Big, furry animals called mountain gorillas live in Uganda, but they are in trouble because the weather is getting too warm. This is not good for their homes or their bodies. A very kind doctor who helps animals, named Gladys, is trying to keep them safe. She has helped so many gorillas that there are more of them now than before. She is on a special list of women who do great things because she helps these animals.

Gladys works with a group that helps both people and animals stay healthy and live together without problems. She has been working hard for many years to make sure there are more gorillas. But because the weather is changing in bad ways, the gorillas still need help. We need to find ways to keep the gorillas and their homes safe. Gladys and other women like her show us that we can help save animals and the places they live if we try.

Original news source: Climate change: Saving Uganda’s mountain gorillas (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of animal flashcards, including a gorilla card. Each group takes turns acting out the animals on their flashcards while the rest of the class guesses what animal they are. The group with the most correct guesses wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: Read the article aloud to the class. Then, ask the students to write a short summary of the article in their own words. Encourage them to use simple sentences and focus on the main idea. After they finish writing, have a few students share their summaries with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board, such as “gorilla,” “doctor,” “animals,” “weather,” “help,” etc. Divide the class into pairs. One student from each pair comes to the front of the class and chooses a word from the list. They have to draw a picture on the board to represent the word, while their partner tries to guess the word. The pair with the most correct guesses wins.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Ask the students to think about and write down one way they can help protect the gorillas and their homes. Then, have them pair up with a partner and share their ideas. After they have discussed with their partner, ask a few students to share their ideas with the whole class.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: Have each student come up with two true statements and one false statement about the article and write them down. Then, have the students take turns sharing their statements with the class. The rest of the class has to guess which statement is the lie. This activity helps students practice their listening skills and comprehension of the article.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Where do the mountain gorillas live?
2. Why are the mountain gorillas in trouble?
3. Who is Gladys and what does she do?
4. Why is Gladys on a special list?
5. What does Gladys do to help both people and animals?
6. Why do the gorillas still need help even though Gladys is working hard?
7. What can we learn from Gladys and other women like her?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Big, furry animals called mountain gorillas live in Uganda, but they are in (1)______ because the weather is getting too warm. This is not good for their (2)______ or their bodies. A very kind doctor who helps animals, named Gladys, is (3)______ to keep them safe. She has (4)______ so many gorillas that there are more of them now than before. She is on a special list of women who do great things because she helps these animals.

Gladys works with a group that helps both people and (5)______ stay healthy and live together without problems. She has been working hard for many years to make sure there are more gorillas. But because the (6)______ is changing in bad ways, the gorillas still need help. We need to find ways to (7)______ the gorillas and their homes safe. Gladys and (8)______ women like her show us that we can help save animals and the places they live if we try.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a mountain gorilla?
2. How would you feel if your home was getting too warm?
3. Do you like animals? Why or why not?
4. What do you think Gladys does to help the gorillas?
5. How would you feel if you saw a gorilla in real life?
6. Do you think it’s important to help animals? Why or why not?
7. What are some ways we can keep animals and their homes safe?
8. Have you ever seen a gorilla before? Where?
9. Do you know any other animals that live in Uganda?
10. How do you think the weather changing can affect animals?
11. What can we learn from Gladys and other women like her?
12. Why do you think it’s important to have more gorillas?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. mountain
2. gorillas
3. weather
4. warm
5. homes
6. doctor
7. animals
8. safe

Meanings:
(a) Big, furry animals that live in the mountains
(b) Living things that are not people
(c) Big, tall land with rocks and trees
(d) Not in danger or harm
(e) Not cold, but not hot either
(f) The condition of the air outside
(g) The places where you live
(h) A person who helps sick people and animals
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where do mountain gorillas live?
(a) Russia
(b) Uganda
(c) Spain
(d) Germany

2. Why are mountain gorillas in trouble?
(a) They have too many friends
(b) They don’t like their homes
(c) The weather is getting too warm
(d) They are too big

3. Who is helping the gorillas?
(a) Gladys, a kind doctor
(b) A group of children
(c) The government of Uganda
(d) Nobody

4. What does Gladys do to help the gorillas?
(a) She helps them stay safe
(b) She gives them food
(c) She teaches them to read
(d) She plays with them

5. How many gorillas are there now compared to before?
(a) Less of them now than before
(b) More of them now than before
(c) The same number as before
(d) Nobody knows

6. What does Gladys work with?
(a) A group that builds houses for gorillas
(b) A group that makes clothes for gorillas
(c) A group that teaches gorillas to dance
(d) A group that helps people and animals stay healthy

7. Why do the gorillas still need help?
(a) Because they don’t like people
(b) Because they are too lazy
(c) Because the weather is changing in bad ways
(d) Because they have too much food

8. What do Gladys and other women show us?
(a) That we should be afraid of gorillas
(b) That we should stay away from animals
(c) That we should never help animals
(d) That we can help save animals and the places they live

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The weather getting too cold is causing trouble for the mountain gorillas.
2. Gladys is on a special list of women who do great things.
3. Gladys has not helped any gorillas, so there are now less of them than before.
4. There are no big, furry animals called mountain gorillas in Uganda.
5. Gladys and other women like her show us that we cannot help save animals and their homes even if we try.
6. Gladys works with a group that helps both people and animals stay healthy and live together without problems.
7. The weather changing in bad ways is still causing problems for the gorillas.
8. Gladys is a kind doctor who helps animals.
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. Who is trying to keep the mountain gorillas safe?
2. What is happening to the weather in Uganda?
3. What does Gladys do to help the gorillas?
4. Why do the gorillas need help?
5. What can we do to help save the gorillas and their homes?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Where do the mountain gorillas live?
The mountain gorillas live in Uganda.

2. Why are the mountain gorillas in trouble?
The mountain gorillas are in trouble because the weather is getting too warm.

3. Who is Gladys and what does she do?
Gladys is a kind doctor who helps animals. She helps the mountain gorillas and other animals.

4. Why is Gladys on a special list?
Gladys is on a special list because she does great things by helping the animals.

5. What does Gladys do to help both people and animals?
Gladys works with a group that helps people and animals stay healthy and live together without problems.

6. Why do the gorillas still need help even though Gladys is working hard?
The gorillas still need help because the weather is changing in bad ways and their homes are not safe.

7. What can we learn from Gladys and other women like her?
We can learn that we can help save animals and the places they live if we try.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) trouble
(2) homes
(3) trying
(4) helped
(5) animals
(6) weather
(7) keep
(8) other
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. mountain
Answer: (c) Big, tall land with rocks and trees

2. gorillas
Answer: (a) Big, furry animals that live in the mountains

3. weather
Answer: (f) The condition of the air outside

4. warm
Answer: (e) Not cold, but not hot either

5. homes
Answer: (g) The places where you live

6. doctor
Answer: (h) A person who helps sick people and animals

7. animals
Answer: (b) Living things that are not people

8. safe
Answer: (d) Not in danger or harm
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where do mountain gorillas live?
Answer: (b) Uganda

2. Why are mountain gorillas in trouble?
Answer: (c) The weather is getting too warm

3. Who is helping the gorillas?
Answer: (a) Gladys, a kind doctor

4. What does Gladys do to help the gorillas?
Answer: (a) She helps them stay safe

5. How many gorillas are there now compared to before?
Answer: (b) More of them now than before

6. What does Gladys work with?
Answer: (d) A group that helps people and animals stay healthy

7. Why do the gorillas still need help?
Answer: (c) Because the weather is changing in bad ways

8. What do Gladys and other women show us?
Answer: (d) That we can help save animals and the places they live
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The weather getting too cold is causing trouble for the mountain gorillas. (Answer: False)
2. Gladys is on a special list of women who do great things. (Answer: True)
3. Gladys has not helped any gorillas, so there are now less of them than before. (Answer: False)
4. There are no big, furry animals called mountain gorillas in Uganda. (Answer: False)
5. Gladys and other women like her show us that we cannot help save animals and their homes even if we try. (Answer: False)
6. Gladys works with a group that helps both people and animals stay healthy and live together without problems. (Answer: True)
7. The weather changing in bad ways is still causing problems for the gorillas. (Answer: True)
8. Gladys is a kind doctor who helps animals. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧