The World News Crossword - July 8th, 2018

The World News Crossword - July 8th, 2018 is a 6-page PDF that includes:

1. a crossword based on events from last week’s news,
2. a search & cloze puzzle that focuses on the background of one of last week’s stories (this week it’s the background story of the boys who have been trapped in the cave system in northern Thailand),
3. a crossword about Thailand, and
4. a crossword about Thailand’s neighbour and frequent subject of news stories, Myanmar.

This resource is excellent for keeping students informed about the world’s current events. It takes about half an hour for students to complete the main crossword and the rest of a lesson to review (and discuss) the answers. It’s good for use in homeroom or PSHE lessons, or it’s excellent for a homework activity. I prefer to use the news puzzle as a small-group activity. The students then tend to discuss the events more, asking why and wanting to know more about many of the stories.

So what happened last week? The Thai footballers and their coach, trapped in a flooded cave system dominated my week. I was checking my phone frequently, waiting for updates and imagining how I wold cope in that situation.

A dive boat capsized off Phuket in Thailand and tourists were drowned. Flooding in Japan resulted in deaths and mass evacuations. A wildfire in California also resulted in evacuations. Police in the USA challenged the suitability of 2 novels on a high-school’s reading list. An American woman was attacked on social media for killing an elderly giraffe in South Africa. And 2 rhino poachers were eaten by lions, also in South Africa. And in Queensland, Australia, a possum was rescued by the RSPCA from a Nutella jar. Yes, really.