Last week, a big truck full of 102,000 baby fish called salmon had an accident in Oregon. The truck was going to a river to let the fish go into their new home. But because of the crash, about 77,000 fish went into the wrong river. The person driving the truck got a little hurt. Also, more than 25,000 of the fish did not make it because they either stayed in the truck or ended up on the side of the river.

The people who take care of fish in Oregon said this was a big mistake. They planned to put the fish in a different river. Now, because of the accident, fewer grown-up fish will come back to the river they wanted in a few years. But, the good news is that the river where the fish ended up might see more fish coming back to it. So, there’s a little bit of good news even though a mistake happened.

Original news source: Truck crash spills live salmon into Oregon river (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Write down important vocabulary words from the article on small pieces of paper and put them in a hat. Each group takes turns selecting a word from the hat and acting it out without speaking. The other groups have to guess the word.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Ask the class their opinion on the accident in the article. Have them raise their hands to vote for either “It was a big mistake” or “It was a little mistake”. Write the results on the board and ask a few students to explain their opinion.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a list of vocabulary words from the article. One student from each pair has to draw a picture of the word while the other student tries to guess what it is. They can only use pictures, no words allowed.

– Synonym Challenge
Instructions: Write down important vocabulary words from the article on the board. Have the class work in pairs or small groups to come up with as many synonyms for each word as they can in a given time limit. The group with the most synonyms wins.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a blank piece of paper and ask them to create a headline for the article. Encourage them to be creative and use vocabulary words from the article. After a few minutes, have each group share their headline and explain why they chose it.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the big truck full of baby fish?
2. Where was the truck going with the fish?
3. What happened to some of the fish because of the accident?
4. Who got hurt in the accident?
5. Why did the people who take care of fish say it was a big mistake?
6. What might happen to the river where the fish ended up?
7. Is there any good news even though a mistake happened?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Last week, a big truck (1)______ of 102,000 baby fish called salmon had an accident in Oregon. The truck was going to a (2)______ to let the fish go into their new home. But because of the crash, about 77,000 fish went into the wrong river. The person driving the truck got a little (3)______. Also, more than 25,000 of the fish did not make it because they either stayed in the truck or ended up on the (4)______ of the river.

The people who (5)______ care of fish in Oregon said this was a big mistake. They planned to put the fish in a different river. Now, because of the (6)______, fewer grown-up fish will come back to the river they wanted in a few (7)______. But, the good news is that the river where the fish ended up might see more fish coming back to it. So, there’s a little bit of good news even though a mistake (8)______.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a baby fish called?
2. How do you think the person driving the truck felt after the accident?
3. Do you like fish? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you were one of the fish that ended up in the wrong river?
5. What do you think the people who take care of fish should do to prevent accidents like this?
6. Do you think it’s important to take care of fish? Why or why not?
7. How do you think the fish that stayed in the truck felt?
8. What do you think the fish were going to do in their new home?
9. How do you think the fish ended up on the side of the river?
10. Do you think the accident was a big mistake? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the people in Oregon felt after the accident?
12. What do you think the good news is in this situation?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. accident
2. salmon
3. river
4. truck
5. mistake
6. planned
7. fish
8. crash
9. grown-up
10. good news

Meanings:
(A) A person who is not a kid anymore
(B) When two things hit each other very hard
(C) When something goes wrong because it wasn’t done right
(D) A long, moving water where fish can live
(E) When you hear something that makes you happy
(F) When you think about what you want to do before you do it
(G) When something bad happens that you didn’t want to happen
(H) A kind of water animal that can swim
(I) A big car that can carry lots of things
(J) Water animals that have fins and tails
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to the truck full of baby fish?
(a) It arrived safely
(b) It got lost
(c) It was stolen
(d) It had an accident

2. How many baby fish went into the wrong river?
(a) About 77,000
(b) About 102,000
(c) About 25,000
(d) About 50,000

3. What happened to the person driving the truck?
(a) They were not hurt
(b) They got seriously injured
(c) They got a little hurt
(d) They ran away

4. How many fish did not survive the accident?
(a) Less than 25,000
(b) More than 50,000
(c) Less than 50,000
(d) More than 25,000

5. What did the people in Oregon say about the accident?
(a) It was a small mistake
(b) It was a big mistake
(c) It was not a mistake
(d) They were happy about it

6. What will happen to the number of grown-up fish in the river they wanted?
(a) There will be more fish
(b) There will be fewer fish
(c) There will be the same number of fish
(d) The fish will disappear

7. What might happen to the river where the fish ended up?
(a) More fish might come back to it
(b) No fish will come back to it
(c) The river will dry up
(d) The river will become polluted

8. What is the good news mentioned in the article?
(a) The truck was not damaged in the accident
(b) The person driving the truck was not hurt
(c) The river where the fish ended up might see more fish coming back to it
(d) The fish were not hurt in the accident

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. There is a small amount of positive news despite a mistake occurring.
2. The person driving the truck got a little hurt.
3. The river where the fish ended up might see more fish coming back to it.
4. A large vehicle carrying baby fish had a mishap in Oregon.
5. The fish were supposed to go to a different river, but now fewer grown-up fish will come back to that river.
6. Some of the fish stayed in the truck or ended up on the side of the river and did not make it.
7. The people who look after fish in Oregon said this was a minor error.
8. The fish were meant to go to a lake, but they ended up in a different lake due to the crash.
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 happened to the truck full of baby fish?
2. How many fish went into the wrong river because of the accident?
3. Did the person driving the truck get hurt?
4. What happened to the fish that didn’t make it?
5. Will the river where the fish ended up have more fish in the future?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the big truck full of baby fish?
The big truck had an accident.

2. Where was the truck going with the fish?
The truck was going to a river.

3. What happened to some of the fish because of the accident?
Some of the fish went into the wrong river.

4. Who got hurt in the accident?
The person driving the truck got hurt.

5. Why did the people who take care of fish say it was a big mistake?
The people who take care of fish said it was a big mistake because they wanted to put the fish in a different river.

6. What might happen to the river where the fish ended up?
More fish might come back to the river where the fish ended up.

7. Is there any good news even though a mistake happened?
Yes, there is a little bit of good news because more fish might come back to the river.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) full
(2) river
(3) hurt
(4) side
(5) take
(6) accident
(7) years
(8) happened
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. accident
Answer: (G) When something bad happens that you didn’t want to happen

2. salmon
Answer: (H) A kind of water animal that can swim

3. river
Answer: (D) A long, moving water where fish can live

4. truck
Answer: (I) A big car that can carry lots of things

5. mistake
Answer: (C) When something goes wrong because it wasn’t done right

6. planned
Answer: (F) When you think about what you want to do before you do it

7. fish
Answer: (J) Water animals that have fins and tails

8. crash
Answer: (B) When two things hit each other very hard

9. grown-up
Answer: (A) A person who is not a kid anymore

10. good news
Answer: (E) When you hear something that makes you happy
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened to the truck full of baby fish?
Answer: (d) It had an accident

2. How many baby fish went into the wrong river?
Answer: (a) About 77,000

3. What happened to the person driving the truck?
Answer: (c) They got a little hurt

4. How many fish did not survive the accident?
Answer: (d) More than 25,000

5. What did the people in Oregon say about the accident?
Answer: (b) It was a big mistake

6. What will happen to the number of grown-up fish in the river they wanted?
Answer: (b) There will be fewer fish

7. What might happen to the river where the fish ended up?
Answer: (a) More fish might come back to it

8. What is the good news mentioned in the article?
Answer: (c) The river where the fish ended up might see more fish coming back to it
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. There is a small amount of positive news despite a mistake occurring. (Answer: False)
2. The person driving the truck got a little hurt. (Answer: True)
3. The river where the fish ended up might see more fish coming back to it. (Answer: True)
4. A large vehicle carrying baby fish had a mishap in Oregon. (Answer: False)
5. The fish were supposed to go to a different river, but now fewer grown-up fish will come back to that river. (Answer: True)
6. Some of the fish stayed in the truck or ended up on the side of the river and did not make it. (Answer: True)
7. The people who look after fish in Oregon said this was a minor error. (Answer: False)
8. The fish were meant to go to a lake, but they ended up in a different lake due to the crash. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧