News quiz 2011

Ideas on how to use the quiz

Team quiz Divide students into groups of 3-4 and give each group cut-up strips with the questions (without numbers). Ss answer the questions in groups. Ask for feedback and award a point for each correct answer. Then give out the answer sheet and ask Ss to match the questions with the answers. A stapler might be handy too to staple the cut-up question strips to the answer sheet. Ss find the answers to the questions they didn't know or werent sure about. NB. This activity works better with similar-ability students grouped together. Ask early finishers to underline / highlight useful lexical chunks in the news quiz (see Language Focus below). Weaker groups can be given fewer questions. Table quiz The same activity can be done with the teacher acting as quizmaster. Supply each group with a numbered sheet for writing the answers on (not provided here). The questions can be divided into the following categories: SPORTS Questions 1, 8, 10, 12, (15) ART & ENTERTAINMENT Questions 3, 5, 11, (16), (17) SCIENCE Questions 4, 6, 14 GLOBAL ISSUES - Questions 2, 7, 9, 13 NB. This activity would work better with students divided into mixed-ability / heterogeneous groups. The upper-intermediate version has 17 questions The lower intermediate version has 14 questions For weaker learners, use the first 10.

Webquest If you have access to the Internet in your classroom, instead of giving Ss the answers, ask them to find information on the Internet in groups/pairs. Each pair / group then shares with the class what they have found. This can also be assigned as out-of-class work. Suggested websites for lower intermediate students / young learners: CBBC (Children's BBC) News Round: www.bbc.co.uk/newsround Our Little Earth: www.ourlittleearth.com Simple English Wikipedia: http://simple.wikipedia.org

Mini-presentations Ask each student individually to choose one news story they are familiar with and share with the rest of the class (or in their groups) what they know about it. Give them about three minutes each. Ask Ss to find out more about the topics they didn't know about and make another mini-presentations for next lesson. Top 15 / Top 20 Get Ss to add more questions to the quiz and then ask other teams. For example, with the upper-intermediate version you can get Ss to add 3 more questions to make it a Top20 list. With the lower-intermediate version, ask students to add 1 more question to make it Top15. Ranking Ask Ss to rank the stories in order of importance to make a Top 10 Hottest News of the year list (or Top 12 of 2012). To turn it into a writing activity, you can use Tricider with students writing arguments in support of a particular news item. See this video tutorial: www.teachertrainingvideos.com/tricider Make your own Ask your Ss in groups to design similar quizzes based on the local news stories of 2012 using lexical chunks (see below) from the original quiz. NB. Make sure the news stories from your country have not been included in the original quiz.

Language focus: grammar

Present Perfect You can draw your students' attention to the use of the Present Perfect in the news quiz. How many actors have played the role of James Bond in the series? How many Tour de France competitions has he [Lance Armstrong] won? NB. Now that Lance Armstrong's career in sport is officially over, using the Past Simple here would probably be justified - a possible topic for grammar discussion with more advanced students. Ask Ss to make similar sentences about writers, film stars, sportsmen, etc. How many Grand Slams has Nadal won? How many Harry Potter novels has J.K.Rowling written? This can be contrasted with the past simple questions: How many albums did Whitney Houston release? How many novels did Charles Dickens write?

The Passive Ask Ss to highlight the examples of the Passive constructions in the quiz. Which of them can be changed into the active voice? For example, was closed for two consecutive days is used rather than the active voice closed for two consecutive days to emphasise how the event was caused by external circumstances Examples from the upper-int version: was [] stripped of his [] titles = lost his titles; had to return his titles was shot in the head = took a bullet to the head (?) Why was she targeted? = why did she become a target? were sentenced to two years in prison = got a two-year prison sentence Examples from the lower int. version: Skyfall was released = Skyfall came out Euro 2012 was held = Euro 2012 took place was shot in the head = took a bullet to the head (?)

Language focus: lexis

The quiz contains a lot of collocations and other lexical chunks which are worth pointing out. They can be written on the board or highlighted if you are using a projector (and MS Word) or IWB. I've highlighted some below using the following colours: Collocations with Verbs Adjective + Noun collocations Other chunks Alternatively, if your students have all the questions in front of them, you can "dictate" the chunks you want them to underline. For example, 1) Underline a collocation which means "became very popular on the Internet; spread very fast (like a disease)" = went viral 2) Underline an expression which means "were very excited" = were over the moon etc. See my article Revisiting Texts on the TeachingEnglish website to get a better idea how I do it: http://tinyurl.com/revtexts Note that a lot of Verb + Noun collocations in the upper intermediate version consists of seemingly easy combinations of two known words (e.g. make + history, play + host etc)

News quiz 2012

1. The London Olympics kicked off with a spectacular - and at times peculiar - Opening Ceremony directed by the acclaimed British director Danny Boyle. Who jumped from a helicopter as part of the Opening Ceremony?

2.

In October 2012 the New York Stock Exchange was closed for two consecutive days for the first time in over a hundred years. What caused the shutdown?

3.

The music video for "Gangnam Style" by the Korean singer Psy went viral in 2012 and became the most watched video of all time on Youtube. What does the word "Gangnam" mean?

4.

NASA scientists were "over the moon" in August 2012 when the huge robot, Curiosity, reached its destination. Which planet did it touch down on?

5.

What American superstar, who, for the last 10 or so years, has been in the spotlight mainly for her addiction problems and turbulent personal life, died the night before the prestigious Grammy awards?

6.

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner made history as the first man to break the speed of sound in a free-fall from over 35 km above Earth don't try that at home! What soft drink company sponsored his jump?

7.

Two Australian radio DJs faced a public backlash in December 2012 when their prank call turned into a tragedy. Who did they play a prank on?

8.

One of the greatest cyclists of all time, Lance Armstrong fell from grace after accusations of doping and was consequently stripped of his Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life. How many Tour de France competitions has he won?

9.

The World didn't end on December 21 as some suspected. The calendar of which ancient civilization predicted the end of the word?

10.

Who is Usain Bolt and why was he in the news in 2012?

11.

The James Bond series celebrated its 50th anniversary with the release of the eagerly anticipated Skyfall starring Daniel Craig. How many actors have portrayed James Bond in the series?

12.

UEFA promised to crack down on racism after allegations of racism in the Euro 2012 host nations. Which two Eastern European countries played host to the tournament?

13.

A 15-year-old girl, Malala, from a remote village in north-west Pakistan was shot in the head by the Taliban. The incident caused a public outcry in the country. Why was she targeted? As if your life didn't revolve enough around Google products, Google unveiled Project Glass in April 2012 showing the world that the promised sci-fi future is here. What does the new product do? Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open final after a gruelling 5 hour 53 minute match, the longest Grand Slam final in tennis history. Who was his opponent? Three members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison sparking global protests from leading figures in the art world. What were they accused of?

14.

15.

16.

17.

2012 marked the 200th birthday of one of the most prolific British authors. Which one?

News quiz 2012: easier version (lower intermediate)

1. The Olympics kicked off in London in July 2012. Who jumped from a helicopter as part of the spectacular Opening Ceremony?

2.

In October 2012 the New York Stock Exchange was closed for two days in a row for the first time in over a hundred years. What caused the shutdown?

3.

"Gangnam Style" by the Korean singer Psy went viral in 2012 and became the most watched video of all time on Youtube. What does the word "Gangnam" mean?

4.

After eight months of travel, the space robot Curiosity reached its destination in August 2012. Which planet did it land on?

5.

What American superstar died the night before the Grammy Awards in February 2012 after a long history of drug problems?

6.

Felix Baumgartner made history as the first man to break the speed of sound in a freefall from space don't try that at home! What soft drink company helped him organise his jump?

7.

Two Australian radio DJs made headlines in December 2012 when their prank phone call turned into a tragedy. Who did they call?

8.

One of the greatest cyclists of all time, Lance Armstrong had to return all of his Tour de France titles after accusations of drug use. How many times has he won the Tour de France competition?

9.

The World didn't end on December 21 as some suspected. The calendar of which ancient civilization predicted the end of the world?

10. Who is Usain Bolt and why was he in the news in 2012?

11. Skyfall starring Daniel Craig was released in October 2012 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series. How many actors have played the role of James
Bond in the series?

12. Some black players became victims of racist behaviour at the Euro 2012 football competition. In which two Eastern European countries was Euro 2012 held?

13. The 15-year-old girl Malala from a remote village in north-west Pakistan was shot in the head by the Taliban. What was her "crime"?

14. In April 2012 Google showed the world that the future is here when they revealed their new invention called Project Glass. What does the new product do?