Plastic Waste

This month is highlighting the awareness of living Plastic Free, trying to reduce our use of plastic and to recycle as much as possible.

Read this article from ABC news titled Plastic and how it affects our oceans.

Write a short summary for each of these questions.

  1. How much plastic goes into the ocean?
  2. How long does plastic last in the ocean?
  3. What is plastic made from?
  4. Where does the plastic go?
  5. What impact does plastic have on marine animals?
  6. So what can we do about it?

For a class divide the class into 6 groups and have each group read and summarise one section to then share with students from other groups.

For more activities on summarizing go to Unit 12 Summarising.

Scam Awareness

A scam is when someone tries to take something, for example money or identity, from another person through dishonest means. With the increased use of the internet over the years this has increased the chance of people illegally trying to take advantage of others.

There have been many reports of people being scammed in many ways and recently there have been media campaigns to make us more aware to stop the scams. There are a number of different ways scammers try to get your information.

Read through this article Stop and check: Is this for real? Scam Awareness Week 2018 and take notes on each of these sub-headings:

  1. Threats to life, arrest or other
  2. Remote access scams
  3. Phishing
  4. Identity theft
  5. False billing

This activity can also be divided amongst 5 groups where each group reads and takes notes on one sub-heading and then shares their notes with the other groups.

For more activities on note-taking go to Unit 6 Scanning, Skimming and Note-taking.

As robots replace old jobs, new jobs should be invented

Read through this article from The New York Times by Garry Kasparov titled As Robots Replace Old Jobs, New Jobs Should Be Invented.

Match the words on the left to the correct definitions on the right:

  1. adaptable –                                  A. boring and dull
  2. doomsaying –                              B. copy
  3. replicate –                                    C. use of automatic equipment
  4. capable –                                      D. to change to suit a new situation
  5. liberate –                                      E. waste something without thought
  6. tedious –                                       F. to predict a negative future
  7. automation –                               G. to free or release
  8. squandered –                               H. able to achieve something


Answers: 1D, 2F, 3B, 4H, 5G, 6A, 7C, 8E

For more activities on reading the news go to Unit 4 Reading News Reports.

Swiss anthem

Do you know the national anthem from Switzerland?

Read about it here, then answer these questions.

  1. What 3 jobs did Leonard Widmer do?
  2. What job did Alberik Zwyssig do?
  3. What did they do together?
  4. Why didn’t the Swiss government declare ‘Swiss Psalm’ a national anthem immediately?
  5. Why did the government allow ‘Swiss Psalm’ to be the anthem in 1961?
  6. When was it officially declared the Swiss national anthem?
  7. What are the 4 languages of Switzerland?
  8. Read through the English version of the lyrics.
1. music publisher, journalist and lyricist 2. music director 3. create the Swiss national anthem 4. the government wanted the public to have an opinion 5. because their original anthem sounded the same as the British anthem, they wanted something Swiss 6. 1981 7. German, French, Italian, Romansch

For more activities on National Anthems go to Unit 2 of the Teachers Course.

The highest paid animal actors

Where have you seen animals acting?

Have a look at the photos in this article and see if you recognise any of the 10 animals from films or TV shows.

Now read through the article about the highest paid animal actors and answer these questions.

  1. What type of dog was Rin Tin Tin?
  2. Who employed Rin Tin Tin?
  3. What was Rin Tin Tin’s nickname?
  4. What movie was Keiko in?
  5. How did Keiko die?
  6. What type of animal was Bart?
  7. How old was Bart when he died?
  8. What was the name of the first dog who played Lassie?
  9. What type of dog was Lassie?
  10. What was the stage name of the dog on Frasier?
  11. What happened when Moose got too old to act?
  12. What type of animal is Crystal?
  13. Why did they stop filming Animal Practice?
  14. What type of dog played in The Wizard of Oz?
  15. What happened to the dog while filming The Wizard of Oz?
  16. What was the name of Skippy’s character in the movies?
  17. What tricks could Trigger do?
  18. What is the characters name of the most famous animal actor?
1. German shepherd 2. Warner Brothers Studio 3. Rinty 4. Free Willy 5. from pneumonia 6. Alaskan brown bear 7. 23 years old 8. Pal 9. Collie 10. Eddie 11. his son Enzo started to act 12. Capuchin monkey 13. because of poor ratings 14. Terrier 15. the dog broke his foot 16. Asta 17. walking on hind legs and untying hands 18.Benji

Go to Unit 2 Reading Books for more reading activities.

Animals of Australia

What Australian animals do you know?

Read the introduction of Australia’s Animals and find what each number refers to.

  • 3
  • 800
  • 2
  • 4000
  • 50
3 groups of mammals - monotremes, marsupials and placentals
over 800 bird species, including the emu
2 crocodile species
4000 fish species
50 marine mammals

Take notes on the different Australian animals as you continue to read.


  • dingo –
  • numbat –
  • quoll –
  • Tasmanian devil –
  • bilby –


  • kangaroo –
  • wallaby –
  • koala –
  • wombat –


  • platypus –
  • echidna –


  • honeyeater –
  • emu –
  • cassowary –
  • kookaburra –
  • penguin –
  • lyrebird –
  • parrot –


  • python –
  • tree snake –
  • crocodile –
  • turtle –
  • lizard –

Marine animals

  • whale –
  • dugong –
  • dolphin –
  • shark –
  • fur seal –

Choose one of the animals from the list and do some further research on it. Find a photo of it and take notes on the animals physical appearance, habitat, diet and reproduction.

Go to Unit 10 Researching to learn effective research skills.

The form guide

Have a look at this form guide from the 2016 Melbourne Cup.


Scan over the guide quickly to answer these questions.

  1. How many horses are in the race?
  2. How many metres do the horses race?
  3. What time does the Melbourne Cup race start?
  4. Which horse won the Melbourne Cup in 2016?
  5. Which horse came second?
  6. Which horse came third?
1. 24 horses 2. 3200 metres 3. 12:00pm 4. Almandin 5. Heartbreak City 6. Hartnell

Now skim the guide to find more detail and answer these questions.

  1. How many horses come from Japan in the race?
  2. What is the name of the horse that comes from Australia?
  3. There is one female jockey in the race. What is the name of the horse she is riding?
  4. Who trained Oceanographer?
  5. What is the name of the other horse in this race that Oceanographer’s trainer trained?
  6. How many horses in this race has Robert Hickmott trained?
  7. Where does the winning horse come from?
  8. Which country has the most horses in this race?
  9. For how many metres do the horses run straight?
  10. How much is the total amount of money that can be won from the race?
1. 1 horse 2. Jameka 3. Katelyn Mallyon is riding Assign 4. Charlie Appleby 5. Qewy 6. 3 horses 7. Germany 8. Great Britain 9. 448 metres 10. 6 million dollars

For more activities on scanning and skimming go to Unit 6 Scanning, Skimming and Note-taking.

Roald Dahl

This year marks the 100 year anniversary of Roald Dahl. He was born in 1916 and has written many books for children and adults. His most popular work are his children’s stories filled with humour and many of them have been made into films. Some of his famous work include:

  • James and the Giant Peach
  • Charlie and the Chocolate factory
  • Fantastic Mr Fox
  • The Witches
  • Matilda
  • The BFG
  • Boy: Tales of Childhood


Boy: Tales of Childhood is an autobiography about his early school life. In the introduction of this book Roald Dahl writes about his memories:


Think about an experience in your childhood that was either funny, painful or unpleasant. You can write about your experience or speak about it to a friend.

Choose a Roald Dahl book or short story to read. If the story has been made into a film, watch the film after you have read the book.

To learn more about writing about yourself go to Autobiography.

Angelina Jolie seeks divorce from Brad Pitt


Read Angelina Jolie seeks divorce from Brad Pitt, ending Hollywood power couple and answer these questions.
  1. Why did Angelina file for divorce?
  2. Where did she file for divorce?
  3. What does she want to happen to their 6 children?
  4. When did they get married?
  5. How many husbands has Angelina had?
  6. How many wives has Brad had?
  7. What cause is Angelina interested in?
  8. Where are 3 of their children adopted from?

1. for the health of the family, 2. Los Angeles Superior Court, 3. She wants full custody, 4. August 2014,  5. 3, 6. 2,    7. humanitarian causes to help refugees and underprivileged, 8. Cambodia, Vietnam and Ethiopia

Enrol in Unit 8 Biography to get more activities of speaking, reading, writing and listening on Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Olympic Games 2016

Have a look at these Haunting Photos of Abandoned Olympic Venues From Around The World. Read through the introduction and work out what these numbers are referring to.

TO GO WITH STORY BY RUSMIR SMAJILHODZIC - A picture taken on February 5, 2014 shows Sarajevo's abandoned Sarajevo's bob sleigh track near Sarajevo. Built and used as an Olympic venue during Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic Games, the track was heavily damaged during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. It was never rebuilt and it's large concrete fragments remain standing as a memento of past and training ground for young generations of graffiti artists. AFP PHOTO ELVIS BARUKCIC (Photo credit should read ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP/Getty Images)

206 =
28 =
120 =
1896 =
1894 =
1900 =
34 =
2 years =
Answers: 206 nations, 28 sports, 120 year history, 1896 first modern Olympics held in Athens, 1894 Baron Pierre de Coubertin presented the idea of the modern Olympics, 1900 original thought to unveil the modern Games in Paris, 34 countries with delegates, 2 years a city hosts either the summer or winter Olympics.
“Billions of dollars, thousands of hours of labor, and years later, this is what remains…”

Now look at the 12 photos and take notes on what has happened in each place:

1.      Ski Jump Tower, Cortina D’ampezzo, Italy, 1956 Winter Olympics Venue
2.      Bobsleigh Track, Sarajevo, 1984 Winter Olympics
3.      Swimming Pool, Berlin, 1936 Summer Olympics Venue
4.      Olympic Village, Athens, 2004 Summer Olympics Venue
5.      Ski Jumping Tower, Grenoble, France, 1968 Winter Olympic Games
6.      Beach Volleyball Venue, Beijing, 2008 Summer Olympics
7.      Tennis Court, Atlanta, 1996 Summer Olympics Venue
8.      Soviet Venue, Tallinn, 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics
9.      Cinema In The Olympic Village, Mexico City, 1968 Summer Olympics
10.   Olympic Rings Monument, Sarajevo, 1984 Winter Olympics Venue
11.   Mural, Mechanicsville, Atlanta, 1996 Summer Olympics
12.   Roads With Huge Potholes, Sochi, 2014 Winter Olympics

Go to Unit 6 – Scanning, Skimming and Note-taking if you need help with how to take notes effectively.