A big church in a place called New London fell down. It happened very fast and someone took a video of it. No one was hurt when it fell. The mayor, who is like the boss of the town, doesn’t know why it fell down. People who help in emergencies made sure everyone was safe.

The video shows the church’s tall pointy part falling and breaking. It was lucky because no one was inside praying. Now, people who live there are very surprised and want to know why it happened. People who know about buildings are trying to find out why. Everyone in the town is helping each other and being nice because of what happened.

Original news source: Watch: US church steeple collapse caught on camera (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down key words from the article on index cards and place them in a hat or bowl. One student from each team will come up and pick a card without looking. They must act out the word on the card without speaking, and their team has to guess what word it is. The team that guesses correctly gets a point.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write down key words from the article on the board. Ask students to think of another word that is related to each key word. For example, if the key word is “church,” students could say “religion” or “prayer.” Go through the list of key words and have students share their associations.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a set of key words from the article on index cards. One student will pick a card and have to draw a picture to represent the word, while the other student has to guess what word it is. Students can take turns being the drawer and the guesser.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Write a key word from the article on the board, leaving out a few letters. Students have to guess the missing letters by suggesting different letters of the alphabet. If they guess a correct letter, write it in the correct position. If they guess an incorrect letter, start drawing a hangman. The goal is for the class to guess the full word before the hangman is completed.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: Have students write down two true statements and one false statement related to the article. In pairs or small groups, students take turns sharing their statements and the others have to guess which one is the lie. This activity encourages students to practice speaking and listening skills, as well as critical thinking.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the big church in New London?
2. Did anyone get hurt when the church fell down?
3. Who is the boss of the town?
4. What did the video show?
5. Why was it lucky that no one was inside the church?
6. What are people in the town trying to find out?
7. How are people in the town treating each other after the church fell down?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A big church in a (1)______ called New London fell down. It happened very fast and someone took a video of it. No one was (2)______ when it fell. The mayor, who is like the boss of the town, doesn’t know why it fell down. People who help in emergencies made sure everyone was (3)______.

The video (4)______ the church’s tall pointy part falling and (5)______. It was (6)______ because no one was inside praying. Now, people who live there are very surprised and want to know why it happened. (7)______ who know about buildings are trying to find out why. Everyone in the town is helping each other and being (8)______ because of what happened.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a church?
2. How do you think the people felt when the church fell down?
3. Do you like watching videos? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you were inside the church when it fell down?
5. Do you think the mayor is responsible for the church falling down? Why or why not?
6. Have you ever seen a tall pointy building? What did it look like?
7. What do you think the people in the town are doing to help each other?
8. Why do you think people want to know why the church fell down?
9. Have you ever been surprised by something? What happened?
10. Do you think the people in the town will build a new church? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the people who live in the town are feeling now?
12. What would you do if you saw a building falling down?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. church
2. video
3. mayor
4. emergencies
5. praying
6. surprised
7. buildings
8. helping
9. nice
10. happened

Meanings:
(A) When you are kind and friendly to others
(B) Doing things for others to make things easier or better for them
(C) The person who is in charge of a town, like a leader
(D) When something takes place or is done
(E) Talking to God in your heart or out loud
(F) A big house where people go to say thank you to God
(G) A way to save what you see so you can watch it again
(H) When something bad or unexpected happens and people need help
(I) Places where people can live, work, or go to say thank you to God
(J) When something makes you go “Wow!” because you didn’t think it would happen
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to the big church in New London?
(a) It fell down
(b) It got bigger
(c) It disappeared
(d) It flew away

2. Did anyone get hurt when the church fell?
(a) Yes
(b) Maybe
(c) No
(d) I don’t know

3. Who is the boss of the town?
(a) The police officer
(b) The teacher
(c) The mayor
(d) The doctor

4. What did the video show?
(a) People praying inside the church
(b) The tall pointy part of the church falling and breaking
(c) The church getting taller
(d) The church moving to a different place

5. Why was it lucky that no one was inside the church when it fell?
(a) Because they could have gotten hurt
(b) Because they wanted to go outside
(c) Because they were sleeping
(d) Because they didn’t like the church

6. Who is trying to find out why the church fell?
(a) People who like to watch videos
(b) People who live in the town
(c) People who don’t care
(d) People who know about buildings

7. How are the people in the town acting after the church fell?
(a) They are fighting and being mean
(b) They are helping each other and being nice
(c) They are hiding in their houses
(d) They are laughing and being silly

8. What do the people in the town want to know?
(a) Why the video was taken
(b) Why the mayor is the boss
(c) Why the town is called New London
(d) Why the church fell down

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. People who help in emergencies made sure everyone was safe.
2. Someone was injured when the church fell down.
3. The mayor knows why the church fell down.
4. The video shows the tall pointy part of the church falling and breaking.
5. A small church in a place called New London fell down.
6. No one captured a video of the church falling down.
7. People who live in the town are surprised and want to know why the church fell down.
8. The mayor is like the boss of the town.
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 big church in New London?
2. Did anyone get hurt when the church fell down?
3. Who is the boss of the town?
4. Why are people trying to find out why the church fell down?
5. How are the people in the town helping each other after the church fell down?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the big church in New London?
The big church in New London fell down.

2. Did anyone get hurt when the church fell down?
No, no one got hurt when the church fell down.

3. Who is the boss of the town?
The mayor is the boss of the town.

4. What did the video show?
The video showed the church’s tall pointy part falling and breaking.

5. Why was it lucky that no one was inside the church?
It was lucky because no one was inside praying when the church fell down.

6. What are people in the town trying to find out?
People in the town are trying to find out why the church fell down.

7. How are people in the town treating each other after the church fell down?
People in the town are treating each other nicely and helping each other after the church fell down.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) place
(2) hurt
(3) safe
(4) shows
(5) breaking
(6) lucky
(7) People
(8) nice
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. church
Answer: (F) A big house where people go to say thank you to God

2. video
Answer: (G) A way to save what you see so you can watch it again

3. mayor
Answer: (C) The person who is in charge of a town, like a leader

4. emergencies
Answer: (H) When something bad or unexpected happens and people need help

5. praying
Answer: (E) Talking to God in your heart or out loud

6. surprised
Answer: (J) When something makes you go “Wow!” because you didn’t think it would happen

7. buildings
Answer: (I) Places where people can live, work, or go to say thank you to God

8. helping
Answer: (B) Doing things for others to make things easier or better for them

9. nice
Answer: (A) When you are kind and friendly to others

10. happened
Answer: (D) When something takes place or is done
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened to the big church in New London?
Answer: (a) It fell down

2. Did anyone get hurt when the church fell?
Answer: (c) No

3. Who is the boss of the town?
Answer: (c) The mayor

4. What did the video show?
Answer: (b) The tall pointy part of the church falling and breaking

5. Why was it lucky that no one was inside the church when it fell?
Answer: (a) Because they could have gotten hurt

6. Who is trying to find out why the church fell?
Answer: (d) People who know about buildings

7. How are the people in the town acting after the church fell?
Answer: (b) They are helping each other and being nice

8. What do the people in the town want to know?
Answer: (d) Why the church fell down
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. People who help in emergencies made sure everyone was safe. (Answer: True)
2. Someone was injured when the church fell down. (Answer: False)
3. The mayor knows why the church fell down. (Answer: False)
4. The video shows the tall pointy part of the church falling and breaking. (Answer: True)
5. A small church in a place called New London fell down. (Answer: False)
6. No one captured a video of the church falling down. (Answer: False)
7. People who live in the town are surprised and want to know why the church fell down. (Answer: True)
8. The mayor is like the boss of the town. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧