With Answers! | Download Free India Population News Lesson plan here: India-Census-UpperInt-02042011.doc
EnglishCurrent.Com: Upper-Intermediate Lesson Plan Warm-up
1) Does your government do a census?
2) How has the population of your country changed in the last 10 years?
3) In your opinion, what is the ideal amount of children to have?
4) If you could choose, would you rather have a daughter or a son?
India Population Hits 1.21 Billion as Female Birth Rate Falls (April 1st, 2011)
Recently published data from the 2011 census in India show that the country's population increased by 181 million people since the 2001 census. This amount is equivalent to the entire population of Brazil. With a total of 1.21 billion people, India is scheduled to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2030.
On a positive note, the rate of population growth has slowed to 17.6%, compared to 21.5% of the previous decade. BBC analyst Mark Dummet suggests efforts to promote birth control and female education are paying off. The census also shows a nine percent jump in literacy.
The most troubling finding concerns the ratio of newborn girls and boys. The 2011 sex ratio was 914 girls to every 1000 boys. The practice of killing unborn babies, known as feticide, is still common in India although sex-selective abortions have been made illegal. The Indian government has given its word to review its (failing) policies on the issue. Experts are concerned about the consequences the unbalanced sex ratio will have on society when these children become older.
The census was completed at a cost of approximately 490 million US dollars. It required the employment of 2.7 million officials to conduct the census across the country. These officials reported facing many obstacles, such as high illiteracy rates and millions of homeless people. [222 words]
[Background URLs: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12916888 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12916888]
News Lesson Plan: Comprehension Questions
1. True or False: India's population is now the world's largest.
2. What does the author say are two positive things the census data shows?
3. According to the author, what is the most troubling finding of the census?
4. True or False: Government efforts to reduce feticide have been ineffective.
5. What are some of the difficulties that census workers faced?
Answers
1 - False
2 - The rate of population increase has slowed down and literacy rates have risen as well.
3 - The sex ratio is unbalanced. More boys are being born than girls.
4 - True
5 - They faced difficulties such as collecting data from illiterate people and India's millions of homeless people.
News Lesson Plan: Matching
Match the words with their meaning as used in the article.
census overtake pay off (verb) literacy finding ratio feticide give your word (verb) consequence conduct (verb) obstacle | produce benefit (criminal) abortion discovery barrier, challenge method of showing relationship between 2 groups, e.g. 1:14 result, effect statistical survey of a population administer pass, surpass promise ability to read and write |
Answers
- census - statistical survey of a population
- overtake - pass, surpass
- pay off - product benefit
- literacy - ability to read and write
- finding - discovery
- ratio - method of showing relationship between 2 groups
- feticide - (criminal) abortion
- give your word - promise
- consequence - result, effect
- obstacle - barrier, challenge
News Lesson Plan: Master the language
Make a sentence with the below idea(s).
feticide arrest | |
census conduct | |
overtake school bus | |
pay off investment | |
| scientist findings | |
ratio men to women | |
cheat consequences | |
obstacle | |
repay loan give his word | |
literacy my country |
Answers
Possible answers:
- The government plans to conduct a census next year.
- The red sports car overtook the slow school bus.
- I hope my investment in my brother's restaurant will pay off in the future.
- The scientist's findings were doubted by many people.
- The ratio of men to women in my office is 2:3.
- If you get caught cheating on a test, you will have to face the consequences.
- Peter's inexperience was a major obstacle to finding a job.
- The student gave his word to repay his student loan within one year of graduation.
- Literacy rates in my country are quite high among men and women.
News Lesson Plan: Roleplay (Pair Work)
Role-Play Scenario 1:
Student A: Your partner, Student B, is pregnant. You want to have a son, not a daughter. Convince your partner to have an ultrasound scan done to learn the sex of the child. Try to think of convincing reasons. When you are ready, start the conversation. (If you'd like, go as far as to suggest that you wouldn't even want a daughter).
Student B: You are pregnant with the child of Student A. You would like to have a natural childbirth and you don't care to know the gender of your child before it is born.
Role-Play Scenario 2:
Student A: You believe Earth is overpopulated. Student B has five children and plans to have more. Try to convince him/her not to do so. Take a minute to plan your argument. When you are ready, start the conversation.
Student B: You are the proud parent of five children. You believe it is your right to have children. You plan to have more children.
News Lesson Plan: Discussion Questions
(Write your answers in the Comments section below if you wish).
Census:
1) Do you believe censuses are worth their costs?
2) Is there information you'd be unwilling to give on a census?
3) What would be the most efficient way to conduct a census?
4) Should people who do not participate be fined?
Population:
1) Do you believe overpopulation is a major issue? If so, what can be done about it?
2) How does overpopulation affect you?
3) Would you be for a one-child policy for overpopulated countries?
Sex Ratio:
1) What social factors do you think have caused the unbalanced sex ratio in India?
2) If you were the leader of India, what steps, if any, would you take to address the issue?
3) Do people in your country have a particular preference for male or female children?
4) What consequences could the unbalanced sex ratio have for the future in India?
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News lesson plan copyright Matthew Barton of Englishcurrent.com
High quality information, I will be browsing back frequently to watch out for updates.
good lesson plan, but this needs to be updated, its 2015