This First News

Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020 SPORT

home league games in

Getty a row without defeat is 64 the phenomenal tally for Liverpool, after they beat Leicester City 3-0. The Anfield stars went ahead thanks to a Jonny Evans own goal, before strikes by Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino sealed victory. The run, consisting of 53 wins and 11 Having lost to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open semi-finals, draws, is a club record.

Getty the ATP Finals gave Daniil Medvedev the chance for revenge LONDON’S FINAL FINALS! Getty THE 2020 ATP Finals looked like they would finish with a showdown between the world numbers one and two – but their semi-final Diogo Jota opponents didn’t agree! Novak Djokovic, the world number one, faced Dominic Thiem in one semi-final. Northern Ireland Each player took a set before the final set ended in a tie-break, which Novak led 4-0. Open titles have been Dominic fought back, however, to win the tie-break 7-5 and book his place in the 3 collected by Judd Trump final. The other semi-final saw world number two Rafael Nadal serving for the match (below). The competition in the second set against Daniil Medvedev. Daniil managed to take the set and it was held in Milton Keynes this year seemed to boost his game, as he powered through the final set, which he won 6-3. because of COVID-19 restrictions, Having won the US Open in September, Austria’s Dominic Thiem went into the but that was the only difference. For final as the slight favourite. He won the first set, before leading the tie-break in the the third year in a row, Judd beat second set. At this point, Daniil’s performance found an extra gear and the Russian Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final, and the won seven points in a row to take the match into a third set. Daniil maintained his scoreline of 9-7 was the same in all strong form and won it 6-4, to claim the biggest victory of his career so far. three matches! For the past 12 years, the ATP Finals have been held in London, but from 2021 they

are moving to Turin, Italy. Spectators have been fortunate to watch some superb Getty tennis during that time, so it seemed strange that there were no fans to watch the last tournament. And the new champion added to the low-key atmosphere, as he chooses not to celebrate his victories. After defeating Dominic, Daniil simply shrugged several times before walking to the net to hug his opponent!

HAVING won their last six matches against France, RISE OF THE England’s rugby union team must have been feeling confident, but it didn’t quite go their way! A lively match at Twickenham saw England take an early 5-3 lead, with Zoe Harrison scoring the first try of the game. ROSES! After that, the French team took control. Three tries, a conversion and a second penalty saw the visitors charge into Getty a convincing lead. With only ten minutes left to play, England found themselves trailing by 13 points, with the score 10-23. The Red Roses weren’t about to accept defeat, though. A try from Poppy Cleall was swiftly followed by another from Getty Ellie Kildunne, who managed to power through the French Poppy Cleall defenders and carry the ball across the line. Centre Emily Scarratt, who had recently come off the bench, converted the try to leave the score at 22-23. With the clock in the red zone and the game about to end, England were awarded a penalty. Emily kept her cool to claim the three points for England, who ended the 2020 campaign unbeaten. England’s Emily Scarratt takes the 80th-minute penalty Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020 Questions on: Sport

‘London’s final finals’ Part A: Find and explain the facts A1. Identify the three TRUE statements with a tick. The world numbers one and two in tennis faced each other in the ATP Finals. Novak Djokovic is the world number two. Djokovic faced Dominic Thiem in one semi-final. Djokovic beat Thiem in order to book his place in the final. The other semi-final saw Rafael Nadal play Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev beat Nadal and then beat Thiem in the final. A2. Who was the “slight favourite” going into the ATP Finals? Part B: Deduce and infer information B1. Explain the meaning of the headline: “London’s final finals”. B2. What made the atmosphere at the ATP Finals “low-key”, and why did it seem strange? B3. What evidence is there to suggest that Thiem and Medvedev weren’t expected to win their semi-final matches and that they had to work hard in order to do so? Part C: Analyse the writing and presentation C1. How is language used in this report in order to engage the reader? Find evidence to support your answer. ‘Rise of the roses.’ Part A: Find and explain the facts A1. Put the sentences into the correct order by numbering them 1-9. Emily Scarratt converted the try to leave the score at 22-23 After that, the French team took control. [England] weren’t about to accept defeat though. England ended the 2020 campaign unbeaten. With only ten minutes left to play, England found themselves trailing by 13 points, with the score 10-23. Three tries, a conversion and a second penalty saw [France] charge into a convincing lead. England took an early 5-3 lead. England were awarded a penalty and scored to claim the three points. A try from Poppy Cleall was followed by another from Ellie Kildunne. Part B: Deduce and infer information B1. What is meant by the description of the clock as being “in the red zone”? Part C: Analyse the writing and presentation C1. What techniques are used in the headline: “Rise of the roses!” to make it effective? ‘Sport in Numbers’ Part A: Find and explain the facts A1. What do the following numbers refer to in relation to Liverpool Football Club? 64 53 11 3 A2. Answer the following quick-fire questions about the Northern Ireland Open snooker tournament. Where was it held this year? Why was it held there? Who played in the final? Who won? What was the scoreline? Part B: Deduce and infer information B1. Why is the scoreline significant? Part C: Analyse the writing and presentation C1. Which of the two ‘Sport in Numbers’ stories do you prefer, and why? Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020

GLOSSARY ATP – (Association of Tennis try – A try is the main conversion – After a team Professionals) It is the governing way of scoring in has scored a try, they are body of the men’s professional rugby. It is scored by awarded a “conversion” tennis circuits. The ATP Finals are grounding the ball in the kick at goal. If this is the second highest tier of annual opposition’s in-goal area. scored then it is worth men’s tennis tournaments after the In rugby union a try is another two points four Grand Slam tournaments worth five points Questions on: Sport

‘London’s final finals’ Part A: Find and explain the facts

A1. Identify the three TRUE statements with a tick.

The world numbers one and two in tennis faced each other in the ATP Finals.

Novak Djokovic is the world number two.

Djokovic faced Dominic Thiem in one semi-final.

Djokovic beat Thiem in order to book his place in the final.

The other semi-final saw Rafael Nadal play Daniil Medvedev.

Medvedev beat Nadal and then beat Thiem in the final.

A2. Who was the “slight favourite” going into the ATP Finals?

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Part B: Deduce and infer information B1. Explain the meaning of the headline: “London’s final finals”.

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B2. What made the atmosphere at the ATP Finals “low-key”, and why did it seem strange?

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...... Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020 Questions on: Sport

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B3. What evidence is there to suggest that Thiem and Medvedev weren’t expected to win their semi-final matches and that they had to work hard in order to do so?

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Part C: Analyse the writing and presentation C1. How is language used in this report in order to engage the reader? Find evidence to support your answer.

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...... Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020 ‘Rise of the roses.’ Part A: Find and explain the facts

A1. Put the sentences into the correct order by numbering them 1-9.

Emily Scarratt converted the try to leave the score at 22-23

After that, the French team took control.

[England] weren’t about to accept defeat though.

England ended the 2020 campaign unbeaten.

With only ten minutes left to play, England found themselves trailing by 13 points, with the score 10-23.

Three tries, a conversion and a second penalty saw [France] charge into a convincing lead.

England took an early 5-3 lead.

England were awarded a penalty and scored to claim the three points.

A try from Poppy Cleall was followed by another from Ellie Kildunne.

Part B: Deduce and infer information B1. What is meant by the description of the clock as being “in the red zone”?

......

Part C: Analyse the writing and presentation C1. What techniques are used in the headline: “Rise of the roses!” to make it effective?

......

...... Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020

‘Sport in Numbers’ Part A: Find and explain the facts

A1. What do the following numbers refer to in relation to Liverpool football club?

A2. Answer the following quick-fire questions about the Northern Ireland Open snooker tournament.

Where was it held this year?

Why was it held there?

Who played in the final?

Who won?

What was the scoreline?

Part B: Deduce and infer information B1. Why is the scoreline significant?

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Part C: Analyse the writing and presentation C1. Which of the two ‘Sport in Numbers’ stories do you prefer, and why?

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...... Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020 Teacher Answers

AIM OF THE NEWS COMPREHENSIONS: News reports are unique non-fiction texts. Being real, they naturally engage students, and with the range of topics that are covered, help to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the wider world outside the classroom. The reports are ideal for short, focused comprehension or discussion activities. Along with the opportunity to find fascinating facts and appreciate the opinions of those involved, there is plenty to be inferred and deduced to understand in more depth what is being reported. Like authors, journalists play with language, so news ‘stories’ are rich nuggets of text to investigate and provide the opportunity for literacy programmes. TEACHER ANSWER GUIDE: The teacher answers are intended to provide a guide to the reading skill each question is practising. Suggestions are given for a starting point for responses that students would be expected to give at the start of KS3. Further suggestions then give fuller, more developed responses that students will work towards by the end of KS3, in preparation for the non-fiction elements of GCSE English language.

‘London’s final finals’ Part A A1. Identify the three TRUE statements with a tick. READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Expected response

The world numbers one and two in tennis faced each other in the ATP Finals. Novak Djokovic is the world number two. Djokovic faced Dominic Thiem in one semi-final. ✓ Djokovic beat Thiem in order to book his place in the final. The other semi-final saw Rafael Nadal play Daniil Medvedev. ✓ Medvedev beat Nadal and then beat Thiem in the final. ✓

A2. Who was the “slight favourite” going into the ATP Finals? READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Starting point ● Austria’s Dominic Thiem went into the final as the slight favourite. Development ● This is because Thiem beat Daniil Medvedev in the 2020 US Open semi-finals.

Part B B1. Explain the meaning of the headline: “London’s final finals”. READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● The headline refers to the fact that the ATP Finals were held in London for the last time. Development ● Therefore, it is the final time that London will host these finals. From 2021 they are moving to Turin, Italy.

B2. What made the atmosphere at the ATP Finals “low-key”, and why did it seem strange? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● The atmosphere at the ATP Finals was low-key because there were no fans there due to COVID-19 restrictions. Furthermore, Daniil Medvedev was the champion and he chooses not to celebrate his victories. Therefore, when he won, he merely shrugged and then hugged his opponent. Development ● It seemed strange that the atmosphere was so low-key because the match was actually quite a significant occasion. For the past 12 years, the ATP Finals have been held in London, but from 2021 they are moving to Italy. Therefore, this was the last ATP tournament to be held in London, so it seemed strange that it couldn’t be shared with fans and marked properly. Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020

B3. What evidence is there to suggest that Thiem and Medvedev weren’t expected to win their semi-final matches and that they had to work hard in order to do so? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● Thiem and Medvedev weren’t expected to win their semi-final matches because they were both playing higher ranking opponents. This is made explicit in the lead sentence, which states that: “The 2020 ATP Finals looked like they would finish with a showdown between the world numbers one and two.” Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the world numbers one and two, so it was assumed that they would win their semi-final matches against Thiem and Medvedev and play each other in the final. Development ● Thiem and Medvedev “didn’t agree”. However, they both had to work very hard in order to win their semi-finals. The final set between Thiem and Djokovic ended in a tie-break. Furthermore, Djokovic led the tie-break 4-0 at one point and Thiem had to fight back in order to finally win 7-5. Similarly, Medvedev had to come back from being behind. Nadal was serving for the match in the second set, but Medvedev managed to take the set and then go on to win. This suggests that both Thiem and Medvedev were very determined and didn’t give up.

Part C C1. How is language used in this report in order to engage the reader? Find evidence to support your answer. READING SKILL — Recognise effect of language choices Possible answer Starting point— some simple comment about the use of language ● Language is used to engage the reader through the descriptions of great tennis being played. In the semi-finals, Medvedev is described as having “powered through” the final set and as having “found an extra gear” in the final. These phrases are associated with vehicles, so this makes Medvedev sound like a machine and it shows that he is a strong and skilful tennis player. Developed response — detailed comments about the use of language with some subject terminology ● Winning the ATP final is also described as Medvedev’s “biggest victory”. The use of the superlative adjective “biggest” shows how important this victory was for him and thus highlights that the tournament has status in the tennis world. This is likely to make the reader take more of an interest in it.

‘Rise of the roses.’ Part A A1. Put the sentences into the correct order by numbering them 1-9. READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Expected response

Emily Scarratt converted the try to leave the score at 22-23 7 After that, the French team took control. 2 [England] weren’t about to accept defeat though. 5 England ended the 2020 campaign unbeaten. 9 With only ten minutes left to play, England found themselves trailing by 13 points, with the score 10-23. 4 Three tries, a conversion and a second penalty saw [France] charge into a convincing lead. 3 England took an early 5-3 lead. 1 England were awarded a penalty and scored to claim the three points. 8 A try from Poppy Cleall was followed by another from Ellie Kildunne. 6

Part B B1. What is meant by the description of the clock as being “in the red zone”? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● The description of the clock as being “in the red zone” is used to show that time was nearly up and the game was nearly over. Development ● The phrase “the red zone” is often used to mean the danger zone. This is because red is often associated with danger due to the traffic light system, etc. In this case, the lack of time was dangerous for England’s rugby players because they Article Analysis FirstNews Issue 754 27 November – 3 December 2020 were losing. The reference to the red zone shows how exciting the match was because it shows that time had almost run out for England and that Emily Scarratt had to score the penalty. Part C C1. What techniques are used in the headline: “Rise of the roses!” to make it effective? READING SKILL — Explain methods used by the writer with appropriate use of terminology Possible answer Starting point ● The use of alliteration on “rise” and “roses” makes the headline flow. It results in a concise, memorable headline. Development ● The headline is also exclamatory, which suggests that the rise of the roses is exciting and worth reading about.

‘Sport in Numbers’ Part A A1. What do the following numbers refer to in relation to Liverpool Football Club? READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Starting point – some correct information identified Developed response – information correctly identified and explained

64 The number of home league games in a row that Liverpool Football Club has played without defeat. 53 The number of wins out of the 64 games. 11 The number of draws out of the 64 games. The number of goals Liverpool scored against Leicester City in order to make the club record of 64 games in a row 3 without defeat.

A2. Answer the following quick-fire questions about the Northern Ireland Open snooker tournament. READING SKILL — Find and explain information Possible answer Expected response

Where was it held this year? Milton Keynes Why was it held there? Due to COVID-19 restrictions Who played in the final? Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan Who won? Judd Trump What was the scoreline? 9-7

Part B B1. Why is the scoreline significant? READING SKILL — Infer information and justify with evidence from the text Possible answer Starting point ● The scoreline is significant because it has been the same for the last three years in a row. Development ● Not only has Judd beat O’Sullivan in the Northern Ireland Open for the last three years, he has done so by 9-7. This is very unusual!

Part C C1. Which of the two ‘Sport in Numbers’ stories do you prefer, and why? READING SKILL — Develop opinions and provide justifications for view points Possible answer Starting point ● I prefer the story about the three Northern Ireland Open titles being won by Judd Trump because I am not really a fan of football. Development ● Furthermore, it is really incredible that the scoreline has been exactly the same in the three finals matches over three years. It is unusual enough for the same player to win the same ranking event for three years in a row, let alone to do so with the same scoreline. This makes the story really interesting. ● (Award alternative answer if a convincing argument is provided.)