A big airplane had to go back to the airport because a horse got out of its small house on the plane and made a big mess. The airplane was flying from New York to a place called Belgium when the horse got out while they were very high in the sky. The person flying the plane asked for an animal doctor to come when they landed back at the airport in New York. When the plane landed, the horse was still walking around inside, and no one knows how it got out.

The person flying the plane had to drop a lot of fuel to make the plane lighter so they could go back safely. After they landed, the pilot told the people at the airport that they needed help because of the horse. The airplane flew again later that day and got to Belgium the next morning without any more problems. People are not sure why the horse was on the plane, but some think it might be a special running horse that people move in different sized boxes.

This is not the first time an animal got out of its space on a plane. In August, a bear got out of its box on a different airplane going from Dubai to Baghdad. The company that owns the airplane with the horse has not talked about what happened yet.

Original news source: Plane forced to return to airport after horse escapes crate (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Students will be divided into pairs. One student is a news reporter, the other is a witness at the airport. The reporter will ask questions about what happened with the horse on the plane, and the witness will answer based on the information from the article. Encourage the use of past tense and specific vocabulary related to the incident.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Provide students with a few key words from the article such as “airplane,” “horse,” “airport,” and “fuel.” Students must draw a scene that represents the situation without writing any words. Afterward, they share their drawings with the class and explain in English what their sketch represents, using the article as a reference.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary from the article on slips of paper (e.g., airplane, horse, mess, fuel, pilot, airport, Belgium). Students take turns drawing the words for their teams to guess. This activity will help reinforce new vocabulary and prompt students to recall words from the context of the article.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Ask students to create a catchy newspaper headline for the article. Encourage them to think of something that grabs attention and summarizes the main event. Afterward, have them share their headlines with the class and discuss which ones are the most effective and why.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Conduct a class poll asking students their opinion on animals being transported on airplanes. Provide sentence starters for students to give their opinions, such as “I think that…” or “In my opinion…”. Compile the results and discuss as a class whether they think it is safe or appropriate to transport animals this way.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Why did the big airplane have to go back to the airport?
2. Where was the airplane flying to when the horse got out?
3. What did the person flying the plane ask for when they landed back at the airport?
4. What was the horse doing when the plane landed?
5. What did the pilot have to do to the plane to make it safe to go back to the airport?
6. When did the airplane finally get to Belgium?
7. What happened on a different airplane in August?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A big airplane had to go back to the airport because a horse got out of its small (1)______ on the plane and made a big mess. The airplane was flying from New (2)______ to a place (3)______ Belgium when the horse got out while they were very high in the sky. The person flying the plane asked for an animal doctor to come when they landed back at the (4)______ in New York. When the (5)______ landed, the horse was still walking around inside, and no one knows how it got out.

The person flying the plane had to drop a lot of fuel to make the plane (6)______ so they could go back safely. After they landed, the pilot told the (7)______ at the airport that they needed help because of the (8)______. The airplane flew again later that day and got to Belgium the next morning without any more problems. People are not sure why the horse was on the plane, but some (9)______ it might be a special running horse that people (10)______ in different sized boxes.

This is not the first (11)______ an animal got out of its space on a plane. In August, a (12)______ got out of its box on a different airplane going from Dubai to Baghdad. The company that owns the airplane with the horse has not talked about what happened yet.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a horse and have you ever seen one?
2. How would you feel if you were on a plane and a horse got out?
3. Do you like flying on airplanes? Why or why not?
4. Do you think animals should fly on airplanes with people?
5. Have you ever had a pet? What kind of animal was it?
6. What do you think a “special running horse” is?
7. Why do you think people might move animals in boxes?
8. What would you do if you saw a horse walking around inside a plane?
9. How do you think the horse felt being on the airplane?
10. Can you guess why the person flying the plane had to drop fuel?
11. Do you think it’s safe to have big animals like horses and bears on planes?
12. If you could take any animal on a plane with you, which one would it be and why?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. airplane
2. horse
3. airport
4. mess
5. pilot
6. fuel
7. Belgium
8. animal

Meanings:
(a) A place where airplanes take off and land
(b) A big vehicle that flies in the sky
(c) A liquid that makes machines work
(d) A living thing that is not a person or plant
(e) A large animal with four legs and a tail
(f) A country in Europe
(g) A situation that is very untidy or dirty
(h) The person who flies the airplane
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where did the airplane have to go back to?
(a) Belgium
(b) New York
(c) Dubai
(d) The airport

2. Why did the airplane have to drop fuel?
(a) To make the plane lighter
(b) To make the horse heavier
(c) To fix a problem with the engine
(d) To go faster

3. What did the pilot ask for when they landed back at the airport?
(a) A mechanic
(b) A new horse
(c) An animal doctor
(d) A bigger plane

4. What happened when the plane landed?
(a) The horse ran away
(b) The horse was still inside
(c) The horse got back in its small house
(d) The horse turned into a bear

5. Where did the airplane finally go after going back to the airport?
(a) Dubai
(b) Baghdad
(c) New York
(d) Belgium

6. Why do some people think the horse was on the plane?
(a) It was lost
(b) It might be a special running horse
(c) It wanted to go on vacation
(d) It was trying to escape

7. What happened on a different airplane in August?
(a) A horse got out of its box
(b) The engine stopped working
(c) A bear got out of its box
(d) The airplane crashed

8. What do we know about the company that owns the airplane with the horse?
(a) They haven’t talked about what happened yet
(b) They are very happy about the horse
(c) They are going to buy more horses
(d) They are going to stop flying horses

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The airplane was flying from New York to Belgium when the horse got out while they were low in the sky.
2. The person flying the plane asked for an animal doctor to come when they landed back in New York.
3. The airplane flew again later that day and arrived in Belgium the next morning without any more problems.
4. In August, a bear also got out of its box on a different airplane going from Dubai to Baghdad.
5. A small airplane had to turn around and go back to the airport because a horse escaped from its big enclosure on the plane.
6. When the plane took off, the horse was still walking around inside, and nobody knows how it got out.
7. To make the plane heavier, the pilot had to drop a lot of fuel before going back to the airport.
8. The pilot asked for help at the airport because of the horse.
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 big airplane have to go back to the airport?
2. Where was the airplane flying to when the horse got out?
3. What did the person flying the plane do when they landed back at the airport?
4. What did the pilot do before landing the plane to make it safer?
5. Has something like this happened before with another animal? If yes, what animal was it?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Why did the big airplane have to go back to the airport?
The airplane had to go back because a horse got out of its small house on the plane and made a big mess.

2. Where was the airplane flying to when the horse got out?
The airplane was flying to a place called Belgium.

3. What did the person flying the plane ask for when they landed back at the airport?
The person flying the plane asked for an animal doctor to come when they landed.

4. What was the horse doing when the plane landed?
The horse was still walking around inside the plane.

5. What did the pilot have to do to the plane to make it safe to go back to the airport?
The pilot had to drop a lot of fuel to make the plane lighter.

6. When did the airplane finally get to Belgium?
The airplane got to Belgium the next morning.

7. What happened on a different airplane in August?
In August, a bear got out of its box on a different airplane.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) house
(2) York
(3) called
(4) airport
(5) plane
(6) lighter
(7) people
(8) horse
(9) think
(10) move
(11) time
(12) bear
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. airplane
Answer: (b) A big vehicle that flies in the sky

2. horse
Answer: (e) A large animal with four legs and a tail

3. airport
Answer: (a) A place where airplanes take off and land

4. mess
Answer: (g) A situation that is very untidy or dirty

5. pilot
Answer: (h) The person who flies the airplane

6. fuel
Answer: (c) A liquid that makes machines work

7. Belgium
Answer: (f) A country in Europe

8. animal
Answer: (d) A living thing that is not a person or plant
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where did the airplane have to go back to?
Answer: (d) The airport

2. Why did the airplane have to drop fuel?
Answer: (a) To make the plane lighter

3. What did the pilot ask for when they landed back at the airport?
Answer: (c) An animal doctor

4. What happened when the plane landed?
Answer: (b) The horse was still inside

5. Where did the airplane finally go after going back to the airport?
Answer: (d) Belgium

6. Why do some people think the horse was on the plane?
Answer: (b) It might be a special running horse

7. What happened on a different airplane in August?
Answer: (c) A bear got out of its box

8. What do we know about the company that owns the airplane with the horse?
Answer: (a) They haven’t talked about what happened yet
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The airplane was flying from New York to Belgium when the horse got out while they were low in the sky. (Answer: False)
2. The person flying the plane asked for an animal doctor to come when they landed back in New York. (Answer: True)
3. The airplane flew again later that day and arrived in Belgium the next morning without any more problems. (Answer: True)
4. In August, a bear also got out of its box on a different airplane going from Dubai to Baghdad. (Answer: True)
5. A small airplane had to turn around and go back to the airport because a horse escaped from its big enclosure on the plane. (Answer: False)
6. When the plane took off, the horse was still walking around inside, and nobody knows how it got out. (Answer: False)
7. To make the plane heavier, the pilot had to drop a lot of fuel before going back to the airport. (Answer: False)
8. The pilot asked for help at the airport because of the horse. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧