Scientists have found that hermit crabs are using pieces of plastic as their homes. They looked at pictures from people who like to watch animals and saw many crabs with “fake” plastic shells. They found 386 crabs using plastic tops as shells on the internet. People don’t know yet if the plastic is good or bad for the crabs.

The people who did the study felt very sad to see crabs living in plastic. Crabs in warm places all over the world were seen using plastic. They are trying to understand how plastic affects these crabs and if it changes how they grow. Since there are fewer natural shells, crabs might be picking plastic because there’s a lot of it, and it can be lighter to carry.

This study shows that many hermit crabs are using plastic trash. The scientists want to learn more about how plastic can help or hurt these animals. There is so much plastic in the sea that crabs have many choices for shells. The study tells people to use plastic again instead of throwing it away. It is important to work on the problem of plastic in the ocean because there is a lot of it out there.

Original news source: Hermit crabs are ‘wearing’ our plastic rubbish (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the students into small groups. Give each group a piece of paper with a word related to the article (e.g. hermit crab, plastic, shell). One student from each group will act out the word without speaking, while the other students in the group try to guess what it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Rotate roles so that each student has a chance to act and guess.

– News Summary
Instructions: Give each student a copy of the article. In pairs, students take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner in their own words. After both students have summarized the article, they compare their summaries to see if they got the same information.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Each pair will have a discussion about whether they think plastic is good or bad for hermit crabs. After discussing their opinions, each pair will interview another pair and record their opinions on a piece of paper. Finally, the class can come together to share the different opinions and discuss the reasons behind them.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board (e.g. hermit crab, plastic, shell). Divide the students into pairs. One student from each pair will choose a word from the list and draw a picture on a piece of paper to represent that word. The other student must guess the word based on the drawing. Repeat until all the words have been guessed.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Create a line on the board with “Agree” on one end and “Disagree” on the other end. Ask the students to stand somewhere along the line to indicate their opinion on the statement “Using plastic as homes for hermit crabs is a good idea.” Once everyone has chosen a spot, ask a few students to explain why they are standing where they are. Encourage discussion and respectful disagreement.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did scientists find out about hermit crabs and plastic?
2. How did the scientists find out about the crabs using plastic?
3. How did the scientists feel when they saw the crabs living in plastic?
4. Where were the crabs using plastic found?
5. Why do scientists think the crabs might be using plastic?
6. What does this study show about hermit crabs and plastic?
7. Why is it important to work on the problem of plastic in the ocean?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Scientists have found that hermit (1)______ are using (2)______ of plastic as their homes. They looked at pictures from people who (3)______ to watch animals and saw many crabs with “fake” plastic shells. They found 386 crabs using plastic tops as shells on the internet. People don’t know yet if the (4)______ is good or bad for the crabs.

The people who did the (5)______ felt very sad to see crabs living in plastic. Crabs in warm places all over the world were (6)______ using plastic. They are trying to understand how plastic affects these crabs and if it changes how they grow. Since there are fewer natural shells, crabs might be picking plastic because there’s a lot of it, and it can be lighter to carry.

This study (7)______ that many hermit crabs are using plastic trash. The scientists (8)______ to (9)______ more about how plastic can help or hurt these animals. There is so much plastic in the sea that crabs have (10)______ choices for shells. The study tells (11)______ to use plastic again instead of throwing it away. It is important to work on the (12)______ of plastic in the ocean because there is a lot of it out there.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a hermit crab?
2. How would you feel if you saw a hermit crab living in a plastic shell?
3. Do you think it is good or bad for the crabs to use plastic as their homes? Why or why not?
4. Have you ever seen a hermit crab before? If so, where?
5. What do you think happens to the crabs when they use plastic as their homes?
6. Do you like the idea of using plastic again instead of throwing it away? Why or why not?
7. How do you think plastic affects the growth of the crabs?
8. What other animals do you think might be affected by plastic in the ocean? Why?
9. Have you ever seen plastic trash in the sea or on the beach? How did it make you feel?
10. Do you think people should do more to solve the problem of plastic in the ocean? Why or why not?
11. How can we help reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean?
12. What can you do personally to help protect animals like hermit crabs from plastic pollution?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. scientists
2. hermit
3. plastic
4. study
5. affects
6. natural
7. picking
8. trash
9. important
10. ocean
11. choices
12. problem

Meanings:
(A) Choosing something from a group
(B) An animal that likes to live alone and often moves into empty spaces for a home
(C) Something that comes from nature, not made by humans
(D) The large body of saltwater that covers most of the Earth
(E) Something that is very serious and needs attention
(F) People who learn about the world by doing experiments and tests
(G) A material made by people that can be shaped when soft and then hardens
(H) Different things you can pick from
(I) Things that people have thrown away because they don’t want them anymore
(J) Changes something or has an impact on it
(K) Something that is not good and needs to be fixed or solved
(L) To try to learn more about something by looking at it closely
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did scientists find hermit crabs using as their homes?
(a) Natural shells
(b) Rocks
(c) Wood
(d) Pieces of plastic

2. How many crabs were found using plastic tops as shells on the internet?
(a) 386
(b) 100
(c) 500
(d) 50

3. How do the scientists feel about crabs living in plastic?
(a) Happy
(b) Excited
(c) Sad
(d) Confused

4. Where were the crabs using plastic found?
(a) Cold places all over the world
(b) Warm places all over the world
(c) Only in the ocean
(d) Only in the desert

5. Why might crabs be picking plastic instead of natural shells?
(a) They prefer the color of plastic
(b) They are trying to make a fashion statement
(c) They are trying to protect themselves from predators
(d) There is a lot of plastic and it can be lighter to carry

6. What do the scientists want to learn more about?
(a) How crabs can find better homes
(b) How crabs can live without any homes
(c) How plastic can help or hurt the crabs
(d) How crabs can build their own shells

7. What does the study suggest people do with plastic?
(a) Use it again instead of throwing it away
(b) Throw it away in the ocean
(c) Use it to build houses
(d) Use it to make more plastic

8. Why is it important to work on the problem of plastic in the ocean?
(a) Plastic is good for the crabs
(b) There is a lot of plastic out there
(c) Plastic is bad for the crabs
(d) Crabs don’t like plastic

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The scientists are not trying to understand how plastic affects the growth of these crabs.
2. Crabs in warm places all around the world were observed using plastic.
3. The researchers felt sad to see crabs living in plastic.
4. With fewer natural shells available, crabs might be choosing plastic because it is abundant and lighter to carry.
5. It is still known whether the plastic is good or bad for the crabs.
6. Scientists have discovered that hermit crabs are using pieces of plastic as their homes.
7. They found 386 crabs using metal tops as shells on the internet.
8. The study suggests that people should dispose of plastic instead of reusing it, as there is a lot of plastic in the ocean.
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 did scientists find out about hermit crabs and plastic?
2. How did the scientists feel when they saw crabs living in plastic?
3. Why do the crabs choose plastic as their homes?
4. What does the study suggest people should do with plastic instead of throwing it away?
5. Why is it important to work on the problem of plastic in the ocean?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Scientists found that hermit crabs are using pieces of plastic as their homes.
2. The scientists found out about the crabs using plastic by looking at pictures from people who like to watch animals.
3. The scientists felt sad when they saw the crabs living in plastic.
4. The crabs using plastic were found in warm places all over the world.
5. Scientists think the crabs might be using plastic because there are fewer natural shells and plastic is lighter to carry.
6. This study shows that many hermit crabs are using plastic trash.
7. It is important to work on the problem of plastic in the ocean because there is a lot of it out there.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) crabs
(2) pieces
(3) like
(4) plastic
(5) study
(6) seen
(7) shows
(8) want
(9) learn
(10) many
(11) people
(12) problem
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. scientists
Answer: (F) People who learn about the world by doing experiments and tests

2. hermit
Answer: (B) An animal that likes to live alone and often moves into empty spaces for a home

3. plastic
Answer: (G) A material made by people that can be shaped when soft and then hardens

4. study
Answer: (L) To try to learn more about something by looking at it closely

5. affects
Answer: (J) Changes something or has an impact on it

6. natural
Answer: (C) Something that comes from nature, not made by humans

7. picking
Answer: (A) Choosing something from a group

8. trash
Answer: (I) Things that people have thrown away because they don’t want them anymore

9. important
Answer: (E) Something that is very serious and needs attention

10. ocean
Answer: (D) The large body of saltwater that covers most of the Earth

11. choices
Answer: (H) Different things you can pick from

12. problem
Answer: (K) Something that is not good and needs to be fixed or solved
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did scientists find hermit crabs using as their homes?
Answer: (d) Pieces of plastic

2. How many crabs were found using plastic tops as shells on the internet?
Answer: (a) 386

3. How do the scientists feel about crabs living in plastic?
Answer: (c) Sad

4. Where were the crabs using plastic found?
Answer: (b) Warm places all over the world

5. Why might crabs be picking plastic instead of natural shells?
Answer: (d) There is a lot of plastic and it can be lighter to carry

6. What do the scientists want to learn more about?
Answer: (c) How plastic can help or hurt the crabs

7. What does the study suggest people do with plastic?
Answer: (a) Use it again instead of throwing it away

8. Why is it important to work on the problem of plastic in the ocean?
Answer: (b) There is a lot of plastic out there
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The scientists are not trying to understand how plastic affects the growth of these crabs. (Answer: False)
2. Crabs in warm places all around the world were observed using plastic. (Answer: True)
3. The researchers felt sad to see crabs living in plastic. (Answer: True)
4. With fewer natural shells available, crabs might be choosing plastic because it is abundant and lighter to carry. (Answer: True)
5. It is still known whether the plastic is good or bad for the crabs. (Answer: False)
6. Scientists have discovered that hermit crabs are using pieces of plastic as their homes. (Answer: True)
7. They found 386 crabs using metal tops as shells on the internet. (Answer: False)
8. The study suggests that people should dispose of plastic instead of reusing it, as there is a lot of plastic in the ocean. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧