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 Japanβs big quake shifted the land (BBC)
π§ Listen:
π 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.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The ground in Japan moved up and to the side during the big shakes.
The ground went up more than 13 feet in some places.
Japan has special tools that can measure how much the ground moves during a shake.
The pictures from space showed that the ground went up because of the shake.
Not many people died because Japan builds very strong houses and is prepared for shakes.
Japan has many shakes because it sits on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move.
People in Japan are warned about shakes on TV and phones before they happen.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Big shakes in Japan made the ground go up and move to the side. The ground up more than 13 feet in some places. Japan has special that tell them how much the ground moves when there is a shake. These tools the 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 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 on top of four big pieces of the Earth that move. People in Japan know what to do when the ground s. They also have a special warning that tells them on TV and phones when a shake is soon.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
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
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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