Scientists are using something called artificial intelligence, or AI, to help them look for life outside of Earth. They are working with a big project in New Mexico that uses a lot of antennas to listen for signals from space. This AI can look at a huge amount of information very fast, which helps scientists find new kinds of signals that might come from aliens. They can also take lots of pictures over time to see if anything changes or moves, which might mean there are aliens out there.

There’s another team that’s using AI to check out a lot of stars and galaxies to see if they can hear any signals from aliens. They found eight signals that might be from aliens, which people didn’t notice before. Also, scientists are using AI to look at rocks from Mars to see if there was ever life there. They found that AI is really good at telling the difference between things that were once alive and things that were never alive.

So, AI is really helping scientists look for aliens in ways they couldn’t before. They can look at so much more information now and find things they might have missed. But even with all this cool technology, they still need to do a lot of checking to make sure what they find is really from aliens. It’s an exciting time, but there’s still a lot more work to do.

Original news source: How AI is helping the search for extraterrestrial life (BBC)

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Give each group a copy of the article.
3. Instruct the groups to read the article together and create a summary of the main points.
4. After a designated amount of time, have each group share their summary with the class.

– Word Association
Instructions:
1. Write the word “AI” on the board.
2. Ask the students to brainstorm words or phrases that they associate with AI.
3. Encourage the students to think creatively and share their ideas with the class.
4. Write down their responses on the board and discuss the connections between AI and the students’ ideas.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Select vocabulary words from the article, such as “artificial intelligence,” “signals,” “aliens,” etc.
2. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
3. Give each group a set of vocabulary words.
4. Instruct the groups to take turns selecting a word and drawing a picture to represent it.
5. The other group members must guess the word within a time limit.
6. Repeat the process with the remaining words.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions:
1. Pair up the students and give each pair a copy of the article.
2. Set a timer for a short amount of time (e.g. 2 minutes).
3. Instruct each student to take turns summarizing a section of the article to their partner within the time limit.
4. After the time limit is up, have the pairs switch roles and summarize another section.
5. Repeat the process until the entire article has been summarized.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Write the following question on the board: “Do you think there is intelligent life outside of Earth?”
2. Divide the class into small groups.
3. Instruct each group to discuss the question and come up with their own opinions.
4. After a designated amount of time, have each group share their opinions with the class.
5. Encourage the students to provide reasons for their opinions and engage in a class discussion about the topic.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What are scientists using artificial intelligence for?
2. How does AI help scientists find signals from aliens?
3. What are scientists using AI to look at on Mars?
4. What is AI good at telling the difference between?
5. How is AI helping scientists find things they might have missed?
6. Why do scientists still need to do a lot of checking?
7. Is there still a lot of work to do in the search for aliens? Why?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Scientists are (1)______ something called artificial intelligence, or AI, to help them look for life outside of Earth. They are working with a big project in New Mexico that (2)______ a lot of antennas to (3)______ for signals from space. This AI can look at a huge amount of information very fast, which helps scientists find new kinds of signals that might come from aliens. They can also take lots of pictures over time to see if anything changes or moves, which might mean there are aliens out there.

There’s another team that’s using AI to check out a lot of (4)______ and (5)______ to see if they can (6)______ any signals from aliens. They found eight signals that might be from aliens, which people didn’t notice before. Also, scientists are using AI to look at rocks from Mars to see if there was ever life there. They found that AI is really good at telling the difference between (7)______ that were once (8)______ and things that were never alive.

So, AI is really (9)______ scientists look for aliens in ways they couldn’t before. They can look at so much (10)______ information now and (11)______ things they might have missed. But even with all this cool technology, they still need to do a lot of checking to make (12)______ what they find is really from aliens. It’s an exciting time, but there’s still a lot more work to do.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is artificial intelligence, or AI?
2. How do scientists use AI to look for life outside of Earth?
3. How would you feel if scientists found signals from aliens?
4. Do you think there are aliens out there? Why or why not?
5. What are some ways AI helps scientists find new things in space?
6. What is another way scientists use AI to search for aliens?
7. How many signals did the scientists find that might be from aliens?
8. Why is it important for scientists to check if what they find is really from aliens?
9. Do you think it’s exciting that scientists are using AI to look for aliens? Why or why not?
10. How do you think AI can help scientists in other areas besides searching for aliens?
11. Do you like learning about space and aliens? Why or why not?
12. What do you think is the most interesting thing scientists have discovered using AI?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. artificial intelligence
2. antennas
3. signals
4. aliens
5. galaxies
6. Mars
7. technology
8. information
9. scientists
10. project
11. checking
12. exciting

Meanings:
(A) A smart computer system that can do tasks that usually need human intelligence
(B) Messages sent through waves not seen by the eye
(C) Long rods or wires that catch or send out radio waves
(D) A planned piece of work to achieve a goal
(E) Tools and machines that are made using scientific knowledge
(F) Facts or details about something
(G) Looking at something carefully to make sure it’s right
(H) Creatures from other planets
(I) Making you feel happy and full of energy because it’s interesting
(J) People who study things to learn new facts
(K) Huge groups of stars and planets far away in space
(L) The fourth planet from the sun, known for its red color
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What are scientists using artificial intelligence (AI) for?
(a) To build antennas in New Mexico
(b) To take pictures of stars and galaxies
(c) To help them look for life outside of Earth
(d) To study rocks from Mars

2. What does AI help scientists do?
(a) Look at a huge amount of information very fast
(b) Build antennas to listen for signals from space
(c) Find new kinds of signals that might come from aliens
(d) All of the above

3. How many signals from aliens did the team find using AI?
(a) Five
(b) Eight
(c) Ten
(d) Fifteen

4. What are scientists using AI to look at from Mars?
(a) Antennas
(b) Stars
(c) Galaxies
(d) Rocks

5. What is AI good at telling the difference between?
(a) Antennas and rocks
(b) Stars and galaxies
(c) Things that were once alive and things that were never alive
(d) Scientists and aliens

6. What is one advantage of using AI to look for aliens?
(a) Scientists don’t have to do any checking
(b) Scientists can build more antennas
(c) Scientists can take more pictures
(d) Scientists can look at so much more information now

7. What do scientists still need to do even with AI technology?
(a) A lot of checking to make sure what they find is really from aliens
(b) Build more antennas
(c) Take more pictures
(d) None of the above

8. What kind of project in New Mexico is using AI to listen for signals from space?
(a) A small project with a few antennas
(b) A big project with a lot of antennas
(c) A project studying rocks from Mars
(d) A project studying stars and galaxies

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Scientists can also use AI to monitor changes or movements in pictures to identify possible signs of aliens.
2. The team has discovered eight signals that were previously unnoticed.
3. AI is not being used to study rocks from Mars to determine if there was ever life on the planet.
4. The AI can detect new types of signals that may come from aliens.
5. The AI technology hinders scientists analyze a large amount of information quickly.
6. AI technology is assisting scientists in finding more information and potential evidence of alien life, but further investigation is still necessary.
7. Scientists are not using artificial intelligence to search for signs of life beyond Earth.
8. Another team is not using AI to study stars and galaxies for potential alien signals.
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 is artificial intelligence (AI) and how are scientists using it to search for life outside of Earth?
2. What is the big project in New Mexico that scientists are working on with AI?
3. How does AI help scientists find new signals that might come from aliens?
4. What are scientists using AI to look for in stars and galaxies?
5. How is AI helping scientists determine if there was ever life on Mars?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Scientists are using artificial intelligence to help them look for life outside of Earth.
2. AI can look at a huge amount of information very fast, which helps scientists find new kinds of signals that might come from aliens.
3. Scientists are using AI to look at rocks from Mars to see if there was ever life there.
4. AI is good at telling the difference between things that were once alive and things that were never alive.
5. AI is helping scientists find things they might have missed by looking at a lot more information and taking lots of pictures over time.
6. Scientists still need to do a lot of checking to make sure what they find is really from aliens.
7. Yes, there is still a lot of work to do in the search for aliens because even with AI, scientists need to be sure that what they find is really from aliens.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) using
(2) uses
(3) listen
(4) stars
(5) galaxies
(6) hear
(7) things
(8) alive
(9) helping
(10) more
(11) find
(12) sure
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. artificial intelligence
Answer: (A) A smart computer system that can do tasks that usually need human intelligence

2. antennas
Answer: (C) Long rods or wires that catch or send out radio waves

3. signals
Answer: (B) Messages sent through waves not seen by the eye

4. aliens
Answer: (H) Creatures from other planets

5. galaxies
Answer: (K) Huge groups of stars and planets far away in space

6. Mars
Answer: (L) The fourth planet from the sun, known for its red color

7. technology
Answer: (E) Tools and machines that are made using scientific knowledge

8. information
Answer: (F) Facts or details about something

9. scientists
Answer: (J) People who study things to learn new facts

10. project
Answer: (D) A planned piece of work to achieve a goal

11. checking
Answer: (G) Looking at something carefully to make sure it’s right

12. exciting
Answer: (I) Making you feel happy and full of energy because it’s interesting
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What are scientists using artificial intelligence (AI) for?
Answer: (c) To help them look for life outside of Earth

2. What does AI help scientists do?
Answer: (a) Look at a huge amount of information very fast

3. How many signals from aliens did the team find using AI?
Answer: (b) Eight

4. What are scientists using AI to look at from Mars?
Answer: (d) Rocks

5. What is AI good at telling the difference between?
Answer: (c) Things that were once alive and things that were never alive

6. What is one advantage of using AI to look for aliens?
Answer: (d) Scientists can look at so much more information now

7. What do scientists still need to do even with AI technology?
Answer: (a) A lot of checking to make sure what they find is really from aliens

8. What kind of project in New Mexico is using AI to listen for signals from space?
Answer: (b) A big project with a lot of antennas
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Scientists can also use AI to monitor changes or movements in pictures to identify possible signs of aliens. (Answer: True)
2. The team has discovered eight signals that were previously unnoticed. (Answer: True)
3. AI is not being used to study rocks from Mars to determine if there was ever life on the planet. (Answer: False)
4. The AI can detect new types of signals that may come from aliens. (Answer: True)
5. The AI technology hinders scientists analyze a large amount of information quickly. (Answer: False)
6. AI technology is assisting scientists in finding more information and potential evidence of alien life, but further investigation is still necessary. (Answer: True)
7. Scientists are not using artificial intelligence to search for signs of life beyond Earth. (Answer: False)
8. Another team is not using AI to study stars and galaxies for potential alien signals. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧