How Smart Are Orangutans? (TED Ed video)

Along with humans, orangutans belong to the Hominidae family tree, which stretches back 14 million years. But it’s not just their striking red hair that makes orangutans unique among our great ape cousins. Lu Gao shares some amazing facts about these incredibly intelligent great apes from Asia.

Pre-watching vocabulary task
For full screen view, click here.

Listening comprehension cloze test
For full screen view, click here.

Listening comprehension True/False statements

Orangutan Quizzes

FREE Interactive Orangutans Quiz
Orangutan Quiz
Orang Utan fun trivia quiz
QuizMoz Orangutan Quiz


Worksheet 

Here is a worksheet based on the animated TED Ed video about how smart orangutans are. There are two listening comprehension exercises (gap-fill and True/False) and a vocabulary exercise (crossword puzzle). B/W copy and Answer Key provided.

To download the worksheet, click here.

The Grasshopper and the Ant

Here is a worksheet based on an animated video of the famous Aesop fable, The Grasshopper and the Ant. There is a grammar exercise to revise reporting verbs and Reported Speech as well as a vocabulary exercise (crossword puzzle). Answer key provided.

To download the worksheet click here.

Animal Similes

A simile is a word or phrase that compares something to something else, using the words like or as, for example, a face like a mask or as white as snow.  We can use similes to make descriptions more emphatic or vivid.
Animal similes usually compare people to animals. The following exercise will help you revise some of the most common animal similes.

For full screen view click here. 

Worksheet 

Here is a worksheet to help your students revise some of the most common animal similes.

To download the worksheet click here.

The Dog and the Hummingbird (the story of an unlikely friendship)

April 26, 2016. A rescued dog saves a baby hummingbird from death and the two become unlikely best friends.

Task 1.
For full screen view click here.

Task 2.

Worksheet
Here is a worksheet based on the video above. There are two comprehension exercises (gap-fill and  True/False) and a vocabulary exercise (crossword puzzle). Answer key included.

To download the worksheet click here.

 

Octopus Escapes from Aquarium (video)

April 12, 2016. Inky the octopus has successfully escaped an aquarium and re-entered the ocean.

Task 1.
For full screen view click here. To check your answers click here.

Task 2.

Worksheet
Here is a worksheet based on a short BBC video about the escape of an octopus from a New Zealand aquarium. There is a vocabulary matching exercise as a pre-listening activity, a True/False comprehension exercise, a grammar exercise (students are given the transcript and are asked to put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense, active or passive) and finally there is a trivia quiz about octopuses. Answer key included.  

To download the worksheet click here.

Octopus Trivia Quizzes

The Ultimate Octopus Quiz - HowStuffWorks
Octopus Quiz - Fun Facts you Need to Know!
An Octopus is Amazing Quiz
The Giant Pacific Octopus Trivia Quiz - Fun Trivia Games 

Sparrow defies nature and joins Japanese family

Feb 08, 2016. A sparrow has become the newest member of an elderly couple in Japan. Julie Noce reports. (Reuters)

For full screen view click here.

Task 2

Watch the video again and answer the following questions.

1. What is Yoshiko's job?
2. How did she meet Pee-chan?
3. How long has the sparrow been living with the elderly couple?
4. How does it spend its days?
5. Do Mr and Mrs Fujino have any little grandchildren?
6. How does Yoshiko feel about having the sparrow at home?
7. When are Japanese people allowed to capture sparrows as pets?

Denis the 'cat burglar' from Luton (reading + video listening worksheet)

This is a worksheet based on the story of Denis, the 'Cat Burglar'. On the first page there´s a relevant article from the BBC News followed by a True/False exercise and a vocabulary crossword. On the second page there´s a set of comprehension questions for the students to answer after they have watched the BBC video about Denis. Finally there´s a matching exercise on some cat idioms.

Download here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/106729438/Denis-the-Cat-Burglar-reading-video-listening

Denis the 'cat burglar' from Luton (BBC video)

Sept. 20 - A Bedfordshire cat has been stealing clothes and other items from neighbours.
Denis, a two-year-old black and white cat, has stolen underwear, shoes, shirts, paintbrushes and even a doll.
He brings them all back to his embarrassed owner Lesley Newman at her home in Luton.

Click on the picture above to watch the video. Then answer the following comprehension questions.

1. Why is Denis a real menace?
2. What sort of things does he steal?
3. How many hits has his video got on YouTube?
4. What, according to his owner, is the reason why he steals things?
5. Where does the money from the sale of the T-shirts go?
6. What plans does his owner have now?

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: This is Denis, who is a real menace. I couldn't work out if he was shy or maybe the feline felon was just trying to stay one step ahead of the law because Denis has been stealing stuff from his neighbours and this is the CCTV footage which proves it.
MRS NEWMAN: Tea towel, bath sponge, car sponge, towel, another tea towel, a Fred Perry T-shirt...
REPORTER: You name it, Denis, a two-year-old rescue cat will nick it. Socks, pants, footballs, anything he can get his paws on. The CCTV footage of the cat kleptomaniac returning home with the stolen goods is fast becoming an internet sensation with 385.000 hits on YouTube. Why did he do it?
MRS NEWMAN: Some people say it's because he's never been taught how to hunt. Well, I think it's because he likes me.
REPORTER: He wants to bring you things.
MRS NEWMAN: That's how I take it.
REPORTER: Denis has his facebook page, would you believe? And there's even a 'Denis stole my pants' T-shirt, which you can buy to help raise money for Bedfordshire Homeless Cat Rescue Centre.
He has become a bit of a celebrity now. How is he coping with his celebrity?
MRS NEWMAN: We try to keep a lot of it from him. Don't want to be too much of these... It could have gone to his head a little bit... I'm not sure. I think he's his own cat, he likes his own thing.
REPORTER: Owner Lesley is now in talks with a local author about a children's story book based on Denis' life. Surely a Hollywood film can't be far away.

VOCABULARY
A cat burglar is a thief who climbs up the outside of a building in order to enter it and steal something
A feline is a cat or other member of the cat family.
A felon is someone who has committed a serious crime such as murder or robbery.
When you are one step ahead of the law, you manage to avoid being caught by the police. e.g. So far the killer has managed to stay one step ahead of the police/law.
When someone nicks something, he steals it (British slang). e.g. I nicked a couple of cars when I was younger.

Steve Gustafson, Florida Grandfather, Wrestles With Alligator To Save Dog (video)

Sept. 19 - A grandfather wrestled a 130-pound alligator to save his beloved dog, the Orlando Sentinel reports. (Read more about this story here and here.)

 

Watch the video and answer the questions.

1. What was the man doing when he heard his dog, Bounce, yelp (give a sudden cry of pain)?
2. Where was the alligator taking her?
3. What was the man's reaction?
4. What did the gator do when the man pushed back towards the shore?
5. What did the man do when the alligator snapped (tried to bite him) a second time?
6. Why couldn't Bounce make it to the shore?
7. Why did the man let the gator loose?

 TRANSCRIPT
I was trimming the tree here in my back yard and I heard Bounce yelp and I looked down and the gator was taking her out into the pond and without thinking I just said "You're not gonna get her!" And I took off down the hill, did a belly flop onto the top of the alligator, got a hold of the alligator's back left leg, got her tail underneath my right arm, and then we were all under water but I was able to get my feet underneath me and since we were only in three feet of water, I just did a big push back towards the shore and when I did that, the gator let go of Bounce and came around and bit me, but he didn't hang on, he just snapped, and when he snapped a second time, I got him with his mouth closed, pushed his head down at the bottom of the pond and now I had his head at the bottom of the pond and his left leg in my left hand and I had the alligator. And so I'm yelling at Bounce to come in and she can't make it cause she's got water in her lungs and she's exhausted so I let the gator loose and the gator took off and I grabbed Bounce and came up here on the shore.

"A Glimpse of Nature (6882602007)" by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region - A Glimpse of Nature Uploaded by AlbertHerring. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Animal Idioms (worksheet)

The aim of this worksheet is to practise some animal idioms. The students first complete the idioms with the correct animal words and then they match the idioms to their definitions. Finally they use the same idioms to complete some sample sentences.

Download here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/100865794/Animal-Idioms

You can also find an online version here: http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=8321

Soup Ladle Stops Tiger Attack (reading + passive voice)

This worksheet is based on a BBC news article. It contains a True / False comprehension exercise, a crossword puzzle, two exercises on passive voice, a cloze test to practise articles and a roleplay task.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/64985579/Soup-Ladle-Stops-Tiger-Attack 

You can find an online version here:  http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=6763

Croc-wrestling granny wins award

This is a reading comprehension worksheet. The exercises are based on an article taken from CBBC Newsround. There is a pre-reading activity, a gap-fill grammar exercise on the past tenses, a true / false comprehension exercise, a vocabulary matching exercise and a roleplay activity.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/59939915/Croc-Wrestling-Granny-Wins-Award

You can find an online version here:  http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=2222

Bear Guilty of Stealing Honey

This worksheet is based on an article taken from CBBC Newsround. There is an exercise on prepositions, a true / false comprehension exercise, a vocabulary matching exercise and a phrasal verbs exercise.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/59884781/Bear-Guilty-of-Stealing-Honey 

You can find an online version here:  http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=2349