Many roads in the UK have big holes called potholes. There were more potholes in 2023 than in the last five years. Cars get broken because of these holes, and fixing them costs a lot of money. The weather is changing and making the problem worse.

People at a university are trying to find out where all the potholes are using special maps and car information. They want to understand the problem better. Other people are thinking about using robots to fix the holes. They are also trying to make roads that don’t break easily and can fix themselves.

The roads in the UK are not in good shape, and there are more and more potholes. The government wants to spend a lot of money to make the roads better. But experts say we need to keep spending money to fix the roads all the time. We need to find new ways to make roads better and stop the weather from damaging them.

Original news source: Pothole reports hit a five-year high in 2023 (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary

Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Give each group a copy of the article.
3. Instruct the students to read the article and take notes.
4. After they have finished reading, ask each group to summarize the article in their own words.
5. Have each group present their summary to the class.

– Word Association

Instructions:
1. Write the following words on the board: potholes, cars, weather, roads, money.
2. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
3. Instruct the students to take turns saying a word or phrase that they associate with one of the words on the board.
4. Encourage them to explain the connection between the word they chose and the original word.
5. Repeat the process with different words from the article.

– Headline Creation

Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Instruct the students to create a catchy headline for the article.
3. Encourage them to use their creativity and come up with interesting and attention-grabbing titles.
4. Have each group share their headline with the class and explain their choice.

– Vocabulary Pictionary

Instructions:
1. Write the following words on the board: potholes, fixing, roads, weather, university, robots.
2. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
3. Instruct the students to take turns drawing a picture that represents one of the words on the board, without using any letters or numbers.
4. The other student(s) in the group must guess the word based on the drawing.
5. Repeat the process with different words from the article.

– Think-Pair-Share

Instructions:
1. Ask the students to think about the following question: “What are some solutions to the problem of potholes?”
2. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
3. Instruct the students to discuss their ideas with their partner/group and come up with at least three possible solutions.
4. After they have had time to discuss, have each pair/group share their ideas with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What are the big holes in the roads called?
2. Were there more potholes in 2023 than in the last five years?
3. Why do cars get broken because of potholes?
4. What are people at a university trying to find out using special maps and car information?
5. What are some ideas for fixing the potholes?
6. Are the roads in the UK in good shape?
7. What do experts say we need to do to make the roads better?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Many roads in the UK have big holes called potholes. There (1)______ more potholes in 2023 than in the (2)______ five (3)______. Cars get broken because of these holes, and fixing them costs a lot of money. The weather is changing and making the problem worse.

People at a university are (4)______ to (5)______ out where all the potholes are using special maps and car information. They want to understand the problem better. (6)______ people are thinking about using (7)______ to fix the holes. They are also trying to make roads that don’t break easily and can fix themselves.

The roads in the UK are not in (8)______ shape, and there are (9)______ and more potholes. The government wants to spend a lot of (10)______ to make the (11)______ better. But experts say we need to keep spending money to fix the roads all the (12)______. We need to find new ways to make roads better and stop the weather from damaging them.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a pothole?
2. How would you feel if your car got broken because of a pothole?
3. Do you like driving on roads with potholes? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s a good idea to use special maps and car information to find potholes? Why or why not?
5. How do you think robots could help fix potholes?
6. What do you think about the idea of roads that can fix themselves?
7. Do you think the roads in your country are in good shape? Why or why not?
8. How do you think the weather is making the pothole problem worse?
9. Do you think it’s a good idea for the government to spend a lot of money to make the roads better? Why or why not?
10. What new ways do you think could be used to make roads better?
11. How do you think we could stop the weather from damaging the roads?
12. Do you think it’s important to keep fixing the roads all the time? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. potholes
2. university
3. maps
4. robots
5. weather
6. damaging
7. experts
8. government
9. spending
10. roads
11. shape
12. constantly

Meanings:
(A) People who know a lot about a certain thing
(B) Machines that can move and do tasks by themselves
(C) Drawings that show where things are
(D) The form or condition of something
(E) A place where people go to learn after high school
(F) The group of people who make decisions for a country
(G) Big holes in the street that can break cars
(H) Breaking or hurting something
(I) What it’s like outside, like if it’s sunny, raining, or snowing
(J) Using money to buy or pay for something
(K) Paths for cars and trucks to drive on
(L) All the time, without stopping
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What are the big holes in the roads called?
(a) Sinkholes
(b) Craters
(c) Potholes
(d) Tunnels

2. Were there more potholes in 2023 compared to the previous five years?
(a) No
(b) Maybe
(c) I don’t know
(d) Yes

3. Why do cars get broken because of potholes?
(a) Because cars are too big for the holes
(b) Because cars are too fast on the roads
(c) Because the holes cause damage to the cars
(d) Because cars don’t like potholes

4. What are people at the university trying to find out?
(a) Where all the potholes are
(b) How to make robots
(c) How to fix cars
(d) How to make roads better

5. What are some people thinking about using to fix the potholes?
(a) Helicopters
(b) Robots
(c) Trains
(d) Boats

6. What are experts saying about fixing the roads?
(a) We need to keep spending money all the time
(b) We don’t need to spend any money
(c) We should wait for the weather to fix the roads
(d) We should build new roads instead

7. What does the government want to do to make the roads better?
(a) Do nothing
(b) Close the roads
(c) Make the roads worse
(d) Spend a lot of money

8. What do we need to find to make the roads better?
(a) More money to spend on fixing the roads
(b) New ways to make roads better and stop the weather from damaging them
(c) More cars to drive on the roads
(d) More potholes on the roads

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Some people are thinking about using robots to fix the potholes.
2. The government does not want to spend a lot of money to improve the condition of the roads, and experts say continuous spending is not necessary to fix them.
3. The weather is changing and making the problem of potholes worse.
4. In the UK, there are big holes in the roads called potholes.
5. The number of potholes in the UK has not increased in the past five years.
6. People at a university are not using special maps and car information to find out where all the potholes are.
7. There are efforts to create roads that are more durable and can fix themselves.
8. Cars cannot get damaged because of these potholes, and fixing them does not cost a lot of money.
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 potholes?
2. Why do cars get broken because of potholes?
3. How are people trying to find out where all the potholes are?
4. What are some ideas for fixing the potholes?
5. What does the government want to do to make the roads better?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What are the big holes in the roads called?
The big holes in the roads are called potholes.

2. Were there more potholes in 2023 than in the last five years?
Yes, there were more potholes in 2023 than in the last five years.

3. Why do cars get broken because of potholes?
Cars get broken because when they drive over potholes, it can damage the tires, wheels, and suspension of the car.

4. What are people at a university trying to find out using special maps and car information?
People at a university are trying to find out where all the potholes are using special maps and car information.

5. What are some ideas for fixing the potholes?
Some ideas for fixing the potholes are using robots to fix them and making roads that don’t break easily and can fix themselves.

6. Are the roads in the UK in good shape?
No, the roads in the UK are not in good shape.

7. What do experts say we need to do to make the roads better?
Experts say we need to keep spending money to fix the roads all the time and find new ways to make roads better and stop the weather from damaging them.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) were
(2) last
(3) years
(4) trying
(5) find
(6) Other
(7) robots
(8) good
(9) more
(10) money
(11) roads
(12) time
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. potholes
Answer: (G) Big holes in the street that can break cars

2. university
Answer: (E) A place where people go to learn after high school

3. maps
Answer: (C) Drawings that show where things are

4. robots
Answer: (B) Machines that can move and do tasks by themselves

5. weather
Answer: (I) What it’s like outside, like if it’s sunny, raining, or snowing

6. damaging
Answer: (H) Breaking or hurting something

7. experts
Answer: (A) People who know a lot about a certain thing

8. government
Answer: (F) The group of people who make decisions for a country

9. spending
Answer: (J) Using money to buy or pay for something

10. roads
Answer: (K) Paths for cars and trucks to drive on

11. shape
Answer: (D) The form or condition of something

12. constantly
Answer: (L) All the time, without stopping
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What are the big holes in the roads called?
Answer: (c) Potholes

2. Were there more potholes in 2023 compared to the previous five years?
Answer: (d) Yes

3. Why do cars get broken because of potholes?
Answer: (c) Because the holes cause damage to the cars

4. What are people at the university trying to find out?
Answer: (a) Where all the potholes are

5. What are some people thinking about using to fix the potholes?
Answer: (b) Robots

6. What are experts saying about fixing the roads?
Answer: (a) We need to keep spending money all the time

7. What does the government want to do to make the roads better?
Answer: (d) Spend a lot of money

8. What do we need to find to make the roads better?
Answer: (b) New ways to make roads better and stop the weather from damaging them
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Some people are thinking about using robots to fix the potholes. (Answer: True)
2. The government does not want to spend a lot of money to improve the condition of the roads, and experts say continuous spending is not necessary to fix them. (Answer: False)
3. The weather is changing and making the problem of potholes worse. (Answer: True)
4. In the UK, there are big holes in the roads called potholes. (Answer: True)
5. The number of potholes in the UK has not increased in the past five years. (Answer: False)
6. People at a university are not using special maps and car information to find out where all the potholes are. (Answer: False)
7. There are efforts to create roads that are more durable and can fix themselves. (Answer: True)
8. Cars cannot get damaged because of these potholes, and fixing them does not cost a lot of money. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧