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)
π§ Listen:
π 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.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
They got caught in Los Angeles.
They wore a big bear costume.
They pretended a bear scratched their cars.
They tried to get over $140,000.
They called it "Operation Bear Claw."
They saw a "bear" going into a fancy car.
They found the bear costume with claws and a furry head.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Four in Los Angeles were caught by the police for trying to insurance companies. They wore a big bear costume to pretend a bear damaged their cars. They wanted to get a lot of from the insurance companies. The people involved are named Ruben, , Vahe, and Alfiya. They made the companies lose over $140,000. The police called their investigation "Operation Bear Claw." They looking into it when they saw something strange in a video. The video a "bear" going into a fancy car and making . But the 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.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
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
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.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!
