A very special white whale was seen in the ocean near Phuket, Thailand. People think it might be a very rare white Omura’s whale. This is the first time anyone has seen a white whale like this in Thailand. Scientists are now trying to find this whale and others like it, but they haven’t seen the white one again yet.

The Omura’s whale is a kind of whale that people don’t know much about. It was only discovered in 2003, and the first time anyone saw one alive in the ocean was in 2015. The white whale was seen by people on vacation, and they took a video of it. Seeing this white whale is very special and doesn’t happen often.

Scientists who study the ocean are very excited about seeing the white whale. They want to find it again to learn more about these whales. They are looking for the white whale and want to know more about how it is different from other whales. Everyone hopes they can find the white whale again and learn its secrets.

Original news source: Extremely rare white whale sighted off Thailand (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Give each group a copy of the article.
3. Ask each group to read the article and discuss the main points.
4. Instruct the groups to summarize the article in 3-4 sentences.
5. Have each group share their summary with the class.

– Word Association
Instructions:
1. Write the word “whale” on the board.
2. Ask the students to brainstorm and write down as many words as they can think of that are related to whales.
3. After a few minutes, have the students share their words with the class.
4. Discuss the different words and their meanings, and encourage the students to use the words in sentences.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write down 5-10 vocabulary words from the article on separate pieces of paper.
2. Divide the class into two teams.
3. Choose one student from each team to come to the front of the class.
4. Show the chosen students one of the vocabulary words.
5. They have one minute to draw a picture that represents the word, without speaking or writing any letters or numbers.
6. The rest of their team must guess the word based on the drawing.
7. Repeat with different students and vocabulary words.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs.
2. Give each pair a copy of the article.
3. Instruct one student to be the “speaker” and the other to be the “listener”.
4. The speaker has one minute to summarize the article to the listener.
5. After one minute, the listener must summarize what they heard.
6. Switch roles and repeat the activity with a different article or topic.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions:
1. Ask the students to think about and write down their opinions on the following question: “Why is it important to study and protect whales?”
2. Pair the students up and ask them to share their opinions with their partner.
3. After a few minutes, have a class discussion and ask a few pairs to share their opinions with the class.
4. Encourage the students to ask questions and have a respectful conversation about the topic.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What kind of whale was seen in the ocean near Phuket, Thailand?
2. Why do people think this whale is special?
3. When was the Omura’s whale first discovered?
4. When was the first time anyone saw one alive in the ocean?
5. Why are scientists excited about seeing the white whale?
6. What do scientists want to learn more about?
7. What do people hope will happen with the white whale?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A very (1)______ white (2)______ was seen in the ocean near Phuket, Thailand. People think it might be a very rare white Omura’s whale. This is the first time anyone has seen a white whale like this in Thailand. (3)______ are now trying to find this whale and others like it, but they haven’t (4)______ the (5)______ one again yet.

The Omura’s whale is a (6)______ of whale that people don’t know much about. It was only discovered in 2003, and the first time anyone saw one alive in the ocean was in 2015. The white whale was seen by people on vacation, and they took a video of it. Seeing this white whale is very special and doesn’t happen often.

Scientists who study the ocean are very excited about seeing the white whale. They want to find it again to (7)______ more about these (8)______. They are looking for the white whale and want to know more about how it is different from other whales. Everyone hopes they can find the white whale again and learn its secrets.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a white whale?
2. How would you feel if you saw a white whale in the ocean?
3. Do you think it’s rare to see a white whale? Why or why not?
4. What do scientists want to learn about the white whale?
5. Why are scientists excited about seeing the white whale?
6. Have you ever seen a whale before? How did it make you feel?
7. What do you think the white whale’s secrets could be?
8. Do you like learning about animals in the ocean? Why or why not?
9. How do you think the white whale is different from other whales?
10. Would you like to be a scientist who studies the ocean? Why or why not?
11. What do you think the white whale eats?
12. If you were on vacation and saw the white whale, what would you do?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. special
2. rare
3. scientists
4. discovered
5. vacation
6. video
7. excited
8. ocean
9. secrets
10. different
11. alive
12. trying

Meanings:
(A) Time when you don’t go to school or work and have fun instead
(B) Not found or seen very often
(C) Found out something that no one knew about before
(D) Not like others, unusual or unique
(E) Not the same as something else
(F) People who study things to learn and find out new information
(G) Things that are hidden or not known by many people
(H) Making an effort to do something or achieve a goal
(I) The big body of salt water that covers most of the Earth
(J) Feeling very happy and eager about something
(K) Not dead, living and breathing
(L) A recording of what you see, like a moving picture
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where was the white whale seen?
(a) Phuket, Thailand
(b) Bali, Indonesia
(c) Sydney, Australia
(d) Tokyo, Japan

2. What kind of whale is the white whale?
(a) Blue whale
(b) Killer whale
(c) Omura’s whale
(d) Humpback whale

3. When was the Omura’s whale discovered?
(a) 1990
(b) 2010
(c) 1985
(d) 2003

4. When was the first time anyone saw an Omura’s whale alive in the ocean?
(a) 2000
(b) 2015
(c) 1995
(d) 2010

5. Who took a video of the white whale?
(a) Scientists
(b) People on vacation
(c) Fishermen
(d) Divers

6. Why are scientists excited about the white whale?
(a) They want to learn more about these whales
(b) They want to swim with the whale
(c) They want to sell the whale
(d) They want to keep the whale in a zoo

7. What are scientists trying to find out about the white whale?
(a) How it can fly
(b) How it can talk
(c) How it can change colors
(d) How it is different from other whales

8. What do people hope to learn from finding the white whale again?
(a) Its favorite food
(b) Its favorite color
(c) Its secrets
(d) Its favorite movie

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. A rare white whale was spotted in the ocean near Phuket, Thailand.
2. Scientists are indifferent to finding the gray whale again and learn more about it compared to other whales.
3. People believe it might be a very common kind of whale called a gray Omura’s whale.
4. The Omura’s whale is a type of whale that people don’t know much about.
5. This is not the first time anyone has seen a gray whale like this in Thailand.
6. Scientists are trying to find the white whale and others like it, but they haven’t seen it again yet.
7. People on vacation took a video of the gray whale, making it a very ordinary sighting.
8. It was only discovered in 2003 and the first time anyone saw one alive in the ocean was in 2015.
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 kind of whale was seen in the ocean near Phuket, Thailand?
2. Why are scientists excited about seeing the white whale?
3. When was the Omura’s whale first discovered?
4. Who saw the white whale and took a video of it?
5. What do scientists hope to learn by finding the white whale again?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What kind of whale was seen in the ocean near Phuket, Thailand?
A white Omura’s whale was seen in the ocean near Phuket, Thailand.

2. Why do people think this whale is special?
People think this whale is special because it is very rare to see a white Omura’s whale in Thailand.

3. When was the Omura’s whale first discovered?
The Omura’s whale was first discovered in 2003.

4. When was the first time anyone saw one alive in the ocean?
The first time anyone saw an Omura’s whale alive in the ocean was in 2015.

5. Why are scientists excited about seeing the white whale?
Scientists are excited about seeing the white whale because they want to learn more about these whales and how they are different from other whales.

6. What do scientists want to learn more about?
Scientists want to learn more about the white whale and its secrets. They want to know more about how it is different from other whales.

7. What do people hope will happen with the white whale?
People hope that scientists will find the white whale again and learn more about it. They hope to discover more about these rare whales.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) special
(2) whale
(3) Scientists
(4) seen
(5) white
(6) kind
(7) learn
(8) whales
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. special
Answer: (D) Not like others, unusual or unique

2. rare
Answer: (B) Not found or seen very often

3. scientists
Answer: (F) People who study things to learn and find out new information

4. discovered
Answer: (C) Found out something that no one knew about before

5. vacation
Answer: (A) Time when you don’t go to school or work and have fun instead

6. video
Answer: (L) A recording of what you see, like a moving picture

7. excited
Answer: (J) Feeling very happy and eager about something

8. ocean
Answer: (I) The big body of salt water that covers most of the Earth

9. secrets
Answer: (G) Things that are hidden or not known by many people

10. different
Answer: (E) Not the same as something else

11. alive
Answer: (K) Not dead, living and breathing

12. trying
Answer: (H) Making an effort to do something or achieve a goal
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where was the white whale seen?
Answer: (a) Phuket, Thailand

2. What kind of whale is the white whale?
Answer: (c) Omura’s whale

3. When was the Omura’s whale discovered?
Answer: (d) 2003

4. When was the first time anyone saw an Omura’s whale alive in the ocean?
Answer: (b) 2015

5. Who took a video of the white whale?
Answer: (b) People on vacation

6. Why are scientists excited about the white whale?
Answer: (a) They want to learn more about these whales

7. What are scientists trying to find out about the white whale?
Answer: (d) How it is different from other whales

8. What do people hope to learn from finding the white whale again?
Answer: (c) Its secrets
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. A rare white whale was spotted in the ocean near Phuket, Thailand. (Answer: True)
2. Scientists are indifferent to finding the gray whale again and learn more about it compared to other whales. (Answer: False)
3. People believe it might be a very common kind of whale called a gray Omura’s whale. (Answer: False)
4. The Omura’s whale is a type of whale that people don’t know much about. (Answer: True)
5. This is not the first time anyone has seen a gray whale like this in Thailand. (Answer: False)
6. Scientists are trying to find the white whale and others like it, but they haven’t seen it again yet. (Answer: True)
7. People on vacation took a video of the gray whale, making it a very ordinary sighting. (Answer: False)
8. It was only discovered in 2003 and the first time anyone saw one alive in the ocean was in 2015. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧