A space robot called Peregrine One was supposed to go to the Moon but it broke and fell into the sea. It had a problem with its engines, so it couldn’t land on the Moon. A company named Astrobotic told the robot to burn up in the sky. People in Australia said they couldn’t talk to Peregrine anymore. Astrobotic wanted to send tools to the Moon for NASA to learn about the Moon’s dirt and air. This mission was special because it was going to be the first time in 50 years that America landed something on the Moon by itself.

Peregrine had a big problem because something broke and it started leaking. But the smart people working on it figured out what was wrong and made the robot last longer than they thought it would. Even though it was broken, the robot could still do some science and learn about space. A special tool from the UK worked really well and might get to go to the Moon again someday.

Astrobotic is one of three American companies that NASA is working with to send robots to the Moon. NASA is paying these companies to carry things to the Moon for them. They were planning to send six robots to the Moon next year. Astrobotic will try again to send a NASA robot called Viper to the Moon later this year. Another company will try to send their robot next month. Also, Japan wants to land a robot on the Moon this week.

Original news source: Peregrine lander: American Moon mission destroyed over Pacific Ocean (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Give each group a copy of the article.
3. Instruct the students to read the article and summarize it in their own words.
4. Encourage them to focus on the main points and key information.
5. After a designated amount of time, have each group share their summary with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write a list of key vocabulary words from the article on the board.
2. Divide the class into teams.
3. Give each team a whiteboard or large sheet of paper.
4. Choose a student from each team to come to the board.
5. Call out a vocabulary word and the students must draw a quick sketch to represent the word.
6. The rest of the team must guess the word within a certain time limit.
7. Award points to the teams for correct guesses.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions:
1. Give each student a copy of the article.
2. Instruct the students to read the article individually.
3. After they have finished reading, ask them to think about the following question: “What do you think is the most interesting or surprising thing about this article?”
4. Pair up the students and ask them to share their thoughts with their partner.
5. After a few minutes, bring the class back together and invite students to share their partner’s response with the whole class.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into two groups.
2. Assign one group to argue the pros (advantages) of sending robots to the Moon, and the other group to argue the cons (disadvantages).
3. Give each group time to brainstorm and prepare their arguments.
4. Have a debate-style discussion, with each group taking turns presenting their points and counter-arguments.
5. Encourage students to use the vocabulary and ideas from the article to support their arguments.

– Future Predictions
Instructions:
1. Ask the students to imagine that they are scientists working on space exploration.
2. Instruct them to use the information from the article to make predictions about the future of lunar exploration.
3. Give them time to write down their predictions.
4. Have a class discussion, allowing each student to share their predictions and reasoning.
5. Encourage students to respond to each other’s predictions and discuss the possibilities and challenges of future lunar missions.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the space robot called Peregrine One?
2. Why couldn’t Peregrine One land on the Moon?
3. What did the company Astrobotic tell the robot to do?
4. Why couldn’t people in Australia talk to Peregrine anymore?
5. What was the special mission of Peregrine One?
6. What problem did Peregrine have? How did the smart people fix it?
7. How many American companies is NASA working with to send robots to the Moon?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A space (1)______ called Peregrine One was supposed to go to the Moon but it broke and fell into the sea. It had a problem with its engines, so it couldn’t (2)______ on the Moon. A company named (3)______ told the robot to burn up in the sky. People in Australia said they couldn’t talk to Peregrine anymore. Astrobotic wanted to send tools to the Moon for NASA to (4)______ about the Moon’s dirt and air. This mission was special because it was (5)______ to be the first time in 50 years that America landed something on the Moon by itself.

Peregrine had a big (6)______ because something broke and it started leaking. But the smart people working on it figured out what was wrong and made the robot last longer than they (7)______ it would. Even though it was broken, the robot could still do some science and learn about space. A special tool from the UK (8)______ really well and might get to go to the Moon again someday.

Astrobotic is one of three American companies that NASA is working with to (9)______ robots to the Moon. NASA is (10)______ these companies to (11)______ things to the Moon for them. They were planning to send six robots to the Moon next year. Astrobotic will try again to send a NASA robot called Viper to the Moon later this year. Another company will try to send their robot next (12)______. Also, Japan wants to land a robot on the Moon this week.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a space robot?
2. How would you feel if you were working on a space robot and it broke?
3. Do you like learning about space? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s important for NASA to learn about the Moon’s dirt and air? Why or why not?
5. What do you think it means for something to “burn up in the sky”?
6. How do you think the smart people working on Peregrine fixed the problem?
7. Would you like to work on a space robot? Why or why not?
8. What do you think the special tool from the UK does?
9. How do you think the robots get to the Moon?
10. Do you think it’s exciting that America landed something on the Moon by itself? Why or why not?
11. How would you feel if you were going to send a robot to the Moon and it didn’t work?
12. Do you think it’s a good idea for Japan to land a robot on the Moon? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Peregrine
2. engines
3. Astrobotic
4. burn up
5. mission
6. leaking
7. figured out
8. science
9. tool
10. companies
11. Viper
12. Japan

Meanings:
(A) Learning about the world, especially things to do with nature and the universe
(B) Machines that make something move
(C) Solved a problem or understood something
(D) A country in Asia known for its technology and sushi
(E) The name of a company that builds things for space
(F) To catch fire and disappear in the air
(G) An object that is used to do a job or activity
(H) Businesses that make or sell things
(I) When liquid comes out of something through a hole or crack
(J) An important job that someone or something is given to do
(K) The name of a space robot
(L) The name of a NASA robot
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to the space robot Peregrine One?
(a) It successfully landed on the Moon
(b) It was sent back to Earth
(c) It was lost in space
(d) It broke and fell into the sea

2. Why couldn’t Peregrine One land on the Moon?
(a) It had a problem with its engines
(b) It ran out of fuel
(c) It was too heavy
(d) It lost communication with Earth

3. What did Astrobotic tell Peregrine One to do?
(a) Land on the Moon
(b) Burn up in the sky
(c) Return to Earth
(d) Fix its engines

4. Who said they couldn’t talk to Peregrine anymore?
(a) People in Australia
(b) People in America
(c) People in the UK
(d) People in Japan

5. What was the purpose of the mission?
(a) To explore other planets
(b) To study the Sun
(c) To search for aliens
(d) To learn about the Moon’s dirt and air

6. What happened to Peregrine One while it was in space?
(a) It successfully completed its mission
(b) It broke and started leaking
(c) It lost communication with Earth
(d) It ran out of power

7. Which tool from the UK worked really well?
(a) The engine tool
(b) The communication tool
(c) The special tool
(d) The repair tool

8. How many robots were NASA planning to send to the Moon next year?
(a) Three
(b) Two
(c) Six
(d) Ten

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Astrobotic wanted to send tools to the Moon for NASA to learn about the Moon’s dirt and air.
2. Astrobotic, a company, told the robot to burn up in the sky.
3. This mission was ordinary because it was the first time in 50 years that America didn’t land something on the Moon by itself.
4. Peregrine had a small problem and started leaking, but the smart people working on it worsened it and made it last shorter than expected.
5. People in Australia said they could communicate with Peregrine anymore.
6. Astrobotic is one of three American companies not working with NASA to send robots to the Moon.
7. The robot had a problem with its engines, so it couldn’t land on the Moon.
8. A space robot named Peregrine One was supposed to go to the Moon, but it broke and fell into the sea.
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 was the problem with the space robot Peregrine One?
2. What did the company Astrobotic tell the robot to do?
3. What did the people in Australia say about Peregrine?
4. Why was the mission to send tools to the Moon special?
5. What is NASA doing with the American companies?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the space robot called Peregrine One?
Peregrine One broke and fell into the sea.

2. Why couldn’t Peregrine One land on the Moon?
Peregrine One had a problem with its engines, so it couldn’t land on the Moon.

3. What did the company Astrobotic tell the robot to do?
Astrobotic told the robot to burn up in the sky.

4. Why couldn’t people in Australia talk to Peregrine anymore?
People in Australia couldn’t talk to Peregrine anymore because it broke and couldn’t function properly.

5. What was the special mission of Peregrine One?
The special mission of Peregrine One was to send tools to the Moon for NASA to learn about the Moon’s dirt and air.

6. What problem did Peregrine have? How did the smart people fix it?
Peregrine had a problem with something breaking and leaking. The smart people working on it figured out what was wrong and made the robot last longer than they thought it would.

7. How many American companies is NASA working with to send robots to the Moon?
NASA is working with three American companies to send robots to the Moon.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) robot
(2) land
(3) Astrobotic
(4) learn
(5) going
(6) problem
(7) thought
(8) worked
(9) send
(10) paying
(11) carry
(12) month
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Peregrine
Answer: (K) The name of a space robot

2. engines
Answer: (B) Machines that make something move

3. Astrobotic
Answer: (E) The name of a company that builds things for space

4. burn up
Answer: (F) To catch fire and disappear in the air

5. mission
Answer: (J) An important job that someone or something is given to do

6. leaking
Answer: (I) When liquid comes out of something through a hole or crack

7. figured out
Answer: (C) Solved a problem or understood something

8. science
Answer: (A) Learning about the world, especially things to do with nature and the universe

9. tool
Answer: (G) An object that is used to do a job or activity

10. companies
Answer: (H) Businesses that make or sell things

11. Viper
Answer: (L) The name of a NASA robot

12. Japan
Answer: (D) A country in Asia known for its technology and sushi
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened to the space robot Peregrine One?
Answer: (d) It broke and fell into the sea

2. Why couldn’t Peregrine One land on the Moon?
Answer: (a) It had a problem with its engines

3. What did Astrobotic tell Peregrine One to do?
Answer: (b) Burn up in the sky

4. Who said they couldn’t talk to Peregrine anymore?
Answer: (a) People in Australia

5. What was the purpose of the mission?
Answer: (d) To learn about the Moon’s dirt and air

6. What happened to Peregrine One while it was in space?
Answer: (b) It broke and started leaking

7. Which tool from the UK worked really well?
Answer: (c) The special tool

8. How many robots were NASA planning to send to the Moon next year?
Answer: (c) Six
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Astrobotic wanted to send tools to the Moon for NASA to learn about the Moon’s dirt and air. (Answer: True)
2. Astrobotic, a company, told the robot to burn up in the sky. (Answer: True)
3. This mission was ordinary because it was the first time in 50 years that America didn’t land something on the Moon by itself. (Answer: False)
4. Peregrine had a small problem and started leaking, but the smart people working on it worsened it and made it last shorter than expected. (Answer: False)
5. People in Australia said they could communicate with Peregrine anymore. (Answer: False)
6. Astrobotic is one of three American companies not working with NASA to send robots to the Moon. (Answer: False)
7. The robot had a problem with its engines, so it couldn’t land on the Moon. (Answer: True)
8. A space robot named Peregrine One was supposed to go to the Moon, but it broke and fell into the sea. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧