A man named Aniol Serrasolses did something amazing. He went down a very big ice waterfall in a kayak. This waterfall was in a cold place called Svalbard, Norway. It was 65 feet tall, and he was the first to go down it in a kayak.

People all over the world saw a video of Aniol kayaking. He went really fast down a river with lots of ice before he got to the big waterfall. When he went down the waterfall, it was scary but exciting. Many people think he was very brave to do this.

Aniol said it felt like he was kayaking on a different planet. The video shows how beautiful and strong nature can be. It also shows that people can do amazing things. Aniol’s adventure shows that people like to try new and hard things.

Original news source: Kayaker’s 20m drop down ice waterfall in Svalbard, Norway (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Read the article aloud to the students.
2. Divide the students into pairs.
3. In their pairs, students take turns summarizing the article in their own words.
4. Encourage them to focus on the main points and key details.
5. After each summary, have a brief class discussion to compare and discuss the different summaries.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Write the following question on the board: “Do you think Aniol Serrasolses was brave to go down the ice waterfall in a kayak? Why or why not?”
2. Have the students discuss their opinions in small groups.
3. Give each group a few minutes to come up with reasons to support their opinion.
4. After the discussion, conduct a class poll by having each student vote either “Yes” or “No” and briefly explain their reasoning.
5. Facilitate a class discussion by asking students to share their opinions and reasons.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Select 5-10 key vocabulary words from the article (e.g. kayak, waterfall, brave, nature, adventure).
2. Write the words on separate pieces of paper and put them in a hat.
3. Divide the students into small groups.
4. One student from each group picks a word from the hat without showing it to their groupmates.
5. The student has one minute to draw a picture representing the word while the other group members try to guess what it is.
6. The group that correctly guesses the word earns a point.
7. Repeat the process with different words and rotate the drawing responsibilities within each group.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions:
1. Ask the students to think about a time when they did something brave or challenging.
2. In pairs, have the students share their stories with each other.
3. After the pair discussion, ask a few students to share their partner’s story with the whole class.
4. Facilitate a brief class discussion by asking questions such as: “What do you think motivated them to do something brave? How did they feel afterwards?”

– Future Predictions
Instructions:
1. Ask the students to imagine what Aniol Serrasolses might do next.
2. Have them brainstorm and discuss their ideas in small groups.
3. Each group should come up with at least three predictions.
4. After the group discussion, ask a few students to share their predictions with the whole class.
5. Facilitate a class discussion by asking questions such as: “Which prediction do you think is the most likely to happen? Why?”

Comprehension Questions:

1. What did Aniol Serrasolses do that was amazing?
2. Where was the big ice waterfall located?
3. How tall was the ice waterfall?
4. What did Aniol do before he reached the big waterfall?
5. How did Aniol feel when he went down the waterfall?
6. What did the video show about nature?
7. What does Aniol’s adventure show about people?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man named Aniol (1)______ did something amazing. He went down a very big ice waterfall in a kayak. This waterfall was in a (2)______ place (3)______ Svalbard, Norway. It was 65 feet tall, and he was the (4)______ to go down it in a kayak.

People all over the world saw a video of Aniol (5)______. He went really fast down a river with (6)______ of ice before he got to the big waterfall. When he went down the waterfall, it was scary but exciting. (7)______ people (8)______ he was very (9)______ to do this.

Aniol said it felt like he was kayaking on a different planet. The video (10)______ how (11)______ and strong nature can be. It also shows that people can do amazing things. Aniol’s adventure shows that people like to try new and (12)______ things.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What did Aniol Serrasolses do that was amazing?
2. How tall was the ice waterfall Aniol went down?
3. Where was the ice waterfall located?
4. How did Aniol feel when he went down the waterfall?
5. What did people all over the world see of Aniol kayaking?
6. How did Aniol feel when he was kayaking on the river with lots of ice?
7. Do you think it was brave of Aniol to go down the big ice waterfall? Why or why not?
8. How did Aniol describe the feeling of kayaking on the waterfall?
9. What did the video show about nature?
10. What did Aniol’s adventure show about people?
11. Do you like trying new and hard things? Why or why not?
12. How would you feel if you went down a big ice waterfall in a kayak?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. amazing
2. kayak
3. waterfall
4. scary
5. brave
6. beautiful
7. strong
8. adventure

Meanings:
(a) Something that is very powerful or not easily broken
(b) Something that looks very nice or pretty
(c) Something that is very impressive or surprising
(d) A small boat that you paddle with a paddle
(e) A very exciting and unusual experience or journey
(f) Something that makes you feel afraid or frightened
(g) Someone who is not afraid to do something difficult or dangerous
(h) A place where water falls from a high place to a low place
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where did Aniol Serrasolses go down the ice waterfall?
(a) Svalbard, Norway
(b) Alaska, USA
(c) Iceland
(d) Antarctica

2. How tall was the ice waterfall that Aniol went down?
(a) 100 feet
(b) 65 feet
(c) 50 feet
(d) 80 feet

3. What did Aniol use to go down the ice waterfall?
(a) Canoe
(b) Kayak
(c) Paddleboard
(d) Surfboard

4. What did people all over the world see of Aniol’s adventure?
(a) A video
(b) A picture
(c) A book
(d) A painting

5. How did Aniol feel when he went down the waterfall?
(a) Bored
(b) Happy
(c) Scared but excited
(d) Sad

6. Where did Aniol say it felt like he was kayaking?
(a) In a swimming pool
(b) In a jungle
(c) On a mountain
(d) On a different planet

7. What does the video show about nature?
(a) It is scary and dangerous
(b) It is boring and weak
(c) It is small and unimportant
(d) It is beautiful and strong

8. What does Aniol’s adventure show about people?
(a) They don’t like to try new things
(b) They only like easy things
(c) They like to try new and hard things
(d) They are scared of nature

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Aniol described the experience as feeling like he was kayaking on the same planet.
2. Aniol went really fast down a river with lots of ice before reaching the big waterfall.
3. Aniol Serrasolses went up a very big ice waterfall in a kayak.
4. Going down the waterfall was both scary and exciting for Aniol.
5. Aniol was the first person to go down the waterfall in a kayak.
6. The waterfall was 65 feet tall and located in Svalbard, Norway.
7. Aniol’s adventure shows that people do not enjoy trying new and challenging things.
8. Few people from all over the world saw a video of Aniol kayaking.
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 did Aniol Serrasolses do that was amazing?
2. Where did Aniol go down the big ice waterfall?
3. How tall was the waterfall that Aniol went down?
4. What did people all over the world see of Aniol kayaking?
5. How did Aniol feel when he was kayaking down the waterfall?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did Aniol Serrasolses do that was amazing?
Aniol Serrasolses went down a very big ice waterfall in a kayak.

2. Where was the big ice waterfall located?
The big ice waterfall was located in Svalbard, Norway.

3. How tall was the ice waterfall?
The ice waterfall was 65 feet tall.

4. What did Aniol do before he reached the big waterfall?
Before he reached the big waterfall, Aniol went really fast down a river with lots of ice.

5. How did Aniol feel when he went down the waterfall?
Aniol felt scared but also excited when he went down the waterfall.

6. What did the video show about nature?
The video showed how beautiful and strong nature can be.

7. What does Aniol’s adventure show about people?
Aniol’s adventure shows that people like to try new and hard things.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Serrasolses
(2) cold
(3) called
(4) first
(5) kayaking
(6) lots
(7) Many
(8) think
(9) brave
(10) shows
(11) beautiful
(12) hard
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. amazing
Answer: (c) Something that is very impressive or surprising

2. kayak
Answer: (d) A small boat that you paddle with a paddle

3. waterfall
Answer: (h) A place where water falls from a high place to a low place

4. scary
Answer: (f) Something that makes you feel afraid or frightened

5. brave
Answer: (g) Someone who is not afraid to do something difficult or dangerous

6. beautiful
Answer: (b) Something that looks very nice or pretty

7. strong
Answer: (a) Something that is very powerful or not easily broken

8. adventure
Answer: (e) A very exciting and unusual experience or journey
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where did Aniol Serrasolses go down the ice waterfall?
Answer: (a) Svalbard, Norway

2. How tall was the ice waterfall that Aniol went down?
Answer: (b) 65 feet

3. What did Aniol use to go down the ice waterfall?
Answer: (b) Kayak

4. What did people all over the world see of Aniol’s adventure?
Answer: (a) A video

5. How did Aniol feel when he went down the waterfall?
Answer: (c) Scared but excited

6. Where did Aniol say it felt like he was kayaking?
Answer: (d) On a different planet

7. What does the video show about nature?
Answer: (d) It is beautiful and strong

8. What does Aniol’s adventure show about people?
Answer: (c) They like to try new and hard things
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Aniol described the experience as feeling like he was kayaking on the same planet. (Answer: False)
2. Aniol went really fast down a river with lots of ice before reaching the big waterfall. (Answer: True)
3. Aniol Serrasolses went up a very big ice waterfall in a kayak. (Answer: False)
4. Going down the waterfall was both scary and exciting for Aniol. (Answer: True)
5. Aniol was the first person to go down the waterfall in a kayak. (Answer: True)
6. The waterfall was 65 feet tall and located in Svalbard, Norway. (Answer: True)
7. Aniol’s adventure shows that people do not enjoy trying new and challenging things. (Answer: False)
8. Few people from all over the world saw a video of Aniol kayaking. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧