Scientists are asking people to think of seagulls as cool rather than annoying and to find ways to live with them. Seagulls are coming into cities because they don’t have enough space to live in nature anymore. This is causing problems because they are fighting with humans over food. But experts say we should respect them because they are smart and can adapt to new situations. They have learned how to find food by watching older birds and have come up with clever ways to get food from bins or even from people. Some simple things we can do to help are to use bigger, more secure bins and to not leave food lying around.

The number of seagulls in the wild is going down, which is a big problem for their survival. The six main types of seagulls in the UK are all getting less common and are either on the amber or red list. A recent survey aimed to find out how many seagulls stay in the UK during the winter. The survey showed that the number of seagulls that have babies is going down, but we don’t know much about how many seagulls are nesting on buildings. We will get more information about winter seagulls at the end of the year to help us come up with better ways to protect them.

Seagulls are often seen as mean and annoying, especially when they are having babies. But they are an important part of nature and have learned to live in cities because of what people do. They are smart birds that have figured out how to find food in cities. If we understand how they behave and do simple things like using secure bins and not leaving food out, we can live with seagulls and think they are cool.

So, we should think of seagulls as cool and find ways to live with them. They are smart and can change to live in new places, but their numbers are going down in nature. If we respect their smarts and do simple things to help, we can live with seagulls and help them survive.

Original news source: Seagulls ‘charismatic’ not ‘criminal’, say scientists (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Provide each group with a copy of the article.
3. Instruct the groups to read the article and summarize the main points in 3-5 sentences.
4. After a designated time, have each group share their summaries with the class.
5. Facilitate a discussion by asking questions about the article and encouraging students to express their opinions.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Instruct each group to create an opinion poll based on the article.
3. The poll should include questions that ask about the students’ opinions on seagulls and their behavior.
4. Give the groups time to create their polls.
5. Once the polls are complete, have each group ask their questions to other groups or the entire class.
6. Encourage students to discuss their answers and reasons behind their opinions.

– Sketch It
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs.
2. Give each pair a blank sheet of paper and a pen or pencil.
3. Instruct each pair to take turns describing a scene or situation involving seagulls based on the article. The other person must sketch the description.
4. After a designated time, have each pair share their sketches with the class.
5. Facilitate a discussion by asking questions about the sketches and the students’ interpretations.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write down key vocabulary words from the article on separate pieces of paper.
2. Divide the class into two teams.
3. One person from each team comes to the front of the class.
4. Show them a vocabulary word (without the rest of the class seeing) and they have to draw it on the board.
5. The rest of their team must try to guess the word based on the drawing.
6. The team that guesses correctly earns a point.
7. Repeat with different team members and vocabulary words until all words have been used or time runs out.
8. The team with the most points at the end wins.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions:
1. Ask the class to think silently for a minute about the following question: “What can we do to live with seagulls and help them survive?”
2. Ask students to pair up with a partner and share their thoughts.
3. After a designated time, ask a few pairs to share their ideas with the class.
4. Facilitate a discussion by encouraging students to build on and respond to each other’s ideas.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Why are seagulls coming into cities?
2. What are some problems that arise from seagulls living in cities?
3. According to the article, why should we respect seagulls?
4. How have seagulls learned to find food in cities?
5. What are some simple things we can do to help seagulls?
6. What is the current situation with the seagull population in the UK?
7. What information do we still need to gather about seagulls nesting on buildings?
8. How can we live with seagulls and help them survive?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Scientists are asking people to think of seagulls as cool rather than (1)______ and to find ways to live with them. Seagulls are (2)______ into (3)______ because they don’t have enough space to live in nature anymore. This is causing problems because they are fighting with humans over food. But (4)______ say we should respect them because they are smart and can adapt to new situations. They have learned how to find food by watching older birds and have come up with clever ways to get food from bins or even from people. Some (5)______ things we can do to help are to use bigger, more secure bins and to not leave food (6)______ around.

The number of seagulls in the wild is going down, which is a big problem for their survival. The six main types of seagulls in the UK are all getting less common and are either on the amber or red list. A recent (7)______ aimed to find out how many seagulls stay in the UK during the winter. The survey (8)______ that the number of (9)______ that have babies is going down, but we don’t know much about how many seagulls are nesting on buildings. We will get more information about winter seagulls at the end of the year to help us come up with better ways to protect them.

(10)______ are often seen as mean and annoying, especially when they are having babies. But they are an (11)______ part of nature and have (12)______ to live in cities because of what people do. They are smart birds that have figured out how to find food in cities. If we understand how they behave and do simple (13)______ like using secure bins and not leaving food out, we can live with seagulls and think they are cool.

So, we should think of seagulls as cool and find ways to live with them. They are smart and can change to live in new places, but their numbers are going down in (14)______. If we (15)______ their smarts and do simple things to help, we can live with seagulls and help them (16)______.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What do you think about seagulls? Do you find them annoying or cool?
2. How do you think seagulls have learned to find food in cities?
3. Do you think it’s important to respect seagulls? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if seagulls were fighting with you over food?
5. Have you ever seen seagulls finding food in bins or from people? What did you think about it?
6. What are some simple things we can do to help seagulls?
7. Why do you think the number of seagulls in the wild is going down?
8. Do you think it’s a problem that seagulls are becoming less common in the UK? Why or why not?
9. Have you ever seen seagulls nesting on buildings? How did you feel about it?
10. What do you think we can learn from studying winter seagulls?
11. How can we come up with better ways to protect seagulls?
12. Do you think it’s fair to see seagulls as mean and annoying? Why or why not?
13. What do you think would happen if we didn’t do simple things to help seagulls?
14. Do you think it’s important to live in harmony with nature? Why or why not?
15. How do you think our actions impact the survival of seagulls?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. adapt
2. secure
3. survival
4. experts
5. respect
6. clever
7. bins
8. amber
9. survey
10. nesting
11. annoying
12. protect
13. decrease
14. behave
15. respect (used intentionally twice for the purpose of this exercise)

Meanings:
(A) To admire or value someone or something
(B) To change or adjust to fit new conditions or environments
(C) To admire or value someone or something (intentionally repeated for matching purposes)
(D) To keep someone or something safe from harm or danger
(E) Causing irritation or bother
(F) A detailed examination or investigation of something
(G) The state of continuing to live or exist, especially in spite of difficult conditions
(H) A color that is a mix of yellow and orange, often used in warning signs
(I) People who have a lot of knowledge about a particular subject
(J) The act of making a home or living in a particular place
(K) To become less in number or amount
(L) To act in a certain way, especially towards others
(M) Containers used for holding waste until it is collected
(N) Safe from danger or harm
(O) Showing intelligence or skill in a good way
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why are seagulls coming into cities?
(a) They are looking for new friends.
(b) They want to annoy humans.
(c) They don’t have enough space to live in nature anymore.
(d) They are lost.

2. Why are seagulls fighting with humans over food?
(a) Because they are mean birds.
(b) Because they are hungry.
(c) Because they want to annoy humans.
(d) Because they have learned how to get food from bins and people.

3. What can we do to help seagulls?
(a) Chase them away from cities.
(b) Use bigger, more secure bins and not leave food lying around.
(c) Ignore them and hope they go away.
(d) Build more houses for them.

4. Why is the number of seagulls in the wild going down?
(a) Because they are not able to find enough food.
(b) Because they are moving to cities.
(c) Because they are having fewer babies.
(d) Because they are becoming meaner.

5. What did a recent survey aim to find out?
(a) How many seagulls stay in the UK during the winter.
(b) How many seagulls are nesting on buildings.
(c) How many seagulls are fighting with humans.
(d) How many seagulls are going extinct.

6. What will we learn about winter seagulls at the end of the year?
(a) How to annoy them.
(b) How to scare them away.
(c) How to make them leave cities.
(d) More information to help protect them.

7. How are seagulls described in the article?
(a) Mean and annoying birds.
(b) Birds that are becoming extinct.
(c) Smart birds that have figured out how to find food in cities.
(d) Birds that are too dumb to survive.

8. How can we live with seagulls and help them survive?
(a) By ignoring them and hoping they go away.
(b) By respecting their smarts and doing simple things to help, like using secure bins and not leaving food out.
(c) By scaring them away from cities.
(d) By building more houses for them.

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The number of seagulls in the wild is decreasing, which is a problem for their survival.
2. Seagulls are not intelligent and struggle to adapt to new situations.
3. Seagulls are avoiding cities because they have ample space to live in nature.
4. The six main types of seagulls in the UK are becoming less common and are on the amber or red list.
5. Using smaller, less secure bins and leaving food out can help attract seagulls to an area.
6. Seagulls are fighting with humans over food, causing problems in cities.
7. More information about winter seagulls will be obtained at the end of the year to help come up with better ways to protect them.
8. Seagulls have not picked up on finding food by observing older birds and struggle to find sustenance.
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. Why are seagulls coming into cities?
2. How have seagulls learned to find food in cities?
3. What are some simple things people can do to help seagulls?
4. Why is the decreasing number of seagulls in the wild a problem?
5. What information will be gathered at the end of the year to help protect seagulls?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Why are seagulls coming into cities?
Seagulls are coming into cities because they don’t have enough space to live in nature anymore.

2. What are some problems that arise from seagulls living in cities?
Some problems that arise from seagulls living in cities are that they fight with humans over food and can be seen as annoying.

3. According to the article, why should we respect seagulls?
According to the article, we should respect seagulls because they are smart and can adapt to new situations.

4. How have seagulls learned to find food in cities?
Seagulls have learned to find food in cities by watching older birds and coming up with clever ways to get food from bins or even from people.

5. What are some simple things we can do to help seagulls?
Some simple things we can do to help seagulls are to use bigger, more secure bins and to not leave food lying around.

6. What is the current situation with the seagull population in the UK?
The current situation with the seagull population in the UK is that the six main types of seagulls are getting less common and are either on the amber or red list.

7. What information do we still need to gather about seagulls nesting on buildings?
We still need to gather more information about how many seagulls are nesting on buildings.

8. How can we live with seagulls and help them survive?
We can live with seagulls and help them survive by understanding their behavior, using secure bins, and not leaving food out.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) annoying
(2) coming
(3) cities
(4) experts
(5) simple
(6) lying
(7) survey
(8) showed
(9) seagulls
(10) Seagulls
(11) important
(12) learned
(13) things
(14) nature
(15) respect
(16) survive
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. adapt
Answer: (B) To change or adjust to fit new conditions or environments

2. secure
Answer: (N) Safe from danger or harm

3. survival
Answer: (G) The state of continuing to live or exist, especially in spite of difficult conditions

4. experts
Answer: (I) People who have a lot of knowledge about a particular subject

5. respect
Answer: (A) To admire or value someone or something

6. clever
Answer: (O) Showing intelligence or skill in a good way

7. bins
Answer: (M) Containers used for holding waste until it is collected

8. amber
Answer: (H) A color that is a mix of yellow and orange, often used in warning signs

9. survey
Answer: (F) A detailed examination or investigation of something

10. nesting
Answer: (J) The act of making a home or living in a particular place

11. annoying
Answer: (E) Causing irritation or bother

12. protect
Answer: (D) To keep someone or something safe from harm or danger

13. decrease
Answer: (K) To become less in number or amount

14. behave
Answer: (L) To act in a certain way, especially towards others

15. respect (used intentionally twice for the purpose of this exercise)
Answer: (C) To admire or value someone or something (intentionally repeated for matching purposes)
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why are seagulls coming into cities?
Answer: (c) They don’t have enough space to live in nature anymore.

2. Why are seagulls fighting with humans over food?
Answer: (d) Because they have learned how to get food from bins and people.

3. What can we do to help seagulls?
Answer: (b) Use bigger, more secure bins and not leave food lying around.

4. Why is the number of seagulls in the wild going down?
Answer: (a) Because they are not able to find enough food.

5. What did a recent survey aim to find out?
Answer: (a) How many seagulls stay in the UK during the winter.

6. What will we learn about winter seagulls at the end of the year?
Answer: (d) More information to help protect them.

7. How are seagulls described in the article?
Answer: (c) Smart birds that have figured out how to find food in cities.

8. How can we live with seagulls and help them survive?
Answer: (b) By respecting their smarts and doing simple things to help, like using secure bins and not leaving food out.
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The number of seagulls in the wild is decreasing, which is a problem for their survival. (Answer: True)
2. Seagulls are not intelligent and struggle to adapt to new situations. (Answer: False)
3. Seagulls are avoiding cities because they have ample space to live in nature. (Answer: False)
4. The six main types of seagulls in the UK are becoming less common and are on the amber or red list. (Answer: True)
5. Using smaller, less secure bins and leaving food out can help attract seagulls to an area. (Answer: False)
6. Seagulls are fighting with humans over food, causing problems in cities. (Answer: True)
7. More information about winter seagulls will be obtained at the end of the year to help come up with better ways to protect them. (Answer: True)
8. Seagulls have not picked up on finding food by observing older birds and struggle to find sustenance. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧