Four people in Los Angeles were caught by the police for trying to trick insurance companies. They wore a big bear costume to pretend a bear damaged their cars. They wanted to get a lot of money from the insurance companies. The people involved are named Ruben, Ararat, Vahe, and Alfiya. They made the companies lose over $140,000.

The police called their investigation “Operation Bear Claw.” They started looking into it when they saw something strange in a video. The video showed a “bear” going into a fancy car and making scratches. But the police found out it was just a person in a bear costume. They even found the costume with claws and a furry head in the suspects’ home.

Original news source: They told insurers a bear damaged their car. But it was actually a person in a costume (NPR)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– CHARADES
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. One student from each group will act out scenes from the article without speaking, while their group members guess what it is. For example, they can act out “wearing a bear costume” or “a police investigation.”

– VOCABULARY PICTIONARY
Instructions: Write key vocabulary words from the article (e.g., “insurance,” “bear,” “police,” “costume”) on the board. Students take turns drawing a word while their classmates guess what it is. This will help them learn and remember important terms.

– HEADLINE CREATION
Instructions: Have students work in pairs to create a catchy headline for the article. They can share their headlines with the class, and the teacher can guide them on making it more engaging or correct if needed.

– OPINION POLL
Instructions: Ask students if they think it is right or wrong to pretend a bear damaged a car. Have them raise their hands for “right” or “wrong” and then share their opinions in pairs. This promotes speaking and listening skills.

– PASS THE STORY
Instructions: Start a story about the article and pass it around the room. Each student adds one sentence to the story based on the information they remember from the article. This encourages creativity and reinforces comprehension.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Where did the four people get caught by the police?
2. What did the people wear to trick the insurance companies?
3. What did they pretend a bear did to their cars?
4. How much money did the people try to get from the insurance companies?
5. What did the police call their investigation?
6. What did the police see in the video that was strange?
7. What did the police find in the suspects’ home?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Four (1)______ in Los Angeles were caught by the police for trying to (2)______ insurance companies. They wore a big bear costume to pretend a bear damaged their cars. They wanted to get a lot of (3)______ from the insurance companies. The people involved are named Ruben, (4)______, Vahe, and Alfiya. They made the companies lose over $140,000.

The police called their investigation “Operation Bear Claw.” They (5)______ looking into it when they saw something strange in a video. The video (6)______ a “bear” going into a fancy car and making (7)______. But the (8)______ found out it was just a person in a bear costume. They even found the costume with claws and a furry head in the suspects’ home.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a bear?
2. Do you like bears? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if you saw a bear?
4. Do you think it is funny to wear a bear costume? Why?
5. What is insurance?
6. Do you think it is okay to trick people? Why or why not?
7. How would you feel if someone tricked you?
8. Do you think it is good to follow rules? Why?
9. What would you do if you saw someone in a funny costume?
10. Do you like to dress up? What do you like to wear?
11. How would you feel if you lost a lot of money?
12. Do you think it is important to be honest? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. trick
2. costume
3. pretend
4. damaged
5. money
6. investigation
7. strange
8. scratches
9. suspects
10. fancy

Meanings:
(A) To fool someone or play a joke
(B) Clothes you wear to look like someone or something else
(C) To act like something is real when it is not
(D) Broken or hurt
(E) Coins and paper you use to buy things
(F) Looking into something to find out the truth
(G) Something that is not normal or usual
(H) Marks made by something sharp
(I) People who might have done something wrong
(J) Very nice and expensive-looking
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where did the people wear a bear costume?
(a) New York
(b) Chicago
(c) Miami
(d) Los Angeles

2. What did the people pretend a bear did to their cars?
(a) Danced on them
(b) Cleaned them
(c) Painted them
(d) Damaged them

3. How many people were caught by the police?
(a) Four
(b) Two
(c) Five
(d) Three

4. What was the name of the police investigation?
(a) Operation Bear Hug
(b) Operation Bear Claw
(c) Operation Bear Dance
(d) Operation Bear Run

5. How much money did the people want from the insurance companies?
(a) Over $50,000
(b) Over $140,000
(c) Over $10,000
(d) Over $1,000

6. What did the police see in the video?
(a) A dog playing with a ball
(b) A cat sleeping
(c) A bear going into a car
(d) A bird flying

7. What did the police find in the suspects’ home?
(a) A toy car
(b) A real bear
(c) A bear costume
(d) A big cake

8. What were the names of the people involved?
(a) Ruben, Ararat, Vahe, and Alfiya
(b) John, Mike, Sarah, and Emma
(c) Tom, Jerry, Spike, and Max
(d) Anna, Lisa, Kate, and Zoe

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The police called their investigation “Operation Bear Paw.”
2. The people wanted to get money from the insurance companies.
3. They made the insurance companies lose over $140,000.
4. Their names are Gilberto, Ararat, Vahe, and Alfiya.
5. The video showed a bear scratching a car.
6. The police saw something strange in a video.
7. They wore a bear costume to trick insurance companies.
8. Three people in Los Angeles were caught by the police.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
Check your answers with our free English writing assistant!

1. What did the people in Los Angeles wear to trick the insurance companies?
2. What did they pretend the bear did to their cars?
3. How much money did the people make the insurance companies lose?
4. What did the police call their investigation?
5. Where did the police find the bear costume?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Where did the four people get caught by the police?
They got caught in Los Angeles.

2. What did the people wear to trick the insurance companies?
They wore a big bear costume.

3. What did they pretend a bear did to their cars?
They pretended a bear scratched their cars.

4. How much money did the people try to get from the insurance companies?
They tried to get over $140,000.

5. What did the police call their investigation?
They called it “Operation Bear Claw.”

6. What did the police see in the video that was strange?
They saw a “bear” going into a fancy car.

7. What did the police find in the suspects’ home?
They found the bear costume with claws and a furry head.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) people
(2) trick
(3) money
(4) Ararat
(5) started
(6) showed
(7) scratches
(8) police
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. trick
Answer: (B) To fool someone or play a joke

2. costume
Answer: (C) Clothes you wear to look like someone or something else

3. pretend
Answer: (D) To act like something is real when it is not

4. damaged
Answer: (H) Broken or hurt

5. money
Answer: (J) Coins and paper you use to buy things

6. investigation
Answer: (A) Looking into something to find out the truth

7. strange
Answer: (F) Something that is not normal or usual

8. scratches
Answer: (I) Marks made by something sharp

9. suspects
Answer: (G) People who might have done something wrong

10. fancy
Answer: (E) Very nice and expensive-looking
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where did the people wear a bear costume?
Answer: (d) Los Angeles

2. What did the people pretend a bear did to their cars?
Answer: (d) Damaged them

3. How many people were caught by the police?
Answer: (a) Four

4. What was the name of the police investigation?
Answer: (b) Operation Bear Claw

5. How much money did the people want from the insurance companies?
Answer: (b) Over $140,000

6. What did the police see in the video?
Answer: (c) A bear going into a car

7. What did the police find in the suspects’ home?
Answer: (c) A bear costume

8. What were the names of the people involved?
Answer: (a) Ruben, Ararat, Vahe, and Alfiya
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The police called their investigation “Operation Bear Paw.” (Answer: False)
2. The people wanted to get money from the insurance companies. (Answer: True)
3. They made the insurance companies lose over $140,000. (Answer: True)
4. Their names are Gilberto, Ararat, Vahe, and Alfiya. (Answer: False)
5. The video showed a bear scratching a car. (Answer: False)
6. The police saw something strange in a video. (Answer: True)
7. They wore a bear costume to trick insurance companies. (Answer: True)
8. Three people in Los Angeles were caught by the police. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧