Scientists found out why the Earth shook for nine days. It was because of a big landslide in East Greenland. A mountainside fell, making a huge wave in a narrow fjord. This caused the ground to shake for a long time.

The landslide was as big as 25 Empire State Buildings. It happened because melting glaciers made the mountain unstable. The wave stayed in the fjord, moving back and forth for nine days. Scientists say climate change is making these events happen more often.

Even though this happened in a faraway place, it worries scientists. They think more events like this could happen because of climate change. This shows how important it is to study and understand these changes. We need to find ways to deal with these risks to keep people safe.

Original news source: Mystery tremors were from massive nine-day tsunami (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Write down key words from the article on small pieces of paper (e.g. landslide, Greenland, wave, climate change). Have students take turns picking a word and acting it out without speaking, while the others guess which word it is.

– Word Association
Instructions: Choose a word from the article (e.g. landslide) and have students say the first word that comes to their mind related to it. For example, if the word is “landslide,” students might say “mountain” or “earthquake.”

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, have students take turns summarizing the article to each other. Encourage them to include the main points such as where the event happened, what caused it, and why it is important.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary words from the article (e.g. glacier, fjord, scientist) on the board. Have students take turns coming to the board to draw and guess the word without using any letters or numbers.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into groups and have them discuss their opinions on the importance of studying climate change. Then, have each group present their opinions to the class and discuss the different viewpoints.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What caused the Earth to shake for nine days?
2. How big was the landslide in East Greenland compared to the Empire State Building?
3. Why did the mountainside fall in East Greenland?
4. What did the melting glaciers do to the mountain?
5. Why are scientists worried about events like this happening more often?
6. Why is it important to study and understand these changes?
7. What do scientists believe we need to do to keep people safe from these risks?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Scientists found out why the Earth shook for nine days. It was because of a big landslide in East Greenland. A mountainside (1)______, (2)______ a (3)______ wave in a narrow fjord. This caused the ground to shake for a long (4)______.

The landslide was as big as 25 (5)______ State Buildings. It happened because melting (6)______ made the mountain unstable. The wave stayed in the fjord, moving back and forth for nine days. Scientists say climate (7)______ is making these events happen more often.

Even though this happened in a (8)______ place, it (9)______ scientists. They think more events like this could (10)______ because of climate change. This shows how important it is to study and understand these changes. We need to (11)______ ways to deal with these risks to keep people (12)______.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a landslide?
2. How would you feel if you saw a mountain fall into the water?
3. Do you like studying about climate change? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s important to understand why the Earth shakes?
5. What do you think scientists can do to help keep people safe from landslides?
6. How would you feel if you lived near a place where the ground shook for nine days?
7. Why do you think melting glaciers can make mountains unstable?
8. What is a fjord?
9. Do you think climate change is a big problem? Why or why not?
10. How do you think people can help prevent events like this from happening more often?
11. Why do you think scientists are worried about events like this happening more often?
12. What would you do if you were a scientist studying landslides and earthquakes?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. landslide
2. fjord
3. glaciers
4. unstable
5. climate
6. events
7. scientists
8. mountainside
9. narrow
10. melting
11. risks
12. understand

Meanings:
(A) A long, deep sea inlet between high cliffs
(B) People who study and learn about things in nature
(C) Not wide, thin in width
(D) Things that happen, especially important ones
(E) Turning from solid to liquid because of heat
(F) Large, slow-moving masses of ice
(G) To know or figure out something clearly
(H) The side of a mountain
(I) When a lot of earth or rocks fall down a hill or mountain
(J) The usual weather conditions in a place
(K) Not steady or secure, likely to fall or change
(L) Chances of something bad happening
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why did the Earth shake for nine days?
(a) Because of a big landslide in East Greenland
(b) Because of an earthquake in California
(c) Because of a volcano eruption in Hawaii
(d) Because of a tornado in Kansas

2. What caused the big landslide in East Greenland?
(a) Strong winds
(b) Melting glaciers
(c) Heavy rain
(d) Earth’s rotation

3. How big was the landslide in East Greenland compared to the Empire State Building?
(a) As big as 25 Empire State Buildings
(b) As big as 10 Empire State Buildings
(c) As big as 50 Empire State Buildings
(d) As big as 5 Empire State Buildings

4. What did the melting glaciers do to the mountain in East Greenland?
(a) Made it taller
(b) Made it unstable
(c) Made it stronger
(d) Made it disappear

5. How long did the wave created by the landslide stay in the fjord?
(a) One day
(b) One week
(c) One month
(d) Nine days

6. What do scientists say is making events like the East Greenland landslide happen more often?
(a) Global warming
(b) Deforestation
(c) Pollution
(d) Climate change

7. Why do scientists think it’s important to study and understand these changes?
(a) To make money
(b) To win awards
(c) To keep people safe
(d) To cause panic

8. What do scientists believe could happen more often because of climate change?
(a) Rainbows
(b) Snowstorms
(c) Landslides
(d) Heatwaves

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Scientists believe that events like this may occur more frequently due to climate change.
2. Understanding these changes is trivial to finding ways to keep people safe from such natural disasters.
3. Scientists discovered why the Earth shook for nine days due to a big landslide in East Greenland.
4. The article overlooks the importance of studying and addressing the impacts of climate change on Earth’s stability.
5. The landslide in East Greenland was the size of 25 Empire State Buildings.
6. Melting glaciers caused the mountain to become unstable, leading to the massive landslide.
7. The incident in East Greenland has alleviated concerns among scientists about future risks related to climate change.
8. The wave created by the landslide in the narrow fjord moved back and forth for three days.
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. Why did the Earth shake for nine days in East Greenland?
2. How big was the landslide in East Greenland compared to the Empire State Building?
3. Why did the mountain in East Greenland collapse?
4. Why are scientists worried about events like the landslide in East Greenland happening more often?
5. Why is it important to study and understand climate change according to the article?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What caused the Earth to shake for nine days?
A big landslide in East Greenland caused the Earth to shake for nine days.

2. How big was the landslide in East Greenland compared to the Empire State Building?
The landslide was as big as 25 Empire State Buildings.

3. Why did the mountainside fall in East Greenland?
The mountainside fell because melting glaciers made the mountain unstable.

4. What did the melting glaciers do to the mountain?
The melting glaciers made the mountain unstable, causing the landslide.

5. Why are scientists worried about events like this happening more often?
Scientists are worried because they think climate change is making these events happen more frequently.

6. Why is it important to study and understand these changes?
It is important to study and understand these changes to find ways to keep people safe from similar risks in the future.

7. What do scientists believe we need to do to keep people safe from these risks?
Scientists believe we need to find ways to deal with these risks and adapt to the changes caused by climate change to keep people safe.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) fell
(2) making
(3) huge
(4) time
(5) Empire
(6) glaciers
(7) change
(8) faraway
(9) worries
(10) happen
(11) find
(12) safe
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. landslide
Answer: (I) When a lot of earth or rocks fall down a hill or mountain

2. fjord
Answer: (A) A long, deep sea inlet between high cliffs

3. glaciers
Answer: (F) Large, slow-moving masses of ice

4. unstable
Answer: (K) Not steady or secure, likely to fall or change

5. climate
Answer: (J) The usual weather conditions in a place

6. events
Answer: (D) Things that happen, especially important ones

7. scientists
Answer: (B) People who study and learn about things in nature

8. mountainside
Answer: (H) The side of a mountain

9. narrow
Answer: (C) Not wide, thin in width

10. melting
Answer: (E) Turning from solid to liquid because of heat

11. risks
Answer: (L) Chances of something bad happening

12. understand
Answer: (G) To know or figure out something clearly
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why did the Earth shake for nine days?
Answer: (a) Because of a big landslide in East Greenland

2. What caused the big landslide in East Greenland?
Answer: (b) Melting glaciers

3. How big was the landslide in East Greenland compared to the Empire State Building?
Answer: (a) As big as 25 Empire State Buildings

4. What did the melting glaciers do to the mountain in East Greenland?
Answer: (b) Made it unstable

5. How long did the wave created by the landslide stay in the fjord?
Answer: (d) Nine days

6. What do scientists say is making events like the East Greenland landslide happen more often?
Answer: (d) Climate change

7. Why do scientists think it’s important to study and understand these changes?
Answer: (c) To keep people safe

8. What do scientists believe could happen more often because of climate change?
Answer: (c) Landslides
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Scientists believe that events like this may occur more frequently due to climate change. (Answer: True)
2. Understanding these changes is trivial to finding ways to keep people safe from such natural disasters. (Answer: False)
3. Scientists discovered why the Earth shook for nine days due to a big landslide in East Greenland. (Answer: True)
4. The article overlooks the importance of studying and addressing the impacts of climate change on Earth’s stability. (Answer: False)
5. The landslide in East Greenland was the size of 25 Empire State Buildings. (Answer: True)
6. Melting glaciers caused the mountain to become unstable, leading to the massive landslide. (Answer: True)
7. The incident in East Greenland has alleviated concerns among scientists about future risks related to climate change. (Answer: False)
8. The wave created by the landslide in the narrow fjord moved back and forth for three days. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧