A big airplane got stuck under a small bridge in a place called Motihari in India. The airplane was very old and not flying anymore. It was on a big truck going from one city to another. Some people who drive trucks helped to get the airplane out. Now, many people are watching the video of the airplane under the bridge and talking about it.

No one knows how the airplane got stuck, but the bridge was too low for it. In the video, you can see the airplane moving back slowly. It looks like they got the airplane out after some time. This funny thing that happened shows it can be hard to move big things like airplanes. People need to plan better so this does not happen.

Original news source: Ex-Air India scrap plane gets stuck under bridge in Bihar (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team will act out a word or phrase related to the article (e.g. airplane, bridge, stuck) without speaking. The team members will try to guess the word or phrase within a time limit. The team that guesses correctly gets a point.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Give each student a piece of paper and a pencil. Choose a vocabulary word from the article (e.g. airplane, bridge, stuck) and ask the students to draw a picture representing that word. The rest of the class will try to guess the word based on the drawing.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. One student will have 1 minute to summarize the article to their partner, using their own words. Then, the roles will switch and the other student will have 1 minute to summarize. Encourage the use of key vocabulary words from the article.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Ask the students to think about and write down their opinion on the airplane getting stuck under the bridge. Then, have them pair up and share their opinions with their partner. Finally, ask a few students to share their partner’s opinion with the whole class.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: Each student will write down two true statements and one false statement related to the article. They will then take turns sharing their statements with a partner, who has to guess which statement is the lie. Encourage the use of vocabulary words from the article in the statements.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the airplane in Motihari, India?
2. How did the people get the airplane out from under the bridge?
3. Why was the airplane not flying anymore?
4. What are people doing with the video of the airplane under the bridge?
5. Why was the airplane stuck under the bridge?
6. How did the airplane finally get out from under the bridge?
7. Why is it important for people to plan better when moving big things like airplanes?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A big airplane got (1)______ under a small bridge in a place called Motihari in India. The airplane was very old and not (2)______ anymore. It was on a big truck going from one city to another. Some people who drive (3)______ helped to get the airplane out. Now, (4)______ people are watching the video of the airplane under the bridge and talking about it.

No one (5)______ how the airplane got stuck, but the (6)______ was too low for it. In the video, you can see the airplane moving back slowly. It looks like they got the airplane out after some time. This funny thing that (7)______ shows it can be hard to (8)______ big things like airplanes. People need to plan better so this does not happen.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is an airplane?
2. Have you ever seen an airplane before? Where?
3. How do you think the airplane got stuck under the bridge?
4. How would you feel if you were driving the truck with the airplane and it got stuck?
5. Do you think it is easy or hard to move big things like airplanes? Why or why not?
6. Have you ever seen a big truck before? Where?
7. Do you like watching videos? What kind of videos do you like to watch?
8. What do you think the people watching the video are saying about the airplane?
9. Do you think the people who helped get the airplane out did a good job? Why or why not?
10. What would you do if you saw an airplane stuck under a bridge?
11. Do you think the airplane will be able to fly again? Why or why not?
12. If you were in charge, how would you plan to move the airplane without getting it stuck?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. airplane
2. bridge
3. Motihari
4. truck
5. video
6. slowly
7. funny
8. plan
9. shows
10. talking

Meanings:
(A) To think about what you will do before you do it
(B) Something that makes you laugh or smile
(C) A big car that can carry lots of things
(D) Something built to go over water or roads, usually for cars or people to cross
(E) A way to watch something that happened, like a little movie on a phone or computer
(F) Not fast, like when you walk without hurrying
(G) When you use words to tell someone about something
(H) A name of a place where people live and play
(I) A big thing that flies in the sky, but this one could not fly
(J) When you let people see something, like a teacher showing a picture in a book
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where did the airplane get stuck?
(a) In a city
(b) On a truck
(c) In the sky
(d) Under a bridge

2. What country did this happen in?
(a) France
(b) Spain
(c) India
(d) Germany

3. What was the condition of the airplane?
(a) Very old and not flying anymore
(b) Brand new and ready to fly
(c) Small and fast
(d) Big and blue

4. Who helped get the airplane out?
(a) People who fly airplanes
(b) People who ride bicycles
(c) People who drive trucks
(d) People who walk

5. What did people do after watching the video?
(a) Ignored it
(b) Talked about it
(c) Forgot about it
(d) Cried about it

6. Why did the airplane get stuck?
(a) The airplane was too big
(b) The bridge was too low
(c) The truck was too slow
(d) The city was too crowded

7. How did they get the airplane out?
(a) They flew it out
(b) They broke the bridge
(c) They left it there
(d) They moved it back slowly

8. What can people learn from this?
(a) They need to plan better
(b) They need to build taller bridges
(c) They need to buy more airplanes
(d) They need to stop driving trucks

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The airplane was being transported on a big truck from one city to another.
2. The airplane was brand new and still flying.
3. Many people are watching a video of the airplane under the bridge and talking about it.
4. No people who drive trucks helped to get the airplane out from under the bridge.
5. It is not known how the airplane got stuck, but the bridge was too low for it.
6. A big airplane got stuck under a small bridge in India.
7. This serious incident shows that it is easy to move big things like airplanes and people do not need to plan better to avoid such situations.
8. In the video, the airplane cannot be seen slowly moving back.
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 happened to the airplane in the story?
2. Who helped get the airplane out from under the bridge?
3. Was the airplane flying or not flying anymore?
4. Why do people need to plan better when moving big things?
5. What are people doing after watching the video of the airplane under the bridge?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the airplane in Motihari, India?
The airplane got stuck under a small bridge in Motihari, India.

2. How did the people get the airplane out from under the bridge?
Some people who drive trucks helped to get the airplane out.

3. Why was the airplane not flying anymore?
The airplane was very old and not working anymore.

4. What are people doing with the video of the airplane under the bridge?
People are watching the video and talking about it.

5. Why was the airplane stuck under the bridge?
The bridge was too low for the airplane.

6. How did the airplane finally get out from under the bridge?
The airplane moved back slowly and they got it out after some time.

7. Why is it important for people to plan better when moving big things like airplanes?
It is important to plan better so that accidents like this don’t happen and things can be moved safely.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) stuck
(2) flying
(3) trucks
(4) many
(5) knows
(6) bridge
(7) happened
(8) move
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. airplane
Answer: (I) A big thing that flies in the sky, but this one could not fly

2. bridge
Answer: (D) Something built to go over water or roads, usually for cars or people to cross

3. Motihari
Answer: (H) A name of a place where people live and play

4. truck
Answer: (C) A big car that can carry lots of things

5. video
Answer: (E) A way to watch something that happened, like a little movie on a phone or computer

6. slowly
Answer: (F) Not fast, like when you walk without hurrying

7. funny
Answer: (B) Something that makes you laugh or smile

8. plan
Answer: (A) To think about what you will do before you do it

9. shows
Answer: (J) When you let people see something, like a teacher showing a picture in a book

10. talking
Answer: (G) When you use words to tell someone about something
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where did the airplane get stuck?
Answer: (d) Under a bridge

2. What country did this happen in?
Answer: (c) India

3. What was the condition of the airplane?
Answer: (a) Very old and not flying anymore

4. Who helped get the airplane out?
Answer: (c) People who drive trucks

5. What did people do after watching the video?
Answer: (b) Talked about it

6. Why did the airplane get stuck?
Answer: (b) The bridge was too low

7. How did they get the airplane out?
Answer: (d) They moved it back slowly

8. What can people learn from this?
Answer: (a) They need to plan better
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The airplane was being transported on a big truck from one city to another. (Answer: True)
2. The airplane was brand new and still flying. (Answer: False)
3. Many people are watching a video of the airplane under the bridge and talking about it. (Answer: True)
4. No people who drive trucks helped to get the airplane out from under the bridge. (Answer: False)
5. It is not known how the airplane got stuck, but the bridge was too low for it. (Answer: True)
6. A big airplane got stuck under a small bridge in India. (Answer: True)
7. This serious incident shows that it is easy to move big things like airplanes and people do not need to plan better to avoid such situations. (Answer: False)
8. In the video, the airplane cannot be seen slowly moving back. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧