“Friday’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade will usher in a United States not seen in half a century, in which the legal status of abortion is entirely up to the states. Now that the law has changed, reproductive rights will be rewritten almost immediately.” C. C. Miller and M. S. Katz, The New York Times, June 24, 2022
ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key
Abortion rights activists clad in green and carrying green signs protest outside the Supreme Court on Saturday.Brandon Bell:Getty Images
Excerpt: What Does the End of Roe Mean? Key Questions and Answers.By Claire Cain Miller and Margot Sanger-Katz, The New York Times, June 24, 202
“Abortion will remain legal in about half of states, but the rest will probably ban it. The number of abortions will probably fall, particularly among poor women in the South and Midwest…Individual states will decide whether and when abortions will be legal. Many states will continue to allow them, and some have even begun making provisions to help serve women who live in states that are likely to restrict abortion… Some women seeking abortions could obtain them in other ways, including traveling to a state where abortion is legal or ordering pills online from outside the country… Without Roe, abortion will probably decline more because women will have to travel farther to reach a state where it’s legal.”
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 60 minutes.
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 improving oral skills. 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: Analyzing headings and photos
Directions: Examine the titles of the post and of the actual article. Examine any photos, then create a list of words and ideas that you and your group members think might be related to this article.
II. While Reading Activities
Word Inference
Directions: Try to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. You use a dictionary, thesaurus, and Word Chart for assistance.
Friday’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade will leave the legal status of abortion entirely up to the states.
Now that the law has changed, reproductive rights will be rewritten almost immediately.
Abortion will probably become illegal in about half of states, although forecasts differ.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, is a group that fights abortion restrictions in court and closely tracks state laws.
Some states have old abortion laws on the books that were invalidated by the Roe decision.
In September, a law went into effect banning abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, around six weeks.
Without Roe, abortion will probably decline more because women will have to travel farther to reach a state where it’s legal.
California looks to enshrine abortion rights in state constitution.
Our article from December describes the demographics of the typical abortion patient.
Under Roe, the United States has been unusual in allowing abortion for any reason until around 23 weeks.
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.
Without Roe, abortion will/may probably declined/decline more because women/woman will has/have to travel farther to reach a/an state where it’s legal. Many women/woman who get abortions are poor, and long travel distances can be insurmountable. The states likely to ban abortion are/is concentrate/concentrated in the South, Midwest and Great Plains.
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.
Under___, around one in ___American ___would have been expected to obtain an ____at some point, according to research from the Guttmacher Institute.
That includes___ from all backgrounds. But statistics show women who receive ___ abortions in the United States are more likely to be___; to be in their 20s; to have ___incomes; and to___have a child.
WORD LIST: already, low, unmarried, abortion, abortions, women, Roe, four, women,
Discussion Questions for Comprehension /Writing
Directions: Have students discuss the following questions/statements. Afterwards, students share their thoughts as a class. To reinforce the ideas, students can write an essay on one of the topics mentioned.
- Will abortion become illegal everywhere in the U.S.?
- Where will abortion access most likely change?
- What are trigger laws?
- How will the number of U.S. abortions change?
- Without Roe, why will women’s rights to decline more?
- In South Dakota which group of women will be most affected by the new law?
- Who Gets Abortions in America?
- List three new ideas that you’ve learned about the topic from the reading, two things that you did not understand in the reading, and one thing you would like to know that the article did not mention. Share your responses with your class.
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