A big storm hit the middle of the United States. It brought tornadoes, lots of rain, and very big hail, as big as golf balls, to places like Texas. More than 8 million people were told a tornado might come. This storm made a lot of water cover the ground and hurt houses and roads. The big hail hurt cars and buildings too.

The storm went to many states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Tornadoes came and broke more things, making it dangerous for people. Because it rained so much, water covered many places, and some people’s homes got very wet. Helpers are trying to save people who are stuck and help those who got hurt by the storm. The storm is still moving, and it might cause more trouble.

Original news source: Large hail seen in Texas after storms hit central US (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Give each group a set of vocabulary words related to the article (e.g. storm, tornado, hail, rain).
3. One person from each group will act out a word without speaking, while the rest of the group guesses what the word is.
4. The group that guesses correctly gets a point.
5. Repeat the process with different words and rotate the roles within the group.

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Read the article aloud to the class.
2. Ask the students to summarize the main points of the article in their own words.
3. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
4. Each pair or group will take turns presenting their summaries to the class.
5. Encourage the students to use the vocabulary from the article in their summaries.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Write the following statement on the board: “The storm was very dangerous.”
2. Ask the students to stand on one side of the classroom if they strongly agree, on the other side if they strongly disagree, or in the middle if they are unsure.
3. Give each student a chance to explain their opinion, using simple sentences related to the article (e.g. “I think the storm was dangerous because it broke things”).
4. After the discussion, ask the students to write a short paragraph explaining their opinion, using the vocabulary from the article.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Give each group a set of vocabulary words related to the article (e.g. storm, tornado, hail, rain).
3. One person from each group will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it.
4. The rest of the group must guess the word based on the drawing.
5. The group that guesses correctly gets a point.
6. Repeat the process with different words and rotate the roles within the group.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions:
1. Ask each student to think of two true statements and one false statement related to the article (e.g. “The storm brought tornadoes”, “The storm only affected one state”, “The storm caused a lot of damage”).
2. Divide the class into small groups.
3. Each student takes turns sharing their three statements with the group.
4. The group must discuss and guess which statement is the lie.
5. After everyone has shared, reveal the answers and discuss the true information from the article.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened during the storm in the United States?
2. How big was the hail in the storm?
3. How many people were told a tornado might come?
4. Which states did the storm go to?
5. What did the tornadoes do?
6. Why did water cover many places?
7. What are the helpers trying to do?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A big storm hit the (1)______ of the (2)______ States. It brought tornadoes, lots of rain, and very big hail, as big as golf balls, to places like Texas. More than 8 million people were told a tornado might come. This storm made a lot of (3)______ cover the (4)______ and hurt houses and roads. The big hail hurt cars and buildings too.

The storm went to many states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. (5)______ came and broke (6)______ things, making it dangerous for people. Because it rained so much, water covered many places, and some people’s homes got very wet. Helpers are (7)______ to (8)______ people who are stuck and help those who got hurt by the storm. The storm is still moving, and it might cause more trouble.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a tornado?
2. How would you feel if a big storm came to your town?
3. Do you like rain? Why or why not?
4. What do you think happens to houses and roads when there is a lot of water?
5. Have you ever seen hail? What does it look like?
6. How do you think cars and buildings get hurt by big hail?
7. Do you know anyone who lives in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, or Missouri? How do you think they feel about the storm?
8. What do you think helpers do during a storm?
9. Have you ever been stuck somewhere? How did you feel?
10. How do you think the storm might cause more trouble?
11. What would you do if you were in a storm and your home got very wet?
12. Do you think storms are scary or exciting? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. storm
2. tornadoes
3. hail
4. Texas
5. rain
6. buildings
7. dangerous
8. water
9. helpers
10. trouble

Meanings:
(A) Wind that spins very fast and can break things
(B) Places where people can live or work inside
(C) Ice balls that fall from the sky
(D) A very big wind that can carry water and make things fly around
(E) People who come to help when something bad happens
(F) Water that falls from the sky
(G) A place where people live and work
(H) Something that can hurt you
(I) When things are not going well and might make you sad or scared
(J) A clear liquid that you drink and swim in
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What kind of storm hit the middle of the United States?
(a) A small storm with rain and wind
(b) A storm with lots of snow
(c) A storm with thunder and lightning
(d) A big storm with tornadoes, rain, and big hail

2. How big was the hail that fell during the storm?
(a) As big as basketballs
(b) As big as tennis balls
(c) As big as golf balls
(d) As big as baseballs

3. How many people were told a tornado might come?
(a) More than 8 million people
(b) Less than 1 million people
(c) Exactly 5 million people
(d) Exactly 10 million people

4. Which states did the storm go to?
(a) California, New York, Florida, and Alaska
(b) Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri
(c) Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana
(d) Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado

5. What did the tornadoes do?
(a) Brought lots of rain and wind
(b) Covered the ground with water
(c) Broke things and made it dangerous for people
(d) Hurt cars and buildings

6. Why did water cover many places?
(a) Because of the tornadoes
(b) Because it rained so much
(c) Because of the big hail
(d) Because of the strong wind

7. What are helpers trying to do?
(a) Save people who are stuck and help those who got hurt
(b) Make the storm go away
(c) Bring more rain to the affected areas
(d) Break more things and cause more trouble

8. Is the storm still moving?
(a) No, it has stopped completely
(b) Yes, but it won’t cause any more damage
(c) No, it moved to a different country
(d) Yes, it might cause more trouble

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The storm has stopped moving and will not cause any trouble.
2. The storm went to many states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.
3. The storm caused minimal water to cover the ground and no damage to houses and roads.
4. A small storm with light rain hit the middle of the United States.
5. The big hail hurt cars and buildings.
6. Tornadoes came and broke more things, making it dangerous for people.
7. Helpers are trying to save people who are stuck and help those who got hurt by the storm.
8. Less than 8 million people were informed about a possible tornado.
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 when the storm hit the United States?
2. How did the storm hurt houses and roads?
3. Which states did the storm go to?
4. What did the tornadoes do?
5. What are the helpers doing to help the people affected by the storm?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened during the storm in the United States?
There were tornadoes, lots of rain, and big hail.

2. How big was the hail in the storm?
The hail was as big as golf balls.

3. How many people were told a tornado might come?
More than 8 million people were told.

4. Which states did the storm go to?
The storm went to Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.

5. What did the tornadoes do?
The tornadoes broke things and made it dangerous for people.

6. Why did water cover many places?
It rained a lot, so the water covered many places.

7. What are the helpers trying to do?
The helpers are trying to save people who are stuck and help those who got hurt.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) middle
(2) United
(3) water
(4) ground
(5) Tornadoes
(6) more
(7) trying
(8) save
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. storm
Answer: (D) A very big wind that can carry water and make things fly around

2. tornadoes
Answer: (A) Wind that spins very fast and can break things

3. hail
Answer: (C) Ice balls that fall from the sky

4. Texas
Answer: (G) A place where people live and work

5. rain
Answer: (F) Water that falls from the sky

6. buildings
Answer: (B) Places where people can live or work inside

7. dangerous
Answer: (H) Something that can hurt you

8. water
Answer: (J) A clear liquid that you drink and swim in

9. helpers
Answer: (E) People who come to help when something bad happens

10. trouble
Answer: (I) When things are not going well and might make you sad or scared
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What kind of storm hit the middle of the United States?
Answer: (d) A big storm with tornadoes, rain, and big hail

2. How big was the hail that fell during the storm?
Answer: (c) As big as golf balls

3. How many people were told a tornado might come?
Answer: (a) More than 8 million people

4. Which states did the storm go to?
Answer: (b) Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri

5. What did the tornadoes do?
Answer: (c) Broke things and made it dangerous for people

6. Why did water cover many places?
Answer: (b) Because it rained so much

7. What are helpers trying to do?
Answer: (a) Save people who are stuck and help those who got hurt

8. Is the storm still moving?
Answer: (d) Yes, it might cause more trouble
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The storm has stopped moving and will not cause any trouble. (Answer: False)
2. The storm went to many states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. (Answer: True)
3. The storm caused minimal water to cover the ground and no damage to houses and roads. (Answer: False)
4. A small storm with light rain hit the middle of the United States. (Answer: False)
5. The big hail hurt cars and buildings. (Answer: True)
6. Tornadoes came and broke more things, making it dangerous for people. (Answer: True)
7. Helpers are trying to save people who are stuck and help those who got hurt by the storm. (Answer: True)
8. Less than 8 million people were informed about a possible tornado. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧