In a faraway place called Svalbard, Norway, there is a special underground vault. This vault is called The Arctic World Archive. It keeps important information safe for the future. People from over 30 countries use it to store their data. The vault is inside an old coal mine, which makes it very safe.

The vault has many interesting things like pictures of the Taj Mahal and old books from the Vatican Library. It also has data from space and computer codes. A company called Piql helps put this information on special film. This film stays good even in the cold Arctic. The vault keeps growing with more and more important things.

Original news source: Visit the Arctic vault holding back-ups of great works (BBC)

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– CHARADES
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Each group takes turns acting out different items related to the Arctic World Archive (e.g., vault, pictures, data, coal mine) without speaking, while the other groups guess what they are.

– VOCABULARY PICTIONARY
Instructions: Write key vocabulary words from the article (e.g., vault, archive, data, safe) on slips of paper. Students take turns drawing a word and illustrating it on the board while their classmates guess the word.

– THINK-PAIR-SHARE
Instructions: Ask students to think about what they would keep in an archive for the future. Have them pair up to discuss their ideas, then share with the class.

– HEADLINE CREATION
Instructions: In pairs, students create a catchy headline for the article that highlights the main idea of the Arctic World Archive. They can then share their headlines with the class.

– OPINION POLL
Instructions: Pose a question related to the article, such as “Do you think it’s important to keep information safe for the future?” Students walk around the room and ask their classmates for their opinions, tallying the results.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What is the name of the special place in Norway?
2. What does The Arctic World Archive keep safe?
3. How many countries use the vault to store their data?
4. Where is the vault located?
5. What kind of pictures are in the vault?
6. Who helps put the information on special film?
7. What happens to the vault as time goes on?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a faraway place called Svalbard, (1)______, there is a (2)______ underground vault. This vault is called The Arctic World Archive. It keeps important information safe for the future. (3)______ from over 30 countries use it to store their data. The vault is inside an old (4)______ mine, which makes it very safe.

The vault has many interesting things like pictures of the Taj Mahal and old (5)______ from the Vatican Library. It also has data from space and computer (6)______. A company called (7)______ helps put this information on special film. This film stays good even in the cold Arctic. The vault keeps (8)______ with more and more important things.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a vault?
2. Do you like to keep important things safe? Why?
3. How would you feel if you lost something special?
4. What is a picture?
5. Do you think old books are important? Why or why not?
6. Have you ever seen a famous place like the Taj Mahal?
7. What is your favorite picture?
8. How would you feel if you could visit a special vault?
9. Do you think it is good to save information for the future? Why?
10. What is something you want to keep safe?
11. Do you like to learn about space? Why or why not?
12. How would you feel if you could help put important things in a vault?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. vault
2. underground
3. archive
4. data
5. coal
6. mine
7. film
8. Arctic
9. company
10. growing

Meanings:
(A) A group of people working together to do business
(B) A place where important things are kept
(C) A thin strip used to store pictures or movies
(D) Getting bigger or more over time
(E) A very cold place near the North Pole
(F) A special room or space to keep things safe
(G) Below the ground
(H) A place where people dig for rocks or minerals
(I) A black rock that can be burned for heat
(J) Information stored on a computer
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where is The Arctic World Archive?
(a) Paris, France
(b) Tokyo, Japan
(c) London, England
(d) Svalbard, Norway

2. What does The Arctic World Archive keep safe?
(a) Food
(b) Toys
(c) Important information
(d) Clothes

3. How many countries use The Arctic World Archive?
(a) 10
(b) 5
(c) Over 30
(d) 15

4. What is The Arctic World Archive inside?
(a) An old coal mine
(b) A big house
(c) A school
(d) A park

5. What kind of pictures are in the vault?
(a) Pictures of animals
(b) Pictures of the Taj Mahal
(c) Pictures of people
(d) Pictures of cars

6. Who helps put information on special film?
(a) A school
(b) A store
(c) A family
(d) A company called Piql

7. What does the special film do?
(a) Breaks easily
(b) Stays good in the cold
(c) Gets wet
(d) Changes color

8. What does The Arctic World Archive keep doing?
(a) Growing with more important things
(b) Getting smaller
(c) Closing down
(d) Staying the same

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The vault keeps important information safe.
2. A company called Piql helps put information on film.
3. There is a special vault in Svalbard, Norway.
4. The vault is named The Antarctic World Archive.
5. The vault keeps losing more important things.
6. People from under 30 countries use the vault.
7. The vault is outside an old coal mine.
8. The vault has pictures of the Taj Mahal.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
Check your answers with our free English writing assistant!

1. What is the name of the special place in Norway?
2. What does the Arctic World Archive keep safe?
3. Why is the vault in a coal mine?
4. Who helps put information on special film?
5. What kind of things are in the vault?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What is the name of the special place in Norway?
The name of the special place is The Arctic World Archive.

2. What does The Arctic World Archive keep safe?
It keeps important information safe for the future.

3. How many countries use the vault to store their data?
More than 30 countries use the vault.

4. Where is the vault located?
The vault is inside an old coal mine in Svalbard.

5. What kind of pictures are in the vault?
There are pictures of the Taj Mahal in the vault.

6. Who helps put the information on special film?
A company called Piql helps put the information on special film.

7. What happens to the vault as time goes on?
The vault keeps growing with more important things.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Norway
(2) special
(3) People
(4) coal
(5) books
(6) codes
(7) Piql
(8) growing
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📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. vault
Answer: (F) A special room or space to keep things safe

2. underground
Answer: (G) Below the ground

3. archive
Answer: (B) A place where important things are kept

4. data
Answer: (J) Information stored on a computer

5. coal
Answer: (I) A black rock that can be burned for heat

6. mine
Answer: (H) A place where people dig for rocks or minerals

7. film
Answer: (C) A thin strip used to store pictures or movies

8. Arctic
Answer: (E) A very cold place near the North Pole

9. company
Answer: (A) A group of people working together to do business

10. growing
Answer: (D) Getting bigger or more over time
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where is The Arctic World Archive?
Answer: (d) Svalbard, Norway

2. What does The Arctic World Archive keep safe?
Answer: (c) Important information

3. How many countries use The Arctic World Archive?
Answer: (c) Over 30

4. What is The Arctic World Archive inside?
Answer: (a) An old coal mine

5. What kind of pictures are in the vault?
Answer: (b) Pictures of the Taj Mahal

6. Who helps put information on special film?
Answer: (d) A company called Piql

7. What does the special film do?
Answer: (b) Stays good in the cold

8. What does The Arctic World Archive keep doing?
Answer: (a) Growing with more important things
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The vault keeps important information safe. (Answer: True)
2. A company called Piql helps put information on film. (Answer: True)
3. There is a special vault in Svalbard, Norway. (Answer: True)
4. The vault is named The Antarctic World Archive. (Answer: False)
5. The vault keeps losing more important things. (Answer: False)
6. People from under 30 countries use the vault. (Answer: False)
7. The vault is outside an old coal mine. (Answer: False)
8. The vault has pictures of the Taj Mahal. (Answer: True)
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