Famous People

Malala
Yousafzai
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. Who is the person in the picture?

2. What country is this person from?

3. Why is this person famous?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right.

1. brave (adjective) a) an act of violence

2. politician (noun) b) not or no longer in danger

3. speech (noun) c) a person who is active in politics (government policies)

4. blog (verb) d) to get onto a transport vehicle, such as a bus, plane, or train

5. board (verb) e) to send a bullet out of a gun

6. shoot (verb) f) to stay alive

7. survive (verb) g) to write and publish regular posts on the Internet

a 8. attack (noun) h) a place where very sick or injured people receive medical treatment

9. hospital (noun) i) a written message delivered by speaking to an audience

b 10. safe (adjective) j) strong in mind and soul, not afraid

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 Malala Yousafzai
Famous People

Reading
ABOUT MALALA

1. Malala Yousafzai is a brave girl from Pakistan. Her father ran a chain
of schools in Swat Valley. Malala loved going to school in Swat. At first
she wanted to be a doctor. Then she wanted to be a politician.

2. The Taliban took control of Swat in 2007. They didn’t want girls
and boys to go to school together. In fact, they didn’t want any
girls over ten years of age to go to school.

3. Malala went to school anyway. She also gave speeches about

education rights and blogged about her life as a Pakistani schoolgirl.
The Taliban destroyed many schools, but Malala stayed strong.

4. On October 9, 2012, a member of the Taliban boarded Malala’s

schoolbus. He shot Malala in the head. He also shot two of her
classmates. All three girls survived the attack.

5. Doctors moved Malala to a safer hospital in England. When she

got better, Malala wrote a book about her survival. She also gave
a speech at the United Nations and won the Nobel Peace Prize.

6. Malala wants every girl to have an education.

She hopes it will be safe to return to Swat Valley one day.

Writing
ABOUT ME

Finish the About Me sentences. Use your own personal information.

1. Malala is from Pakistan. 3. Malala is a brave schoolgirl.

I am I am

2. Malala wants to be a politician. 4. In 2014, Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize.

I want to be/am In ,I

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 Malala Yousafzai
Famous People

Comprehension
A. True, False, or Not Mentioned?

Read the statements below. If the statement is true,

write T beside the sentence. If it is false, write F and correct the
information in your notebook. If it is not mentioned, write NM.

1. Malala moved to Swat Valley after the Taliban attack.

2. Malala’s father ran a chain of schools in Pakistan.

3. The Taliban destroyed many schools in England.

4. The Taliban shot Malala and three other schoolboys.

5. Malala wrote a blog and a book about her survival.

6. In 2014, Malala became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

B. Forming Questions

Work with a partner. Here are the answers. What are the questions?

1. 3.

Malala is from Swat Valley in Pakistan.  alala gives speeches about

M
girls’ rights to education.

2. 4.

Malala wants to be a politician.  alala hopes it will be safe to

M
return to Swat Valley one day.

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 Malala Yousafzai
Famous People

Vocabulary Review
A. Complete the Sentences

Circle the correct word to complete each sentence.

1. The Taliban 3. I t is not for Malala 5. M

 alala got better
schoolgirls on a bus. to return to Swat Valley. in a in England.

a) violence a) save a) hospital

b) attacked b) same b) school
c) shooting c) safe c) doctor

2. Malala and her schoolmates 4. M

 alala for 6. P
 oliticians have to
the shooting. the BBC in 2009. deliver in public.

a) survivor a) blog a) speak

b) survived b) blogger b) speeches
c) survival c) blogged c) saying

B. Vocabulary Building

I AM MALALA

Malala wrote a book called I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education
and Was Shot by the Taliban. Use the information you learned on page 2 to
answer these questions.

What words describe the author? What topics do you think Malala covers in her book?
Use adjectives. Use nouns.

1. brave 6. politics

2. 7.

3. 8.

4. 9.

5. 10.

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 Malala Yousafzai
Famous People

Listening
A. Gap Fill

Listen to a recording of this reading.

Fill in the gaps. Listen again and check your answers.

(Audio: http://blog.esllibrary.com/2015/11/25/podcast-malala-beg/)

1.  alala Yousafzai is a
M girl from Pakistan. Her father ran
a chain of schools in Swat Valley. Malala loved going to school in Swat.
At first she wanted to be a . Then she wanted to be
a .

2. The Taliban took control of Swat in 2007. They didn’t want

girls and boys to go to school together. In fact, they didn’t
want any girls over years of age to go to school.

3. Malala went to school anyway. She also gave

about rights and blogged about
her life as a Pakistani schoolgirl. The Taliban destroyed
many schools, but Malala stayed strong.

4. On October 9, 2012, a member of the Taliban

Malala’s schoolbus. He Malala in the head. He also shot
two of her classmates. All three girls survived the .

5. D
 octors moved Malala to a safer in
England. When she got better, Malala wrote a book about her
survival. She also gave a speech at the United Nations and
won the Nobel Prize.

6. Malala wants every girl to have an education.

She hopes it will be safe to return to Swat Valley one day.

B. Extra Practice

Do you want more listening practice? After you fill in the

gaps in Part A, listen to the recording a few more times.
Underline all of the past tense verbs.

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 Malala Yousafzai
Famous People

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Low Int

In this lesson, students read a short biography about Malala, TIME: 1 – 2 hours
the famous schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban. Students
TAGS:  alala, beginner, politics, terrorism,
M
learn new vocabulary and practise writing sentences.
school, education, gender, rights

Pre-Reading Comprehension

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS A. TRUE, FALSE, OR NOT MENTIONED?

Look at the picture and discuss the questions as a class. 1. F – Malala moved away from Swat Valley after the attack.
2. T
B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW 3. F – The Taliban destroyed many schools in Pakistan.
4. F – The Taliban shot Malala and two other schoolgirls.
1. j 3. i 5. d 7. f 9. h
5. T
2. c 4. g 6. e 8. a 10. b
6. NM (but true)

Reading B. FORMING QUESTIONS

Have your students read the paragraphs silently to Answers may vary.

themselves or read them out loud together. Ask your

1. Where is Malala from?
students to circle any words they are unfamiliar with.
2. What does Malala want to be? /
What does Malala want to be when she grows up? /
Writing What is Malala’s career goal?
3. What are Malala’s speeches about? /
Individual answers. What does Malala give speeches about?
4. What does Malala hope for the future? /
What does Malala hope to do in the future? /
What is Malala’s hope for the future? /
What does Malala hope will be safe in the future?

(continued on the next page...)

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 Malala Yousafzai
Famous People

Answer Key cont.

Vocabulary Review

A. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES

1. b 2. b 3. c 4. c 5. a 6. b

B. VOCABULARY BUILDING

Allow students to use dictionaries to complete this section.

They can do some additional research about Malala or her book.
For example, tell them to look up the book on Amazon.

Answers will vary. Possible answers include:

1–5. brave, Pakistani, smart, wise, outspoken, peaceful

6–10. p
 olitics, religion, school, friendships, blog,
public speaking, UN, England, hospital, health, rights

EXTR A WRITING CHALLENGE

Optional. Explain to your students that Malala’s book is a memoir

that is written in the first person. Ask your students to rewrite the
biography on page 2 in the first person. For example:

My name is Malala Yousafzai. I am a schoolgirl from Pakistan.

My father...

Listening

A. GAP FILL

1. brave, doctor, politician

2. ten
3. speeches, education
4. boarded, shot, attack
5. hospital, Peace

B. EXTR A PR ACTICE

1. ran, loved, wanted, wanted

2. took, didn’t want, didn’t want
3. went, gave, blogged, destroyed, stayed
4. boarded, shot, shot, survived
5. moved, got, wrote, gave, won

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