A very big old building in California caught on fire. This building was very special because it was used a long time ago to keep big balloon-like ships called blimps. It was also used to make movies and TV shows. No one was hurt in the fire. People are trying to find out why it started.

The fire fighters decided to let the building fall down because of the fire. This building was important to the people in California and to people who make movies. The fire made many people sad and worried. They want to know how the fire happened. Now, everyone is waiting to hear more news about the fire.

Original news source: Massive blimp hangar engulfed in flames (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Prepare slips of paper with words from the article such as “building,” “fire,” “California,” “balloon-like ships,” “movies,” “fire fighters,” and “news.” Students take turns drawing a slip and acting out the word or phrase without speaking while their classmates guess. This activity helps students associate vocabulary with physical actions and reinforces their understanding of the terms in context.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a different sentence or concept from the article, such as “big old building,” “blimps,” “TV shows,” or “fire fighters at work.” Each group has to draw a sketch that represents their assigned concept without using any words or letters. Afterward, each group presents their sketch to the class, and the other students guess what it represents, practicing vocabulary and comprehension.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Ask students to work in pairs to create a catchy newspaper headline that summarizes the article. This encourages them to focus on key information and use concise language. Share the headlines with the class and discuss which words are most effective for grabbing a reader’s attention.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary words from the article on cards, such as “fire,” “building,” “blimps,” “movies,” “sad,” and “worried.” Students take turns picking a card and drawing the word on the board while the rest of the class guesses the word. This activity helps with word recognition and encourages students to connect words with images.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have students individually think about and write down their feelings if they were to witness such a historic building on fire. Then, they pair up with a classmate to discuss their thoughts and feelings. Afterward, pairs will share their discussions with the class. This activity allows students to practice expressing opinions and emotions in English and to learn from their peers’ perspectives.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What big thing in California caught on fire?
2. What was the big old building used for a long time ago?
3. What else was the building used for besides keeping big balloon-like ships?
4. Were any people hurt in the fire?
5. What did the fire fighters let happen to the building because of the fire?
6. How did the fire make the people feel?
7. What are people waiting to find out about the fire?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A very big old building in California (1)______ on (2)______. This building was very special because it was used a long time ago to keep big balloon-like ships called blimps. It was also (3)______ to make movies and TV shows. No one was hurt in the fire. (4)______ are trying to find out why it started.

The fire fighters decided to let the building fall down because of the fire. This building was (5)______ to the (6)______ in California and to people who make movies. The fire made many people sad and (7)______. They (8)______ to know how the fire happened. Now, everyone is waiting to hear more news about the fire.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a fire?
2. How would you feel if your favorite building caught on fire?
3. Do you like to watch movies?
4. What is a building?
5. Have you ever seen a big fire? Where?
6. Do you think fire fighters are brave? Why or why not?
7. What is a TV show you like?
8. How do you feel when you are sad?
9. Have you ever lost something important to you?
10. What do you do when you are worried?
11. Do you know what a blimp is?
12. Why do you think it is important to know how a fire starts?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. building
2. fire
3. California
4. special
5. movies
6. hurt
7. firefighters
8. news

Meanings:
(a) A state in the United States
(b) Something that is different and important
(c) Information about what is happening
(d) A place where people live or work
(e) Moving pictures that people watch
(f) People who put out fires
(g) Something that is very hot and can burn things
(h) When you have pain or injury
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What caught on fire in California?
(a) A small new building
(b) A big new building
(c) A big old building
(d) A small old building

2. What did the building store a long time ago?
(a) Blimps
(b) Cars
(c) Boats
(d) Planes

3. What was the building also used for?
(a) Making movies and TV shows
(b) Making food
(c) Making clothes
(d) Making toys

4. What happened to the building because of the fire?
(a) It grew taller
(b) It moved to a different place
(c) It got bigger
(d) It fell down

5. How did the fire fighters decide to handle the building?
(a) Save it
(b) Let it fall down
(c) Build it taller
(d) Move it to a different place

6. How did the fire make people feel?
(a) Happy and excited
(b) Angry and frustrated
(c) Sad and worried
(d) Bored and tired

7. What are people waiting for now?
(a) More food
(b) More toys
(c) More clothes
(d) More news about the fire

8. What do people want to know about the fire?
(a) Why it happened
(b) How it happened
(c) When it happened
(d) Where it happened

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Everyone is waiting to hear more news about the fire.
2. The building used to keep big balloon-like ships called blimps.
3. The building was not used to make movies and TV shows.
4. A big old building in California caught on fire.
5. People are not interested in why the fire started.
6. No one got hurt in the fire.
7. The fire fighters intentionally caused the building to collapse because of the fire.
8. Not many people in California and people who make movies are sad and worried about the fire.
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 caught on fire in California?
2. What did the big old building use to keep inside?
3. Was anyone hurt when the building caught on fire?
4. What did the fire fighters do to the building because of the fire?
5. Why are people sad about the fire?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What big thing in California caught on fire?
A very big old building caught on fire.

2. What was the big old building used for a long time ago?
The building was used a long time ago to keep big balloon-like ships called blimps.

3. What else was the building used for besides keeping big balloon-like ships?
It was also used to make movies and TV shows.

4. Were any people hurt in the fire?
No one was hurt in the fire.

5. What did the fire fighters let happen to the building because of the fire?
The fire fighters let the building fall down because of the fire.

6. How did the fire make the people feel?
The fire made many people sad and worried.

7. What are people waiting to find out about the fire?
People are waiting to find out why the fire started.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) caught
(2) fire
(3) used
(4) People
(5) important
(6) people
(7) worried
(8) want
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. building
Answer: (d) A place where people live or work

2. fire
Answer: (g) Something that is very hot and can burn things

3. California
Answer: (a) A state in the United States

4. special
Answer: (b) Something that is different and important

5. movies
Answer: (e) Moving pictures that people watch

6. hurt
Answer: (h) When you have pain or injury

7. firefighters
Answer: (f) People who put out fires

8. news
Answer: (c) Information about what is happening
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What caught on fire in California?
Answer: (c) A big old building

2. What did the building store a long time ago?
Answer: (a) Blimps

3. What was the building also used for?
Answer: (a) Making movies and TV shows

4. What happened to the building because of the fire?
Answer: (d) It fell down

5. How did the fire fighters decide to handle the building?
Answer: (b) Let it fall down

6. How did the fire make people feel?
Answer: (c) Sad and worried

7. What are people waiting for now?
Answer: (d) More news about the fire

8. What do people want to know about the fire?
Answer: (b) How it happened
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Everyone is waiting to hear more news about the fire. (Answer: True)
2. The building used to keep big balloon-like ships called blimps. (Answer: True)
3. The building was not used to make movies and TV shows. (Answer: False)
4. A big old building in California caught on fire. (Answer: True)
5. People are not interested in why the fire started. (Answer: False)
6. No one got hurt in the fire. (Answer: True)
7. The fire fighters intentionally caused the building to collapse because of the fire. (Answer: False)
8. Not many people in California and people who make movies are sad and worried about the fire. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧