Last week, a truck in Oregon had an accident while it was moving 102,000 young salmon fish to a river. The truck was going to the Imnaha River but crashed and let about 77,000 fish go into the wrong river, called Lookingglass Creek. The person driving the truck got hurt a little bit. Because of the crash, more than 25,000 of the fish died either in the truck or next to the creek.

The group that looks after fish in Oregon said this accident means they lost about 20% of the fish they wanted to put in the Imnaha River this year. They think because of this, fewer grown-up fish will come back to that river in a few years to have babies. They guess that 500-900 fewer fish will come back because of the fish that were lost.

But, there is a little bit of good news. The 77,000 fish that ended up in Lookingglass Creek might help that place. They think these fish might grow up and about 350-700 of them could come back to Lookingglass Creek as adults. This means even though the accident was bad, there might still be some good that comes from it for the fish in the new place.

Original news source: Truck crash spills live salmon into Oregon river (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Word Association
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a few minutes to read the article. Then, ask them to take turns saying a word that comes to mind when they think about the article. The next person in the group must then say a word that is associated with the previous word. Encourage them to explain their choices and discuss the connections between the words.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Provide each student with a piece of paper and a pencil. Ask them to read the article and choose one scene or image that they find interesting or memorable. Instruct them to sketch that scene or image on their paper. After they finish, have them share their sketches with a partner and describe what they drew and why.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a few minutes to read the article. Then, set a timer for one minute and ask the first student to summarize the main points of the article to their partner. After one minute, ask the second student to summarize what they heard to their partner. Encourage them to use their own words and try to capture the key details and ideas.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Before class, select 10-15 vocabulary words from the article. Write each word on a small piece of paper and put them in a hat or container. Divide the class into teams. One student from each team will come to the front and pick a word from the hat. Without speaking, they must draw a picture on the board to represent the word. Their team members must guess the word based on the drawing. The first team to correctly guess the word gets a point. Continue until all the words have been used or time runs out. The team with the most points wins.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a few minutes to read the article. Then, ask them to discuss the pros and cons of the situation described in the article. Encourage them to consider both the negative and positive aspects and to provide reasons to support their opinions. After their discussion, ask each group to share their thoughts with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the truck carrying the young salmon fish?
2. Where were the fish supposed to go?
3. Where did the fish end up instead?
4. What happened to the driver of the truck?
5. How many of the fish died because of the crash?
6. Why is the group that looks after fish in Oregon worried?
7. What good might come from the fish ending up in Lookingglass Creek?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Last week, a truck in Oregon had an accident while it was moving 102,000 young (1)______ fish to a (2)______. The truck was going to the Imnaha River but crashed and let about 77,000 fish go into the (3)______ river, called Lookingglass Creek. The person driving the truck got hurt a (4)______ bit. Because of the crash, more than 25,000 of the fish died either in the truck or (5)______ to the creek.

The group that looks after fish in Oregon (6)______ this accident means they lost about 20% of the fish they wanted to put in the Imnaha River this year. They think because of this, (7)______ grown-up (8)______ will come back to that river in a few years to have babies. They guess that 500-900 fewer fish will come back because of the fish that were lost.

But, there is a little bit of (9)______ news. The 77,000 fish that ended up in Lookingglass (10)______ might help that place. They think these fish might grow up and about 350-700 of them could come back to Lookingglass Creek as (11)______. This means even though the accident was bad, there might still be some good that (12)______ from it for the fish in the new place.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a salmon?
2. How would you feel if you were the person driving the truck and had an accident?
3. Do you like fish? Why or why not?
4. Do you think accidents like this happen often? Why or why not?
5. What do you think will happen to the fish that ended up in the wrong river?
6. How do you think the fish in the new river will feel?
7. Have you ever seen a river? What did it look like?
8. What do you think the group that looks after fish in Oregon should do to prevent accidents like this?
9. Do you think it is important to take care of fish and other animals? Why or why not?
10. How would you feel if you were one of the fish that died in the accident?
11. What do you think the fish in the Imnaha River will do without the 20% of fish that were lost?
12. Do you think accidents like this can sometimes have positive outcomes? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. accident
2. salmon
3. river
4. crashed
5. injured
6. died
7. group
8. lost
9. adults
10. babies
11. good news
12. adults

Meanings:
(A) When something can’t be found anymore
(B) When something or someone stops being alive
(C) A number of people who are together for the same reason
(D) When something bad and unexpected happens
(E) Very young children or animals
(F) People who are fully grown up
(G) Information that makes you happy
(H) A large, flowing body of water
(I) When something hits something else very hard
(J) Grown-up people
(K) When someone is hurt
(L) A type of fish that is often pink inside
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to the truck in Oregon?
(a) It ran out of gas
(b) It had an accident
(c) It got a flat tire
(d) It was stolen

2. Where was the truck going?
(a) Lookingglass Creek
(b) Columbia River
(c) Imnaha River
(d) Snake River

3. How many fish were in the truck?
(a) 102,000
(b) 77,000
(c) 25,000
(d) 20,000

4. How many fish were lost because of the accident?
(a) 77,000
(b) 25,000
(c) 20,000
(d) 102,000

5. How many fish died in the truck or next to the creek?
(a) Less than 25,000
(b) Exactly 25,000
(c) None of the fish died
(d) More than 25,000

6. What percentage of the fish did the group lose?
(a) 50%
(b) 10%
(c) 20%
(d) 5%

7. How many fewer fish do they think will come back to the Imnaha River?
(a) 100-300
(b) 1000-1500
(c) 2000-2500
(d) 500-900

8. How many fish might come back to Lookingglass Creek?
(a) 100-200
(b) 350-700
(c) 800-1000
(d) 1500-2000

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The accident happened when the truck was on its way to the Imnaha River.
2. They believe that fewer adult fish will return to the Imnaha River in the future to lay eggs because of the fish that were lost.
3. The driver of the truck sustained injuries, but they were not severe.
4. The fish conservation group in Oregon estimates that they lost around 20% of the fish they planned to release into the Imnaha River this year.
5. As a result of the incident, more than 20,000 fish perished either in the truck or around the creek.
6. A truck in Oregon had an accident while transporting 102,000 young salmon fish.
7. However, there is a silver lining as the 70,000 fish that ended up in Lookingglass Creek could potentially aid the fish population there.
8. The truck collided and discharged around 70,000 fish into another river named Lookingglass Creek.
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 happened to the truck that was carrying the young salmon fish?
2. Where were the fish supposed to go?
3. How many fish were lost in the accident?
4. Why is it bad that fewer fish will come back to the Imnaha River?
5. What is the good news about the fish that ended up in Lookingglass Creek?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the truck carrying the young salmon fish?
The truck had an accident.

2. Where were the fish supposed to go?
The fish were supposed to go to the Imnaha River.

3. Where did the fish end up instead?
The fish ended up in Lookingglass Creek.

4. What happened to the driver of the truck?
The driver of the truck got hurt a little bit.

5. How many of the fish died because of the crash?
More than 25,000 of the fish died because of the crash.

6. Why is the group that looks after fish in Oregon worried?
They are worried because they lost 20% of the fish they wanted to put in the Imnaha River, which means fewer grown-up fish will come back in a few years.

7. What good might come from the fish ending up in Lookingglass Creek?
About 350-700 of the fish might come back to Lookingglass Creek as adults.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) salmon
(2) river
(3) wrong
(4) little
(5) next
(6) said
(7) fewer
(8) fish
(9) good
(10) Creek
(11) adults
(12) comes
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. accident
Answer: (D) When something bad and unexpected happens

2. salmon
Answer: (L) A type of fish that is often pink inside

3. river
Answer: (H) A large, flowing body of water

4. crashed
Answer: (I) When something hits something else very hard

5. injured
Answer: (K) When someone is hurt

6. died
Answer: (B) When something or someone stops being alive

7. group
Answer: (C) A number of people who are together for the same reason

8. lost
Answer: (A) When something can’t be found anymore

9. adults
Answer: (J) Grown-up people

10. babies
Answer: (E) Very young children or animals

11. good news
Answer: (G) Information that makes you happy

12. adults
Answer: (F) People who are fully grown up
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened to the truck in Oregon?
Answer: (b) It had an accident

2. Where was the truck going?
Answer: (c) Imnaha River

3. How many fish were in the truck?
Answer: (a) 102,000

4. How many fish were lost because of the accident?
Answer: (a) 77,000

5. How many fish died in the truck or next to the creek?
Answer: (d) More than 25,000

6. What percentage of the fish did the group lose?
Answer: (c) 20%

7. How many fewer fish do they think will come back to the Imnaha River?
Answer: (d) 500-900

8. How many fish might come back to Lookingglass Creek?
Answer: (b) 350-700
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The accident happened when the truck was on its way to the Imnaha River. (Answer: True)
2. They believe that fewer adult fish will return to the Imnaha River in the future to lay eggs because of the fish that were lost. (Answer: True)
3. The driver of the truck sustained injuries, but they were not severe. (Answer: False)
4. The fish conservation group in Oregon estimates that they lost around 20% of the fish they planned to release into the Imnaha River this year. (Answer: True)
5. As a result of the incident, more than 20,000 fish perished either in the truck or around the creek. (Answer: False)
6. A truck in Oregon had an accident while transporting 102,000 young salmon fish. (Answer: True)
7. However, there is a silver lining as the 70,000 fish that ended up in Lookingglass Creek could potentially aid the fish population there. (Answer: False)
8. The truck collided and discharged around 70,000 fish into another river named Lookingglass Creek. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧