A long time ago, there was a big sea animal called a pliosaur. It was very strong and lived in the water. People found its head in the ground by the sea. The head was as big as a person and had lots of sharp teeth. A man named David Attenborough is going to talk about it on TV.

The pliosaur was a hunter and could swim very fast. It ate other sea animals. Finding its head was special because it was hard to get. They had to use ropes to get it from the side of a cliff. Now, the head is in a place where people can see it and learn about it.

Original news source: Pliosaur discovery: Huge sea monster emerges from Dorset cliffs (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of cards with words related to the article (e.g. pliosaur, sea animal, hunter). One student from each group will act out the word without speaking, while the others try to guess what it is.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, have students take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner. Encourage them to use their own words and keep their summary concise.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a set of vocabulary words from the article (e.g. pliosaur, hunter, cliff). One student will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it, while the other student tries to guess the word.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Write the keywords from the article on the board, leaving out some letters. Have students take turns guessing the missing letters and try to guess the complete word. For each incorrect guess, draw a body part of a hangman.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Ask students to think about and write down one question they have about the article. Then, have them pair up with a classmate and share their question. Finally, open up a class discussion where students can share their questions and discuss possible answers together.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What was the name of the big sea animal?
2. Where did people find the head of the pliosaur?
3. How big was the pliosaur’s head?
4. Who is going to talk about the pliosaur on TV?
5. What did the pliosaur eat?
6. Why was finding the pliosaur’s head special?
7. Where is the pliosaur’s head now?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A long (1)______ ago, there was a big sea animal called a pliosaur. It was very (2)______ and lived in the water. People found its head in the ground by the sea. The (3)______ was as big as a person and had lots of sharp teeth. A man named David Attenborough is (4)______ to talk about it on TV.

The pliosaur was a hunter and could swim very fast. It ate (5)______ sea (6)______. Finding its head was special because it was hard to get. They had to use ropes to get it from the side of a (7)______. Now, the head is in a (8)______ where people can see it and learn about it.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a pliosaur?
2. How do you think a pliosaur would feel in the water?
3. Do you like sea animals? Why or why not?
4. How do you think the people felt when they found the pliosaur’s head?
5. Do you think it was hard to get the pliosaur’s head? Why or why not?
6. What do you think the pliosaur ate?
7. How would you feel if you saw the pliosaur’s head in a museum?
8. Do you think the pliosaur was a friendly animal? Why or why not?
9. What other animals do you know that live in the water?
10. How do you think the pliosaur’s head got stuck on the side of a cliff?
11. What would you do if you found a big sea animal’s head?
12. Why do you think it’s important for people to learn about the pliosaur?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. pliosaur
2. strong
3. water
4. head
5. teeth
6. hunter
7. special
8. ropes
9. cliff
10. learn

Meanings:
(A) The top part of your body where your eyes, nose, and mouth are
(B) Something that is not like other things and makes you say “wow”
(C) Someone who looks for animals in the wild to catch them
(D) Having a lot of power, like being able to lift something heavy
(E) Long, thick strings that you can pull or tie things with
(F) The white, hard things in your mouth that you use to chew food
(G) The side of a big rock that goes straight up and down
(H) What you splash in during bath time
(I) To find out new things or understand more about something
(J) A big animal that lived a long time ago and swam in the sea
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the big sea animal?
(a) dinosaur
(b) pliosaur
(c) shark
(d) whale

2. Where did people find the head of the pliosaur?
(a) in the mountains
(b) in a forest
(c) in a desert
(d) by the sea

3. How big was the head of the pliosaur?
(a) as big as a house
(b) as big as a car
(c) as big as a person
(d) as big as a tree

4. What did the pliosaur eat?
(a) other sea animals
(b) plants
(c) humans
(d) birds

5. How did people get the head of the pliosaur?
(a) using ropes
(b) using a boat
(c) using a helicopter
(d) using a car

6. Where is the head of the pliosaur now?
(a) in a museum
(b) in a secret cave
(c) in the ocean
(d) in a place where people can see it

7. Who is going to talk about the pliosaur on TV?
(a) a scientist
(b) David Attenborough
(c) a teacher
(d) a child

8. What kind of animal was the pliosaur?
(a) a land animal
(b) a flying animal
(c) a sea animal
(d) a mythical animal

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The pliosaur was very weak and lived on land.
2. David Attenborough is going to talk about the pliosaur on TV.
3. People found the tail of the pliosaur in the sky by the sea.
4. There was a small sea animal called a pliosaur a long time ago.
5. The pliosaur was preyed upon and could not swim at all.
6. The head of the pliosaur was as big as a person and had sharp teeth.
7. The head of the pliosaur is now in a place where people can see it and learn about it.
8. The pliosaur ate other sea animals.
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. Who is going to talk about the big sea animal on TV?
2. What did people find in the ground by the sea?
3. How did they get the head from the side of a cliff?
4. What did the pliosaur eat?
5. Where is the head now?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What was the name of the big sea animal?
The name of the big sea animal was a pliosaur.

2. Where did people find the head of the pliosaur?
People found the head of the pliosaur by the sea.

3. How big was the pliosaur’s head?
The pliosaur’s head was as big as a person.

4. Who is going to talk about the pliosaur on TV?
David Attenborough is going to talk about the pliosaur on TV.

5. What did the pliosaur eat?
The pliosaur ate other sea animals.

6. Why was finding the pliosaur’s head special?
Finding the pliosaur’s head was special because it was hard to get.

7. Where is the pliosaur’s head now?
The pliosaur’s head is now in a place where people can see it and learn about it.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) time
(2) strong
(3) head
(4) going
(5) other
(6) animals
(7) cliff
(8) place
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. pliosaur
Answer: (J) A big animal that lived a long time ago and swam in the sea

2. strong
Answer: (D) Having a lot of power, like being able to lift something heavy

3. water
Answer: (H) What you splash in during bath time

4. head
Answer: (A) The top part of your body where your eyes, nose, and mouth are

5. teeth
Answer: (F) The white, hard things in your mouth that you use to chew food

6. hunter
Answer: (C) Someone who looks for animals in the wild to catch them

7. special
Answer: (B) Something that is not like other things and makes you say “wow”

8. ropes
Answer: (E) Long, thick strings that you can pull or tie things with

9. cliff
Answer: (G) The side of a big rock that goes straight up and down

10. learn
Answer: (I) To find out new things or understand more about something
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the big sea animal?
Answer: (b) pliosaur

2. Where did people find the head of the pliosaur?
Answer: (d) by the sea

3. How big was the head of the pliosaur?
Answer: (c) as big as a person

4. What did the pliosaur eat?
Answer: (a) other sea animals

5. How did people get the head of the pliosaur?
Answer: (a) using ropes

6. Where is the head of the pliosaur now?
Answer: (d) in a place where people can see it

7. Who is going to talk about the pliosaur on TV?
Answer: (b) David Attenborough

8. What kind of animal was the pliosaur?
Answer: (c) a sea animal
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The pliosaur was very weak and lived on land. (Answer: False)
2. David Attenborough is going to talk about the pliosaur on TV. (Answer: True)
3. People found the tail of the pliosaur in the sky by the sea. (Answer: False)
4. There was a small sea animal called a pliosaur a long time ago. (Answer: False)
5. The pliosaur was preyed upon and could not swim at all. (Answer: False)
6. The head of the pliosaur was as big as a person and had sharp teeth. (Answer: True)
7. The head of the pliosaur is now in a place where people can see it and learn about it. (Answer: True)
8. The pliosaur ate other sea animals. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧