biography

An ESOL reading comprehension based on a BBC News report on the death of Stanislav Petrov, who averted a potential Cold War disaster in 1983.

The text contains several examples of past perfect, reported speech and third / mixed conditionals. The activity combines reading for gist, for detail, identifying vocabulary and identifying parts of speech. An extension activity gives learners an opportunity to write a similar short text, using the same elements of grammar to tell a story about a decision that changed events.

Level
Level 2
Level 1
English
Use knowledge of grammar
Apply grammar
General literacy / English
Functional Skills English
ESOL
ESOL: Reading word focus - vocabulary, word recognition, phonics (Rw)
ESOL: Writing sentence focus - punctuation and grammar (Ws)
ESOL Reading: sentence focus - grammar, punctuation (Rs)
ESOL: Writing - text focus (composition)
ESOL: Reading text focus - comprehension (Rt)
Context
News, Politics & Government items
History, culture, museums, libraries