News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 1 October 2012 Level >= Lower intermediate Style >= Lesson plan Welcome to the Guardian Weekly's special news-based materials to support learners and teachers of English. Each month, the Guardian Weekly newspaper selects topical news articles that can be used to practise English language skills. The materials are graded for two levels: advanced and lower intermediate. These worksheets can be downloaded free from guardian.co.uk/weekly/. You can also find more advice for teachers and learners from the Guardian Weekly's Learning English section on the site. Rome bans lovers' locks to protect bridge Materials prepared by Janet Hardy-Gould Instructions Lesson focus: Materials: Time: reading; hyponyms article, dictionaries 55 minutes 1 Explain that the lesson is about a romantic tradition practised by couples. Elicit examples of popular ways for couples to declare their love for each other, for example exchanging rings, carving initials on trees or sending Valentine's cards. 6 mins 2 Write up the words novel and book from the article. Ask: How does novel link to book. Which word is more general/ specific? Establish that a novel is a specific type of book; it is a hyponym of book. Elicit other hyponyms of book, for example dictionary, atlas. Direct students to task 1. In pairs using dictionaries, students match the words, which follow the same pattern. Class feedback. Get students to come up with their own examples of hyponyms/general words, for example, table/furniture, apple/fruit. 7 mins a [ ] novel 1 area b [ ] padlock 2 city c [ ] capital 3 book d [ ] bridge 4 lock e [ ] neighbourhood 5 structure Answers: a 3 b 4 c 2 d 5 e 1 3 Distribute the article. Focus on the headline, photo and caption. Students predict the romantic tradition discussed in the article. 5 mins 4 Direct learners to the sentences in task 2. Students read the article, choose the correct words, and underline where they found the information. Class feedback. 12 mins a People put a large/small number of padlocks on the bridge. b The padlocks are/aren't on the bridge now. c The Milvian Bridge is/isn't the only bridge with padlocks. d The idea of the padlocks came from a modern/an ancient story. e Most local people were for/against the locks on the bridge. f In future, lovers can put the padlocks under/close to the bridge. g Moccia is pleased/annoyed about the removal of the padlocks. Answers: a large b aren't c isn't d a modern e against f close to g annoyed 5 Ask students to look back at paragraphs 1 and 3 and find the pairs of hyponyms/general words: bridge/structure, novel/book. Why are they used here? Establish that they avoid the repetition of key items. 5 mins 6 Ask: Do you know other famous places that need protection from the public? In pairs, students choose a place and write a short text similar to the article. They should try to avoid the repetition of key words. Monitor/ correct. At the end, several students read out their texts but omit the name of the place. The other students guess where it is. 20 mins >=2 News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 2 October 2012 Article: Rome bans lovers' locks to protect bridge 1 Thousands of "love padlocks" fixed to an ancient bridge in Rome, the Italian capital, have been cut off to save the structure from -damage. 2 For years teenage lovers have written their initials on padlocks and locked them to the bridge. They have then sworn eternal love for each other and thrown the key into the Tiber river below. The habit has also become popular at other bridges around the world, particularly in Paris. 3 The padlock idea was first inspired by characters in the 2006 Italian teenage novel I Want You by Federico Moccia. In the book, a young couple place a bicycle lock around a lamppost on the Milvian bridge and throw the key into the Tiber. 4 The famous bridge was first built in 206BC and is one of the oldest in Rome. It was the scene of an important Roman battle in AD312. Heavy heart ... locks on Rome's bridge Eric Vandeville/Gamma Student tasks 1 Match the words that are hyponyms. Use a dictionary to check the meanings. 1 area a novel b padlock 2 city c capital 3 book d bridge 4 lock e neighbourhood 5 structure 2 Read the article then choose the correct words in these sentences. Underline where you found the information in the article. a People put a large/small number of padlocks on the bridge. b The padlocks are/aren't on the bridge now. c The Milvian Bridge is/isn't the only bridge with padlocks. d The idea of the padlocks came from a modern/an ancient story. e Most local people were for/against the locks on the bridge. f In future, lovers can put the -padlocks under/close to the bridge. g Moccia is pleased/annoyed about the removal of the padlocks. 5 In 2007 a lamppost on the ancient bridge nearly collapsed under the weight of the "love padlocks" and special posts were put up for the locks. 6 But last month officials said enough was enough. "We decided to remove the padlocks to restore decorum to the bridge," said the local area president, Gianni Giacomini. 7 Since the habit started, the residential neighbourhood has become a busy centre for late-night bars and city officials said that 86% of -local people wanted the locks to go. They promised to give the padlocks a place in a Rome museum and said they would create a spot near the bridge where locks could be left in future. 8 "The bridge will be guarded day and night to stop more locks being attached," said local public official Stefano Erbaggi. 9 However, Federico Moccia is unhappy about the move. "The removal of the locks is inconsiderate," he told the newspaper La Repubblica. "Rome is giving Paris the 'bridge of love' tradition, which was born here and should stay here." Original article by Tom Kington, rewritten by Janet Hardy-Gould