Madagascar
Pre-Reading Activities
A: Short Discussion
Find Madagascar on a map and answer these questions:
a. Discuss:
1.What kind of climate do you think it has?
2.How many people do you think live there?
3.What crops do you think grow there?
b. Make a Guess:
Now try this multiple-choice quiz:
1. Madagascar has a population of
i.3 - 6 million people
ii.8 - 11 million people
iii.13 - 15 million people
2. One of its main exports is
i.tea
ii.fish
iii.coffee
3. Its staple foods are
i.beef, fish and potatoes
ii.fish, bananas and potatoes
iii.rice, cassava and sweet potatoes
4. Madagascar has two official languages. One of them is Malagasy, the other is
i.Spanish
ii.Portuguese
iii.French
5. It is in the
i.Atlantic Ocean
ii.Pacific Ocean
iii.Indian Ocean
6. The nearest African country to it is
i.Kenya
ii.Malawi
iii.Mozambique
c. Listen for the Answers
Now listen as your teacher reads aloud a short text about Madagascar and check your answers for the quiz.
Reading Activities
A: Finding the Main Idea
Read the first three paragraphs of today's article and then write an appropriate headline for it:
By Kieran Murray
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar
Friday March 17 (Reuters) - The
cyclones that ripped through
Madagascar recently almost certainly
tore down areas of endangered forest
and killed some of the island's rare
animals and birds, wildlife experts
say.
Jean-Paul Paddack, head of the
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
in Madagascar, said cyclones Eline
and Gloria packed winds of above
130 mph and would have blown
down sections of Madagascar's rich
rainforests.
``I think the biggest impact is
probably on forest cover, just the
sheer force of wind blowing away
trees. I suspect some species were
caught in that and died, no doubt,''
Paddack told Reuters late Thursday.
(Continued/...)
B: Reading and Note-taking
Read the whole article and take notes on these questions:
1. What impact did cyclones Eline and Gloria in Madagascar have on:
a.forests?
b.animals?
c.people?
2. What impact has human settlement had in Madagascar on:
a.forests?
b.land stability?
3. What was the U.N. doing to help people affected by the cyclones?
(.../Continued)
He said the species caught in the
cyclones included birds, small
mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
``They would have been knocked
down from trees and washed away
in rivers or affected by trees falling,''
Paddack said.
Madagascar, which lies off the
eastern coast of Africa, is home to
thousands of species of animals
found nowhere else on earth. They
include most of the world's lemurs --
monkey-like mammals with huge
eyes -- as well as hundreds of rare
and unique species of birds,
chameleons and brightly-colored
frogs.
Environmental workers say they
received reports of dead lemurs
floating in the flood waters of
northeastern Madagascar when the
cyclones ripped through in late
February and earlier this month.
Paddack said the biggest impact of
the cyclones had been on the
human population with an estimated
150 people killed and key
subsistence crops washed away.
But it has not yet been possible to
accurately measure the damage to
the environment in the remote,
almost inaccessible, interior of the
island.
Madagascar has thousands of
endemic species of plants and trees
but its rich biodiversity has been
under assault for decades as
forest-clearing, slash-and-burn
agriculture and mining for rare
minerals has decimated the forests.
An estimated 80 percent of the
island's original forest cover has
disappeared and it continues to lose
up to 200,000 hectares every year.
Environmentalists say the
destruction of the forests is itself
making the country more vulnerable
because the resulting soil erosion
creates a growing danger of flooding
and mudslides whenever heavy rains
roll in from the Pacific Ocean.
``The tremendous amount of forest
clearing in the last years and
decades, the last century, has meant
that when cyclones come through,
erosion will be accelerated, washing
away roads and causing tremendous
levels or sedimentation in rivers and
other areas. On rice fields, for
example,'' Paddack said.
United Nations officials say the latest
cyclones have devastated rice
production in some areas and that
about 200,000 people will need food
assistance in coming months.
The U.N. World Food Program is
concentrating its relief efforts in
eastern regions, using helicopters to
drop emergency supplies to remote
villages cut off by mudslides and
high waters.
C: Check your understanding
Complete this diagram, by adding information to numbers 1 - 4, to show the effects of human settlement and
cyclones on Madagascar as described in today's article:
(Extra question: do you think there is anything missing from this diagram? Could it be improved in any way?)
D: Drawing Conclusions
1.According to the article, how does the effect of humans on Madagascar compare with the cyclones' effect?
2.What makes Madagascar special?
E: Language
Present Simple or Present Perfect Simple?
Put the verbs in brackets, in the text below into the correct tense without looking back at the article:
Madagascar ______________ (have) thousands of endemic species of plants and trees but its rich
biodiversity ______________ (have) under assault for decades as forest-clearing, slash-and-burn
agriculture and mining for rare minerals ______________ (decimate) the forests.
An estimated 80 percent of the island's original forest cover ______________ (disappear) and it
______________ (continue) to lose up to 200,000 hectares every year.
Environmentalists ______________ (say) the destruction of the forests is itself making the country
more vulnerable because the resulting soil erosion ______________ (create) a growing danger of
flooding and mudslides whenever heavy rains ______________ (roll) in from the Pacific Ocean.
Post-Reading Activities
You may do one or more of these.
A: Vocabulary
Answer these questions:
1.The word 'biodiversity' is used in the article. What does it mean?
2.How old do you think this word is?
3.What threatens Madagascar's 'rich biodiversity'? Think of some examples of activities that threaten
biodiversity in your country.
B: Give an Opinion
"Humans need to change the natural environment in order to exist. Animals are often destructive in
their behaviour (eating plants or other animals) and of course earthquakes, tidal waves and cyclones
have a devastating effect on natural environments. We shouldn't feel guilty about the impact we have
had on the natural world. What we are doing is quite natural."
Work in pairs. Discuss this opinion. To what extent do you agree or disagree with it?
C: Research
Find out more about the island of Madagascar. Decide what you would like to know, how you are going to get
this information and how you will record and present the information you obtain. You could visit a travel agent or
check out the Internet or your local library.
Produced by cmercer
Produced by cmercer
[email protected]
Madagascar
TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY
Pre-Reading Activities
A: Discussion - Notes
Students look at a map and find the island of Madagascar. They then answer the questions. Then get them to put the map away
and do the Make a Guess questions.
B: Make a Guess - Text (to be read aloud by the teacher)
Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean with an area of 587, 041 square kilometers (226,
658 square miles). It lies parallel to the south-east African coast and is nearest the country of
Mozambique. The centre of Madagascar has a mild climate, while the south-west part of the island is
quite dry. The eastern coast is wet and hot, covered in rain forest and is threatened by cyclones.
Its main exports are vanilla, coffee and cloves and the chief foods are rice, cassava and sweet
potatoes.
It has a population of 14, 763, 000 people. The two official languages are Malagasy and French. It
has a long history with boats of different countries visiting and trading and at one time was used as a
base by pirates.
B: Make a Guess - Notes
After students have answered the questions, read aloud the text above about Madagascar while they check their answers for the
quiz. (Read it at a normal speed, and do it two times if necessary.)
B: Make a Guess - Answers
The answer for each question is (c).
Reading Activities
A: Understanding the Main Idea - Answer
Here is the original headline from today's article:
Madagascar Cyclones Fell Trees, Kill Rare Animals
Students could write any variation on this. Their headline should note the cyclones, where they struck (Madagascar) and could
mention their impact (destroying trees and killing animals).
B: Reading and Note-taking - Notes
Students read and take notes to answer the questions.
C: Check your understanding - Answers
(1) cyclones; (2) humans; (3) soil erosion; (4) sedimentation
D: Drawing Conclusions - Suggested Answers
1.
Humans have been responsible for much of the removal of the forests on the island (because of agriculture and mining). This
has led to severe erosion and many trees are now endangered. Presumably, although this is not stated, the animal and bird
population would also be at increased risk because of what humans have done in the past.
The cyclones are also responsible for destruction of forests and Paddack of WWF notes that animal and bird species would
have died as a result. However, humans are responsible for the disappearance of 80% of the island's forest cover and the
continuing disappearance of 200, 000 hectares every year. Students may therefore decide that humans have had more of a
devastating effect on Madagascar's plant and animal life than cyclones.
2.
Madagascar, according to the article, has thousands of species of plants and trees and birds and animals that are found nowhere
else on earth. (Students may already know that Madagascar became separated from Africa during the period of Continental Drift:
this is why so many of its animal and plant species are found nowhere else.)
E: Language - Notes
(You may wish to revise these rules with students before or after they do the activity.)
Some uses of the Present Simple and Present Perfect Simple Tenses
The present simple can be used for habitual actions and facts which are always true.
The present perfect simple can be used to describe actions that happened some time ago but have a connection with the
present, actions that could be repeated and actions that began in the past and continue to the present.
E: Language - Answers
Madagascar has thousands of endemic species of plants and trees but its rich biodiversity has been under assault for decades
as forest-clearing, slash-and-burn agriculture and mining for rare minerals has decimated the forests.
An estimated 80 percent of the island's original forest cover has disappeared and it continues to lose up to 200,000 hectares
every year.
Environmentalists say the destruction of the forests is itself making the country more vulnerable because the resulting soil
erosion creates a growing danger of flooding and mudslides whenever heavy rains roll in from the Pacific Ocean.
Post-Reading Activities
A: Vocabulary - Notes
This is a short activity which provides a good introduction to Activity B.
A: Vocabulary - Answers
1.It means a diversity of plant and animal life.
2.It came into common use in the mid 1980s.
3.Activities like forest-clearing, slash-and-burn agriculture, clearing land for farming cattle and mining are all possibilities.
Produced by cmercer
[email protected]