A place called the United Arab Emirates had a big ice storm. This is a hot desert place where it usually doesn’t happen. Big ice balls fell from the sky and covered the ground. This made many people surprised and it broke some houses and cars. A weather person said this is rare but can happen.

They made a video of the ice falling and covering everything. It showed how the ice storm surprised people and broke things. Even though this place is very hot and doesn’t get ice storms a lot, sometimes the weather changes. The video was made by some people who wanted to show what happened. It reminds us that weather can be full of surprises.

Original news source: UAE: A hailstorm in the desert? Rare weather phenomenon shocks residents (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Write down different weather-related words on small pieces of paper and put them in a hat. Have students take turns picking a word and acting it out without speaking. The other students have to guess what weather word they are acting out.

– News Summary
Instructions: Have students read the article and then write a short summary of what happened in the ice storm in their own words. They can then share their summaries with a partner or the class.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word “weather” on the board and have students take turns saying a word that is related to weather (e.g. rain, sun, snow, etc.). Each student has to say a different word and if they can’t think of one, they are out. The game continues until there is only one student left.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Give each student a piece of paper and have them draw a picture of a weather-related word from the article (e.g. ice storm, hot desert, weather person). The other students have to guess what word they are drawing.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have students imagine what the weather will be like in the United Arab Emirates in the future. They can write or draw their predictions and then share them with a partner or the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened in the United Arab Emirates?
2. What usually happens in the United Arab Emirates?
3. What fell from the sky during the ice storm?
4. What did the ice storm do to houses and cars?
5. What did the weather person say about the ice storm?
6. What did the video show?
7. What does the video remind us about?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A place called the (1)______ Arab (2)______ had a big ice storm. This is a hot desert place where it usually doesn’t happen. Big ice balls fell from the sky and covered the ground. This made many people surprised and it broke some houses and cars. A weather (3)______ said this is rare but can (4)______.

They made a video of the ice (5)______ and (6)______ everything. It showed how the ice storm surprised people and broke things. Even though this place is very hot and doesn’t get ice storms a lot, sometimes the weather changes. The video was made by some people who (7)______ to show what happened. It (8)______ us that weather can be full of surprises.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is an ice storm?
2. How would you feel if big ice balls fell from the sky where you live?
3. Do you like surprises? Why or why not?
4. Have you ever seen a video of something surprising? What was it?
5. Do you think weather can be full of surprises? Why or why not?
6. How do you think the people in the video felt when the ice storm happened?
7. Have you ever seen ice before? What did it look like?
8. What do you think the weather is like in the United Arab Emirates?
9. Have you ever been surprised by the weather? What happened?
10. Do you think it’s important to be prepared for different types of weather? Why or why not?
11. What would you do if an ice storm happened where you live?
12. How do you think the ice storm affected the people’s houses and cars?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. desert
2. ice
3. rare
4. surprised
5. video
6. weather
7. reminds
8. changes
9. covered
10. surprises

Meanings:
(A) What it’s like outside, like if it’s hot, cold, raining, or sunny
(B) Something that doesn’t happen very often
(C) When you didn’t know something was going to happen and it makes you go “Wow!”
(D) Moving pictures that you can watch on a screen
(E) A very dry place with lots of sand
(F) Things that you didn’t think would happen
(G) When something becomes different
(H) Frozen water that is very cold
(I) When something is all over something else
(J) Makes you think about something again
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where did the ice storm happen?
(a) United Arab Emirates
(b) France
(c) China
(d) Brazil

2. What fell from the sky during the ice storm?
(a) Rain
(b) Ice balls
(c) Snowflakes
(d) Leaves

3. What did the ice storm do to some houses and cars?
(a) Painted them
(b) Cleaned them
(c) Broke them
(d) Fixed them

4. What did the weather person say about the ice storm?
(a) It is rare but can happen
(b) It happens every day
(c) It is normal for this place
(d) It will never happen again

5. What did the video show?
(a) People playing in the snow
(b) The sun shining brightly
(c) The ice falling and covering everything
(d) Animals running in the desert

6. What did the people who made the video want to show?
(a) How to make ice balls
(b) How to build a house
(c) How to fix a car
(d) What happened during the ice storm

7. What does the article remind us about the weather?
(a) It is always the same
(b) It can be full of surprises
(c) It is never surprising
(d) It is always cold

8. Where is the United Arab Emirates?
(a) A place where it is always hot
(b) A place where it snows a lot
(c) A place where it never rains
(d) A place where the ice storm happened

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The video reminds us that weather can be predictable.
2. The ice storm surprised many people and broke some houses and cars.
3. Some animals filmed the ice falling and covering everything.
4. In a cold snowy place called Antarctica, there was a big ice storm.
5. Even though it is usually very hot in this place, sometimes the weather changes.
6. Ice cubes fell from the sky and covered the ground.
7. The video showed how the ice storm surprised people and broke things.
8. A weather person said that this is rare but can happen.
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 in the United Arab Emirates that surprised people?
2. What fell from the sky during the ice storm?
3. Did the ice storm break anything?
4. Is it normal for the United Arab Emirates to have ice storms?
5. What did the video show?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened in the United Arab Emirates?
There was a big ice storm in the United Arab Emirates.

2. What usually happens in the United Arab Emirates?
Usually, it is hot in the United Arab Emirates.

3. What fell from the sky during the ice storm?
Big ice balls fell from the sky during the ice storm.

4. What did the ice storm do to houses and cars?
The ice storm broke some houses and cars.

5. What did the weather person say about the ice storm?
The weather person said that the ice storm is rare but can happen.

6. What did the video show?
The video showed the ice falling from the sky and covering everything.

7. What does the video remind us about?
The video reminds us that weather can be full of surprises.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) United
(2) Emirates
(3) person
(4) happen
(5) falling
(6) covering
(7) wanted
(8) reminds
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. desert
Answer: (E) A very dry place with lots of sand

2. ice
Answer: (H) Frozen water that is very cold

3. rare
Answer: (B) Something that doesn’t happen very often

4. surprised
Answer: (C) When you didn’t know something was going to happen and it makes you go “Wow!”

5. video
Answer: (D) Moving pictures that you can watch on a screen

6. weather
Answer: (A) What it’s like outside, like if it’s hot, cold, raining, or sunny

7. reminds
Answer: (J) Makes you think about something again

8. changes
Answer: (G) When something becomes different

9. covered
Answer: (I) When something is all over something else

10. surprises
Answer: (F) Things that you didn’t think would happen
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where did the ice storm happen?
Answer: (a) United Arab Emirates

2. What fell from the sky during the ice storm?
Answer: (b) Ice balls

3. What did the ice storm do to some houses and cars?
Answer: (c) Broke them

4. What did the weather person say about the ice storm?
Answer: (a) It is rare but can happen

5. What did the video show?
Answer: (c) The ice falling and covering everything

6. What did the people who made the video want to show?
Answer: (d) What happened during the ice storm

7. What does the article remind us about the weather?
Answer: (b) It can be full of surprises

8. Where is the United Arab Emirates?
Answer: (d) A place where the ice storm happened
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The video reminds us that weather can be predictable. (Answer: False)
2. The ice storm surprised many people and broke some houses and cars. (Answer: True)
3. Some animals filmed the ice falling and covering everything. (Answer: False)
4. In a cold snowy place called Antarctica, there was a big ice storm. (Answer: False)
5. Even though it is usually very hot in this place, sometimes the weather changes. (Answer: True)
6. Ice cubes fell from the sky and covered the ground. (Answer: False)
7. The video showed how the ice storm surprised people and broke things. (Answer: True)
8. A weather person said that this is rare but can happen. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧