With Answers! | Download Homosexuality ESL Lesson plan here: Gay-Parade-Police-Moscow-Intermediate-30052011.docx
Note to teachers: This lesson was published in 2011, and therefore, may seem dated.
Homosexuality ESL News Lesson Plan: Warm-up
- Have you ever been involved in a rally, protest, or parade?
- What does the term “lobbying” mean? What are some powerful lobby groups in your country?
- Does your city or town have a gay community? Would you say your city is gay-friendly?
- Are there any well-known gay people in your country, for example, politicians, actors, or athletes?
Gay Parade in Moscow Crushed By Police (May 20th, 2011)
Gay-rights activists have tried to hold a parade in Moscow for the sixth year in a row. But dozens of people were arrested after the activists clashed with counter-protesters. Russian officials have detained three global gay rights leaders, and dozens of others, after they tried to hold an unauthorized rally near the Kremlin.
Police say a small crowd of marchers, some waving rainbow flags and others carrying signs that read, “Russia is not Iran,” was attacked by an ultra-Orthodox group who had successfully lobbied the Moscow city government to ban the event.
The leader of Russia's Orthodox Union, Leonid Simonovich, said people should not be allowed to hold a gay pride parade. He said God once burned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and if something like homosexuality was condoned in Russia, God would burn down Moscow as well. He referred to the Russian capital as a “holy” city.
Witnesses say police aggressively arrested the marchers, protesters, and members of the ultra-nationalist group before putting them in police vans.
Many rights activists had hoped they would be able to hold a gay-rights parade after former Mayor Yuri Luzhkov was fired. Luzhkov had likened homosexuality to the devil. Russia decriminalized homosexuality in 1993, but homophobic attitudes remain. In October, the European Court of Human Rights fined Russia for banning homosexual parades in Moscow.
Officials say most of the detained people have been released. [232 words]
[Original: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Dozens-Detained-at-Gay-Rally-in-Moscow-122796049.html]
Homosexuality ESL News Lesson Plan: Comprehension Questions
Answers
4 - They hoped it might be successful because the mayor of Moscow, who was strongly against homosexuality, was no longer the mayor.
5 - False. It was decriminalized in 1993.
Homosexuality ESL News Lesson Plan: Vocabulary Matching
activist | |
clash (verb) | |
detain (verb) | |
unauthorized | |
lobby (verb) | |
condone (verb) | |
aggressively | |
| liken (verb) | |
decriminalize (verb) | |
| fine (verb) |
Answers
- activist - a person working for political or social change.
- clash - fight, do battle
- detain - arrest, capture
- unauthorized - unofficial, illegal, not permitted
- lobby - try to persuade, influence
- condone - accept, allow
- aggressively - forcefully, violently
- liken - compare
- decriminalize - make legal
- fine - to make someone pay money as a punishment
Homosexuality ESL News Lesson Plan: Connect the below idea(s) to make a sentence.
government / uprising | |
activists / clashed | |
police / detain | |
| unauthorized / area | |
lobby / church | |
condone / violence | |
drive / aggressively | |
Life / liken / journey | |
| decriminalize / marijuana | |
| fine / $500 |
Answers
- Activists clashed with the police on the street.
- Many activists were detained by the police.
- The government's secret laboratory is an unauthorized area for the general public.
- The Orthodox church lobbied the government to stop the parade.
- Gandhi did not condone the use of violence.
- Linda is scared to get in the car with her husband because he drives so aggressively.
- Life can be likened to a journey.
- Marijuana has been decriminalized in some countries.
- The man was fined $500 dollars for running naked through the shopping mall.
Meaning: | in a series, or set, without interruption; consecutively |
Example: | The football team won six games in a row. Police shot at protestors for the second night in a row |
Read and complete the below sentences where necessary.
I have for three nights in a row.
I don't like to for more than two days in a row.
Possible Answers
- I have gone to bed after 1 a.m. for three nights in a row
- I don't like to eat the same food or go without showering for more than two days in a row.
Homosexuality ESL News Lesson Plan: Discussion Questions
- Are there certain jobs that tend to be done by gay people? If so, why is that?
- Sigmund Freud believed that all people have homosexual tendencies. In other words, everyone is gay to a degree. What do you think of this idea?
- What might be the pros and cons of being raised by same-sex parents?
Lesson plan copyright Englishcurrent.com