A space robot named Peregrine One tried to go to the Moon but broke and fell into the ocean. It had a problem because something inside it broke and it couldn’t fly right. The people who made the robot told it to burn up in the sky. A place far away in Australia said they couldn’t talk to the robot anymore. The robot was supposed to help us learn about the Moon before more people go there.

The robot had a big leak and couldn’t stay straight or get power from the Sun. But the smart people who made it worked hard and made it last longer. Some parts of the robot still did their jobs and learned things about space. One part did really good and might go to space again. There are more robots like Peregrine One that will try to go to the Moon this year.

Original news source: Peregrine lander: American Moon mission destroyed over Pacific Ocean (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Choose a word or phrase from the article (e.g. “space robot” or “Moon”) and write it on a piece of paper. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and act out the word or phrase without speaking. The team members must guess what the word or phrase is within a certain time limit (e.g. 1 minute). The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the article to their partner. Each student will have 1 minute to summarize as much as they can remember from the article. After both students have had a turn, they will compare their summaries and discuss any differences or missing information.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down 5-10 key vocabulary words from the article on separate pieces of paper. Divide the class into small groups. One student from each group will pick a word and draw a picture on the board to represent that word. The other students in the group must try to guess the word based on the picture. The group that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, students will create newspaper headlines based on the article. They should try to summarize the main idea or key event from the article in a catchy and concise headline. Each group will share their headline with the class and explain why they chose it.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Give the students a few moments to think about and reflect on the article individually. Then, pair them up with a partner and have them discuss their thoughts and impressions about the article. After a few minutes of discussion, bring the class back together and have some pairs share their conversations with the whole group.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the space robot named Peregrine One?
2. Why couldn’t the robot fly properly?
3. What did the people who made the robot tell it to do?
4. Why couldn’t the people in Australia talk to the robot anymore?
5. What was the robot supposed to help us learn about?
6. What happened to the robot’s power source?
7. Will there be more robots like Peregrine One going to the Moon this year?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A space robot named Peregrine One tried to go to the Moon but broke and fell into the (1)______. It had a problem because something inside it broke and it couldn’t fly right. The (2)______ who made the robot told it to burn up in the sky. A (3)______ far away in (4)______ said they couldn’t talk to the robot anymore. The robot was supposed to help us learn about the Moon before more people go there.

The robot had a big leak and couldn’t stay straight or get power from the Sun. But the (5)______ people who made it (6)______ hard and made it last longer. Some parts of the robot still did their jobs and learned things about (7)______. One part did really good and might go to space again. There are more robots like (8)______ One that will try to go to the Moon this year.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a space robot?
2. How would you feel if you were the robot and you couldn’t fly right?
3. Do you like learning about space? Why or why not?
4. What do you think the smart people did to make the robot last longer?
5. How do you think the robot learned things about space?
6. Do you think the robot will go to space again? Why or why not?
7. What is a leak? Can you think of any other things that can leak?
8. How do you think the robot gets power from the Sun?
9. Have you ever seen a robot before? What did it look like?
10. Why do you think the robot was supposed to help us learn about the Moon?
11. Do you want to go to the Moon one day? Why or why not?
12. Can you think of any other jobs that a space robot could do?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Peregrine
2. robot
3. Moon
4. ocean
5. problem
6. burn
7. Australia
8. leak
9. power
10. space

Meanings:
(A) The big, round, white thing in the sky at night
(B) When water comes out of something because there is a hole
(C) When something is not right or doesn’t work
(D) To make a bright, hot light with flames
(E) A country with lots of kangaroos
(F) A machine that can do things by itself
(G) A huge place where water is everywhere and fish live
(H) What makes things go, like batteries for toys
(I) A name for a bird that flies very fast
(J) Where the stars and planets are, way up high above us
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the space robot?
(a) Peregrine One
(b) Luna Two
(c) Astro Three
(d) Stellar Four

2. What happened to the robot when it tried to go to the Moon?
(a) It landed safely on the Moon
(b) It flew back to Earth
(c) It broke and fell into the ocean
(d) It got lost in space

3. Why did the robot have a problem?
(a) It ran out of fuel
(b) Something inside it broke
(c) The Moon was too far away
(d) It couldn’t find its way

4. What did the people who made the robot tell it to do?
(a) Burn up in the sky
(b) Keep trying to go to the Moon
(c) Come back to Earth
(d) Stay in the ocean

5. Where is the place that couldn’t talk to the robot anymore?
(a) China
(b) Russia
(c) Australia
(d) United States

6. What was the robot supposed to help us learn about?
(a) Mars
(b) The Sun
(c) Earth
(d) The Moon

7. What was the problem with the robot’s power source?
(a) It had too much power
(b) It couldn’t get power from the Sun
(c) It ran out of power quickly
(d) It couldn’t find a power source

8. What might happen to one part of the robot?
(a) It will be thrown away
(b) It will be fixed and used again
(c) It will be given to another country
(d) It might go to space again

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The robot had a problem inside that made it unable to fly properly.
2. The people who made the robot told it to peacefully descend from the sky.
3. Some parts of the robot still did their jobs and learned things about space.
4. There was a robot that went to the Moon but it functioned perfectly and landed safely.
5. The smart people who made the robot worked hard to make it last longer.
6. A place in Australia could communicate with the robot as before.
7. The robot had a small leak and could stay straight and get power from the Sun.
8. The robot was supposed to help us learn about the Moon before more people go there.
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 to the space robot named Peregrine One?
2. Why couldn’t the robot fly right?
3. What did the people who made the robot tell it to do?
4. Where is the place that said they couldn’t talk to the robot anymore?
5. What was the robot supposed to help us learn about?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the space robot named Peregrine One?
The space robot named Peregrine One broke and fell into the ocean.

2. Why couldn’t the robot fly properly?
The robot couldn’t fly properly because something inside it broke.

3. What did the people who made the robot tell it to do?
The people who made the robot told it to burn up in the sky.

4. Why couldn’t the people in Australia talk to the robot anymore?
The people in Australia couldn’t talk to the robot anymore because they lost contact with it.

5. What was the robot supposed to help us learn about?
The robot was supposed to help us learn about the Moon.

6. What happened to the robot’s power source?
The robot’s power source had a big leak and couldn’t get power from the Sun.

7. Will there be more robots like Peregrine One going to the Moon this year?
Yes, there will be more robots like Peregrine One going to the Moon this year.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) ocean
(2) people
(3) place
(4) Australia
(5) smart
(6) worked
(7) space
(8) Peregrine
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Peregrine
Answer: (I) A name for a bird that flies very fast

2. robot
Answer: (F) A machine that can do things by itself

3. Moon
Answer: (A) The big, round, white thing in the sky at night

4. ocean
Answer: (G) A huge place where water is everywhere and fish live

5. problem
Answer: (C) When something is not right or doesn’t work

6. burn
Answer: (D) To make a bright, hot light with flames

7. Australia
Answer: (E) A country with lots of kangaroos

8. leak
Answer: (B) When water comes out of something because there is a hole

9. power
Answer: (H) What makes things go, like batteries for toys

10. space
Answer: (J) Where the stars and planets are, way up high above us
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the space robot?
Answer: (a) Peregrine One

2. What happened to the robot when it tried to go to the Moon?
Answer: (c) It broke and fell into the ocean

3. Why did the robot have a problem?
Answer: (b) Something inside it broke

4. What did the people who made the robot tell it to do?
Answer: (a) Burn up in the sky

5. Where is the place that couldn’t talk to the robot anymore?
Answer: (c) Australia

6. What was the robot supposed to help us learn about?
Answer: (d) The Moon

7. What was the problem with the robot’s power source?
Answer: (b) It couldn’t get power from the Sun

8. What might happen to one part of the robot?
Answer: (d) It might go to space again
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The robot had a problem inside that made it unable to fly properly. (Answer: True)
2. The people who made the robot told it to peacefully descend from the sky. (Answer: False)
3. Some parts of the robot still did their jobs and learned things about space. (Answer: True)
4. There was a robot that went to the Moon but it functioned perfectly and landed safely. (Answer: False)
5. The smart people who made the robot worked hard to make it last longer. (Answer: True)
6. A place in Australia could communicate with the robot as before. (Answer: False)
7. The robot had a small leak and could stay straight and get power from the Sun. (Answer: False)
8. The robot was supposed to help us learn about the Moon before more people go there. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧