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Bear and Skier: A Surprising Encounter on the Hill

Skier narrowly avoids collision with bear on Lake Tahoe slopes, reminding us to respect wildlife.

Try this article at a different level?

 

A skier was going down a hill when a bear ran across the snow. The bear was fast and did not hit anyone. A man named Tao Feng took a video of the bear. He saw the bear go to its mom after crossing the path. Many people watched the video on the internet.

The bear did a good job not running into the skiers. This tells us we need to be careful and remember that we share places with wild animals. When we ski or play outside, we should look around for animals. We need to be safe and let the animals be safe too. The video shows us that nature is full of surprises and very special.

Original news source: Watch: Bear dodges skiers on California slopes (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

1skierSomeone who slides down a hill on long, thin pieces of metal or plastic
2bearA big, furry animal that can walk on two legs and likes honey
3snowSoft, white flakes that fall from the sky when it’s cold
4videoA movie you can watch on a phone or computer
5internetA place on a computer where you can see lots of things from all over the world
6wildAnimals or plants that live outside, not in a house or zoo
7skiTo slide on snow down a hill for fun
8playTo have fun and do things for enjoyment
9natureEverything outside like trees, flowers, and animals
10surprisesThings that make you say “Wow! I didn’t know that would happen!

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down key words from the article on small pieces of paper and put them in a bag. One student from each team will take turns picking a word from the bag and acting it out silently. Their team members must guess the word within a certain time limit. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, have students summarize the main points of the article in their own words. Encourage them to use simple sentences and try to include as much information as possible. After discussing with their partners, have a few groups share their summaries with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a list of vocabulary words from the article. One student from each group will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it, while their group members guess the word. The group that correctly guesses the most words wins.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, have students create catchy headlines for the article. Encourage them to use their creativity and make the headlines engaging. After brainstorming, have a few groups share their headlines with the class and discuss why they chose them.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have students individually think about and write down their thoughts on the following question: “What can we learn from the video of the bear and the skiers?” Then, pair them up and have them discuss their answers with their partners. Finally, ask a few pairs to share their ideas with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened when the skier was going down the hill?
2. Who took a video of the bear?
3. What did the bear do after crossing the path?
4. Where did many people watch the video?
5. Why did the bear not run into the skiers?
6. What should we do when we ski or play outside?
7. What does the video show us about nature?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A (1)______ was going down a (2)______ when a bear ran across the snow. The bear was fast and did not hit anyone. A man named Tao Feng took a video of the bear. He saw the bear go to its mom after (3)______ the path. Many people watched the video on the (4)______.

The bear did a good job not running into the (5)______. This tells us we need to be careful and remember that we share places with wild animals. When we ski or (6)______ outside, we should look around for (7)______. We need to be safe and let the animals be safe too. The video shows us that nature is full of surprises and (8)______ special.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a skier?
2. Have you ever seen a bear before? How did you feel?
3. How would you feel if you saw a bear while skiing?
4. Do you think it’s important to be careful when we play outside? Why or why not?
5. What do you think the bear was doing when it crossed the path?
6. Have you ever seen a video on the internet? What was it about?
7. Do you like watching videos of animals? Why or why not?
8. Why do you think it’s important to let the animals be safe too?
9. What do you think the video teaches us about nature?
10. How do you think the skiers felt when they saw the bear?
11. Do you think animals and humans can live together peacefully? Why or why not?
12. What would you do if you saw a bear while playing outside?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. skier
2. bear
3. snow
4. video
5. internet
6. wild
7. ski
8. play
9. nature
10. surprises

Meanings:
(A) A movie you can watch on a phone or computer
(B) Someone who slides down a hill on long, thin pieces of metal or plastic
(C) To have fun and do things for enjoyment
(D) Soft, white flakes that fall from the sky when it’s cold
(E) Everything outside like trees, flowers, and animals
(F) To slide on snow down a hill for fun
(G) A big, furry animal that can walk on two legs and likes honey
(H) A place on a computer where you can see lots of things from all over the world
(I) Animals or plants that live outside, not in a house or zoo
(J) Things that make you say “Wow! I didn’t know that would happen!”
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the skier see running across the snow?
(a) a rabbit
(b) a bear
(c) a bird
(d) a squirrel

2. Who took a video of the bear?
(a) Tao Feng
(b) Sarah Johnson
(c) David Smith
(d) Emma Brown

3. Where did the bear go after crossing the path?
(a) to its mom
(b) to its dad
(c) to its friend
(d) to its house

4. How did the bear do when it crossed the path?
(a) It ran into a skier.
(b) It did a good job and didn’t hit anyone.
(c) It fell down in the snow.
(d) It got scared and ran away.

5. What should we do when we ski or play outside?
(a) Look at our phone.
(b) Close our eyes.
(c) Run as fast as we can.
(d) Look around for animals.

6. Why do we need to be safe when we are outside?
(a) So we can see the bear.
(b) So we can take pictures.
(c) So we can play with the animals.
(d) So we don’t get hurt.

7. What does the video show us about nature?
(a) It is boring and not special.
(b) It is scary and dangerous.
(c) It is full of surprises.
(d) It is empty and sad.

8. Who watched the video on the internet?
(a) No one
(b) Just Tao Feng
(c) Many people
(d) Only the skiers

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. A skier saw a bear while going down a hill.
2. The bear hit someone and ran across the snow very slowly.
3. The bear did a poor job of avoiding the skiers.
4. We don’t need to be careful and remember that we share places with wild animals.
5. A man named Tao Feng recorded a video of the bear.
6. Nature is full of surprises and very special.
7. Many people watched the video on the internet.
8. After crossing the path, the bear went away from its mom.
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 the skier see running across the snow?
2. Who took a video of the bear?
3. What did the bear do after crossing the path?
4. Why is it important to be careful when we ski or play outside?
5. What does the video show us about nature?

Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened when the skier was going down the hill?
The bear ran across the snow.

2. Who took a video of the bear?
Tao Feng took a video of the bear.

3. What did the bear do after crossing the path?
The bear went to its mom.

4. Where did many people watch the video?
Many people watched the video on the internet.

5. Why did the bear not run into the skiers?
The bear was fast and did a good job avoiding the skiers.

6. What should we do when we ski or play outside?
We should look around for animals and be safe.

7. What does the video show us about nature?
The video shows us that nature is full of surprises and very special.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) skier
(2) hill
(3) crossing
(4) internet
(5) skiers
(6) play
(7) animals
(8) very
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. skier
Answer: (B) Someone who slides down a hill on long, thin pieces of metal or plastic

2. bear
Answer: (G) A big, furry animal that can walk on two legs and likes honey

3. snow
Answer: (D) Soft, white flakes that fall from the sky when it’s cold

4. video
Answer: (A) A movie you can watch on a phone or computer

5. internet
Answer: (H) A place on a computer where you can see lots of things from all over the world

6. wild
Answer: (I) Animals or plants that live outside, not in a house or zoo

7. ski
Answer: (F) To slide on snow down a hill for fun

8. play
Answer: (C) To have fun and do things for enjoyment

9. nature
Answer: (E) Everything outside like trees, flowers, and animals

10. surprises
Answer: (J) Things that make you say “Wow! I didn’t know that would happen!”
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did the skier see running across the snow?
Answer: (b) a bear

2. Who took a video of the bear?
Answer: (a) Tao Feng

3. Where did the bear go after crossing the path?
Answer: (a) to its mom

4. How did the bear do when it crossed the path?
Answer: (b) It did a good job and didn’t hit anyone.

5. What should we do when we ski or play outside?
Answer: (d) Look around for animals.

6. Why do we need to be safe when we are outside?
Answer: (d) So we don’t get hurt.

7. What does the video show us about nature?
Answer: (c) It is full of surprises.

8. Who watched the video on the internet?
Answer: (c) Many people
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. A skier saw a bear while going down a hill. (Answer: True)
2. The bear hit someone and ran across the snow very slowly. (Answer: False)
3. The bear did a poor job of avoiding the skiers. (Answer: False)
4. We don’t need to be careful and remember that we share places with wild animals. (Answer: False)
5. A man named Tao Feng recorded a video of the bear. (Answer: True)
6. Nature is full of surprises and very special. (Answer: True)
7. Many people watched the video on the internet. (Answer: True)
8. After crossing the path, the bear went away from its mom. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧

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