forget about new or enhanced protections for many groups.
  4. The courts have an opportunity to further erode the wall between church and state.
  5. States now have the green light to  promote the rights of corporations over individuals.
  6. Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg provide an essential counterweight to the court’s conservative wing.
  7. The Supreme Court operates as a crucial check in a democracy based on majority rule.
  8. Mitch McConnel knows he has an open road to confirming whomever he and the Federalist Society want on the bench.
  9. Consider a few of Justice Kennedy’s most significant majority opinions.
  10. Kennedy’s opinions could sometimes be vague.

 

Reading Comprehension

Fill-ins

Directions: Place students in groups and after they have read the entire article, have them complete the following sentences  taken from the article. They can use the words and terms from the list provided, or provide their own terms. They are to find the meanings of any new vocabulary.

Justice Kennedy, who, ___far from an ___justice — his ___could be ___and confusing, his jurisprudential commitments often unpredictable — emphasized the ___principles of ___and ___to a degree not in ___among the court’s four other conservatives.

WORD LIST: opinions, ideal, equality, dignity, basic, while,     vague,   evidence

Grammar Focus: Word -Recognition

Directions: Students choose the correct word to complete the sentences taken from the article. They are to choose from the options presented.

He spoke/speak out forcefully on the need/needs to fix/fixes the nation’s broken/break criminal justice system, voting to strike/stroke down excessive sentence/sentences for juveniles and the intellectually disabled and to force/make states to shrink their overcrowded prisons.

III. Post Reading Activities

Discussion for Comprehension /Writing

Directions: Place students in groups and have them  discuss the following statements. Afterwards, have the groups share their thoughts as a class. To reinforce the ideas, students can write an essay on one of the topics mentioned.

  1. Why is Justice Kennedy’s leaving the Supreme Court upsetting to so many people?
  2. In your opinion, which groups in the U.S. would be the most concerned about losing Justice Kennedy?  Provide reasons for your answers.
  3. How is the government organized in the United States? In your opinion is this a fair government system for all people?
  4. Why is it important for everyone to vote this November?

Note for help: visit  Federal Government of The United States- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States

Group Project: Creating Voting Posters

Directions: Look at the posters presented in the reading. Each group is to think about a message they would like to send to people about the importance of voting.  After, design a “VOTE” poster for November 2018.  Share and explain your posters with the class. Maybe place the posters around your school or neighborhood.

1-Minute Free Writing Exercise

Directions: Allow students 1 minute to write down one new idea they’ve learned from the reading. Ask them to write down one thing they did not understand in the reading.  Review the responses as a class.

ANSWER KEY

 

Category: Political Issues | Tags:

Battling Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Winning

“You must really love that song,’ my mother says, and for a moment my heart stops. Both of us are plainly aware she need not be more specific than that. I attempt to read her body language out of the corner of my eye. Does she know? There’s no way, right?…What I definitely do not do is glance back and say, ‘Funny story about that song, while you’ve clearly noticed I’ve listened to it every single weeknight this entire school year, would you believe I only ever press play at exactly 8:38 p.m.?” R. Monahan, The New York Times

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key

Excerpt: How I Finally Kicked My O.C.D. by Rich Monahan, The New York Times

“And check this out, once that cable box hits 9:52 p.m., I will casually retire to my bedroom to initiate the final sequence of what has recently ballooned into a nearly 90-minute nightly routine of humiliating compulsions: I’ll touch the same four CDs laid out on my dresser in ‘order’; turn the stereo on and off; move to the entertainment center; touch the ‘Twisted Metal’ video game case; turn on the TV; boot up the PlayStation…then touch nothing else until it’s lights out at 9:58 p.m. And that’s not even the craziest part; the craziest part is that I do these things because I believe they will somehow increase my social standing among other ninth graders… and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost my mind.’

Image- Steemit

It started in seventh grade, when two childhood friends aged out of hanging out with me. Already depressed and on the verge of friendlessness, I was desperate to preserve life as it had been. Well,  my brain misfired, ‘Last time you all hung out together, you wore that one pair of Hanes tighty  whities. Put those on.’ I did. Then I wore them again the next day, and the next, for 30 days straight.

Soon, it snowballed into an impossible amount of rituals, all infused with a bizarre sense of causality: ‘If I do X, Y and Z today, then tomorrow my classmates will like me…’

OCD-UK

On the good days, obsessive-compulsive disorder can just feel like a bunch of extra chores. On the bad days, when nothing is ‘working,’ you are trapped in a living nightmare, helplessly enslaved to an oppressive and delusional belief system that has swallowed nearly every moment of your waking life.  On the bright side: I always knew exactly where my keys were. 

I tried not to examine the bigger implications of it all, though I was aware enough to know I should be absolutely ashamed. So I told no one. By the end of high school, I had friends, won superlatives and no one knew a thing about me. Mission accomplished.

But college threw an unexpected curve ball: I finally had a girlfriend. ‘Is that the same Power Bar that’s always there?’ she asks a few weeks into our relationship, staring at the twisted energy bar sitting in the cup holder of my Corolla’s center console. ‘Oh, that? No, that’d be really funny, but no, I just bought it,’ I grin… It is of course the same Power Bar I have kept in my car for months, though to be fair, only on Fridays and Saturdays when I have a show, as during the week I store it in my underwear drawer. Her brow furrows…She buys me a book about O.C.D. I never read it. When we’re among friends I’m a delight — sane and gregarious. When we’re alone, I shrink bitterly…Michelle suggests painting, I refuse. She asks for closet space, I say sorry, we cannot move Grandma’s oxygen tanks. I cannot risk any fluctuation in my recent streak of positive outcomes…Michelle dumps me a final time…I tell everyone everything. ‘So wait, what was the shaving-with-no-pants-on one about?’ my friend Nate asked.’

‘So people would like me.’ In sharing with friends and family the weirdest things about me, I expect humiliation, or at least some solid recoils in horror. Instead, they mull it over, ask a couple of questions, then tell me the weirdest things about themselves…Over time, I even become a trusted resource for friends newly tackling their own mental health… I have not had a single compulsion since.”

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

NOTE: Lessons can also be used with native English speakers.

Level: Intermediate – Advanced

Language Skills: Reading, writing, and speaking. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.


Time: Approximately 2 hours.


Materials: Student handout (from this lesson) and access to news article.


Objective: Students will read and discuss the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through group work and writing.

I. Pre-Reading Activities

Directions: Have students use the KWL chart to list the information they already know about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).  Later in the Post- Reading segment of the lesson, students can fill in what they’ve learned about the topic.

Advanced K-W-L chart.Intervention for Reading

 

II. While Reading Activities

Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. They may use a dictionary, thesaurus, and Word Chart for assistance.

  1. After 9:00 I will casually retire to my bedroom.
  2. I initiate the final sequence of my ritual.
  3. Having OCD can be humiliating.
  4. By was seventh grade I was already depressed.
  5. My brain seemed to have  misfired.
  6. Soon, it snowballed into an impossible amount of rituals.
  7. On the good days, obsessive-compulsive disorder can just feel like a bunch of extra chores.
  8. Some days I felt trapped in a living nightmare.
  9. I tried not to examine the bigger implications of it all.
  10. My friends simply mull it over and ask a few questions.

vocabulary Chart: Freeology

 

Reading Comprehension

Fill-ins

Directions: Place students in groups and after they have read the entire article, have them complete the following sentences  taken from the article. They can use the words and terms from the list provided, or provide their own terms. They are to find the meanings of any new vocabulary.

I spent a ___lying, secretly ___the objects in my bedroom in order to keep ___around. But opening up enough to tell them so___ us closer than ever. I have not had a single ___since.

WORD LIST: brought, compulsion, rearranging, friends, decade,

Grammar Focus: Word -Recognition

Directions: Students choose the correct word to complete the sentences taken from the article. They are to choose from the options presented.

I mastered/missed the art of deflect/deflection, expertly turning every response/repose into a joke/jokes and steering every convert/conversation into being about the other person. By the end of high school, I had friends/fiends, won superlatives and no one knew a thing about me. Mission accomplished.

III. Post Reading Activities

Discussion Questions for Comprehension /Writing

  1. According to the author what signs of OCD did he show?
  2. What are some of the reasons he gave for his behavior?
  3. How did the author finally kick his OCD?
  4. Do you know someone who has OCD? If yes describe their behavior.
  5. What would you do if you suspected someone you knew might have OCD?
  6. Look for additional information about OCD on the web (e.g., self-help books, available therapy etc.)

3-2-1-Writing

Directions: Allow students 5 minutes to write down three new ideas they’ve learned about the topic from the reading,  two things they did not understand in the reading, and one thing they would like to know that the article did not mention. Review the responses as a class.

ANSWER KEY

Category: Psychology, Social Issues

Stephen Hawking’s Final Escape to the Stars…

“Stephen W. Hawking, the Cambridge University physicist and best-selling author who roamed the cosmos from a wheelchair, pondering the nature of gravity and the origin of the universe and becoming an emblem of human determination and curiosity, died early Wednesday at his home in Cambridge, England. He was 76.” D. Overbye, The New York Times

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key

Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest physicists of our time, died on Wednesday. He is immortalized by his brilliant research, but also by his pop culture appearances. Photo by David Parry:Press Association,

Excerpt: Stephen Hawking Dies at 76; His Mind Roamed the Cosmos, By Dennis Overbye, The New York Times

“Not since Albert Einstein has a scientist so captured the  public imagination and endeared himself to tens of millions of  people around the world…Dr. Hawking did that largely through his book A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, published in 1988…Scientifically, Dr. Hawking will be best remembered for a discovery so strange that it might be expressed in the form of a Zen koan: When is a black hole not black? When it explodes.  What is equally amazing is that he had a career at all. As a graduate student in 1963, he learned he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neuromuscular wasting disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was given only a few years to live.

Dr. Hawking took part in a zero-gravity flight aboard a plane that flies a roller-coaster trajectory to produce fleeting periods of weightlessness. Credit Steve Boxall:Zero Gravity Corporation

He went on to become his generation’s leader in exploring gravity and the properties of black holes, the bottomless gravitational pits so deep and dense that not even light can escape them. In a long and daunting calculation, Dr. Hawking discovered to his befuddlement that black holes — those mythological avatars of cosmic doom — were not really black at all. In fact, he found, they would eventually fizzle, leaking radiation and particles, and finally explode and disappear over the eons.

The discovery of Hawking radiation, as it is known, turned black holes upside down. It transformed them from destroyers to creators — or at least to recyclers — and wrenched the dream of a final theory in a strange, new direction…In 2002, Dr. Hawking said he wanted the formula for ‘Hawking radiation’ to be engraved on his tombstone.

In April 2007, a few months after his 65th birthday, he took part in a zero-gravity flight aboard a specially equipped Boeing 727, a padded aircraft that flies a roller-coaster trajectory to produce fleeting periods of weightlessness.  It was a prelude to a hoped-for trip to space with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic company aboard SpaceShipTwo.

‘What a triumph his life has been,” said Martin Rees, a Cambridge University cosmologist, the astronomer royal of England and Dr. Hawking’s longtime colleague. ‘His name will live in the annals of science; millions have had their cosmic horizons widened by his best-selling books; and even more, around the world, have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds — a manifestation of amazing willpower and determination.’

Paraphrasing Einstein’s complaint about the randomness inherent in quantum mechanics, Dr. Hawking said, “God not only plays dice with the universe, but sometimes throws them where they can’t be seen.”’

“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.” ~Stephen Hawking~

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

NOTE: Lessons can also be used with native English speakers.

Level: Intermediate – Advanced

Language Skills: Reading, writing, and speaking. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.


Time: Approximately 2 hours.


Materials: Student handout (from this lesson) and access to news article.


Objective: Students will read and discuss the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through group work and writing.

I. Pre-Reading Activities

KWL Chart

The K-W-L chart is used to activate students’ background knowledge of a topic in order to enhance their comprehension skills.

Directions: Have students use the KWL chart to list the information they already know about Stephen Hawking. Later in the Post- Reading segment of the lesson, students can fill in what they’ve learned about the topic.

II. While Reading Activities

Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. They may use a dictionary, thesaurus, and Word Chart for assistance.

  1. Stephen Hawking endeared himself to millions of people around the world.
  2. Dr. Hawking developed a long and daunting calculation involving black holes.
  3. He found that they would eventually fizzle  and disappear over the eons.
  4. The discovery of Hawking radiation turned black holes upside down.
  5. Hawking wanted to show that people need not be limited by physical handicaps.
  6. What a triumph his life has been!
  7. Martin Rees was  Dr. Hawking’s longtime colleague.
  8. Stephen Hawking was an example of achievement against all the odds.
  9. Stephen was a mediocre student at St. Albans School in London.
  10. In school, Hawking rarely consulted a book or took notes.

Reading Comprehension

Fill-ins

Directions: Place students in groups and after they have read the entire article, have them complete the following sentences  taken from the article. They can use the words and terms from the list provided, or provide their own terms. They are to find the meanings of any new vocabulary.

The oldest of ___children, Stephen was a ___student at St. Albans School in London, though his innate ___was recognized by some ___and teachers.

Later, at University College, Oxford, he found his___ in ___and ___so ___that he ___consulted a book or took notes. He got by with a ___hours of ___in three years, or one hour a day, he estimated.

WORD LIST: work, easy, mathematics studies, thousand, classmates, physics brilliance, four, mediocre, rarely,

Grammar Focus: Word -Recognition

Directions: Students choose the correct word to complete the sentences taken from the article. They are to choose from the options presented.

He moved/mowed to Cambridge upon his graduation for/from Oxford. Before he could begin/begun his research, however, he was stricken/stuck by what his research adviser, Dr. Sciama, came to call “that terrible thing.” The young Hawking had been experience/experiencing occasional weakness/week and falling spells for several years. Shortly after his 21st birthday, in 1963, doctors tell/told him that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

WH-How Questions

Directions: Have students use the  WH-question format to discuss or to write the main points from the article.

Who or What is the article about?

Where does the action/event take place?

When does the action/event take place?

Why did the action/event occur?

How did the action/event occur?

CHARTS

KWL Chart

Directions:  Have students  fill in the last column of the KWL chart if they used one in the pre-reading segment of this lesson.

Discussion for Comprehension /Writing

Ask/Answer  Questions

Directions:  Place students in groups and have each group list 3  questions they would like to ask Stephen Hawking. Have groups exchange questions. Each group tries to answer the questions listed. All responses are shared as a class.

1-Minute Free Writing Exercise

Directions: Allow students 1 minute to write down one new idea they’ve learned from the reading. Ask them to write down one thing they did not understand in the reading.  Review the responses as a class.

ANSWER KEY

 

Category: Science | Tags:

Meet Some Wonderful Women Who Changed Our Lives!

“What does it take to make history? From Susan B. Anthony to Rosa Parks to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, there’s been no shortage of women who weren’t afraid to fight the good fight and change the world. In celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re putting the spotlight on the contributions of women in history by honoring the pioneers who made major advances in civil rights, women’s suffrage, racial equality, environmental justice, reproductive rights, and much, much more. Ahead, we’ve rounded up the stories behind some of the most influential women, ever.”  M. De Maria, J. Ohikuare, A. Pasarow, Refinery29


ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key

Jane Goodall. Photo: Michael Kovac

Excerpt: Meet The Women Who Changed Your Life- M. De Maria, J. Ohikuare, A. Pasarow, Refinery29

Jane Goodall (born 1934)

Her mark on history: The world’s leading primatologist

How life would be different without her: Born in London, Goodall has been fascinated with animals since she was child, and she wrote her doctoral thesis at Cambridge University about her research on the behavior of chimpanzees. She is now one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on the species, which she has studied in Tanzania for more than 50 years. She now advocates on behalf of many endangered animals, and she’s spread awareness about a variety of animal species to people across the globe. Her words to live by: ‘To achieve global peace, we must not only stop fighting each other, but also stop destroying the natural world.’

Ida B. Wells PHOTO- CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM:GETTY IMAGES.

Ida B. Wells

(1862-1931)

How she made her mark on history: Investigative journalist, newspaper editor, and suffragist who documented lynching in the United States

How life would be different without her: Wells, one of the founders of the NAACP, was one of the first people to extensively document and report on lynching in the United States. She traveled the country investigating incidents and what led to them, and published her findings in 1892, in a pamphlet called “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases“. Wells found that lynch mobs did not act in response to black men raping white women, as was commonly claimed, but were perpetuated in response to economic competition, or consensual interracial relationships. Her words to live by: ‘The white man’s dollar is his god, and to stop this will be to stop outrages in many localities.’

Margaret Thatcher PHOTO- GERALD PENNY

Margaret Thatcher

(1925 – 2013)

Her mark on history: As prime minister of the United Kingdom, she was the first woman to lead a major Western democracy.

How life would be different without her: The Iron Lady held the highest office in Britain for more than a decade, from 1979 to 1990. Though her conservative politics were variably received by the country over her tenure, her legacy was influential enough to see her name affixed to a political philosophy. “Thatcherism” has become a shorthand in British politics for an agenda characterized by free markets and a diminished government. After leaving office, she was made a Baroness by the queen, and later awarded the highest honor of all — being played by Meryl Streep. Her words to live by: “You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning!

 

Maya Angelou Photo- A. Rex

Maya Angelou

(1928 – 2014)

Her mark on history: American literature

How life would be different without her: Angelou authored seven autobiographical books, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and will be forever beloved for her powerful poems. Born in Missouri, she was an active voice in the civil rights movement. She recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1993. In addition to gaining national recognition for her writing, Angelou made many people rethink their ideas about sex workers by writing about her own experience as a sex worker. Her words to live by: “Be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud.”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg PHOTO- GETTY IMAGE

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

(born 1933)

Her mark on history: The U.S. Supreme Court

How life would be different without her: Ginsburg was the second female justice ever appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court (Sandra Day O’Connor was the first). Now, she serves along with two other female justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. Before serving on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg fought for women’s rights as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. Ginsburg continues to fight for equality as a Supreme Court justice today. Her words to live by: “Now the perception is, yes, women are here to stay,” Ginsburg said of the Supreme Court during the 10th Circuit Bench & Bar Conference in 2012. “And when I’m sometimes asked, ‘When will there be enough?’ and I say, ‘when there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”

Amelia Earhart PHOTO- SEATTLE TIMES:JR PARTNERS:GETTY IMAGES.

Amelia Earhart

(1897 – 1937)

Her mark on history: The first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone

She was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean solo, and she went on to design clothes and to become a faculty consultant at Purdue University. In 1937, Earhart attempted to fly around the world, and her plane disappeared that year. Her legacy continues to inspire pilots of all genders today, and her bravery proved that women (and men) can do whatever they set their minds to. Earhart’s story is still taught to schoolchildren today. Her words to live by: “The most effective way to do it is to do it.“

Helen Keller PHOTO- KEYSTONE-FRANCE:GETTY IMAGES.

Helen Keller

(1880 – 1968)

Her mark on history: The first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, changing public perception of what a disabled person could accomplish

How life would be different without her: Keller didn’t let the fact that she was blind and deaf stop her from becoming a prominent activist, and she eventually co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920. Keller earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College in 1904, and she was the first deaf and blind person to do so, setting an example for others to follow. Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan are an example of the power of compassion and determination, and their story is still taught to children in the United States today. Her words to live by: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.“

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

NOTE: Lessons can also be used with native English speakers.

Level: Intermediate – Advanced


Language Skills: Reading, writing, and speaking. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.


Time: Approximately 2 hours.


Materials: Student handout (from this lesson) and access to news article.


Objective: Students will read and discuss the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through group work and writing.

I. Pre-Reading Activities

 Predictions: Using a Pre-reading Organizer

Directions:  Ask students to examine the title of the post and of the actual article they are about to read. Then, have them  examine the photos. Ask students to write a paragraph describing what they think this article will discuss. Students can use a Pre-reading organizer for assistance.

 

II. While Reading Activities

Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. They may use a dictionary, thesaurus, and Word Chart for assistance.

  1. Jane Goodall is the world’s leading primatologist.
  2. She advocates on behalf of many species.
  3. Ida B. Wells investigated and wrote about lynchings in the U.S.
  4. Berta Cáceres was an environmental activist.
  5. Berta Cáceres wanted people to be aware of rapacious capitalism.
  6. Betty Friedan wasn’t the sole instigator of second-wave feminism.
  7. Amelia Earhart’s legacy continues to inspire pilots of all genders today.
  8. Helen Keller  changed the  public perception of what a disabled person could accomplish.
  9. Harriet Tubman served as a conductor  on the Underground Railroad.
  10. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the second female justice ever appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Reading Comprehension

Fill-ins

Directions: Place students in groups and after they have read the entire article, have them complete the following sentences  taken from the article. They can use the words and terms from the list provided, or provide their own terms. They are to find the meanings of any new vocabulary.

Marie Curie

(1867 – 1934)

Curie’s (and husband Pierre’s)___ into___was more than groundbreaking — it was world-changing. Her ___of   radioactivity forms the___ for much of the science we have today, including___power and  ____research, and even pieces of your smoke detector. Curie also gave a role ___to every little girl who dreams of being a ___— she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, shared with her ___for physics in 1903.

WORD LIST:  model, basis, scientist, husband, radioactivity, medical, weapons, theory, research,   nuclear,

 

 Grammar Focus: Structure and Usage

Directions: The following groups of sentences are from the article. One of the sentences in each group contains a grammatical  error. Students are to identify the sentence (1, 2, or 3 ) from each group that contains the grammatical error.

I

  1. Cáceres fought for the human, environmental, and economic rights of the Lenca people.
  2. Much of her work included efforts to protect lands.
  3. Friedan helped found two of the biggest organization for women’s rights.

 

II

  1. Noor Inayat Khan  was a descendant of Indian nobility.
  2. She evade capture for months.
  3. Despite the danger, Inayat Khan refused to leave.

 

III

  1. Alice Paul was a suffragist and activist.
  2. She was arrest multiple times while fighting for women’s right to vote.
  3. Most reforms, most problems are complicated.

 

Ask/Answer  Questions

Directions:  Place students in groups and have each group list 3  questions they would like to ask a woman mentioned in the article.  Each group can try to answer the questions listed.  Groups can find  additional information for each woman and share it with the class.

1-Minute Free Writing Exercise

Directions: Allow students 1 minute to write down one new idea they’ve learned from the reading. Ask them to write down one thing they did not understand in the reading.  Review the responses as a class.

ANSWER KEY

 

Category: Social Issues | Tags:

Barbra Streisand Cloned Her Beloved Dog Sammie for $50,000…See The Results!

“It was basically an aside — an odd and interesting nugget in an interview with Barbra Streisand that otherwise dealt with heavy topics like sexism and politics…But it was that one nugget — a brief comment about her dogs — that drew the most attention on Tuesday night.” M. Stevens, The New York Times

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post  with Answer Key

Barbra holding her beloved Samatha-5:30:17.

 

Excerpt: Barbra Streisand Cloned Her Dogs… By Matt Stevens, The New York Times

“In her interview with Variety, Ms. Streisand revealed that two of her three Coton de Tulear dogs were clones. Specifically, the magazine reported that the dogs — Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett — had been cloned from cells taken from the mouth and stomach of Ms. Streisand’s late dog Samantha, who was 14 when she died last year.

Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett ‘have different personalities,’ Ms. Streisand told Variety. ‘I’m waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her brown eyes and her seriousness.’

Streisand’s three girls, Pink, Blue and Violet

Ms. Streisand’s third dog, Miss Fanny, is a distant cousin of Samantha’s, the magazine said. (Miss Fanny’s mother, the story noted, had been named Funny Girl.)

Even if you are not a close follower of clones, you may recall Dolly the Sheep, who was born in 1996. Since then, researchers have cloned about two dozen other mammal species, including cattle, deer, horses, rabbits, cats, rats — and yes, dogs.

South Korean researchers announced that they had cloned a dog for the first time in 2005, after almost three years of work and more than 1,000 eggs.

By 2008, a California company had partnered with a South Korean laboratory and made plans to auction off chances to clone five dogs. Later that year, The New York Times reported that the first three puppies from the group had been born in South Korea.

Barbra Streisand revealed in an interview that two of her three Coton de Tulears had been cloned. CreditRussell James for Variety

Two 2015 reports — from Business Insider and NPR — detail the work of Sooam Biotech, a lab in South Korea, and said the lab, on its own, had cloned more than 600 dogs.

Both articles say Sooam Biotech charged about $100,000 to attempt the process. ViaGen Pets, a company based in Texas, says it charges $50,000 for the cloning or $1,600 to merely preserve your pet’s genes.

It was not clear which company Ms. Streisand used to create her clones. A publicist for Ms. Streisand did not immediately respond to an email or phone message on Tuesday night.”

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

NOTE: Lessons can also be used with native English speakers.

Level: Intermediate – Advanced


Language Skills: Reading, writing, and speaking. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.


Time: Approximately 2 hours.


Materials: Student handout (from this lesson) and access to news article.


Objective: Students will read and discuss the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through group work and writing.

I. Pre-Reading Activities

Stimulating background knowledge: Brainstorming

Directions: Place students in groups, ask students to think about what they already know about  the topic.  Next, have students look at the pictures in the text and generate ideas or words that may be connected to the article.  Regroup as a class and list these ideas on the board. Students can use a brainstorming chart for assistance.

Brainstorming chart by UIE copy

 

II. While Reading Activities

Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. They may use a dictionary, thesaurus, and Word Chart for assistance.

  1. The puppies had been cloned from cells taken from Ms. Streisand’s late dog Samantha.
  2. It was basically an aside.
  3. Ms. Streisand revealed that two of her three Coton de Tulear dogs were clones.
  4. The possibility of cloning dogs intrigues many owners.
  5. You do not have to be an incredibly famous and highly acclaimed actor.
  6. The older dog served as the surrogate mother.
  7. It was reported that cloned animals aren’t exact replicas of original dogs.
  8. Cats and dogs delivered by cloning have the same genes as their donor pets.
  9. There is strong potential for miscarriages.
  10. A California company made plans to auction off chances to clone five dogs.

Word Map by Against the Odds

 

Reading Comprehension: Fill-ins

Directions: Place students in groups and after they have read the entire article, have them complete the following sentences  taken from the article. They can use the words and terms from the list provided, or provide their own terms. They are to find the meanings of any new vocabulary.

Cats and ___delivered by___have the same___as their___ pets and will be the closest match possible to the___ ViaGen said on its website. This is best described as identical twins born at a later date. The___ does interact with ___to impact many traits such as ___and behavior, the company continued.

WORD LIST :  personality, genetics, environment, donor, genes, dogs, cloning, donor,

 

Grammar: Identifying English Articles

Directions: Have students choose the correct English articles (THE, A, AN)  from those provided to fill in the blanks.

“You do not have to be ___incredibly famous and highly acclaimed actor to have it done.

By 2008, ___California company had partnered with ___ South Korean laboratory.

Researchers at ___South Korean lab told ___ station that ___dogs it had cloned have been healthy — and had almost always looked and acted like ___dogs they were cloned from.”

III. Post Reading Activities

Discussion for Comprehension /Writing

Directions: Place students in groups and have them  discuss the following statements. Afterwards, have the groups share their thoughts as a class. To reinforce the ideas, students can write an essay on one of the topics mentioned.

  1. Do you have a favorite pet? If so  is cloning your pet something you’d consider?  Explain why or why not.
  2. Other than cloning pets, what other reasons are there for cloning animals?
  3. In your opinion, what are some advantages and disadvantages of cloning?
  4. Who was Dolly the sheep? Why is she famous?
  5. Are there any questions your group would like to ask Ms. Streisand?
  6. Have groups search the web for additonal information about cloning.

1-Minute Free Writing Exercise

Directions: Allow students 1 minute to write down one new idea they’ve learned from the reading. Ask them to write down one thing they did not understand in the reading.  Review the responses as a class. Note: For the lower levels allow more time for this writing activity.

ANSWER KEY

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