Big shakes in Japan made the ground go up and move to the side. The ground went up more than 13 feet in some places. Japan has special tools that tell them how much the ground moves when there is a shake. These tools said the ground moved a lot, like more than 4 feet to the side. Pictures from space also show that the ground went up because of the shake.

Not many people died from these big shakes in Japan. This is because Japan is ready for shakes and builds very strong houses. Japan has many shakes because it sits on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move. People in Japan know what to do when the ground shakes. They also have a special warning that tells them on TV and phones when a shake is coming soon.

Original news source: How Japan’s big quake shifted the land (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team will act out a word or phrase related to earthquakes (e.g. shaking, ground moving, earthquake preparedness) without speaking, while the rest of the team guesses what it is. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: Ask the students to read the article individually or in pairs. Then, have them write a brief summary of the article using their own words. Afterward, have a class discussion where students share their summaries and compare them to the original article.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups and give each group a statement related to earthquakes (e.g. “Building earthquake-resistant houses is important”). Ask the students to discuss the statement and come up with their own opinions. Then, have each group present their opinions to the class and conduct a class-wide vote to see which opinion is the most popular.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of earthquake-related vocabulary words on the board. Divide the class into pairs and give each pair a word from the list. One student will draw a picture to represent the word, while the other student tries to guess what the word is. Encourage the use of English language during the activity.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask the students to imagine what Japan will be like in the future in terms of earthquake preparedness. Have them discuss in pairs or small groups and make predictions about how technology, buildings, and warning systems might change. Then, have each group share their predictions with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the ground in Japan during the big shakes?
2. How high did the ground go up in some places?
3. What special tools does Japan have to measure how much the ground moves?
4. What did the pictures from space show about the ground?
5. Why didn’t many people die during the big shakes in Japan?
6. Why does Japan have many shakes?
7. How do people in Japan know when a shake is coming soon?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Big shakes in Japan made the ground go up and move to the side. The ground (1)______ up more than 13 feet in some places. Japan has special (2)______ that tell them how much the ground moves when there is a shake. These tools (3)______ the (4)______ moved a lot, like more than 4 feet to the side. Pictures from space also show that the ground went up because of the shake.

Not (5)______ people died from these big shakes in Japan. This is because Japan is ready for shakes and builds very strong houses. Japan has many shakes because it (6)______ on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move. People in Japan know what to do when the ground (7)______s. They also have a special warning that tells them on TV and phones when a shake is (8)______ soon.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a shake?
2. How would you feel if the ground started to shake?
3. Do you like living in a place where there are shakes?
4. Do you think it’s important to have strong houses in places with shakes? Why or why not?
5. What do you think people in Japan do when the ground shakes?
6. How do you think people in Japan know when a shake is coming soon?
7. What do you think the special warning on TV and phones says when a shake is coming?
8. Why do you think Japan has special tools to measure how much the ground moves during a shake?
9. How high do you think the ground went up in some places during the shake?
10. What do you think the pictures from space show about the ground during the shake?
11. How do you think Japan prepares for shakes?
12. Why do you think not many people died from the big shakes in Japan?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. difficult
2. corresponding
3. sequence
4. beginner
5. ESL (English as a Second Language)
6. native
7. article
8. matching
9. activity
10. definitions

Meanings:
(A) Going together or connecting in the right way
(B) Something you do for fun or to learn
(C) Learning to speak and understand English when it’s not your first language
(D) Meanings of words
(E) Hard to do or understand
(F) Things that go together or are the same
(G) A story or piece of writing in a newspaper or on the internet
(H) Someone who is just starting to learn
(I) Order in which things follow each other
(J) Someone who was born in a place and speaks the language from that place
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to the ground during the shakes in Japan?
(a) It went up and moved to the side
(b) It stayed still
(c) It sank into the ground
(d) It disappeared

2. How much did the ground go up in some places?
(a) Less than 1 foot
(b) More than 13 feet
(c) Exactly 4 feet
(d) More than 20 feet

3. What tools does Japan have to measure how much the ground moves during a shake?
(a) Hammers and nails
(b) Computers and calculators
(c) Special tools
(d) Pencils and paper

4. What did pictures from space show about the ground during the shake?
(a) It went down
(b) It disappeared
(c) It stayed the same
(d) It went up

5. Why didn’t many people die during the shakes in Japan?
(a) Japan builds very strong houses
(b) Japan has no people
(c) Japan is far away from the shakes
(d) Japan didn’t have any warning

6. Why does Japan have many shakes?
(a) Because it has lots of earthquakes
(b) Because it has lots of volcanoes
(c) Because it doesn’t have strong houses
(d) Because it sits on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move

7. What do people in Japan know what to do when the ground shakes?
(a) They don’t know what to do
(b) They run away
(c) They know what to do
(d) They hide under their beds

8. How do people in Japan know when a shake is coming soon?
(a) They don’t know when a shake is coming
(b) They get a special warning on TV and phones
(c) They feel it in their bones
(d) They see it in the sky

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. These tools said the ground moved less than 4 feet to the side.
2. Many people died because Japan builds very weak houses that cannot withstand shakes.
3. People in Japan know what to do when the ground shakes and they have a special warning on TV and phones.
4. The ground went up more than 13 feet in some places.
5. Japan had a small shake that made the ground go down and stay still.
6. Japan has many shakes because it sits on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move.
7. Pictures from space show that the ground went down because of the shake.
8. Japan has special tools that can measure how much the ground moves during a shake.
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 ground in Japan during the shakes?
2. How do the special tools in Japan help them know how much the ground moves?
3. Why didn’t many people die from the big shakes in Japan?
4. Why does Japan have many shakes?
5. How do people in Japan know when a shake is coming soon?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the ground in Japan during the big shakes?
The ground in Japan moved up and to the side during the big shakes.

2. How high did the ground go up in some places?
The ground went up more than 13 feet in some places.

3. What special tools does Japan have to measure how much the ground moves?
Japan has special tools that can measure how much the ground moves during a shake.

4. What did the pictures from space show about the ground?
The pictures from space showed that the ground went up because of the shake.

5. Why didn’t many people die during the big shakes in Japan?
Not many people died because Japan builds very strong houses and is prepared for shakes.

6. Why does Japan have many shakes?
Japan has many shakes because it sits on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move.

7. How do people in Japan know when a shake is coming soon?
People in Japan are warned about shakes on TV and phones before they happen.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) went
(2) tools
(3) said
(4) ground
(5) many
(6) sits
(7) shake
(8) coming
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. difficult
Answer: (E) Hard to do or understand

2. corresponding
Answer: (A) Going together or connecting in the right way

3. sequence
Answer: (I) Order in which things follow each other

4. beginner
Answer: (H) Someone who is just starting to learn

5. ESL (English as a Second Language)
Answer: (C) Learning to speak and understand English when it’s not your first language

6. native
Answer: (J) Someone who was born in a place and speaks the language from that place

7. article
Answer: (G) A story or piece of writing in a newspaper or on the internet

8. matching
Answer: (F) Things that go together or are the same

9. activity
Answer: (B) Something you do for fun or to learn

10. definitions
Answer: (D) Meanings of words
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened to the ground during the shakes in Japan?
Answer: (a) It went up and moved to the side

2. How much did the ground go up in some places?
Answer: (b) More than 13 feet

3. What tools does Japan have to measure how much the ground moves during a shake?
Answer: (c) Special tools

4. What did pictures from space show about the ground during the shake?
Answer: (d) It went up

5. Why didn’t many people die during the shakes in Japan?
Answer: (a) Japan builds very strong houses

6. Why does Japan have many shakes?
Answer: (d) Because it sits on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move

7. What do people in Japan know what to do when the ground shakes?
Answer: (c) They know what to do

8. How do people in Japan know when a shake is coming soon?
Answer: (b) They get a special warning on TV and phones
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. These tools said the ground moved less than 4 feet to the side. (Answer: False)
2. Many people died because Japan builds very weak houses that cannot withstand shakes. (Answer: False)
3. People in Japan know what to do when the ground shakes and they have a special warning on TV and phones. (Answer: True)
4. The ground went up more than 13 feet in some places. (Answer: True)
5. Japan had a small shake that made the ground go down and stay still. (Answer: False)
6. Japan has many shakes because it sits on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move. (Answer: True)
7. Pictures from space show that the ground went down because of the shake. (Answer: False)
8. Japan has special tools that can measure how much the ground moves during a shake. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧