Scientists have found four new groups of emperor penguins in Antarctica using pictures from space. This means there are now 66 places where these big penguins live and have their babies. Emperor penguins need ice to live and have their babies, but because the Earth is getting warmer, there is less ice for them. Finding new groups of penguins is good news, but these penguins might have to find new homes because of the changing ice.

Emperor penguins are the biggest kind of penguin and they live in very cold places. They like to stay together in big groups, but these groups are usually far apart from each other. Scientists have been looking at pictures from space to find penguin groups we didn’t know about before. With these four new groups, there might be a few thousand more penguins, adding to the total number of about 550,000. But, the penguins will have to be good at moving to new places if their ice homes keep changing.

The best way to find where emperor penguins live is by looking at pictures from space. Scientists can see where the penguins are because the penguins make the ice look dirty from far away. A scientist named Dr. Peter Fretwell has found about half of the penguin groups this way. Finding new groups shows us that penguins can move and live in new places when their ice homes change.

Original news source: Four new emperor penguin groups found by satellite (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a word related to the article (e.g. penguin, ice, Antarctica). One person from each group will act out the word without speaking, while the others try to guess what it is. The group that guesses correctly earns a point. Repeat with different words from the article.

– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students work in pairs. Give each pair a copy of the article. Instruct them to read the article and write a summary of the main points in their own words. After a few minutes, have pairs share their summaries with the class. Discuss any differences or similarities between the summaries.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write the following statement on the board: “Emperor penguins should be protected from the effects of climate change.” Have students indicate whether they agree or disagree by raising their hands. Divide the class into two groups: one group representing those who agree and one group representing those who disagree. Give each group a few minutes to come up with reasons to support their stance. Then, have a class discussion where students from each group share their reasons and try to convince others to join their side.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a list of vocabulary words from the article (e.g. penguin, Antarctica, ice). One person from each pair will choose a word and draw a picture representing that word. Their partner must guess the word based on the picture. Each correct guess earns a point. The pair with the most points at the end wins.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Discuss with the class the potential consequences of climate change on the habitat of emperor penguins. Have students work in small groups to brainstorm and write down three predictions about what might happen to the penguins in the future. After a few minutes, have each group share their predictions with the class. Encourage discussion and debate about the likelihood and potential impact of each prediction.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. How did scientists find the new groups of emperor penguins?
2. Why do emperor penguins need ice to live and have their babies?
3. What is happening to the ice that the penguins need?
4. Are emperor penguins the biggest kind of penguin?
5. How do scientists know where the penguins are?
6. Who found about half of the penguin groups?
7. What does finding new groups of penguins show us?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Scientists have found four new groups of emperor penguins in Antarctica using pictures from (1)______. This means there are now 66 (2)______ where these big penguins live and have their (3)______. Emperor penguins need ice to live and have their babies, but because the Earth is getting warmer, there is less ice for them. Finding new groups of (4)______ is good news, but these penguins might have to find new homes because of the changing ice.

Emperor penguins are the biggest kind of penguin and they live in very (5)______ places. They like to (6)______ together in big groups, but these groups are usually far apart from each other. Scientists have been looking at pictures from space to (7)______ penguin groups we didn’t know about before. With these four new groups, there might be a few thousand (8)______ penguins, adding to the total number of about 550,000. But, the penguins will have to be good at moving to new places if their ice homes keep changing.

The best way to find where emperor penguins (9)______ is by looking at pictures from space. Scientists can see where the penguins are because the penguins make the ice look dirty from far away. A scientist named Dr. Peter (10)______ has found about half of the penguin (11)______ this way. Finding new groups shows us that penguins can (12)______ and live in new places when their ice homes change.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is an emperor penguin?
2. How would you feel if you had to move to a new home?
3. Do you like penguins? Why or why not?
4. What do you think is causing the Earth to get warmer?
5. How do scientists find new groups of penguins?
6. Why do emperor penguins need ice to live and have their babies?
7. How do scientists know where the penguins are when they look at pictures from space?
8. Do you think it’s important to protect the penguins’ ice homes? Why or why not?
9. What do you think might happen if the penguins can’t find new homes?
10. Have you ever seen a penguin in real life? If so, where?
11. What do you think the penguins might do if their ice homes keep changing?
12. How do you think the penguins feel when they have to move to a new place?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Antarctica
2. emperor
3. satellites
4. habitats
5. climate
6. species
7. photographs
8. migrate
9. researchers
10. detect
11. conservation
12. adaptation

Meanings:
(A) A group of living things that are the same in many ways
(B) The natural homes or environments where animals and plants live
(C) Machines that go around the Earth in space to take pictures or collect information
(D) The very cold place at the bottom of the Earth
(E) Pictures taken with a camera
(F) To move from one place to another, usually when the seasons change
(G) A very important or powerful person, used here to name a type of penguin
(H) The work of protecting the natural environment and animals
(I) The usual weather in a place over a long time
(J) People who study things carefully to learn more about them
(K) To notice or find something, especially something that is not easy to see
(L) The process of changing to fit a new environment or different conditions
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. How many new groups of emperor penguins did scientists find in Antarctica?
(a) Three
(b) Five
(c) Four
(d) Six

2. Why do emperor penguins need ice?
(a) To swim and catch fish
(b) To live and have their babies
(c) To stay cool in hot weather
(d) To play and slide around

3. Why is it getting harder for emperor penguins to find ice?
(a) The Earth is getting warmer
(b) There are too many penguins
(c) The ice is melting too fast
(d) Other animals are taking their ice

4. How many total places do emperor penguins live in now?
(a) 55
(b) 77
(c) 44
(d) 66

5. What is the biggest kind of penguin?
(a) King penguin
(b) Gentoo penguin
(c) Adelie penguin
(d) Emperor penguin

6. How do scientists find new groups of emperor penguins?
(a) By going to Antarctica and looking for them
(b) By asking other penguins where they live
(c) By looking at pictures from space
(d) By listening for their calls

7. How do the penguins make the ice look dirty from space?
(a) By swimming in the water and splashing
(b) By walking on it and leaving footprints
(c) By sliding on their bellies and leaving marks
(d) By pecking at the ice and making holes

8. What does finding new groups of penguins show us?
(a) Penguins can move and live in new places
(b) Penguins are getting smaller in size
(c) Penguins are becoming endangered
(d) Penguins only live in one place their whole lives

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Scientists have been using pictures from space to find unknown penguin groups.
2. These penguins need ice to live and have their babies.
3. Due to global warming, there is more ice available for the penguins.
4. The discovery of new penguin groups is bad news.
5. Emperor penguins are the largest type of penguin and live in very cold places.
6. The penguins might not have to find new homes because of the changing ice.
7. The penguins can adapt and live in new places when their ice homes change.
8. Scientists have not discovered four new groups of emperor penguins in Antarctica.
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. How many new groups of emperor penguins did scientists find in Antarctica?
2. Why do emperor penguins need ice to live and have their babies?
3. What is happening to the ice that is affecting the emperor penguins?
4. How do scientists find where emperor penguins live?
5. Why is it important for the penguins to be good at moving to new places?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. How did scientists find the new groups of emperor penguins?
Scientists found the new groups of emperor penguins by looking at pictures from space.

2. Why do emperor penguins need ice to live and have their babies?
Emperor penguins need ice to live and have their babies because they like to stay together in big groups and the ice provides a safe place for them to do that.

3. What is happening to the ice that the penguins need?
The ice that the penguins need is melting because the Earth is getting warmer.

4. Are emperor penguins the biggest kind of penguin?
Yes, emperor penguins are the biggest kind of penguin.

5. How do scientists know where the penguins are?
Scientists know where the penguins are by looking at pictures from space. The penguins make the ice look dirty from far away, so scientists can see where they are.

6. Who found about half of the penguin groups?
A scientist named Dr. Peter Fretwell found about half of the penguin groups.

7. What does finding new groups of penguins show us?
Finding new groups of penguins shows us that penguins can move and live in new places when their ice homes change.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) space
(2) places
(3) babies
(4) penguins
(5) cold
(6) stay
(7) find
(8) more
(9) live
(10) Fretwell
(11) groups
(12) move
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Antarctica
Answer: (D) The very cold place at the bottom of the Earth

2. emperor
Answer: (G) A very important or powerful person, used here to name a type of penguin

3. satellites
Answer: (C) Machines that go around the Earth in space to take pictures or collect information

4. habitats
Answer: (B) The natural homes or environments where animals and plants live

5. climate
Answer: (I) The usual weather in a place over a long time

6. species
Answer: (A) A group of living things that are the same in many ways

7. photographs
Answer: (E) Pictures taken with a camera

8. migrate
Answer: (F) To move from one place to another, usually when the seasons change

9. researchers
Answer: (J) People who study things carefully to learn more about them

10. detect
Answer: (K) To notice or find something, especially something that is not easy to see

11. conservation
Answer: (H) The work of protecting the natural environment and animals

12. adaptation
Answer: (L) The process of changing to fit a new environment or different conditions
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. How many new groups of emperor penguins did scientists find in Antarctica?
Answer: (c) Four

2. Why do emperor penguins need ice?
Answer: (b) To live and have their babies

3. Why is it getting harder for emperor penguins to find ice?
Answer: (a) The Earth is getting warmer

4. How many total places do emperor penguins live in now?
Answer: (d) 66

5. What is the biggest kind of penguin?
Answer: (d) Emperor penguin

6. How do scientists find new groups of emperor penguins?
Answer: (c) By looking at pictures from space

7. How do the penguins make the ice look dirty from space?
Answer: (b) By walking on it and leaving footprints

8. What does finding new groups of penguins show us?
Answer: (a) Penguins can move and live in new places
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Scientists have been using pictures from space to find unknown penguin groups. (Answer: True)
2. These penguins need ice to live and have their babies. (Answer: True)
3. Due to global warming, there is more ice available for the penguins. (Answer: False)
4. The discovery of new penguin groups is bad news. (Answer: False)
5. Emperor penguins are the largest type of penguin and live in very cold places. (Answer: True)
6. The penguins might not have to find new homes because of the changing ice. (Answer: False)
7. The penguins can adapt and live in new places when their ice homes change. (Answer: True)
8. Scientists have not discovered four new groups of emperor penguins in Antarctica. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧