A big storm hit the middle of the United States. It brought tornadoes, lots of rain, and very big hail, as big as golf balls, to places like Texas. More than 8 million people were told a tornado might come. This storm made a lot of water cover the ground and hurt houses and roads. The big hail hurt cars and buildings too.
The storm went to many states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Tornadoes came and broke more things, making it dangerous for people. Because it rained so much, water covered many places, and some people's homes got very wet. Helpers are trying to save people who are stuck and help those who got hurt by the storm. The storm is still moving, and it might cause more trouble.
Original news source: Large hail seen in Texas after storms hit central US (BBC)
π§ Listen:
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Charades
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Give each group a set of vocabulary words related to the article (e.g. storm, tornado, hail, rain).
3. One person from each group will act out a word without speaking, while the rest of the group guesses what the word is.
4. The group that guesses correctly gets a point.
5. Repeat the process with different words and rotate the roles within the group.
– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Read the article aloud to the class.
2. Ask the students to summarize the main points of the article in their own words.
3. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
4. Each pair or group will take turns presenting their summaries to the class.
5. Encourage the students to use the vocabulary from the article in their summaries.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Write the following statement on the board: "The storm was very dangerous."
2. Ask the students to stand on one side of the classroom if they strongly agree, on the other side if they strongly disagree, or in the middle if they are unsure.
3. Give each student a chance to explain their opinion, using simple sentences related to the article (e.g. "I think the storm was dangerous because it broke things").
4. After the discussion, ask the students to write a short paragraph explaining their opinion, using the vocabulary from the article.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Give each group a set of vocabulary words related to the article (e.g. storm, tornado, hail, rain).
3. One person from each group will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it.
4. The rest of the group must guess the word based on the drawing.
5. The group that guesses correctly gets a point.
6. Repeat the process with different words and rotate the roles within the group.
– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions:
1. Ask each student to think of two true statements and one false statement related to the article (e.g. "The storm brought tornadoes", "The storm only affected one state", "The storm caused a lot of damage").
2. Divide the class into small groups.
3. Each student takes turns sharing their three statements with the group.
4. The group must discuss and guess which statement is the lie.
5. After everyone has shared, reveal the answers and discuss the true information from the article.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
There were tornadoes, lots of rain, and big hail.
The hail was as big as golf balls.
More than 8 million people were told.
The storm went to Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.
The tornadoes broke things and made it dangerous for people.
It rained a lot, so the water covered many places.
The helpers are trying to save people who are stuck and help those who got hurt.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
A big storm hit the of the States. It brought tornadoes, lots of rain, and very big hail, as big as golf balls, to places like Texas. More than 8 million people were told a tornado might come. This storm made a lot of cover the and hurt houses and roads. The big hail hurt cars and buildings too. The storm went to many states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. came and broke things, making it dangerous for people. Because it rained so much, water covered many places, and some people's homes got very wet. Helpers are to people who are stuck and help those who got hurt by the storm. The storm is still moving, and it might cause more trouble.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is a tornado?
2. How would you feel if a big storm came to your town?
3. Do you like rain? Why or why not?
4. What do you think happens to houses and roads when there is a lot of water?
5. Have you ever seen hail? What does it look like?
6. How do you think cars and buildings get hurt by big hail?
7. Do you know anyone who lives in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, or Missouri? How do you think they feel about the storm?
8. What do you think helpers do during a storm?
9. Have you ever been stuck somewhere? How did you feel?
10. How do you think the storm might cause more trouble?
11. What would you do if you were in a storm and your home got very wet?
12. Do you think storms are scary or exciting? Why or why not?
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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