Scientists found out why the Earth shook for nine days. It was because a big piece of a mountain fell into the water in Greenland. This made a huge wave, like a giant splash in a bathtub. The wave was stuck in a narrow place, so it shook for a long time. Many smart people worked together to figure this out.

The mountain fell because ice was melting. This made the ground weak, like when sand falls apart. The wave was very big and stayed in one place, moving back and forth. Scientists say this might happen more because the world is getting warmer. They want to learn more to keep people safe.

Original news source: Mystery tremors were from massive nine-day tsunami (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down key words from the article on separate pieces of paper (e.g., Earth, shaking, mountain, wave, Greenland, ice melting, scientists, etc.). Have one student from each team pick a word and act it out without speaking while their team guesses what it is. Set a time limit for each round and award points for correct guesses.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key words from the article on the board (e.g., Earth, shaking, mountain, wave, Greenland, ice melting, scientists, etc.). Have students take turns coming to the board to choose a word and draw a simple picture to represent it. The rest of the class must guess the word based on the drawing. This activity helps reinforce vocabulary and spelling.

– Synonym Challenge
Instructions: Write down key words from the article on separate pieces of paper (e.g., Earth, shaking, mountain, wave, Greenland, ice melting, scientists, etc.) along with their synonyms. Have students pick a word and try to explain it to the class using synonyms only. The rest of the class must guess the original word. This activity helps expand vocabulary and encourages the use of synonyms.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a key concept from the article (e.g., Earth shaking, mountain falling, wave in Greenland). One student describes the concept to their partner, who must draw it without looking at any examples. After a set time, have students compare their drawings with the original concept to see how well they communicated and understood the information.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Divide the class into groups of three: a news anchor, a reporter, and an expert. Assign each group a key event from the article (e.g., the mountain falling, the wave forming, the scientists’ discovery). The news anchor introduces the story, the reporter presents the facts, and the expert provides additional information. Encourage students to use the vocabulary and key details from the article in their role-play.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Why did the Earth shake for nine days?
2. What fell into the water in Greenland?
3. Why did the mountain fall into the water?
4. What happened when the ice melted?
5. How did the wave move?
6. Why do scientists think this might happen more in the future?
7. What do scientists want to do to keep people safe?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Scientists found out why the Earth shook for nine days. It was because a big piece of a mountain fell into the (1)______ in Greenland. This (2)______ a huge wave, like a giant (3)______ in a bathtub. The wave was stuck in a narrow place, so it shook for a (4)______ time. Many smart people worked together to figure this out.

The mountain fell because ice was melting. This made the (5)______ weak, like when sand (6)______ apart. The wave was very big and stayed in one place, moving back and forth. (7)______ say this might happen more because the world is getting warmer. They want to learn more to (8)______ people safe.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What do you think happens when a big piece of a mountain falls into the water?
2. How would you feel if you saw a huge wave like a giant splash in a bathtub?
3. Do you like it when smart people work together to solve problems?
4. Why do you think the mountain fell into the water?
5. What do you think might happen if the world keeps getting warmer?
6. How do you think scientists feel when they discover something new?
7. What is a wave?
8. Why do you think the wave shook for a long time?
9. Do you think it’s important to keep people safe from big waves?
10. How would you feel if you were near the mountain when it fell into the water?
11. Why do you think the ground became weak when the ice melted?
12. What do you think scientists can do to learn more about big waves in the future?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. scientists
2. shook
3. mountain
4. wave
5. narrow
6. figure
7. melting
8. ground
9. weak
10. warmer

Meanings:
(A) Hotter than before
(B) People who study and learn about things
(C) When ice turns into water
(D) A big moving wall of water
(E) Moved back and forth quickly
(F) To understand something
(G) A very big hill
(H) Not strong
(I) The solid surface of the Earth
(J) Thin and not wide
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why did the Earth shake for nine days?
(a) A big piece of a mountain fell into the water
(b) A spaceship landed on Earth
(c) A rainbow appeared in the sky
(d) A new animal was discovered

2. What made the ground weak and caused the mountain to fall?
(a) Falling stars
(b) Strong winds
(c) Heavy rain
(d) Melting ice

3. What did the big wave in Greenland feel like?
(a) A fluffy cloud in the sky
(b) A bouncy ball on the ground
(c) A giant splash in a bathtub
(d) A loud horn in the distance

4. Why did the wave shake for a long time?
(a) It wanted to play a game
(b) It was lost and looking for a way out
(c) It was practicing for a dance competition
(d) It was stuck in a narrow place

5. What do scientists think might happen more because the world is getting warmer?
(a) Snow turning into ice cream
(b) Trees growing taller
(c) Mountains falling into the water
(d) Rainbows appearing more often

6. What do scientists want to do to keep people safe?
(a) Learn more about the big wave
(b) Dance in the rain
(c) Build sandcastles on the beach
(d) Fly to the moon

7. Who worked together to figure out why the Earth shook?
(a) Birds in the sky
(b) Many smart people
(c) Fish in the ocean
(d) Aliens from outer space

8. What did the wave do after falling into the water?
(a) Flew into the sky like a bird
(b) Stayed in one place, moving back and forth
(c) Disappeared into thin air
(d) Turned into a rainbow

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The wave was very big and moved back and forth in one place.
2. The Earth shook for nine days because a big piece of a mountain fell into the water in Greenland.
3. Many smart people worked together to figure out why the Earth shook.
4. The mountain fell because the ice was melting and made the ground weak.
5. The big splash in the water was not like when you splash in the bathtub.
6. The wave kept shaking for a long time because it was free in a wide place.
7. Scientists don’t think this might happen more because the world is getting warmer.
8. Scientists don’t want to learn more to keep people safe from big waves like this.
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. Why did the Earth shake for nine days?
2. What caused the big wave in Greenland?
3. Who worked together to figure out why the Earth shook?
4. Why did the mountain fall into the water?
5. Why do scientists want to learn more about the big wave in Greenland?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Why did the Earth shake for nine days?
The Earth shook because a big piece of a mountain fell into the water in Greenland.

2. What fell into the water in Greenland?
A big piece of a mountain fell into the water in Greenland.

3. Why did the mountain fall into the water?
The mountain fell into the water because the ground became weak when the ice melted.

4. What happened when the ice melted?
When the ice melted, it made the ground weak like sand, and the mountain fell into the water.

5. How did the wave move?
The wave moved back and forth in one place, like a giant splash in a bathtub.

6. Why do scientists think this might happen more in the future?
Scientists think this might happen more in the future because the world is getting warmer, causing more ice to melt.

7. What do scientists want to do to keep people safe?
Scientists want to learn more about these events to keep people safe in case they happen again.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) water
(2) made
(3) splash
(4) long
(5) ground
(6) falls
(7) Scientists
(8) keep
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. scientists
Answer: (B) People who study and learn about things

2. shook
Answer: (E) Moved back and forth quickly

3. mountain
Answer: (G) A very big hill

4. wave
Answer: (D) A big moving wall of water

5. narrow
Answer: (J) Thin and not wide

6. figure
Answer: (F) To understand something

7. melting
Answer: (C) When ice turns into water

8. ground
Answer: (I) The solid surface of the Earth

9. weak
Answer: (H) Not strong

10. warmer
Answer: (A) Hotter than before
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why did the Earth shake for nine days?
Answer: (a) A big piece of a mountain fell into the water

2. What made the ground weak and caused the mountain to fall?
Answer: (d) Melting ice

3. What did the big wave in Greenland feel like?
Answer: (c) A giant splash in a bathtub

4. Why did the wave shake for a long time?
Answer: (d) It was stuck in a narrow place

5. What do scientists think might happen more because the world is getting warmer?
Answer: (c) Mountains falling into the water

6. What do scientists want to do to keep people safe?
Answer: (a) Learn more about the big wave

7. Who worked together to figure out why the Earth shook?
Answer: (b) Many smart people

8. What did the wave do after falling into the water?
Answer: (b) Stayed in one place, moving back and forth
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The wave was very big and moved back and forth in one place. (Answer: True)
2. The Earth shook for nine days because a big piece of a mountain fell into the water in Greenland. (Answer: True)
3. Many smart people worked together to figure out why the Earth shook. (Answer: True)
4. The mountain fell because the ice was melting and made the ground weak. (Answer: True)
5. The big splash in the water was not like when you splash in the bathtub. (Answer: False)
6. The wave kept shaking for a long time because it was free in a wide place. (Answer: False)
7. Scientists don’t think this might happen more because the world is getting warmer. (Answer: False)
8. Scientists don’t want to learn more to keep people safe from big waves like this. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧