A small dog named Bean was lost on a big road with cars. People driving their cars saw Bean and wanted to help. They made their cars go slow and tried to help Bean get to the side. One person even ran after Bean. In the end, Bean was safe and went back to his family.

The story of Bean made many people happy. It was shared on the internet a lot. It shows that people can be very nice and help others. Bean’s story tells us that we should look around and help when we can. The people in their cars showed that even when we are busy, we can still be kind.

Original news source: Watch: Motorists block road to save runaway chihuahua (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Write down some key words from the article (e.g. dog, road, cars, help, family) on separate pieces of paper. Have students take turns picking a word and acting it out without speaking. The other students have to guess what word they are acting out.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write down some key words from the article (e.g. dog, road, cars, help, family) on the board. Have students take turns saying a word that is related to the one written on the board. For example, if “dog” is written, a student might say “pet”.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a list of words from the article (e.g. dog, road, cars, help, family). One student from each group has to draw a picture representing one of the words, while the other students try to guess what word it is.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. One student is a news reporter and the other is a witness to the events in the article. The news reporter asks the witness questions about what they saw, and the witness answers using information from the article.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have students think about the following question: “Why is it important to help others?” Then, have them pair up with a partner and discuss their thoughts. Finally, have a few pairs share their ideas with the whole class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who was lost on the big road?
2. What did the people in their cars do when they saw Bean?
3. Did one person run after Bean?
4. Was Bean safe in the end?
5. Why did Bean’s story make people happy?
6. What does Bean’s story tell us?
7. What did the people in their cars show us?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A (1)______ dog named Bean was lost on a big road with cars. People driving their cars saw Bean and (2)______ to help. They made their cars go slow and tried to help Bean get to the side. One person even ran after Bean. In the end, Bean was (3)______ and (4)______ back to his family.

The story of Bean (5)______ many people happy. It was shared on the internet a lot. It (6)______ that people can be very nice and help others. Bean’s story (7)______ us that we should look around and help when we can. The people in their (8)______ showed that even when we are busy, we can still be kind.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a small dog?
2. How would you feel if you saw a small dog lost on a big road?
3. Do you like stories about animals being helped by people?
4. Do you think it is important to help others when we can? Why or why not?
5. Have you ever seen a dog on a road? What did you do?
6. What do you think Bean’s family felt when they found out he was safe?
7. How do you think the people driving their cars felt when they saw Bean?
8. What can we learn from Bean’s story?
9. Have you ever helped someone or something? What did you do?
10. Do you think it is easy or hard to be kind to others? Why or why not?
11. How do you think Bean felt when he saw people trying to help him?
12. Why do you think Bean’s story was shared on the internet a lot?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. difficult
2. matching
3. activity
4. meanings
5. beginner
6. ESL
7. sequence
8. corresponding
9. article
10. shared

Meanings:
(A) A story or piece of writing in a newspaper or on the internet
(B) Going together or matching
(C) When things go together or are the same
(D) When you let other people see or use something you have
(E) Someone who is just starting to learn
(F) The order in which things come
(G) Hard to do or understand
(H) A fun thing you do, like a game
(I) Learning English when it’s not the language you spoke first
(J) What words or things mean
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What was the name of the small dog in the story?
(a) Spot
(b) Bean
(c) Max
(d) Daisy

2. Where was Bean lost?
(a) On a big road with cars
(b) In a park
(c) In a house
(d) In a store

3. How did people driving their cars help Bean?
(a) They made their cars go slow and tried to help Bean get to the side
(b) They honked their horns at Bean
(c) They ignored Bean and kept driving
(d) They yelled at Bean to go away

4. Who ran after Bean?
(a) Two people
(b) Three people
(c) Four people
(d) One person

5. How did Bean feel in the end?
(a) Scared
(b) Sad
(c) Angry
(d) Safe

6. What did Bean’s story show?
(a) That people are mean and don’t help others
(b) That dogs are bad and should be left alone
(c) That people can be very nice and help others
(d) That cars are dangerous and should be avoided

7. What should we do when we see someone who needs help?
(a) Ignore them and keep walking
(b) Run away and hide
(c) Look around and help when we can
(d) Laugh at them and make fun of them

8. What did the people in their cars show?
(a) That we should never help others
(b) That even when we are busy, we can still be kind
(c) That cars are more important than people
(d) That we should never slow down for anything

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. No person ran after Bean to help him.
2. They made their cars go fast to prevent Bean from reaching the side.
3. Many people were happy when they heard Bean’s story.
4. Bean’s story teaches us that we should help others when we can.
5. A small dog named Bean got lost on a big road with cars.
6. The story of Bean was shared a lot on the internet.
7. People driving their cars ignored Bean and didn’t want to help.
8. In the end, Bean was still in danger and couldn’t go back to his family.
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 was lost on the big road with cars?
2. What did the people driving their cars want to do when they saw Bean?
3. Did Bean get to the side of the road safely?
4. What happened after Bean was safe?
5. What does Bean’s story teach us about being kind to others?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who was lost on the big road?
Bean was lost on the big road.

2. What did the people in their cars do when they saw Bean?
The people in their cars made their cars go slow and tried to help Bean get to the side.

3. Did one person run after Bean?
Yes, one person ran after Bean.

4. Was Bean safe in the end?
Yes, Bean was safe in the end.

5. Why did Bean’s story make people happy?
Bean’s story made people happy because it showed that people can be kind and help others.

6. What does Bean’s story tell us?
Bean’s story tells us that we should look around and help when we can.

7. What did the people in their cars show us?
The people in their cars showed us that even when we are busy, we can still be kind.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) small
(2) wanted
(3) safe
(4) went
(5) made
(6) shows
(7) tells
(8) cars
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. difficult
Answer: (G) Hard to do or understand

2. matching
Answer: (C) When things go together or are the same

3. activity
Answer: (H) A fun thing you do, like a game

4. meanings
Answer: (J) What words or things mean

5. beginner
Answer: (E) Someone who is just starting to learn

6. ESL
Answer: (I) Learning English when it’s not the language you spoke first

7. sequence
Answer: (F) The order in which things come

8. corresponding
Answer: (B) Going together or matching

9. article
Answer: (A) A story or piece of writing in a newspaper or on the internet

10. shared
Answer: (D) When you let other people see or use something you have
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What was the name of the small dog in the story?
Answer: (b) Bean

2. Where was Bean lost?
Answer: (a) On a big road with cars

3. How did people driving their cars help Bean?
Answer: (a) They made their cars go slow and tried to help Bean get to the side

4. Who ran after Bean?
Answer: (d) One person

5. How did Bean feel in the end?
Answer: (d) Safe

6. What did Bean’s story show?
Answer: (c) That people can be very nice and help others

7. What should we do when we see someone who needs help?
Answer: (c) Look around and help when we can

8. What did the people in their cars show?
Answer: (b) That even when we are busy, we can still be kind
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. No person ran after Bean to help him. (Answer: False)
2. They made their cars go fast to prevent Bean from reaching the side. (Answer: False)
3. Many people were happy when they heard Bean’s story. (Answer: True)
4. Bean’s story teaches us that we should help others when we can. (Answer: True)
5. A small dog named Bean got lost on a big road with cars. (Answer: True)
6. The story of Bean was shared a lot on the internet. (Answer: True)
7. People driving their cars ignored Bean and didn’t want to help. (Answer: False)
8. In the end, Bean was still in danger and couldn’t go back to his family. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧