There is a video on the internet that a lot of people are watching. It shows guinea pigs living in a very fancy house made just for them. This house has cool air for hot days and even room service, which means they get their food brought to them. Over 140 guinea pigs live there, and they all have their own names and special personalities. They eat big plates of veggies and sleep in cozy beds made just for them.

Lots of people like watching these videos because they love seeing animals living in fancy ways. The videos are on a website called TikTok, and many people have seen them. The people who made the videos, Sophie and Mark Mason, want to show how important it is to take good care of pets. They made a very nice place for their guinea pigs to live. These videos make people happy and teach them about being kind to animals.

Original news source: Guinea pigs in luxury shed become TikTok hit (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 slip of paper with a word related to the article (e.g. guinea pig, fancy house, room service). One student from each group will act out the word without speaking, while the others try to guess what word it is.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word “guinea pig” on the board. Have the students take turns saying a word that they associate with guinea pigs (e.g. pet, cute, furry). Encourage them to explain why they made that association.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Give each student a slip of paper with a vocabulary word from the article (e.g. cozy, veggies, personalities). Have them draw a picture to represent the word, without using any letters or numbers. The rest of the class must guess the word based on the drawing.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Each pair will take turns summarizing the main points of the article in 1 minute or less. Encourage them to use their own words and to focus on the most important information.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: Have each student come up with two true statements and one false statement related to the article (e.g. I have seen the video on TikTok, I have a pet guinea pig, I have visited Sophie and Mark Mason’s house). In small groups, the students will take turns sharing their statements and the group must guess which statement is false.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What is the video about?
2. What kind of house do the guinea pigs live in?
3. How many guinea pigs live in the house?
4. What do the guinea pigs eat?
5. Where can you watch these videos?
6. Why do people like watching the videos?
7. What do Sophie and Mark want to teach people with their videos?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

There is a video on the internet that a lot of (1)______ are watching. It shows guinea pigs living in a very fancy house made just for them. This house has cool air for hot days and even room (2)______, which means they get their food brought to them. Over 140 guinea pigs live there, and they all (3)______ their own (4)______ and special personalities. They eat big plates of veggies and sleep in cozy beds made just for them.

Lots of people like (5)______ these videos because they love seeing animals living in (6)______ ways. The videos are on a website called TikTok, and many people have seen them. The people who made the videos, Sophie and Mark Mason, want to show how important it is to take (7)______ care of pets. They made a very nice place for their guinea pigs to (8)______. These videos make people happy and teach them about being kind to animals.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a guinea pig?
2. How do you think the guinea pigs feel living in a fancy house?
3. Do you like watching videos of animals living in fancy ways? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you had room service and your food brought to you?
5. Do you think it’s important to take good care of pets? Why or why not?
6. What kind of food do you think guinea pigs eat?
7. How do you think the guinea pigs feel sleeping in cozy beds made just for them?
8. Have you ever seen a guinea pig before? What did it look like?
9. Do you have any pets? What kind of pets do you have?
10. How do you think the guinea pigs feel when people watch their videos?
11. What is TikTok? Have you ever used it?
12. How do you think the guinea pigs feel when they see Sophie and Mark Mason?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. internet
2. guinea pigs
3. fancy
4. air
5. room service
6. personalities
7. veggies
8. cozy
9. TikTok
10. pets

Meanings:
(A) What we breathe in and out
(B) Warm and comfortable
(C) The way someone or something acts, like being shy or funny
(D) When food is brought to your room
(E) Very nice and pretty
(F) Green food that grows in the ground, like carrots and lettuce
(G) A place on the phone where you can watch short videos
(H) A place where you can see lots of things on a computer or phone
(I) Small, cute animals that squeak
(J) Animals that live with us in our homes
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the video about?
(a) Dogs playing in the park
(b) Guinea pigs living in a fancy house
(c) Cats sleeping in a tree
(d) Birds flying in the sky

2. How many guinea pigs live in the fancy house?
(a) Over 140
(b) Only 1
(c) 10
(d) None

3. What is room service?
(a) When you clean your room
(b) When you go to sleep
(c) When food is brought to you
(d) When you watch TV

4. Why do people like watching these videos?
(a) Because they like watching cars drive fast
(b) Because they love seeing animals living in fancy ways
(c) Because they enjoy listening to music
(d) Because they like playing video games

5. Where can you find these videos?
(a) On YouTube
(b) On Facebook
(c) On Instagram
(d) On TikTok

6. Who made the videos?
(a) Sophie and Mark Mason
(b) Emma and John Smith
(c) Lily and David Johnson
(d) Mia and James Brown

7. What do the videos teach people about?
(a) Cooking delicious food
(b) Playing sports
(c) Fixing cars
(d) Being kind to animals

8. What do the guinea pigs eat?
(a) Pizza and hamburgers
(b) Ice cream and cake
(c) Big plates of veggies
(d) Fish and chips

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The guinea pigs in the video get their food brought to them.
2. There is no video on the internet that shows guinea pigs living in a fancy house.
3. Each guinea pig in the fancy house has their own name and special personality.
4. The guinea pigs in the video sleep on hard beds made just for them.
5. The guinea pigs in the video eat small plates of veggies.
6. The guinea pig house has cool air for hot days.
7. The people who made the videos want to teach others about being unkind to animals.
8. There are over 140 guinea pigs living in the fancy house.
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 is the video about?
2. How many guinea pigs live in the fancy house?
3. What is special about the house for the guinea pigs?
4. Why do lots of people like watching the videos?
5. What do Sophie and Mark Mason want to teach people with their videos?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What is the video about?
The video is about guinea pigs living in a fancy house.

2. What kind of house do the guinea pigs live in?
The guinea pigs live in a fancy house made just for them.

3. How many guinea pigs live in the house?
Over 140 guinea pigs live in the house.

4. What do the guinea pigs eat?
The guinea pigs eat big plates of veggies.

5. Where can you watch these videos?
You can watch these videos on TikTok.

6. Why do people like watching the videos?
People like watching the videos because they love seeing animals living in fancy ways.

7. What do Sophie and Mark want to teach people with their videos?
Sophie and Mark want to teach people about being kind to animals.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) people
(2) service
(3) have
(4) names
(5) watching
(6) fancy
(7) good
(8) live
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. internet
Answer: (H) A place where you can see lots of things on a computer or phone

2. guinea pigs
Answer: (I) Small, cute animals that squeak

3. fancy
Answer: (E) Very nice and pretty

4. air
Answer: (A) What we breathe in and out

5. room service
Answer: (D) When food is brought to your room

6. personalities
Answer: (C) The way someone or something acts, like being shy or funny

7. veggies
Answer: (F) Green food that grows in the ground, like carrots and lettuce

8. cozy
Answer: (B) Warm and comfortable

9. TikTok
Answer: (G) A place on the phone where you can watch short videos

10. pets
Answer: (J) Animals that live with us in our homes
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the video about?
Answer: (b) Guinea pigs living in a fancy house

2. How many guinea pigs live in the fancy house?
Answer: (a) Over 140

3. What is room service?
Answer: (c) When food is brought to you

4. Why do people like watching these videos?
Answer: (b) Because they love seeing animals living in fancy ways

5. Where can you find these videos?
Answer: (d) On TikTok

6. Who made the videos?
Answer: (a) Sophie and Mark Mason

7. What do the videos teach people about?
Answer: (d) Being kind to animals

8. What do the guinea pigs eat?
Answer: (c) Big plates of veggies
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The guinea pigs in the video get their food brought to them. (Answer: True)
2. There is no video on the internet that shows guinea pigs living in a fancy house. (Answer: False)
3. Each guinea pig in the fancy house has their own name and special personality. (Answer: True)
4. The guinea pigs in the video sleep on hard beds made just for them. (Answer: False)
5. The guinea pigs in the video eat small plates of veggies. (Answer: False)
6. The guinea pig house has cool air for hot days. (Answer: True)
7. The people who made the videos want to teach others about being unkind to animals. (Answer: False)
8. There are over 140 guinea pigs living in the fancy house. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧