Vishal Jaiswal loves flying drones. He uses them to take pictures of a big forest called the Sundarbans. This forest is in India and Bangladesh. It has lots of trees and animals like tigers. Vishal and his friends made a map of the forest in just three days.

The forest is not in danger, but it has some problems. People and nature are hurting the trees. Some trees are gone because of shrimp farms. There are also big animals like crocodiles, so it’s hard to study the forest. That’s why scientists use drones to help.

Original news source: Tigers and crocs make mangrove preservation tough work (BBC)

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down vocabulary words from the article on separate pieces of paper. One person from each team will come to the board and draw the word without using any letters, numbers, or gestures. The team must guess the word in English to earn a point.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, have students summarize the article about Vishal Jaiswal and the Sundarbans forest in their own words. Then, ask a few pairs to share their summaries with the class.

– Charades
Instructions: Write down actions related to the article (e.g., flying a drone, taking pictures, studying the forest) on separate pieces of paper. One student comes to the front and silently acts out the action while the rest of the class guesses in English what they are doing.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write down key words from the article (e.g., drones, Sundarbans, tigers) on the board. Have students call out words that they associate with each key word. Encourage them to explain why they made the association in English.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: In pairs, ask students to come up with a catchy headline for the article about Vishal Jaiswal and the Sundarbans forest. They should try to use vocabulary and key information from the article in their headline. Share a few pairs’ headlines with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who loves flying drones and taking pictures of the Sundarbans forest?
2. Where is the Sundarbans forest located?
3. What animals can be found in the Sundarbans forest?
4. How long did it take Vishal and his friends to make a map of the forest?
5. Why are some trees in the Sundarbans forest disappearing?
6. Why is it difficult to study the Sundarbans forest?
7. How do scientists use drones to help study the forest?
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🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Vishal Jaiswal loves flying drones. He (1)______ them to take pictures of a big (2)______ called the Sundarbans. This forest is in India and Bangladesh. It has lots of trees and animals like (3)______. Vishal and his friends (4)______ a map of the forest in just three days.

The forest is not in danger, but it has some (5)______. People and nature are hurting the trees. Some trees are (6)______ because of shrimp farms. There are also big (7)______ like (8)______, so it’s hard to study the forest. That’s why scientists use drones to help.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a drone?
2. Do you like taking pictures?
3. How would you feel if you saw a tiger in a forest?
4. Do you think it’s important to protect trees?
5. Why do you think some trees are gone because of shrimp farms?
6. What do you think scientists use drones for?
7. How do you think Vishal feels when he flies drones?
8. Do you like big animals like crocodiles?
9. Why do you think it’s hard to study the forest with big animals around?
10. What do you think a map is used for?
11. How long did it take Vishal and his friends to make a map of the forest?
12. Why do you think it’s good to use drones to help study the forest?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. drones
2. forest
3. map
4. danger
5. shrimp
6. crocodiles
7. scientists
8. study
9. problems
10. nature

Meanings:
(A) A big area with lots of trees
(B) Small sea animals that people eat
(C) People who learn about how things work
(D) To look at something carefully to learn about it
(E) Big reptiles with sharp teeth that live in water
(F) Everything around us like trees, animals, and the sky
(G) When something is not safe
(H) Things that make something difficult
(I) Flying machines that can take pictures from the sky
(J) A drawing that shows where places are
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🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What does Vishal Jaiswal like to fly?
(a) Kites
(b) Birds
(c) Drones
(d) Airplanes

2. Where is the Sundarbans forest located?
(a) USA and Canada
(b) India and Bangladesh
(c) China and Japan
(d) Australia and New Zealand

3. What kind of animals live in the Sundarbans forest?
(a) Lions
(b) Elephants
(c) Tigers
(d) Giraffes

4. How long did it take Vishal and his friends to make a map of the forest?
(a) Three days
(b) One week
(c) One month
(d) One year

5. What is hurting the trees in the Sundarbans forest?
(a) Birds and bees
(b) People and nature
(c) Flowers and plants
(d) Rocks and stones

6. Why are some trees gone in the forest?
(a) Elephant stampedes
(b) Rainstorms
(c) Forest fairies
(d) Shrimp farms

7. What big animals are found in the Sundarbans forest?
(a) Crocodiles
(b) Penguins
(c) Kangaroos
(d) Polar bears

8. How do scientists study the forest?
(a) Riding bicycles
(b) Walking barefoot
(c) Swimming in the river
(d) Using drones

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Vishal and his friends made a map of the forest in three days.
2. The desert has many cacti and animals like lions.
3. Vishal likes to fly drones and take pictures of a big forest.
4. People and technology are causing problems for the cacti in the desert.
5. The forest has big animals like crocodiles.
6. Some flowers in the desert are disappearing because of coffee plantations.
7. Scientists use drones to study the forest because it’s hard to go there.
8. The desert is called the Sahara and is in Africa and Egypt.
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📝 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 Vishal Jaiswal like to do with drones?
2. Where is the Sundarbans forest located?
3. Why did Vishal and his friends make a map of the forest?
4. What are some problems the Sundarbans forest is facing?
5. How do scientists use drones to study the forest?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who loves flying drones and taking pictures of the Sundarbans forest?
Vishal Jaiswal loves flying drones and taking pictures of the Sundarbans forest.

2. Where is the Sundarbans forest located?
The Sundarbans forest is located in India and Bangladesh.

3. What animals can be found in the Sundarbans forest?
Animals like tigers and crocodiles can be found in the Sundarbans forest.

4. How long did it take Vishal and his friends to make a map of the forest?
Vishal and his friends made a map of the forest in just three days.

5. Why are some trees in the Sundarbans forest disappearing?
Some trees are disappearing because of shrimp farms and other reasons.

6. Why is it difficult to study the Sundarbans forest?
It is difficult to study the Sundarbans forest because there are big animals like crocodiles there.

7. How do scientists use drones to help study the forest?
Scientists use drones to take pictures and gather information about the Sundarbans forest.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) uses
(2) forest
(3) tigers
(4) made
(5) problems
(6) gone
(7) animals
(8) crocodiles
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. drones
Answer: (I) Flying machines that can take pictures from the sky

2. forest
Answer: (A) A big area with lots of trees

3. map
Answer: (J) A drawing that shows where places are

4. danger
Answer: (G) When something is not safe

5. shrimp
Answer: (B) Small sea animals that people eat

6. crocodiles
Answer: (E) Big reptiles with sharp teeth that live in water

7. scientists
Answer: (C) People who learn about how things work

8. study
Answer: (D) To look at something carefully to learn about it

9. problems
Answer: (H) Things that make something difficult

10. nature
Answer: (F) Everything around us like trees, animals, and the sky
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What does Vishal Jaiswal like to fly?
Answer: (c) Drones

2. Where is the Sundarbans forest located?
Answer: (b) India and Bangladesh

3. What kind of animals live in the Sundarbans forest?
Answer: (c) Tigers

4. How long did it take Vishal and his friends to make a map of the forest?
Answer: (a) Three days

5. What is hurting the trees in the Sundarbans forest?
Answer: (b) People and nature

6. Why are some trees gone in the forest?
Answer: (d) Shrimp farms

7. What big animals are found in the Sundarbans forest?
Answer: (a) Crocodiles

8. How do scientists study the forest?
Answer: (d) Using drones
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Vishal and his friends made a map of the forest in three days. (Answer: True)
2. The desert has many cacti and animals like lions. (Answer: False)
3. Vishal likes to fly drones and take pictures of a big forest. (Answer: True)
4. People and technology are causing problems for the cacti in the desert. (Answer: False)
5. The forest has big animals like crocodiles. (Answer: True)
6. Some flowers in the desert are disappearing because of coffee plantations. (Answer: False)
7. Scientists use drones to study the forest because it’s hard to go there. (Answer: True)
8. The desert is called the Sahara and is in Africa and Egypt. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧