Sometimes animals take care of babies that are not their own and not even the same kind of animal. A smart person named Dr. Rachel Grant says this happens because animals have a strong feeling to take care of little ones. Teasel felt like this with the baby cats because they are all animals that drink milk from their moms.
This story of Teasel and the baby cats is very sweet. It makes people think about how animals live and grow. Dr. Grant says that if taking care of other animals' babies works well, it can be a good thing in nature. The baby cats will soon stop needing Teasel, and they will go to new homes with people who will take care of them.
Original news source: Why did a dog in Newmarket end up nursing a litter of kittens? (BBC)
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Students pair up, with one student acting as a news reporter and the other as an eyewitness who saw Teasel taking care of the baby cats. The reporter asks questions about what the eyewitness saw, and the eyewitness describes the events using simple past tense. Swap roles after a few minutes.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary from the article (e.g., care, surprising, nature, animals, babies) on separate pieces of paper. Students take turns drawing the words on the board without speaking or writing letters while the rest of the class guesses the word. This helps reinforce new vocabulary.
– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Write a statement on the board, such as "Animals should only take care of their own babies." Students line up according to their opinion, from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Select individuals to explain their position, encouraging the use of comparative adjectives and opinion phrases.
– Synonym Challenge
Instructions: Prepare a list of words from the article and their synonyms (e.g., surprising – astonishing, care – nurture, sweet – endearing). Divide the class into two teams. Call out the words from the article, and students race to shout out the correct synonym. This helps expand their vocabulary.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: Discuss with students what they think will happen to Teasel and the baby cats in the future. Have them use future tense to make predictions (e.g., "The baby cats will find loving homes."). This could be done in small groups or as a class discussion, encouraging the use of future tense constructions.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The woman's name is Sue Stubley.
The dog's name is Teasel.
Teasel took care of some baby cats that did not have a mom.
The baby cats do not have a mom.
A strong feeling to take care of babies makes animals want to do this.
Dr. Rachel Grant thinks it can be a good thing because it helps the babies grow and survive.
The baby cats will go to new homes with people who will take care of them.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
A woman Sue Stubley has a dog Teasel. Teasel did something very surprising. She started to take care of some baby cats that did not have a mom. Teasel like their mom, even though she is a dog. Sometimes animals take of babies that are not their own and not even the same of animal. A smart person named Dr. Rachel says this happens because animals have a strong feeling to take care of little ones. Teasel felt like this with the cats because they are all animals that drink from their moms. This story of Teasel and the baby cats is very sweet. It makes think about how animals live and grow. Dr. Grant that if taking care of animals' babies works well, it can be a good in nature. The baby cats will soon stop needing Teasel, and they will go to new homes with people who will take care of them.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is a pet you would like to have?
2. How would you feel if your pet started taking care of another animal's babies?
3. Do you like stories about animals doing surprising things? Why or why not?
4. Do you think animals have feelings like people do? Why do you think that?
5. What is the kindest thing you have seen an animal do?
6. Have you ever seen different kinds of animals being friends? Can you tell us about it?
7. Do you think it's a good idea for animals to take care of babies that are not their own? Why or why not?
8. What would you do if you found baby animals without a mom?
9. Do you think all animals can be like Teasel and take care of other animals' babies?
10. Would you like to take care of a baby cat or dog? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the baby cats feel about Teasel the dog?
12. What do you think happens when the baby animals need to go to new homes?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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