ellen johnson sir leaf

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Famous PeopleEllen Johnson-Sirlea

Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions

1. Have you ever heard of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf? If so, wha

do you know about her?2. Do you know where Liberia is located? If not, find it on

map.

3. Do you know when the Republic of Liberia was created?

4. Can you name several women who have been leaders of

their countries?

5. Do you know what it means to be charged with treason

COMPREHENSION!

A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the

statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is

false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.

1. Liberia was settled by many freed American slaves.

2. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was born in a large city.

3. Ellen Johnson -Sirleaf was a strong supporter of Presiden

Samuel Doe.

4. Johnson-Sirleaf had to escape from Liberia several times

5. Johnson-Sirleaf was a descendent of American slaves.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the first woman to be president of anAfrican nation. She is the president of Liberia.

Liberia is on the west coast of Africa. Freed slavesfrom the United

States and the Caribbean started to settlethere in 1822. Called

Americo-Liberians, they created the Republic of Liberia in 1847 and

they and their descendantsran the country until 1980.

Johnson-Sirleaf was born on October 29, 1938, in ruralLiberia. Her

family was not Americo-Liberian. After graduating from high

school, she went to the United States, where she studied accounting,

economics, and public administration. She returned to Liberia in

1971 to be assistant minister of finance in President William

Tolberts government.

In 1980, an army sergeant named Samuel Doe led a rebellion

against Tolberts government. Tolbert was killed and Johnson-Sirleaf

went to Kenya, where she worked for a large bank. In 1985, she

returned to Liberia to run for the Senate. After criticizingDoe, she

was sentencedto 10 years in prison but spent only a short time in

prison before fleeing to the United States.

In 1997, she returned to Liberia to work as an economist and to run

in the presidential election. Charles Taylor had taken over the

country from Samuel Doe in 1990. Johnson-Sirleaf ran against

Taylor in the election but got very few votes. The government

charged her with treasonand she had to fleeLiberia once again.

When Taylor was forced to leave Liberia in 2003, Johnson-Sirleaf

returned to be part of the new government. In the November 2005

presidential elections, she defeatedformer soccer star George Weah

and became Liberias new president.

Johnson-Sirleaf is a widowwho has four grown children and several

grandchildren. Some of them live in the United States.

Liberia has many problems, but Johnson-Sirleaf is called the Iron

Lady and many people hope that she can bring peace and

prosperityto her country.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.

1. What is very special about Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf?

2. Who are Americo-Liberians?

3. What did Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf do when she finished high school?

4. What happened to President William Tolbert and his government?

5. What happened when Johnson-Sirleaf criticized President Samuel Doe?

6. Why did Johnson-Sirleaf have to flee Liberia again when Charles Taylor was in power?

7. When was Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf elected president of Liberia?

8. What do many people hope she can do for her country?

VOCABULARY REVIEW!

A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.

_____ 1. slave a) run away from

_____ 2. settle b) a fight against the government_____ 3. descendant c) a woman whose husband has died

_____ 4. rural d) make ones home in; start to live

_____ 5. rebellion e) state of being rich or successful

_____ 6. criticize f) person who is owned by another

_____ 7. sentenced g) be told what ones punishment is

_____ 8. flee h) in or of the country

_____ 9. treason i) say something bad about

_____ 10. defeat j) opposite of ancestor; person who comes from

_____ 11. widow k) win a victory over

_____ 12. prosperity l) disloyalty to ones country

DISCUSS

1. Why do you think Johnson-Sirleaf is

called the Iron Lady? Do you know anyother female leaders who have had the

same nickname?

2. Do you think that women can be as

effective world leaders as men? Explain

your answer.

3. Are there many female politicians in

your country? If so, do many of these

women hold high government positions?

4. Name several female world leaders,

past or present, and discuss whether you

think they were effective leaders of their

countries.

B. Find a word in the story that means:

1. the management of money - ________________________

2. the study of the production, distribution and use of goods - ____________________

3. keeping and examining business records or books - ________________________

C. Look at the different uses of the verb run below.

a) run a business or country manage, operate

b) run away from escape, flee

c) run in an election be a candidate in an election

d) run for office be a candidate for a particular positione) run against someone be someones opponent in an election

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of run and the correct preposition, if needed.

1. Sirleaf- Johnson __________________________________ George Weah in the 2005 Liberian election.

2. Mr. Baxters son will __________________________________ the company when he retires.

3. John is __________________________________ president of his high school.

4. The senator has decided not to __________________________________ the next election.

5. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had to __________________________________ her country several times
mailto:[email protected]


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ANSWER KEY

Please note:The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).

PRE-READING QUESTIONS

1-5. Individual answers

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

A. True or False

1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. F

B. Written Answers

1. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the first woman to be President of an African nation.

2. Americo-Liberians are freed slaves from the United States and the Caribbean that settled in Liberia starting in 1822.

3. When Johnson-Sirleaf finished high school, she went to the United States where she studied accounting, economics,

and public administration.

4. Tolbert was killed and his government overthrown in a 1980 rebellion against his government.

5. When Johnson-Sirleaf criticized President Samuel Doe, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

6. When Charles Taylor was in power, Johnson-Sirleaf was charged with treason and was forced to leave Liberia.

7. Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia in November of 2005.

VOCABULARY REVIEW

A. Match the words

1. f 2. d 3. j 4. h 5. b 6. i 7. g 8. a

9. l 10. k 11. c 12. e

VOCABULARY REVIEW

B. Find a word...

1. administration 2. economics 3. accounting

C. Fill in the blanks...

1. ran against 2. run 3. running for 4. run in 5. run away

from



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Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the first woman to be president of an African nation. She is the president of Liberia.

Liberia is on the west coast of Africa. Freed slavesfrom the United States and the Caribbean started to settlethere

in 1822. Called Americo-Liberians, they created the Republic of Liberia in 1847 and they and their descendants

ran the country until 1980.

Johnson-Sirleaf was born on October 29, 1938, in ruralLiberia. Her family was not Americo-Liberian. After

graduating from high school, she went to the United States, where she studied accounting, economics, and public

administration. She returned to Liberia in 1971 to be assistant minister of finance in President William Tolberts

government.

In 1980, an army sergeant named Samuel Doe led a rebellionagainst Tolberts government. Tolbert was killed an

Johnson-Sirleaf went to Kenya, where she worked for a large bank. In 1985, she returned to Liberia to run for the

Senate. After criticizingDoe, she was sentencedto 10 years in prison but spent only a short time in prison before

fleeing to the United States.

In 1997, she returned to Liberia to work as an economist and to run in the presidential election. Charles Taylor ha

taken over the country from Samuel Doe in 1990. Johnson-Sirleaf ran against Taylor in the election but got very

few votes. The government charged her with treasonand she had to fleeLiberia once again.

When Taylor was forced to leave Liberia in 2003, Johnson-Sirleaf returned to be part of the new government. In

the November 2005 presidential elections, she defeatedformer soccer star George Weah and became Liberias ne

president.

Johnson-Sirleaf is a widowwho has four grown children and several grandchildren. Some of them live in the

United States.

Liberia has many problems, but Johnson-Sirleaf is called the Iron Lady and many people hope that she can brin

peace and prosperityto her country.




ellen johnson sir leaf

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