Activity 6.

2 Adapting texts

Ideas and approaches for adapting texts

Resource for Activity 6.2: Adapting texts

This resource shows a number of ideas and approaches, or methods, for adapting
texts that you select to use in a CLIL classroom.

You will see an original text taken from Wikipedia. A number of methods have been
used to then adapt this text for use in a CLIL lesson.

Refer to the list of methods on page 6 to identify the methods that have been used.

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Activity 6.2 Adapting texts

Original  text  taken  from  Wikipedia    

(underlined  words  are  links  to  other  webpages)  

Earthquake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Earthquake (disambiguation).
"Seismic event" redirects here. For seismic migration, see Seismic migration.

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the perceptible shaking of the surface
of the Earth, which can be violent enough to destroy major buildings and kill thousands of people. The
severity of the shaking can range from barely felt to violent enough to toss people around.
Earthquakes have destroyed whole cities. They result from the sudden release of energy in the
Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area
refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time.

Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the
most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire
globe. The more numerous earthquakes smaller than magnitude 5 reported by national seismological
observatories are measured mostly on the local magnitude scale, also referred to as the Richter
magnitude scale. These two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or
lower earthquakes are mostly almost imperceptible or weak and magnitude 7 and over potentially
cause serious damage over larger areas, depending on their depth. The largest earthquakes in
historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, although there is no limit to the possible
magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude
earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of March 2014), and it was the largest Japanese earthquake since
records began. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an
[1]
earthquake, the more damage to structures it causes, all else being equal.

At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of
the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be
displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides, and occasionally
volcanic activity.

In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether
natural or caused by humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by
rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts,
and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The
epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

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Activity 6.2 Adapting texts

Adapted  material  

Tasks

Before reading:

1. Work with a partner. Complete the table below about earthquakes.

What I know What I think I know What I would like to know

Whilst reading:
2. Whist reading the text below about earthquakes complete this table.

Natural causes of Human causes of Differences between them

earthquakes earthquakes

After reading:
3. Answer these questions.
a) What is the difference between the earthquake’s hypocenter and
epicenter?
b) What is a tsunami?
c) What is the equipment called for measuring the size of an earthquake?
d) When and where was the most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0?

4. Imagine what it would be like to be in an earthquake. Write a personal recount

in which you retell the events you experience in an earthquake.

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Activity 6.2 Adapting texts

Earthquakes  
 

What is an earthquake?

An earthquake is the visible shaking of the

surface of the Earth. This can be violent
enough to destroy major buildings and kill
thousands of people. Earthquakes have
destroyed whole cities.

Earthquakes can be caused by nature or by

humans. In nature, earthquakes are caused
mostly by rupture of geological faults, but
they are also caused by other events such as
volcanic activity and landslides. Human
activity that causes earthquakes includes
nuclear tests and mine blasts.

The severity of the shaking can range from just felt to violent enough to toss people
around. The earthquake results from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's
crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of
an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a
period of time.

The point where the rupture starts is called the earthquake’s hypocenter. The
epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be
displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides,
and occasionally volcanic activity.

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Activity 6.2 Adapting texts

How are earthquakes measured?

Here are some important facts about how earthquakes are measured:

• Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers.

• The moment magnitude is used to measure the size of an earthquake.  
Earthquakes larger than 5 on this scale get reported across the world.
• Smaller earthquakes are measured on the Richter magnitude scale.
• Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are weak and magnitude 7 and over can
cause serious damage over larger areas.
• The largest earthquakes in history have been of magnitude slightly over 9.
The most recent large earthquake of magnitude 9.0 was an earthquake in
Japan in 2011. It was the largest Japanese earthquake since records began.
• Intensity of shaking is measured on the Mercalli scale.

Here are some important definitions for you:

frequency – the number of times that something is repeated

rupture – when something breaks apart
severity – very great power or force
displaced - movement from its normal place

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Activity 6.2 Adapting texts

Adaptation methods

Used in the
Method
material above?
Adding visuals to help guide understanding
Omitting unnecessary detail
Simplifying vocabulary by using synonyms or
paraphrasing
Simplifying sentence construction by reducing the
number of complex or compound sentences
Simplifying paragraph construction by avoiding long
paragraphs and ensuring space is given between
paragraphs
Re-ordering the original text to help guide understanding
Using a clear title at the top of the document and
breaking text up with sub headings
Using bullet points to order information
Using 12 or 14-point sans serif fonts (such as Arial)
printed with black or blue typeface and avoiding too
many typeface colours (especially red and green)
Using bold or large type to emphasise important points,
headings or keywords (avoiding italics, underlining and
large blocks of capital letters)
Using 1.5 spacing for passages of text
Left-aligning text (avoiding centred text, except for
headings)
Providing a word bank and/or glossary to highlight new
vocabulary (a glossary includes definitions of words
which may be given in either L1 or L2)
Including pre-reading task(s) activating prior knowledge
Including task(s) to do whilst reading
Including task(s) to do after reading
Personalisation of material (by drawing on personal
experience or encouraging learners to explore their own
ideas about the topic)
Encouraging production of target language