A wind turbine in Iowa got destroyed by fire recently. The firefighters couldn’t reach the top of the turbine because they didn’t have ladders that were tall enough. The fire made smoke come out of the turbine, and one of its big blades fell to the ground in flames. The people in charge are trying to figure out what caused the fire.

There’s a video that shows how the firefighters couldn’t do anything to stop the fire from destroying the wind turbine. Their ladders weren’t long enough to reach the top and put out the flames. This shows how hard it is for emergency workers to deal with fires in really tall structures.

They still don’t know what caused the fire, so the people in charge are investigating. It’s important to find out why it happened so they can stop it from happening again. The destruction of the wind turbine shows how important it is for emergency workers to have the right equipment and resources to deal with emergencies.

This incident also makes us wonder about how safe wind turbines are. We need to make sure that safety rules are followed and that emergency workers have what they need to handle emergencies. If we take these concerns seriously, we can prevent similar incidents and keep both workers and the community safe.

Original news source: Fire destroys Iowa wind turbine after emergency workers fail to reach top (BBC)

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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 groups to read the article and summarize it in their own words.
4. After a few minutes, have each group share their summary with the class.
5. Encourage discussion and ask follow-up questions about the article.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write a list of key vocabulary words from the article on the board.
2. Divide the class into two teams.
3. One person from each team will come to the board and choose a word.
4. They must then draw a picture to represent the word while their team guesses what it is.
5. The team that guesses correctly earns a point.
6. Continue until all the words have been used or time runs out.
7. The team with the most points wins.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Ask the students to form pairs or small groups.
2. Assign each group a role (e.g. wind turbine operator, firefighter, community member).
3. Instruct each group to discuss and share their opinions about the safety of wind turbines and the importance of having the right equipment for emergencies.
4. After the discussion, have each group present their opinions to the class.
5. Conduct a class-wide poll to see which opinions are most popular among the students.
6. Encourage respectful debate and discussion.

– Sketch It
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Give each group a piece of paper and a pencil.
3. Instruct the groups to sketch a scene from the article, such as the wind turbine on fire or the firefighters trying to reach the top.
4. After a few minutes, have each group share their sketches with the class.
5. Ask the groups to explain their drawings and discuss the significance of the scene they chose.

– Pass the Story
Instructions:
1. Have the students sit in a circle.
2. Start by reading the first sentence of the article aloud.
3. The student to your left will then continue the story by adding one more sentence.
4. Continue going around the circle, with each student adding a sentence to the story.
5. Encourage creativity and imagination.
6. The goal is to create a cohesive and interesting story based on the article.
7. Stop when the story reaches a natural conclusion or after a set number of rounds.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the wind turbine in Iowa?
2. Why couldn’t the firefighters reach the top of the turbine?
3. What caused smoke to come out of the turbine?
4. What happened to one of the turbine’s blades?
5. What are the people in charge trying to figure out?
6. Why couldn’t the firefighters stop the fire from destroying the turbine?
7. Why is it important to find out what caused the fire?
8. What does this incident make us wonder about?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A wind turbine in Iowa got destroyed by fire recently. The firefighters couldn’t reach the top of the turbine because they didn’t have (1)______ that were tall enough. The fire made smoke come out of the turbine, and one of its big blades fell to the ground in flames. The (2)______ in (3)______ are (4)______ to figure out what caused the fire.

There’s a video that (5)______ how the (6)______ couldn’t do anything to stop the fire from (7)______ the wind turbine. Their ladders weren’t long enough to reach the top and put out the flames. This shows how hard it is for (8)______ workers to deal with fires in really tall structures.

They still don’t know what caused the fire, so the people in charge are (9)______. It’s (10)______ to find out why it happened so they can stop it from happening again. The destruction of the wind turbine shows how important it is for emergency workers to have the right (11)______ and (12)______ to deal with emergencies.

This (13)______ also makes us (14)______ about how safe wind turbines are. We need to make sure that (15)______ rules are followed and that emergency workers have what they need to handle emergencies. If we take these concerns seriously, we can prevent similar incidents and keep both workers and the (16)______ safe.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a wind turbine?
2. How do you think the firefighters felt when they couldn’t reach the top of the turbine?
3. Do you like watching videos of firefighters in action? Why or why not?
4. How do you think the people in charge felt when they saw the wind turbine on fire?
5. What do you think caused the fire in the wind turbine?
6. How would you feel if you were in charge of investigating the fire in the wind turbine?
7. Do you think it’s important for emergency workers to have the right equipment and resources? Why or why not?
8. How do you think the community felt when they saw the wind turbine on fire?
9. What safety rules do you think should be followed for wind turbines?
10. How would you feel if you lived near a wind turbine?
11. Do you think wind turbines are safe? Why or why not?
12. What do you think could be done to prevent similar incidents in the future?
13. How do you think the firefighters could have dealt with the fire if they had longer ladders?
14. How important do you think it is for emergency workers to be able to handle emergencies in tall structures?
15. What do you think the people in charge should do to ensure the safety of wind turbines in the future?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. turbine
2. firefighters
3. ladders
4. flames
5. destroyed
6. investigating
7. incident
8. safety

Meanings:
(a) Ruined or completely broken
(b) A tall structure that uses wind to make electricity
(c) Bright, hot, glowing gas that comes from fire
(d) Being protected from harm or danger
(e) Trying to find out the cause of something
(f) People who put out fires and help in emergencies
(g) An event or occurrence, usually something bad or unexpected
(h) Long tools used to climb up to high places
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What caused the destruction of the wind turbine in Iowa?
(a) Fire
(b) Strong wind
(c) Lightning strike
(d) Mechanical failure

2. Why couldn’t the firefighters reach the top of the turbine?
(a) They were not trained to climb tall structures
(b) They did not have enough water to put out the fire
(c) Their ladders were not tall enough
(d) The fire was too intense for them to approach

3. What happened to one of the turbine’s blades during the fire?
(a) It melted due to the heat
(b) It was blown away by strong winds
(c) It fell to the ground in flames
(d) It remained intact despite the fire

4. Why is it important to investigate the cause of the fire?
(a) To determine who is responsible for the fire
(b) To assess the damage caused by the fire
(c) To determine the cost of repairing the turbine
(d) To prevent similar incidents in the future

5. What does the incident with the wind turbine show about emergency workers?
(a) They are not trained to deal with fires in tall structures
(b) They need the right equipment and resources to handle emergencies
(c) They are not capable of putting out fires
(d) They are not aware of safety rules and regulations

6. What should be done to ensure the safety of wind turbines?
(a) Follow safety rules and regulations
(b) Increase the height of the ladders used by firefighters
(c) Install fire suppression systems in all wind turbines
(d) Conduct regular inspections and maintenance of wind turbines

7. What can be done to prevent similar incidents in the future?
(a) Implement stricter safety regulations for wind turbines
(b) Improve the design of wind turbines to prevent fires
(c) Increase the number of firefighters in the area
(d) Provide emergency workers with proper training

8. Who is at risk during incidents like the one with the wind turbine?
(a) Only the firefighters
(b) Both workers and the community
(c) Only the people in charge of the wind turbine
(d) Only the workers at the wind turbine site

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Smoke and flames were seen coming out of the turbine during the fire.
2. The investigation aims to ignore the cause of the fire to perpetuate similar incidents in the future.
3. A video failed to capture the firefighters’ struggle to extinguish the flames due to the height of the turbine.
4. Firefighters easily reached the top of the turbine due to the abundance of tall ladders.
5. This incident raises no concerns about the safety of wind turbines and the need for proper safety measures and resources for emergency workers.
6. The cause of the fire is currently unknown and is being investigated.
7. The incident highlights the difficulty emergency workers face when dealing with fires in tall structures.
8. A wind turbine in Iowa caught fire and was destroyed recently.
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 happened to the wind turbine in Iowa?
2. Why couldn’t the firefighters reach the top of the turbine?
3. What caused smoke to come out of the turbine?
4. Why is it important for the people in charge to figure out what caused the fire?
5. What can we do to prevent similar incidents and keep workers and the community safe?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the wind turbine in Iowa?
The wind turbine in Iowa was destroyed by fire.

2. Why couldn’t the firefighters reach the top of the turbine?
The firefighters couldn’t reach the top of the turbine because they didn’t have ladders that were tall enough.

3. What caused smoke to come out of the turbine?
The fire caused smoke to come out of the turbine.

4. What happened to one of the turbine’s blades?
One of the turbine’s big blades fell to the ground in flames.

5. What are the people in charge trying to figure out?
The people in charge are trying to figure out what caused the fire.

6. Why couldn’t the firefighters stop the fire from destroying the turbine?
The firefighters couldn’t stop the fire because their ladders weren’t long enough to reach the top and put out the flames.

7. Why is it important to find out what caused the fire?
It is important to find out what caused the fire so that they can prevent it from happening again.

8. What does this incident make us wonder about?
This incident makes us wonder about the safety of wind turbines and if safety rules are being followed.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) ladders
(2) people
(3) charge
(4) trying
(5) shows
(6) firefighters
(7) destroying
(8) emergency
(9) investigating
(10) important
(11) equipment
(12) resources
(13) incident
(14) wonder
(15) safety
(16) community
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. turbine
Answer: (b) A tall structure that uses wind to make electricity

2. firefighters
Answer: (f) People who put out fires and help in emergencies

3. ladders
Answer: (h) Long tools used to climb up to high places

4. flames
Answer: (c) Bright, hot, glowing gas that comes from fire

5. destroyed
Answer: (a) Ruined or completely broken

6. investigating
Answer: (e) Trying to find out the cause of something

7. incident
Answer: (g) An event or occurrence, usually something bad or unexpected

8. safety
Answer: (d) Being protected from harm or danger
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What caused the destruction of the wind turbine in Iowa?
Answer: (a) Fire

2. Why couldn’t the firefighters reach the top of the turbine?
Answer: (c) Their ladders were not tall enough

3. What happened to one of the turbine’s blades during the fire?
Answer: (c) It fell to the ground in flames

4. Why is it important to investigate the cause of the fire?
Answer: (d) To prevent similar incidents in the future

5. What does the incident with the wind turbine show about emergency workers?
Answer: (b) They need the right equipment and resources to handle emergencies

6. What should be done to ensure the safety of wind turbines?
Answer: (a) Follow safety rules and regulations

7. What can be done to prevent similar incidents in the future?
Answer: (d) Provide emergency workers with proper training

8. Who is at risk during incidents like the one with the wind turbine?
Answer: (b) Both workers and the community
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Smoke and flames were seen coming out of the turbine during the fire. (Answer: True)
2. The investigation aims to ignore the cause of the fire to perpetuate similar incidents in the future. (Answer: False)
3. A video failed to capture the firefighters’ struggle to extinguish the flames due to the height of the turbine. (Answer: False)
4. Firefighters easily reached the top of the turbine due to the abundance of tall ladders. (Answer: False)
5. This incident raises no concerns about the safety of wind turbines and the need for proper safety measures and resources for emergency workers. (Answer: False)
6. The cause of the fire is currently unknown and is being investigated. (Answer: True)
7. The incident highlights the difficulty emergency workers face when dealing with fires in tall structures. (Answer: True)
8. A wind turbine in Iowa caught fire and was destroyed recently. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧