Some people want to dig in the ocean to get special rocks for batteries. They use robots to get the rocks and say it doesn’t hurt the ocean much. But other people are worried that it could hurt fish and plants in the water. Countries like the UK, Brazil, and Germany don’t want people to dig in the ocean for these rocks.

Big groups that love animals and nature say digging in the ocean is bad. They think it can break homes for fish and other water animals. They also say we have enough of these special rocks and don’t need to dig for more. A man who wants to dig in the ocean says it’s not as bad as digging on land. But some people think we should use old rocks again instead of finding new ones. We are waiting to see if a big group will let people dig in the ocean for rocks.

Original news source: Is seabed mining an economic necessity or a hazard? (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and act out a word or phrase related to the article (e.g. digging in the ocean, robots, fish). The rest of the class will try to guess what they are acting out.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Give each student a piece of paper and a pencil. Call out a word from the article (e.g. batteries, plants, rocks) and the students have to draw a picture to represent that word. The rest of the class will try to guess what word they are drawing.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups and give each group a set of statements related to the article (e.g. Digging in the ocean is bad for the environment, We should use old rocks instead of finding new ones). Each student in the group should indicate whether they agree or disagree with each statement by raising their hand. The group should discuss their opinions and try to come to a consensus.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Give each student a small piece of paper and ask them to write a headline for the article using no more than 5 words. Once everyone has finished, collect the headlines and read them aloud. The class can then vote on the best headline.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. One student will be the speaker and the other will be the listener. The speaker will have 1 minute to summarize the main points of the article to their partner. After 1 minute, the listener will have to summarize what they heard. Then, they will switch roles and repeat the activity.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What do some people want to do in the ocean?
2. How do they get the rocks from the ocean?
3. Why are some people worried about digging in the ocean?
4. Which countries don’t want people to dig in the ocean for rocks?
5. Why do some groups think digging in the ocean is bad?
6. What does the man who wants to dig in the ocean say?
7. What are some people suggesting we do instead of finding new rocks?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some people want to dig in the (1)______ to get special rocks for batteries. They use robots to get the rocks and say it doesn’t (2)______ the ocean much. But other people are worried that it could hurt fish and plants in the (3)______. Countries like the UK, Brazil, and (4)______ don’t want people to dig in the ocean for these rocks.

Big groups that love animals and nature say digging in the ocean is bad. They think it can break homes for fish and other water animals. They also say we have enough of these special rocks and don’t (5)______ to dig for more. A man who (6)______ to dig in the ocean says it’s not as bad as digging on land. But some people (7)______ we should use old rocks again instead of finding new ones. We are (8)______ to see if a big group will let people dig in the ocean for rocks.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What are some reasons why people want to dig in the ocean for rocks?
2. How do some people feel about digging in the ocean? Why?
3. Do you think digging in the ocean can hurt fish and plants? Why or why not?
4. How do big groups that love animals and nature feel about digging in the ocean? Why?
5. Why do some people think we don’t need to dig for more rocks?
6. What does the man who wants to dig in the ocean say about it? Do you agree with him? Why or why not?
7. Do you think it’s worse to dig in the ocean or on land? Why?
8. How do some people feel about using old rocks instead of finding new ones? Why?
9. What do you think will happen? Will people be allowed to dig in the ocean for rocks? Why or why not?
10. How would you feel if you saw someone digging in the ocean for rocks? Why?
11. Do you like the idea of digging in the ocean for rocks? Why or why not?
12. What do you think is more important, protecting the ocean or finding new rocks? Why?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. difficult
2. robots
3. ocean
4. batteries
5. nature
6. countries
7. worried
8. digging
9. enough
10. waiting

Meanings:
(A) Having as much as you need
(B) The outside world with trees, animals, and the sky
(C) Things that give power to toys and flashlights
(D) Staying until something happens
(E) Hard to do or understand
(F) Machines that can move and do things by themselves
(G) The big, salty water where fish live
(H) Places where people live and have their own rules
(I) Making a hole in the ground to find things
(J) Feeling scared that something bad might happen
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What are people trying to get from the ocean?
(a) Special rocks for batteries
(b) Fish and plants
(c) Toys
(d) Sand

2. What are some countries that don’t want people to dig in the ocean?
(a) USA, China, and Russia
(b) France, Spain, and Italy
(c) UK, Brazil, and Germany
(d) Australia, Canada, and Japan

3. Why do some people think digging in the ocean is bad?
(a) It can make the ocean cleaner
(b) It can help plants grow
(c) It can make the ocean more colorful
(d) It can break homes for fish and other water animals

4. What do some people think we should use instead of finding new rocks?
(a) Fish and plants
(b) Old rocks again
(c) Robots
(d) Toys

5. Who is waiting to see if people can dig in the ocean for rocks?
(a) A small group
(b) The government
(c) A big group
(d) The animals

6. What do people use to get the rocks from the ocean?
(a) Boats
(b) Robots
(c) Nets
(d) Helicopters

7. What do some people think about digging in the ocean compared to digging on land?
(a) It’s not as bad
(b) It’s worse
(c) It’s the same
(d) It’s more fun

8. What do big groups that love animals and nature say about digging in the ocean?
(a) It is good
(b) It is fun
(c) It is colorful
(d) It is bad

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. They believe it can destroy habitats for fish and other water animals.
2. Big groups that love animals and nature say digging in the ocean is bad.
3. Some people believe we should reuse existing rocks instead of searching for new ones.
4. Some individuals are concerned that excavating in the ocean could harm fish and vegetation.
5. Countries like the UK, Brazil, and Germany don’t want people to dig in the ocean for these rocks.
6. Some people want to find special rocks in the ocean for batteries.
7. We are anticipating whether a major consortium will authorize underwater rock excavation for people.
8. They use robots to get the rocks from the ocean.
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 are some people trying to get from the ocean?
2. How do they get the rocks from the ocean?
3. Why are some people worried about digging in the ocean?
4. What do the big groups that love animals and nature think about digging in the ocean?
5. What are some people suggesting we do instead of digging for new rocks?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What do some people want to do in the ocean?
Some people want to dig in the ocean.

2. How do they get the rocks from the ocean?
They use robots to get the rocks from the ocean.

3. Why are some people worried about digging in the ocean?
Some people are worried that digging in the ocean could hurt fish and plants in the water.

4. Which countries don’t want people to dig in the ocean for rocks?
The countries that don’t want people to dig in the ocean for rocks are the UK, Brazil, and Germany.

5. Why do some groups think digging in the ocean is bad?
Some groups think digging in the ocean is bad because it can break homes for fish and other water animals, and they believe we already have enough rocks and don’t need to dig for more.

6. What does the man who wants to dig in the ocean say?
The man who wants to dig in the ocean says that it’s not as bad as digging on land.

7. What are some people suggesting we do instead of finding new rocks?
Some people are suggesting that instead of finding new rocks, we should use old rocks again.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) ocean
(2) hurt
(3) water
(4) Germany
(5) need
(6) wants
(7) think
(8) waiting
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

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

2. robots
Answer: (F) Machines that can move and do things by themselves

3. ocean
Answer: (G) The big, salty water where fish live

4. batteries
Answer: (C) Things that give power to toys and flashlights

5. nature
Answer: (B) The outside world with trees, animals, and the sky

6. countries
Answer: (H) Places where people live and have their own rules

7. worried
Answer: (J) Feeling scared that something bad might happen

8. digging
Answer: (I) Making a hole in the ground to find things

9. enough
Answer: (A) Having as much as you need

10. waiting
Answer: (D) Staying until something happens
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What are people trying to get from the ocean?
Answer: (a) Special rocks for batteries

2. What are some countries that don’t want people to dig in the ocean?
Answer: (c) UK, Brazil, and Germany

3. Why do some people think digging in the ocean is bad?
Answer: (d) It can break homes for fish and other water animals

4. What do some people think we should use instead of finding new rocks?
Answer: (b) Old rocks again

5. Who is waiting to see if people can dig in the ocean for rocks?
Answer: (c) A big group

6. What do people use to get the rocks from the ocean?
Answer: (b) Robots

7. What do some people think about digging in the ocean compared to digging on land?
Answer: (a) It’s not as bad

8. What do big groups that love animals and nature say about digging in the ocean?
Answer: (d) It is bad
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. They believe it can destroy habitats for fish and other water animals. (Answer: False)
2. Big groups that love animals and nature say digging in the ocean is bad. (Answer: True)
3. Some people believe we should reuse existing rocks instead of searching for new ones. (Answer: False)
4. Some individuals are concerned that excavating in the ocean could harm fish and vegetation. (Answer: False)
5. Countries like the UK, Brazil, and Germany don’t want people to dig in the ocean for these rocks. (Answer: True)
6. Some people want to find special rocks in the ocean for batteries. (Answer: True)
7. We are anticipating whether a major consortium will authorize underwater rock excavation for people. (Answer: False)
8. They use robots to get the rocks from the ocean. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧