Early in the morning on April 2, people living in the south part of California saw lines of light moving in the sky. No one is sure what caused these lights. Some people on the internet think it might be pieces from a SpaceX rocket or a part from a Chinese spaceship that was supposed to come back to Earth at that time. A big news company is trying to find out what really happened.

Videos of these moving lights were shared by many people, making others very curious. People are guessing where these lights came from but no one knows for sure yet. Some think it might be leftovers from a spaceship that was sent into space. Others have different ideas. A news group is looking into it to find out the truth.

Original news source: Mysterious streaks of light in California sky (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Each team takes turns selecting a word or phrase related to the article (e.g. “rocket,” “spaceship,” “lights in the sky”) and acts it out without speaking. The other team must guess what the word or phrase is within a certain time limit.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write down key words from the article on the board (e.g. “lights,” “spaceship,” “California”). Have students take turns saying a word that is associated with the word on the board. For example, if the word on the board is “lights,” students could say “bright” or “night.”

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a list of vocabulary words from the article (e.g. “spaceship,” “curious,” “guessing”). One student from each pair must draw a picture to represent the word, while the other student tries to guess the word based on the drawing.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have students individually read the article. Then, pair them up and ask them to discuss their thoughts about the article with their partner. Finally, have each pair share their thoughts with the whole class.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have students imagine what might happen next in the story. Ask them to write or discuss their predictions based on the information in the article. Encourage them to use future tenses and make logical guesses about the outcome.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did people in California see in the sky on April 2?
2. Why are people curious about the lights?
3. What are some ideas about where the lights came from?
4. Are people sure where the lights came from?
5. Who is trying to find out what really happened?
6. What did many people do with videos of the lights?
7. What is a news group doing to learn the truth?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Early in the morning on April 2, people living in the (1)______ part of California saw lines of light (2)______ in the sky. No one is sure what caused these lights. Some people on the internet think it might be pieces from a SpaceX (3)______ or a part from a Chinese (4)______ that was supposed to come back to Earth at that time. A big news company is trying to find out what really happened.

Videos of these moving (5)______ were shared by many people, making others very (6)______. People are guessing where these lights came from but no one knows for sure yet. Some think it might be leftovers from a spaceship that was sent into space. Others (7)______ (8)______ ideas. A news group is looking into it to find out the truth.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What are some things that you can see in the sky?
2. Have you ever seen any moving lights in the sky?
3. How would you feel if you saw lines of light moving in the sky?
4. What do you think caused the lights in California?
5. Do you think the lights came from a rocket or a spaceship? Why or why not?
6. Have you ever seen a spaceship before? What did it look like?
7. How do you think the people in California felt when they saw the lights?
8. What do you think the news company will find out about the lights?
9. Do you like watching videos of things in the sky? Why or why not?
10. What do you think is the most interesting thing about the moving lights?
11. Would you like to see the moving lights in person? Why or why not?
12. Do you think it’s important to know where the lights came from? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. morning
2. California
3. lights
4. internet
5. rocket
6. spaceship
7. videos
8. curious
9. guessing
10. truth

Meanings:
(A) A big thing that flies up into the sky very fast
(B) What is really happening or the real facts about something
(C) A place on a computer where you can see lots of things and learn
(D) The early part of the day when the sun comes up
(E) Trying to think of an answer when you don’t know for sure
(F) A big ship that goes way up above the clouds into space
(G) Bright things you see that can be on the ceiling or in the sky
(H) Moving pictures that you can watch on a phone or computer
(I) Wanting to know more about something because it’s interesting
(J) A place where many people live, and it’s very sunny
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did people in California see in the sky?
(a) Lines of cars
(b) Lines of trees
(c) Lines of light
(d) Lines of water

2. What do some people think caused the lights?
(a) Pieces from a car or truck
(b) Pieces from a tree or plant
(c) Pieces from a rocket or spaceship
(d) Pieces from a river or ocean

3. What are people doing to find out what happened?
(a) A news company is cooking
(b) A news company is investigating
(c) A news company is sleeping
(d) A news company is playing

4. What did people do with videos of the lights?
(a) Ate them
(b) Hid them
(c) Broke them
(d) Shared them

5. What are people guessing about the lights?
(a) What they taste like
(b) How they feel
(c) What color they are
(d) Where they came from

6. What do some people think the lights might be?
(a) Leftovers from a spaceship
(b) Leftovers from a car
(c) Leftovers from a tree
(d) Leftovers from a river

7. What are others doing to find out the truth?
(a) A news group is investigating
(b) A news group is cooking
(c) A news group is sleeping
(d) A news group is playing

8. What is the big news company trying to find out?
(a) What people ate
(b) What really happened
(c) What people hid
(d) What people broke

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. A big news company is trying to find out what really happened.
2. Numerous people have posted videos of the stationary lights.
3. People don’t know why these lights appeared.
4. People are speculating about the origin of the lights, but there is still uncertainty.
5. Some people in California saw lights in the sky that moved in a line.
6. A media organization is probing to uncover the reality.
7. Some people think the lights might be from a rocket or spaceship.
8. Some people believe the lights could be remnants from a spacecraft launched into space.
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 did people in California see in the sky on April 2?
2. Why are people curious about the lights?
3. Where do some people think the lights came from?
4. What is a news company trying to do?
5. Who is looking into the lights to find out what really happened?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did people in California see in the sky on April 2?
People in California saw lines of light moving in the sky on April 2.

2. Why are people curious about the lights?
People are curious about the lights because they don’t know where they came from.

3. What are some ideas about where the lights came from?
Some people think the lights might be from a SpaceX rocket or a Chinese spaceship.

4. Are people sure where the lights came from?
No, people are not sure where the lights came from.

5. Who is trying to find out what really happened?
A news group is trying to find out what really happened.

6. What did many people do with videos of the lights?
Many people shared videos of the lights on the internet.

7. What is a news group doing to learn the truth?
A news group is investigating to find out the truth about where the lights came from.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) south
(2) moving
(3) rocket
(4) spaceship
(5) lights
(6) curious
(7) have
(8) different
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. morning
Answer: (D) The early part of the day when the sun comes up

2. California
Answer: (J) A place where many people live, and it’s very sunny

3. lights
Answer: (G) Bright things you see that can be on the ceiling or in the sky

4. internet
Answer: (C) A place on a computer where you can see lots of things and learn

5. rocket
Answer: (A) A big thing that flies up into the sky very fast

6. spaceship
Answer: (F) A big ship that goes way up above the clouds into space

7. videos
Answer: (H) Moving pictures that you can watch on a phone or computer

8. curious
Answer: (I) Wanting to know more about something because it’s interesting

9. guessing
Answer: (E) Trying to think of an answer when you don’t know for sure

10. truth
Answer: (B) What is really happening or the real facts about something
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did people in California see in the sky?
Answer: (c) Lines of light

2. What do some people think caused the lights?
Answer: (c) Pieces from a rocket or spaceship

3. What are people doing to find out what happened?
Answer: (b) A news company is investigating

4. What did people do with videos of the lights?
Answer: (d) Shared them

5. What are people guessing about the lights?
Answer: (d) Where they came from

6. What do some people think the lights might be?
Answer: (a) Leftovers from a spaceship

7. What are others doing to find out the truth?
Answer: (a) A news group is investigating

8. What is the big news company trying to find out?
Answer: (b) What really happened
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. A big news company is trying to find out what really happened. (Answer: True)
2. Numerous people have posted videos of the stationary lights. (Answer: False)
3. People don’t know why these lights appeared. (Answer: True)
4. People are speculating about the origin of the lights, but there is still uncertainty. (Answer: False)
5. Some people in California saw lights in the sky that moved in a line. (Answer: True)
6. A media organization is probing to uncover the reality. (Answer: False)
7. Some people think the lights might be from a rocket or spaceship. (Answer: True)
8. Some people believe the lights could be remnants from a spacecraft launched into space. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧