A lady named Sue has a dog named Teasel. Teasel found some baby cats with no mom and started to take care of them. She cleaned them and gave them milk. The lady wanted to take the baby cats to a place that helps cats, but Teasel wanted to keep them. Now Teasel is like their mom.

Sometimes animals take care of babies that are not like them. A smart person named Dr. Rachel says animals do this because of something in their brains. They see something in the babies that makes them want to help. This is strange but can be good. When the baby cats grow up, they will go to new homes.

Original news source: Why did a dog in Newmarket end up nursing a litter of kittens? (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Prepare small slips of paper with words related to the article such as ‘dog’, ‘cat’, ‘milk’, ‘clean’, ‘baby’, and ‘help’. Students take turns acting out these words without speaking, while their classmates guess the word. This activity encourages students to associate English vocabulary with physical actions and concepts.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. One student acts as a news reporter, and the other acts as the lady, Sue, or the dog, Teasel. Using simple English, the reporter will interview their partner about the story of Teasel and the baby cats. Encourage the use of past tense and emotional adjectives.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write a series of statements about the article on the board, such as “Animals should help other animals” or “Teasel should have given the baby cats to the shelter”. Students will walk around the room and sign their names under the statements they agree with. Afterwards, discuss the results as a class, encouraging students to use phrases like “I think” and “I believe”.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Provide the students with paper and pencils. Read sentences from the article aloud, one at a time, and have the students draw what they hear. This activity helps with listening comprehension and allows students to visually connect English words with their meanings.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write key vocabulary words from the article on cards, such as ‘take care’, ‘clean’, ‘milk’, ‘grow up’, and ‘new homes’. Students take turns drawing the words on the board while the rest of the class tries to guess the word. This reinforces vocabulary understanding and usage in a fun and interactive way.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What is the name of the lady who has a dog?
2. What is the dog’s name?
3. What did Teasel find?
4. What did Teasel do for the baby cats?
5. Where did the lady want to take the baby cats?
6. Who is like a mom to the baby cats now?
7. What does Dr. Rachel say about why animals take care of babies that are not like them?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A (1)______ named Sue has a dog named Teasel. Teasel (2)______ some baby cats with no mom and started to take care of them. She cleaned them and gave them milk. The lady (3)______ to take the baby (4)______ to a place that helps cats, but Teasel wanted to keep them. Now Teasel is like their mom.

Sometimes animals take care of babies that are not like them. A smart person (5)______ Dr. Rachel says animals do this because of something in their (6)______. They see something in the babies that makes them want to help. This is (7)______ but can be (8)______. When the baby cats grow up, they will go to new homes.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a dog?
2. Do you like cats or dogs more? Why?
3. Have you ever seen a dog take care of a cat?
4. How would you feel if you found baby cats with no mom?
5. Would you want to help baby animals? Why or why not?
6. What would you do if your pet wanted to keep the baby animals?
7. Do you think it is good when animals take care of other animals? Why?
8. What is a mom?
9. Can you be a mom or dad to a pet? How?
10. Do you think baby animals are cute? Why do you think so?
11. Have you ever taken care of a baby animal? What did you do?
12. Would you like to have a pet like Teasel? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. lady
2. dog
3. baby
4. cats
5. mom
6. animals
7. brains
8. homes

Meanings:
(a) A female parent
(b) A grown-up woman
(c) A very young child
(d) Places where people live
(e) Creatures like dogs and cats
(f) An animal that barks
(g) The thing inside your head that helps you think
(h) Small furry pets that say “meow”
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the lady in the story?
(a) Rachel
(b) Emily
(c) Jessica
(d) Sue

2. What is the name of the dog in the story?
(a) Max
(b) Teasel
(c) Buddy
(d) Bella

3. What did Teasel do when she found the baby cats?
(a) Ignored them
(b) Ran away
(c) Took care of them
(d) Barked at them

4. Why did the lady want to take the baby cats to a place that helps cats?
(a) Because she didn’t like them
(b) Because Teasel told her to
(c) Because they needed help
(d) Because she wanted to keep them

5. Why did Teasel want to keep the baby cats?
(a) Because she wanted to take care of them
(b) Because she didn’t like them
(c) Because the lady told her to
(d) Because she was scared of them

6. What does Dr. Rachel say is the reason animals take care of babies that are not like them?
(a) Something in their hearts
(b) Something in their paws
(c) Something in their tails
(d) Something in their brains

7. What will happen to the baby cats when they grow up?
(a) They will go to new homes
(b) They will stay with Teasel
(c) They will go to the zoo
(d) They will run away

8. What did the baby cats drink from Teasel?
(a) Water
(b) Milk
(c) Juice
(d) Soda

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Teasel did not want to keep the baby cats.
2. Dr. Rachel says animals help babies because of something in their brains.
3. The lady did not want to take the baby cats to a place that helps cats.
4. Sue has a dog named Teasel.
5. Teasel started to take care of the baby cats.
6. Teasel did not find any baby cats with no mom.
7. Teasel is like the mom of the baby cats now.
8. When the baby cats grow up, they will not go to new homes.
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 Teasel find?
2. What did Teasel do for the baby cats?
3. What did Sue want to do with the baby cats?
4. Who is taking care of the baby cats now?
5. Why does Dr. Rachel think animals take care of babies that are not like them?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What is the name of the lady who has a dog?
The lady’s name is Sue.

2. What is the dog’s name?
The dog’s name is Teasel.

3. What did Teasel find?
Teasel found some baby cats with no mom.

4. What did Teasel do for the baby cats?
Teasel cleaned them and gave them milk.

5. Where did the lady want to take the baby cats?
The lady wanted to take the baby cats to a place that helps cats.

6. Who is like a mom to the baby cats now?
Teasel is like their mom now.

7. What does Dr. Rachel say about why animals take care of babies that are not like them?
Dr. Rachel says animals do this because something in their brains makes them want to help.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) lady
(2) found
(3) wanted
(4) cats
(5) named
(6) brains
(7) strange
(8) good
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. lady
Answer: (b) A grown-up woman

2. dog
Answer: (f) An animal that barks

3. baby
Answer: (c) A very young child

4. cats
Answer: (h) Small furry pets that say “meow”

5. mom
Answer: (a) A female parent

6. animals
Answer: (e) Creatures like dogs and cats

7. brains
Answer: (g) The thing inside your head that helps you think

8. homes
Answer: (d) Places where people live
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the lady in the story?
Answer: (d) Sue

2. What is the name of the dog in the story?
Answer: (b) Teasel

3. What did Teasel do when she found the baby cats?
Answer: (c) Took care of them

4. Why did the lady want to take the baby cats to a place that helps cats?
Answer: (c) Because they needed help

5. Why did Teasel want to keep the baby cats?
Answer: (a) Because she wanted to take care of them

6. What does Dr. Rachel say is the reason animals take care of babies that are not like them?
Answer: (d) Something in their brains

7. What will happen to the baby cats when they grow up?
Answer: (a) They will go to new homes

8. What did the baby cats drink from Teasel?
Answer: (b) Milk
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Teasel did not want to keep the baby cats. (Answer: False)
2. Dr. Rachel says animals help babies because of something in their brains. (Answer: True)
3. The lady did not want to take the baby cats to a place that helps cats. (Answer: False)
4. Sue has a dog named Teasel. (Answer: True)
5. Teasel started to take care of the baby cats. (Answer: True)
6. Teasel did not find any baby cats with no mom. (Answer: False)
7. Teasel is like the mom of the baby cats now. (Answer: True)
8. When the baby cats grow up, they will not go to new homes. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧