Some divers are helping sick corals in the ocean. They use special medicine to stop a very bad sickness that hurts corals. A man named Reginald, who teaches people to dive, is helping too. They put the medicine on the corals, and it works to keep them alive.

A lady named Arenthia used to be a teacher, but now she helps the corals. She learned how to be a fish scientist and helps for free. The corals are in trouble because the water is getting too warm, but Arenthia thinks they can still save them. Scientists have found a new way to help the corals get better.

The place where the divers work is doing a lot of important things to help corals. They have a special place where they keep pieces of healthy corals. They take care of these pieces so they can put them back in the ocean later. A lady named Alizee loves working with corals and can tell if they are happy. The team also gives the corals special food to keep them strong.

Original news source: Coral reef: How divers are using antibiotics to save sick corals (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Each group takes turns acting out a word or phrase related to the article (e.g. coral, diver, medicine). The other groups have to guess the word or phrase. The group that guesses correctly gets a point.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students summarize the main points of the article in their own words. They take turns sharing their summaries with the class. The teacher can provide feedback and correct any mistakes.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a list of vocabulary words from the article (e.g. coral, scientist, ocean). One student from each group picks a word and draws a picture representing that word, while the other students in the group try to guess the word. The group that guesses correctly gets a point.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write a question related to the article on the board (e.g. Do you think it is important to protect coral reefs?). Have students stand on opposite sides of the room to represent their opinion (e.g. agree or disagree). Give students a few minutes to discuss their reasons with a partner, then have each student share their opinion and reasons with the class.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a set of sentence strips with key points from the article. One student reads a sentence strip aloud, and the other student has to quickly summarize that point in their own words. They switch roles and repeat with the next sentence strip. The pair with the fastest and most accurate summaries wins.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What are some things divers are doing to help sick corals in the ocean?
2. Who is Reginald and how is he helping the corals?
3. What did Arenthia used to do before helping the corals?
4. Why are the corals in trouble?
5. How do scientists think they can save the corals?
6. What important things are happening at the place where the divers work?
7. How does Alizee know if the corals are happy?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some divers are helping sick corals in the (1)______. They use (2)______ (3)______ to stop a very bad sickness that hurts corals. A man named Reginald, who teaches people to dive, is helping too. They put the medicine on the corals, and it works to keep them alive.

A lady named (4)______ used to be a teacher, but now she helps the (5)______. She learned how to be a fish scientist and helps for free. The corals are in trouble because the (6)______ is getting too warm, but Arenthia thinks they can still save them. Scientists have (7)______ a new way to help the corals get better.

The place where the (8)______ work is doing a lot of important things to help corals. They have a special place where they (9)______ pieces of healthy corals. They take care of these pieces so they can put them back in the ocean later. A (10)______ named Alizee loves working with corals and can tell if they are happy. The (11)______ also gives the corals special (12)______ to keep them strong.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a coral?
2. How would you feel if you saw a sick coral in the ocean?
3. Do you like diving? Why or why not?
4. What do you think about people helping the corals with special medicine?
5. How do you think the corals feel when they are getting better?
6. Do you think it’s important to save the corals? Why or why not?
7. Why do you think the water getting too warm is a problem for the corals?
8. What do you think the new way to help the corals might be?
9. How do you think the divers take care of the healthy pieces of corals?
10. If you could work with corals, would you want to? Why or why not?
11. What do you think the special food for the corals might be?
12. How do you think Alizee knows if the corals are happy or not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. divers
2. medicine
3. sickness
4. Reginald
5. Arenthia
6. scientist
7. corals
8. important
9. pieces
10. Alizee
11. team
12. strong

Meanings:
(A) A group of people who work together
(B) The name of a person who is a woman
(C) People who swim underwater with special gear to breathe
(D) The name of a person who is a man
(E) Not feeling well or having a disease
(F) Colorful sea animals that live together in groups and can be found in the ocean
(G) Small parts of something that are broken or cut off
(H) A person who knows a lot about science and does experiments
(I) The name of a person who is a woman
(J) Something that helps you feel better when you are sick
(K) Something that really matters a lot
(L) Having a lot of power or not easy to break`
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What are the divers using to help the sick corals?
(a) Tools and equipment
(b) Special medicine
(c) Food and water
(d) Cameras and lights

2. Who is Reginald?
(a) A man who teaches people to dive
(b) A fish scientist
(c) The leader of the diving team
(d) The owner of the coral place

3. Why are the corals in trouble?
(a) The divers are hurting them
(b) The water is getting too warm
(c) They are not getting enough food
(d) They are too old and dying naturally

4. Who used to be a teacher but now helps the corals?
(a) Reginald
(b) Alizee
(c) Arenthia
(d) The divers

5. What has Arenthia learned to be?
(a) A coral doctor
(b) A diving instructor
(c) A coral expert
(d) A fish scientist

6. What do the divers do with the healthy pieces of coral?
(a) Sell them to other divers
(b) Throw them away
(c) Keep them in a special place
(d) Give them to the fish scientist

7. How does Alizee know if the corals are happy?
(a) She asks the divers
(b) She uses a special machine
(c) She feeds them special food
(d) She can tell by looking at them

8. What do the corals need to stay strong?
(a) Special food
(b) Medicine
(c) More divers
(d) A bigger home

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Divers are using medicine to help sick corals in the ocean.
2. Scientists have found a new way to help the corals get better.
3. Alizee cannot tell if the corals are happy and the team gives them regular food to keep them strong.
4. The corals are not in trouble because the water is getting too warm.
5. Reginald, a diving teacher, is not helping to save the corals.
6. The medicine that the divers use does not help to keep the corals alive.
7. Arenthia used to be a teacher, but now she helps the corals as a fish scientist.
8. The divers have a special place where they keep healthy pieces of corals.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What are some ways that divers are helping sick corals in the ocean?
2. Who is Reginald and what does he do to help the corals?
3. Why are the corals in trouble?
4. What is the new way that scientists have found to help the corals get better?
5. What are some of the important things that the place where the divers work is doing to help the corals?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What are some things divers are doing to help sick corals in the ocean?
Divers are putting special medicine on the corals to stop the sickness and they also take care of healthy pieces of coral to put back in the ocean later.

2. Who is Reginald and how is he helping the corals?
Reginald is a man who teaches people to dive. He helps the corals by putting the special medicine on them to keep them alive.

3. What did Arenthia used to do before helping the corals?
Arenthia used to be a teacher before she started helping the corals.

4. Why are the corals in trouble?
The corals are in trouble because the water is getting too warm.

5. How do scientists think they can save the corals?
Scientists have found a new way to help the corals get better.

6. What important things are happening at the place where the divers work?
At the place where the divers work, they take care of healthy pieces of coral and give them special food to keep them strong. They also put the corals back in the ocean when they are healthy.

7. How does Alizee know if the corals are happy?
Alizee can tell if the corals are happy by observing them and seeing if they are healthy and growing well.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) ocean
(2) special
(3) medicine
(4) Arenthia
(5) corals
(6) water
(7) found
(8) divers
(9) keep
(10) lady
(11) team
(12) food
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. divers
Answer: (C) People who swim underwater with special gear to breathe

2. medicine
Answer: (J) Something that helps you feel better when you are sick

3. sickness
Answer: (E) Not feeling well or having a disease

4. Reginald
Answer: (D) The name of a person who is a man

5. Arenthia
Answer: (B) The name of a person who is a woman

6. scientist
Answer: (H) A person who knows a lot about science and does experiments

7. corals
Answer: (F) Colorful sea animals that live together in groups and can be found in the ocean

8. important
Answer: (K) Something that really matters a lot

9. pieces
Answer: (G) Small parts of something that are broken or cut off

10. Alizee
Answer: (B) The name of a person who is a woman

11. team
Answer: (A) A group of people who work together

12. strong
Answer: (L) Having a lot of power or not easy to break`
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What are the divers using to help the sick corals?
Answer: (b) Special medicine

2. Who is Reginald?
Answer: (a) A man who teaches people to dive

3. Why are the corals in trouble?
Answer: (b) The water is getting too warm

4. Who used to be a teacher but now helps the corals?
Answer: (c) Arenthia

5. What has Arenthia learned to be?
Answer: (d) A fish scientist

6. What do the divers do with the healthy pieces of coral?
Answer: (c) Keep them in a special place

7. How does Alizee know if the corals are happy?
Answer: (d) She can tell by looking at them

8. What do the corals need to stay strong?
Answer: (a) Special food
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Divers are using medicine to help sick corals in the ocean. (Answer: True)
2. Scientists have found a new way to help the corals get better. (Answer: True)
3. Alizee cannot tell if the corals are happy and the team gives them regular food to keep them strong. (Answer: False)
4. The corals are not in trouble because the water is getting too warm. (Answer: False)
5. Reginald, a diving teacher, is not helping to save the corals. (Answer: False)
6. The medicine that the divers use does not help to keep the corals alive. (Answer: False)
7. Arenthia used to be a teacher, but now she helps the corals as a fish scientist. (Answer: True)
8. The divers have a special place where they keep healthy pieces of corals. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧