A lady named Rosemary loves plants a lot. She looked for a special tiny green plant on Christmas instead of having a party. Rosemary has a fun habit of looking for this plant every year. Her kids think it’s funny. She knows a lot about plants and wants to help people learn to take care of them.

Rosemary went to some islands called the Isles of Scilly a long time ago. She thought they were very pretty because of all the different plants and animals. Even when it was hard, she kept learning about the plants. She wants to help the islands stay beautiful. Rosemary knows that the weather is changing and that it’s not good for the plants. She wants kids to learn how to help the plants, too.

Original news source: The woman who spent Christmas in search of a rare plant (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Sketch It
Instructions: Give each student a piece of paper and a pencil. Read the article aloud and ask the students to sketch a picture of Rosemary looking for the special green plant on Christmas. After they finish, have them share their drawings with a partner and describe what they drew.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board (e.g. plants, Scilly Isles, weather, animals). Divide the class into teams. Give each team a whiteboard and marker. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and you will say a word from the list. The student must draw a picture of the word on the whiteboard and their team members must guess what it is.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Write the keywords from the article on the board with underscores representing each letter. Play a game of hangman with the students, where they take turns guessing letters to try and uncover the words. After each word is guessed, discuss the meaning and context of the word in relation to the article.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Create a continuum on the board with “Strongly Agree” on one end and “Strongly Disagree” on the other end. Read aloud statements related to the article (e.g. “It is important to take care of plants”, “Learning about different plants is interesting”). Have the students stand in a position along the continuum to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement. Allow them to explain their reasoning if they wish.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: Have each student come up with two true statements and one false statement about plants or the environment. They should write them down on a piece of paper. Then, have each student take turns sharing their statements with the class. The rest of the class must guess which statement is false. After each round, discuss the true statements and provide any necessary corrections or additional information.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What does Rosemary love a lot?
2. What does Rosemary look for on Christmas instead of having a party?
3. What do Rosemary’s kids think about her habit?
4. Where did Rosemary go a long time ago?
5. What did Rosemary think about the islands?
6. Why does Rosemary want to help the islands stay beautiful?
7. Why does Rosemary want kids to learn how to help the plants?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A lady named Rosemary loves plants a lot. She looked for a (1)______ tiny green plant on Christmas instead of having a party. Rosemary has a fun habit of (2)______ for this plant every year. Her (3)______ think it’s funny. She knows a lot about plants and wants to (4)______ people learn to take care of them.

Rosemary went to some islands called the Isles of Scilly a long time ago. She (5)______ they were very pretty because of all the different plants and (6)______. Even when it was hard, she kept learning about the plants. She wants to help the islands stay beautiful. Rosemary knows that the (7)______ is changing and that it’s not (8)______ for the plants. She wants kids to learn how to help the plants, too.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is Rosemary’s favorite thing?
2. How do Rosemary’s kids feel about her habit?
3. Do you think it’s important to take care of plants? Why or why not?
4. Have you ever seen a tiny green plant? How did it make you feel?
5. How do you think Rosemary feels when she sees different plants and animals?
6. What do you think Rosemary wants to teach people about plants?
7. Do you like learning about plants? Why or why not?
8. How do you think the weather changing affects the plants?
9. What can kids do to help the plants?
10. Have you ever been to an island? How did it make you feel?
11. Do you think it’s important to keep nature beautiful? Why or why not?
12. How would you feel if you saw a plant that was dying?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Rosemary
2. Christmas
3. habit
4. islands
5. Isles of Scilly
6. pretty
7. learning
8. weather
9. changing
10. beautiful

Meanings:
(A) A special name for some pieces of land surrounded by water.
(B) Getting new things in your head, like knowing your ABCs.
(C) A special day when a big man in a red suit might bring you presents.
(D) When something starts to be different, like when ice cream melts.
(E) A name of a lady who likes things that grow in the dirt.
(F) Something you do a lot, like brushing your teeth every day.
(G) When something or someplace looks so nice, it can make you say “wow!”
(H) What it’s like outside, like if it’s sunny or rainy.
(I) Pieces of land with water all around them.
(J) When something looks really nice, like a rainbow.
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the lady in the story?
(a) Lily
(b) Rosemary
(c) Daisy
(d) Violet

2. What does Rosemary love a lot?
(a) Plants
(b) Animals
(c) Parties
(d) Food

3. What does Rosemary look for on Christmas?
(a) Presents
(b) Candy
(c) A tiny green plant
(d) Toys

4. Where did Rosemary go a long time ago?
(a) The mountains
(b) The city
(c) The beach
(d) The Isles of Scilly

5. Why does Rosemary want to help the islands?
(a) She wants to have a party there
(b) She wants to learn about animals
(c) She wants to sell plants there
(d) She thinks they are very pretty

6. What does Rosemary want kids to learn?
(a) How to have fun at parties
(b) How to cook food
(c) How to help the plants
(d) How to play with toys

7. What does Rosemary know about the weather?
(a) It is always sunny
(b) It is changing
(c) It is always rainy
(d) It is always cold

8. Why does Rosemary want to help the plants?
(a) Because she loves them
(b) Because she wants to have a party
(c) Because she wants to sell them
(d) Because she wants to learn about them

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Rosemary knows a lot about plants and wants to help people learn how to take care of them.
2. Instead of having a party on Christmas, Rosemary looks for a special tiny green plant.
3. Rosemary went to some islands called the Isles of Scilly a long time ago.
4. Rosemary’s kids think it’s annoying that she looks for the plant every year.
5. Even when it was easy, Rosemary stopped learning about the plants on the islands.
6. Rosemary thought the islands were very dull because of all the same plants and animals.
7. Rosemary wants to harm the islands and does not want kids to learn how to help the plants too.
8. There is a lady named Rosemary who really likes plants.
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 does Rosemary love a lot?
2. What did Rosemary look for on Christmas instead of having a party?
3. What does Rosemary want to help people learn about?
4. Where did Rosemary go a long time ago?
5. Why does Rosemary want kids to learn how to help the plants?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What does Rosemary love a lot?
Rosemary loves plants a lot.

2. What does Rosemary look for on Christmas instead of having a party?
Rosemary looks for a special tiny green plant on Christmas.

3. What do Rosemary’s kids think about her habit?
Rosemary’s kids think it’s funny.

4. Where did Rosemary go a long time ago?
Rosemary went to the Isles of Scilly a long time ago.

5. What did Rosemary think about the islands?
Rosemary thought the islands were very pretty because of all the different plants and animals.

6. Why does Rosemary want to help the islands stay beautiful?
Rosemary wants to help the islands stay beautiful because she loves the plants and wants to protect them.

7. Why does Rosemary want kids to learn how to help the plants?
Rosemary wants kids to learn how to help the plants because she wants them to know how to take care of them and protect them.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) special
(2) looking
(3) kids
(4) help
(5) thought
(6) animals
(7) weather
(8) good
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Rosemary
Answer: (E) A name of a lady who likes things that grow in the dirt.

2. Christmas
Answer: (C) A special day when a big man in a red suit might bring you presents.

3. habit
Answer: (F) Something you do a lot, like brushing your teeth every day.

4. islands
Answer: (I) Pieces of land with water all around them.

5. Isles of Scilly
Answer: (A) A special name for some pieces of land surrounded by water.

6. pretty
Answer: (J) When something looks really nice, like a rainbow.

7. learning
Answer: (B) Getting new things in your head, like knowing your ABCs.

8. weather
Answer: (H) What it’s like outside, like if it’s sunny or rainy.

9. changing
Answer: (D) When something starts to be different, like when ice cream melts.

10. beautiful
Answer: (G) When something or someplace looks so nice, it can make you say “wow!”
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the lady in the story?
Answer: (b) Rosemary

2. What does Rosemary love a lot?
Answer: (a) Plants

3. What does Rosemary look for on Christmas?
Answer: (c) A tiny green plant

4. Where did Rosemary go a long time ago?
Answer: (d) The Isles of Scilly

5. Why does Rosemary want to help the islands?
Answer: (d) She thinks they are very pretty

6. What does Rosemary want kids to learn?
Answer: (c) How to help the plants

7. What does Rosemary know about the weather?
Answer: (b) It is changing

8. Why does Rosemary want to help the plants?
Answer: (a) Because she loves them
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Rosemary knows a lot about plants and wants to help people learn how to take care of them. (Answer: True)
2. Instead of having a party on Christmas, Rosemary looks for a special tiny green plant. (Answer: True)
3. Rosemary went to some islands called the Isles of Scilly a long time ago. (Answer: True)
4. Rosemary’s kids think it’s annoying that she looks for the plant every year. (Answer: False)
5. Even when it was easy, Rosemary stopped learning about the plants on the islands. (Answer: False)
6. Rosemary thought the islands were very dull because of all the same plants and animals. (Answer: False)
7. Rosemary wants to harm the islands and does not want kids to learn how to help the plants too. (Answer: False)
8. There is a lady named Rosemary who really likes plants. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧