A big fire happened in a factory in South Korea. The fire started because some batteries exploded. The fire was very strong and hard to stop. Firefighters used dry sand to put out the fire. Sadly, 22 people died because of the fire.

The factory had many batteries on the second floor. The fire spread very fast, so workers couldn’t escape. Firefighters worry the fire might start again. South Korea makes many batteries for things like cars and laptops. Some people got hurt in the fire too.

Original news source: Exploding batteries spark deadly S Korea factory fire (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down key vocabulary words from the article on small pieces of paper and put them in a hat or container. One student from each team will take turns picking a word and acting it out without speaking. The rest of the team must guess the word. The team that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: Give each student a copy of the article. In pairs or small groups, students take turns summarizing the article using their own words. Encourage them to include the main points and any important details. Afterward, have a class discussion to compare and discuss the different summaries.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write the following question on the board: “Do you think factories should have better safety measures to prevent fires?” Have students write their answer on a piece of paper and then walk around the classroom asking their classmates the same question. They should tally the responses (yes or no) and then report back to the class with the results.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a set of vocabulary words from the article. One student from each group will choose a word and draw a picture on the board without using any words or letters. The rest of the group must guess the word. The group that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a copy of the article. Set a timer for 2 minutes. Students take turns summarizing the article to their partner as quickly as possible within the time limit. After the 2 minutes are up, students switch roles. Encourage them to speak quickly but clearly. Afterward, have a class discussion to share the main points from each summary.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened in South Korea?
2. Why did the fire start in the factory?
3. What did the firefighters use to put out the fire?
4. How many people died because of the fire?
5. Where were the batteries in the factory?
6. Why couldn’t the workers escape?
7. What do people use batteries for?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A big (1)______ happened in a factory in South Korea. The fire started because some (2)______ exploded. The fire was very strong and (3)______ to (4)______. Firefighters used dry sand to put out the fire. Sadly, 22 people died because of the fire.

The factory had many batteries on the second floor. The fire (5)______ very fast, so workers couldn’t (6)______. Firefighters worry the fire might start again. South Korea makes (7)______ batteries for things like cars and (8)______. Some people got hurt in the fire too.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a factory?
2. How would you feel if there was a big fire near your house?
3. Do you like firefighters? Why or why not?
4. What are batteries used for?
5. How do you think the workers felt when they couldn’t escape the fire?
6. Do you think it’s important to have fire safety rules? Why or why not?
7. Have you ever seen a fire before? What did you do?
8. What do you think the firefighters did to put out the fire?
9. Do you think the fire will start again? Why or why not?
10. Why do you think South Korea makes many batteries?
11. Have you ever been hurt before? How did it happen?
12. How can we prevent fires from happening?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. factory
2. batteries
3. exploded
4. firefighters
5. escape
6. spread
7. worry
8. hurt
9. laptops
10. strong

Meanings:
(A) Blew up with a loud noise
(B) Very powerful or hard to break
(C) Small computers you can carry around
(D) Things that give power to toys and gadgets
(E) To feel scared about something bad happening
(F) People who put out fires
(G) A big building where things are made
(H) To move quickly from one place to another
(I) To get away from danger
(J) To feel pain or get injured
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What caused the fire in the factory?
(a) Water leaking
(b) Machines breaking
(c) People screaming
(d) Batteries exploding

2. How did firefighters put out the fire?
(a) Using water
(b) Using dry sand
(c) Using fire extinguishers
(d) Using blankets

3. How many people died because of the fire?
(a) 10
(b) 5
(c) 22
(d) 50

4. Where were the batteries stored in the factory?
(a) In the basement
(b) In the office
(c) Outside the building
(d) On the second floor

5. Why couldn’t the workers escape from the fire?
(a) They were too scared
(b) They didn’t want to leave their things behind
(c) The fire spread very fast
(d) They didn’t know there was a fire

6. What does South Korea make a lot of?
(a) Batteries
(b) Cars
(c) Clothes
(d) Toys

7. Who else got hurt in the fire?
(a) Some people
(b) No one
(c) Everyone
(d) The firefighters

8. What are batteries used for?
(a) Cooking and cleaning
(b) Cars and laptops
(c) Playing games and watching movies
(d) Sleeping and eating

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Some people got hurt in the fire too.
2. The fire started because of faulty wiring.
3. The factory had many batteries on the second floor.
4. The fire spread very fast, so workers couldn’t escape.
5. Regrettably, 22 people were injured in the fire.
6. The fire was relatively weak and easily contained.
7. Firefighters used wet sand to put out the fire.
8. There was a big fire in a factory in South Korea.
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 in South Korea?
2. Why did the fire start?
3. How did the firefighters try to stop the fire?
4. How many people died because of the fire?
5. What does South Korea make with batteries?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened in South Korea?
A big fire happened in a factory in South Korea.

2. Why did the fire start in the factory?
The fire started because some batteries exploded.

3. What did the firefighters use to put out the fire?
Firefighters used dry sand to put out the fire.

4. How many people died because of the fire?
22 people died because of the fire.

5. Where were the batteries in the factory?
The batteries were on the second floor of the factory.

6. Why couldn’t the workers escape?
The fire spread very fast, so the workers couldn’t escape.

7. What do people use batteries for?
People use batteries for things like cars and laptops.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) fire
(2) batteries
(3) hard
(4) stop
(5) spread
(6) escape
(7) many
(8) laptops
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. factory
Answer: (G) A big building where things are made

2. batteries
Answer: (D) Things that give power to toys and gadgets

3. exploded
Answer: (A) Blew up with a loud noise

4. firefighters
Answer: (F) People who put out fires

5. escape
Answer: (I) To get away from danger

6. spread
Answer: (H) To move quickly from one place to another

7. worry
Answer: (E) To feel scared about something bad happening

8. hurt
Answer: (J) To feel pain or get injured

9. laptops
Answer: (C) Small computers you can carry around

10. strong
Answer: (B) Very powerful or hard to break
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What caused the fire in the factory?
Answer: (d) Batteries exploding

2. How did firefighters put out the fire?
Answer: (b) Using dry sand

3. How many people died because of the fire?
Answer: (c) 22

4. Where were the batteries stored in the factory?
Answer: (d) On the second floor

5. Why couldn’t the workers escape from the fire?
Answer: (c) The fire spread very fast

6. What does South Korea make a lot of?
Answer: (a) Batteries

7. Who else got hurt in the fire?
Answer: (a) Some people

8. What are batteries used for?
Answer: (b) Cars and laptops
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Some people got hurt in the fire too. (Answer: True)
2. The fire started because of faulty wiring. (Answer: False)
3. The factory had many batteries on the second floor. (Answer: True)
4. The fire spread very fast, so workers couldn’t escape. (Answer: True)
5. Regrettably, 22 people were injured in the fire. (Answer: False)
6. The fire was relatively weak and easily contained. (Answer: False)
7. Firefighters used wet sand to put out the fire. (Answer: False)
8. There was a big fire in a factory in South Korea. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧