Big earthquakes in Japan made the ground move a lot. The ground went up more than 13 feet high in some places and moved sideways over 3 feet. Japan has special tools that tell us how much the ground moves when there is an earthquake. Pictures from space also showed that the ground went up because of the shaking.
Not many people died because of these big shakes. Japan is very good at getting ready for earthquakes. The country is where four big pieces of the Earth's crust meet, so it shakes a lot. Buildings in Japan are made very strong, and people know what to do when the ground shakes. Japan also has a system that tells people on TV, radio, and phones that an earthquake is coming very soon.
Japan's earthquakes don't kill as many people as in other places because they are ready. A big earthquake in Turkey killed 50,000 people, and one in Haiti killed over 100,000 people. Japan spends money to make sure buildings are safe and has a system that warns people early, so not as many people get hurt when there are earthquakes.
Original news source: How Japanβs big quake shifted the land (BBC)
π§ Listen:
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of vocabulary words related to earthquakes (e.g. earthquake, ground shaking, Japan, buildings, etc.). One person from each group will act out a word without speaking, while the others in the group try to guess the word. The group that guesses the most words correctly wins.
– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, have students read the article and summarize the main points in their own words. Then, have them share their summaries with another pair and compare their responses. Finally, as a class, discuss the main points of the article and any questions or clarifications that may arise.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Have each group come up with a question related to the article (e.g. Do you think Japan's earthquake preparedness is effective? Should other countries invest more in earthquake safety measures?). Each group will then conduct an opinion poll within the class, asking their question and recording the responses. Afterward, each group can present their findings to the class and facilitate a discussion based on the results.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words related to earthquakes on the board. Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team will choose a word and draw it on the board while their team tries to guess the word. The team that guesses the most words correctly within a given time limit wins.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: In pairs, have students discuss and make predictions about the future of earthquake preparedness in Japan and other countries. They can use the information from the article as well as their own ideas. Afterward, have pairs share their predictions with the class and engage in a discussion about the potential challenges and improvements in earthquake preparedness.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The ground moved a lot during the earthquakes in Japan.
The ground went up more than 13 feet high in some places during the earthquakes.
The ground moved sideways over 3 feet during the earthquakes.
Japan has special tools that tell us how much the ground moves during earthquakes. Pictures from space also showed that the ground went up because of the shaking.
Not many people died because Japan is very good at getting ready for earthquakes. They have strong buildings and people know what to do when the ground shakes. Japan also has a system that warns people on TV, radio, and phones when an earthquake is coming very soon.
Buildings in Japan are made very strong to withstand earthquakes. Japan spends money to make sure buildings are safe.
Japan warns people that an earthquake is coming soon through a system that sends alerts on TV, radio, and phones.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Big s in made the ground move a lot. The ground went up more than 13 feet high in some places and moved sideways over 3 feet. Japan has special tools that tell us how much the ground moves when there is an earthquake. from space also showed that the ground up because of the shaking. Not many people died because of these big shakes. Japan is very good at getting ready for . The country is where four big pieces of the Earth's crust , so it shakes a lot. Buildings in Japan are very strong, and people what to do when the ground shakes. Japan also has a system that tells people on TV, radio, and phones that an earthquake is coming very soon. Japan's earthquakes don't as many people as in other places because they are ready. A big earthquake in Turkey killed 50,000 , and one in Haiti killed over 100,000 people. Japan spends money to sure buildings are safe and has a system that warns people early, so not as many people get when there are earthquakes.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is an earthquake?
2. How would you feel if you were in Japan during an earthquake?
3. Do you like living in a place where there are earthquakes?
4. Do you think it is important to have strong buildings in earthquake-prone areas? Why or why not?
5. How do you think the special tools in Japan measure how much the ground moves during an earthquake?
6. Why do you think Japan spends money to make sure buildings are safe?
7. Have you ever experienced an earthquake? If so, what was it like?
8. What do you think it means when the article says that Japan is "very good at getting ready for earthquakes"?
9. How do you think the system in Japan that warns people about earthquakes works?
10. Do you think it is scary to receive a warning about an earthquake? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the people in Japan know what to do when the ground shakes?
12. Why do you think Japan's earthquakes don't kill as many people as in other places?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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