There is a place in Iceland where the ground shakes and might start to spit fire. This place hasn’t had any big fire mountains wake up for 800 years, but now they might start again. A small town near the ocean had to send everyone away because the ground is breaking and might open up. The town is also sinking, which is hurting the houses and streets.

A scientist named Dr. Roberts found hot, melted rocks moving under the ground, making it crack. This is why the town had to be empty. The ground keeps shaking, making big cracks and breaking houses. Everyone is waiting to see if a fire mountain will start soon. If it does, it could break more things and make bad air.

A long time ago, people in Iceland had to leave their homes because of a fire mountain, but that was 50 years back. Now, there is hot rock not too far under the ground. People can’t go home for a while. The fire mountain might not explode big, but it could leak out fire for a long time. People are trying to make plans to keep safe, like building walls and closing a place where people swim in warm water.

Original news source: Iceland volcano: Peninsula faces ‘decades’ of instability (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Pair up students and assign them the roles of a news reporter and a local resident of the Icelandic town. The reporter should ask questions about the situation, and the resident should answer based on information from the article. Encourage the use of past tense and vocabulary related to natural disasters.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Ask students to read the article and then, on a piece of paper, individually sketch one of the scenes described (e.g., the town sinking, houses being damaged). After sketching, they should show their drawing to a partner and explain what is happening in the scene using English vocabulary from the text.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Write a statement on the board, such as “People should be allowed to return to their homes in the town near the fire mountain.” Have students line up according to how strongly they agree or disagree with the statement. Then, ask students from different points on the spectrum to explain their position using reasons and examples from the article.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary words from the article (e.g., ground shakes, spit fire, sinking, hot melted rocks, etc.). Divide the class into two teams. Have one student from each team come to the board to draw the selected word for their team to guess. The team that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have students work in small groups to discuss and write down predictions about the situation described in the article. They should consider questions like: Will the fire mountain erupt? What will happen to the town? How might the residents prepare? Each group can then share their predictions with the class, using the future tense.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Where is the place that might start to spit fire located?
2. How long has it been since the last big fire mountains woke up in this place?
3. What had to happen to the small town near the ocean because of the ground breaking?
4. What did Dr. Roberts find under the ground?
5. What is happening to the houses and streets in the town?
6. When was the last time people in Iceland had to leave their homes because of a fire mountain?
7. What are people doing to try and stay safe from the fire mountain?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

There is a (1)______ in Iceland where the ground shakes and might (2)______ to spit fire. This place hasn’t had any big fire mountains wake up for 800 years, but now they might start again. A small town near the ocean had to send everyone away because the ground is (3)______ and might open up. The town is also sinking, which is hurting the houses and streets.

A scientist named Dr. Roberts found hot, melted rocks (4)______ under the (5)______, making it crack. This is why the town had to be empty. The ground keeps (6)______, making big cracks and breaking houses. Everyone is waiting to see if a (7)______ mountain will start soon. If it (8)______, it could break more things and make bad air.

A long time ago, people in Iceland had to leave their homes because of a fire mountain, but that was 50 (9)______ back. Now, there is hot rock not too far under the ground. People can’t go home for a while. The fire mountain might not explode big, but it could leak out fire for a long time. People are (10)______ to (11)______ plans to keep safe, like building walls and closing a place where people swim in warm (12)______.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a fire mountain?
2. Have you ever felt the ground shake? How did it make you feel?
3. Do you like living near the ocean? Why or why not?
4. What would you do if your town started to sink?
5. How would you feel if you had to leave your home quickly?
6. Do you think it’s scary when a fire mountain might start? Why?
7. Have you ever seen a big crack in the ground? What did you think?
8. What do you think people should do when their houses get broken?
9. If you were a scientist like Dr. Roberts, what would you want to learn about the ground?
10. Do you think it’s important to make plans for safety? Why or why not?
11. Do you like swimming in warm water? Would you miss it if you couldn’t go anymore?
12. What would you take with you if you had to leave your home because of a fire mountain?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Iceland
2. ground
3. fire
4. town
5. shaking
6. crack
7. houses
8. mountain

Meanings:
(a) A line or split in something
(b) The surface of the Earth that we walk on
(c) A country with lots of ice and snow
(d) Moving back and forth quickly
(e) A small place where people live
(f) Something that is very hot and can burn
(g) Buildings where people live
(h) A very tall hill made of rock and dirt
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why did the small town in Iceland have to send everyone away?
(a) They wanted to go on vacation.
(b) The houses and streets were sinking.
(c) The ground was breaking and might open up.
(d) The town was too crowded.

2. What did Dr. Roberts find under the ground?
(a) Gold and diamonds.
(b) Hot, melted rocks.
(c) Cold, frozen rocks.
(d) Nothing at all.

3. Why did people in Iceland have to leave their homes a long time ago?
(a) Because of a fire mountain.
(b) Because they wanted to go on a trip.
(c) Because the ground was shaking.
(d) Because of a big storm.

4. What are people in Iceland trying to do to keep safe?
(a) Leaving the country.
(b) Ignoring the shaking ground.
(c) Building walls and closing a place where people swim in warm water.
(d) Going to the beach.

5. How long has it been since a fire mountain woke up in Iceland?
(a) 800 years.
(b) 50 years.
(c) 100 years.
(d) 10 years.

6. What might happen if a fire mountain starts in Iceland?
(a) It will make everyone happy.
(b) It will make the ground stop shaking.
(c) It will make the town sink.
(d) It could break more things and make bad air.

7. What is happening to the ground in the small town in Iceland?
(a) It is getting bigger and stronger.
(b) It is turning into gold.
(c) It is sinking into the ocean.
(d) It is breaking and opening up.

8. What did the people in the small town have to do when the ground started shaking?
(a) Stay in their houses.
(b) Send everyone away.
(c) Go to the beach.
(d) Ignore the shaking.

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. This place hasn’t had any big fire mountains wake up for 800 years, but now they might start again.
2. The town is also sinking, which is hurting the houses and streets.
3. A large city near the ocean had to evacuate because the ground is cracking and might close up.
4. Everyone is waiting to see if a fire mountain will start soon. If it does, it could break more things and make bad air.
5. There is no place in Iceland where the ground shakes and might start to spit fire.
6. People are trying to make plans to keep safe, like building walls and closing a place where people swim in warm water.
7. The ground remains stable, without any cracks or damage to houses.
8. A scientist named Dr. Roberts found cold, solid rocks moving under the ground, making it crack.
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 happening to the ground in a place in Iceland?
2. Why did the people in the small town have to leave?
3. Who is Dr. Roberts and what did he find under the ground?
4. What are people in Iceland worried might happen soon?
5. What are some things people are doing to stay safe from the fire mountain?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Where is the place that might start to spit fire located?
The place is in Iceland.

2. How long has it been since the last big fire mountains woke up in this place?
It has been 800 years.

3. What had to happen to the small town near the ocean because of the ground breaking?
The small town had to send everyone away.

4. What did Dr. Roberts find under the ground?
Dr. Roberts found hot, melted rocks moving under the ground.

5. What is happening to the houses and streets in the town?
The houses and streets are getting hurt because the town is sinking.

6. When was the last time people in Iceland had to leave their homes because of a fire mountain?
The last time was 50 years ago.

7. What are people doing to try and stay safe from the fire mountain?
People are making plans, building walls, and closing a place where they swim in warm water to stay safe.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) place
(2) start
(3) breaking
(4) moving
(5) ground
(6) shaking
(7) fire
(8) does
(9) years
(10) trying
(11) make
(12) water
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Iceland
Answer: (c) A country with lots of ice and snow

2. ground
Answer: (b) The surface of the Earth that we walk on

3. fire
Answer: (f) Something that is very hot and can burn

4. town
Answer: (e) A small place where people live

5. shaking
Answer: (d) Moving back and forth quickly

6. crack
Answer: (a) A line or split in something

7. houses
Answer: (g) Buildings where people live

8. mountain
Answer: (h) A very tall hill made of rock and dirt
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why did the small town in Iceland have to send everyone away?
Answer: (c) The ground was breaking and might open up.

2. What did Dr. Roberts find under the ground?
Answer: (b) Hot, melted rocks.

3. Why did people in Iceland have to leave their homes a long time ago?
Answer: (a) Because of a fire mountain.

4. What are people in Iceland trying to do to keep safe?
Answer: (c) Building walls and closing a place where people swim in warm water.

5. How long has it been since a fire mountain woke up in Iceland?
Answer: (a) 800 years.

6. What might happen if a fire mountain starts in Iceland?
Answer: (d) It could break more things and make bad air.

7. What is happening to the ground in the small town in Iceland?
Answer: (d) It is breaking and opening up.

8. What did the people in the small town have to do when the ground started shaking?
Answer: (b) Send everyone away.
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. This place hasn’t had any big fire mountains wake up for 800 years, but now they might start again. (Answer: True)
2. The town is also sinking, which is hurting the houses and streets. (Answer: True)
3. A large city near the ocean had to evacuate because the ground is cracking and might close up. (Answer: False)
4. Everyone is waiting to see if a fire mountain will start soon. If it does, it could break more things and make bad air. (Answer: True)
5. There is no place in Iceland where the ground shakes and might start to spit fire. (Answer: False)
6. People are trying to make plans to keep safe, like building walls and closing a place where people swim in warm water. (Answer: True)
7. The ground remains stable, without any cracks or damage to houses. (Answer: False)
8. A scientist named Dr. Roberts found cold, solid rocks moving under the ground, making it crack. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧