A man named Ted made a computer helper that can tell different whales apart. People can put pictures of whales on a website, and the computer helper looks at the whale’s tail to say who it is. It can tell you the whale’s name and where it has been before. This helps people know how many whales there are and where they go.

There is also a computer helper for birds called Merlin Bird ID. You can take a picture of a bird or record its song, and the helper will tell you what kind of bird it is. It asks you to tell more about the bird so scientists can learn about where birds live and fly. This helps people who like birds and want to help them. Another helper called iNaturalist can tell what kind of animal or plant is in a picture. It gets smarter as people use it more. A man named Grant who helped make it thinks these helpers can make people care more about animals and plants.

Original news source: Name that whale! How AI aces animal spotting (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a list of animals, including whales and birds. One person from each group will act out the animal without speaking, while the rest of the group tries to guess what animal it is. This activity helps students practice vocabulary and encourages creativity and teamwork.

– News Summary
Instructions: Read the article aloud to the class. Then, ask the students to work in pairs or small groups to summarize the main points of the article. They can take turns sharing their summaries with the rest of the class. This activity helps students practice reading comprehension and summarizing skills.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of questions related to the article, such as “Do you think computer helpers for animals are useful?” or “Would you use a computer helper to identify birds?” Have the students ask these questions to their classmates and record their responses. Afterwards, discuss the different opinions and reasons behind them as a class. This activity helps students practice speaking and expressing their opinions.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down vocabulary words from the article, such as “whales,” “birds,” “computer helper,” and “animals.” Divide the class into teams and have one person from each team come to the front of the class. Show them a vocabulary word and have them draw it on the board. The rest of their team must guess the word. This activity helps students practice vocabulary recall and encourages creativity.

– Synonym Challenge
Instructions: Write down key words from the article, such as “whales,” “birds,” “computer helper,” and “animals.” Have the students work in pairs or small groups to come up with as many synonyms as they can for each word. Afterwards, have them share their lists with the class and discuss the different synonyms. This activity helps students expand their vocabulary and practice word association.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who made a computer helper that can tell different whales apart?
2. How does the computer helper know which whale it is?
3. What can the computer helper tell you about the whale?
4. What is the computer helper for birds called?
5. How does the bird helper know what kind of bird it is?
6. Why does the bird helper ask you to tell more about the bird?
7. What is the other helper called that can tell what kind of animal or plant is in a picture?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man named Ted made a computer helper that can tell different whales apart. (1)______ can put (2)______ of whales on a website, and the computer helper looks at the whale’s tail to say who it is. It can tell you the whale’s name and where it has been before. This (3)______ people know how many whales there are and where they go.

There is also a computer helper for birds called (4)______ Bird ID. You can take a picture of a bird or record its song, and the helper will tell you what kind of bird it is. It asks you to tell (5)______ about the bird so scientists can learn about where (6)______ live and fly. This helps people who like birds and want to help them. Another helper called iNaturalist can tell what kind of animal or plant is in a picture. It gets smarter as people use it more. A man (7)______ Grant who (8)______ make it thinks these helpers can make people care more about animals and plants.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a computer helper?
2. How would you feel if you saw a whale in the ocean?
3. Do you like birds? Why or why not?
4. What is the name of the computer helper for birds?
5. How does the computer helper for birds know what kind of bird it is?
6. Do you think it is important to learn about where birds live and fly? Why or why not?
7. What is the name of the computer helper that can identify animals and plants in pictures?
8. How does the computer helper get smarter?
9. Do you think these computer helpers can help people care more about animals and plants? Why or why not?
10. Have you ever used a computer helper before? What did you use it for?
11. How do you think the computer helper for whales works?
12. What other animals or plants do you think the computer helper could help identify?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. computer
2. whales
3. website
4. tail
5. scientists
6. Merlin Bird ID
7. iNaturalist
8. animal
9. plant
10. picture

Meanings:
(A) A place on the internet where you can see and learn lots of things.
(B) A photo or image that shows what something looks like.
(C) A creature that might have fur, feathers, or scales and is not a person.
(D) Big fish that live in the ocean and can be very, very large.
(E) A smart machine that helps us do things like play games or write stories.
(F) A name for a helper that knows a lot about living things you find outside.
(G) People who like to learn about the world and figure out how things work.
(H) A special name for a helper that knows a lot about birds.
(I) Something that grows in the dirt, can be green, and sometimes has flowers.
(J) The back part of an animal that can wiggle or move.
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did Ted make?
(a) A computer helper
(b) A website
(c) A picture of a whale
(d) A bird

2. How does the computer helper for whales know who the whale is?
(a) It listens to the whale’s song
(b) It looks at the whale’s tail
(c) It asks the person who took the picture
(d) It guesses randomly

3. What can the computer helper for birds do?
(a) Take pictures of birds
(b) Fly like a bird
(c) Tell you what kind of bird it is
(d) Swim like a whale

4. How does the bird helper know what kind of bird it is?
(a) It asks the person who took the picture
(b) It guesses randomly
(c) It doesn’t know
(d) It looks at the picture or listens to the song

5. What does the iNaturalist helper do?
(a) It helps people with their homework
(b) It plays games with people
(c) It tells what kind of animal or plant is in a picture
(d) It tells jokes

6. Who thinks the helpers can make people care more about animals and plants?
(a) Grant
(b) Ted
(c) Merlin
(d) The whales

7. Why do people put pictures of whales on the website?
(a) To show off their photography skills
(b) To see how many whales there are in the world
(c) Because they have nothing else to do
(d) So the computer helper can tell who the whale is

8. How does the iNaturalist helper get smarter?
(a) By watching TV
(b) As people use it more
(c) By going to school
(d) By eating lots of food

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The iNaturalist helper does not get smarter as more people use it.
2. Grant, a man who helped make iNaturalist, believes that these helpers can make people care more about animals and plants.
3. These computer helpers are useful for people who like birds, whales, and want to help them.
4. Another computer helper called iNaturalist cannot identify animals or plants in a picture.
5. A man named Ted made a computer helper that cannot recognize different whales by looking at their tails.
6. The computer helper for birds is called Merlin Bird ID and it can identify birds by their pictures or songs.
7. Scientists cannot learn about where birds live and fly by using the Merlin Bird ID and sharing more information about the birds.
8. People can put pictures of whales on a website and the computer helper will tell them the whale’s name and where it has been before.
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 did Ted make to help people tell different whales apart?
2. How does the computer helper know which whale it is?
3. What can the computer helper for birds tell you?
4. How does the helper for birds learn more about where birds live and fly?
5. What does Grant think these helpers can make people do?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who made a computer helper that can tell different whales apart?
Ted made the computer helper.

2. How does the computer helper know which whale it is?
The computer helper looks at the whale’s tail.

3. What can the computer helper tell you about the whale?
The computer helper can tell you the whale’s name and where it has been before.

4. What is the computer helper for birds called?
The computer helper for birds is called Merlin Bird ID.

5. How does the bird helper know what kind of bird it is?
The bird helper knows what kind of bird it is by looking at a picture or listening to its song.

6. Why does the bird helper ask you to tell more about the bird?
The bird helper asks you to tell more about the bird so scientists can learn about where birds live and fly.

7. What is the other helper called that can tell what kind of animal or plant is in a picture?
The other helper is called iNaturalist.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) People
(2) pictures
(3) helps
(4) Merlin
(5) more
(6) birds
(7) named
(8) helped
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. computer
Answer: (E) A smart machine that helps us do things like play games or write stories.

2. whales
Answer: (D) Big fish that live in the ocean and can be very, very large.

3. website
Answer: (A) A place on the internet where you can see and learn lots of things.

4. tail
Answer: (J) The back part of an animal that can wiggle or move.

5. scientists
Answer: (G) People who like to learn about the world and figure out how things work.

6. Merlin Bird ID
Answer: (H) A special name for a helper that knows a lot about birds.

7. iNaturalist
Answer: (F) A name for a helper that knows a lot about living things you find outside.

8. animal
Answer: (C) A creature that might have fur, feathers, or scales and is not a person.

9. plant
Answer: (I) Something that grows in the dirt, can be green, and sometimes has flowers.

10. picture
Answer: (B) A photo or image that shows what something looks like.
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did Ted make?
Answer: (a) A computer helper

2. How does the computer helper for whales know who the whale is?
Answer: (b) It looks at the whale’s tail

3. What can the computer helper for birds do?
Answer: (c) Tell you what kind of bird it is

4. How does the bird helper know what kind of bird it is?
Answer: (d) It looks at the picture or listens to the song

5. What does the iNaturalist helper do?
Answer: (c) It tells what kind of animal or plant is in a picture

6. Who thinks the helpers can make people care more about animals and plants?
Answer: (a) Grant

7. Why do people put pictures of whales on the website?
Answer: (d) So the computer helper can tell who the whale is

8. How does the iNaturalist helper get smarter?
Answer: (b) As people use it more
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The iNaturalist helper does not get smarter as more people use it. (Answer: False)
2. Grant, a man who helped make iNaturalist, believes that these helpers can make people care more about animals and plants. (Answer: True)
3. These computer helpers are useful for people who like birds, whales, and want to help them. (Answer: True)
4. Another computer helper called iNaturalist cannot identify animals or plants in a picture. (Answer: False)
5. A man named Ted made a computer helper that cannot recognize different whales by looking at their tails. (Answer: False)
6. The computer helper for birds is called Merlin Bird ID and it can identify birds by their pictures or songs. (Answer: True)
7. Scientists cannot learn about where birds live and fly by using the Merlin Bird ID and sharing more information about the birds. (Answer: False)
8. People can put pictures of whales on a website and the computer helper will tell them the whale’s name and where it has been before. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧