The Reading / Listening - Art Museum - Level 3

A group of penguins became a tour group for the day when they visited an art museum. The penguins were from the Kansas City Zoo in the USA. The zoo teamed up with the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Bosses of both the zoo and the art museum decided the penguins needed a change of scenery. The penguins were getting lonely because the zoo is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. They are used to seeing many visitors every day. A zoo official said: "Quarantine has caused everyone to go a little stir crazy, even the residents of the Kansas City Zoo. So several of the penguins decided to go on a field trip to the Nelson-Atkins, which is still closed, to get a little culture."

The zoo's executive director, Randy Wisthoff, said the penguins have missed their regular interactions with zoo visitors. He said: "We're always looking for ways to enrich their lives and stimulate their days. During this shutdown period, our animals really miss visitors coming up to see them." The museum director joked that the penguins liked the art of Italian artists. He said: "They seemed to react much better to Caravaggio than to Monet." He added: "We are so happy today to welcome our colleagues from the zoo and they've brought special friends and we're seeing how they react to art." The penguins that visited the museum were Humboldt penguins, which are native to Peru and Chile.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Art Museum - Level 0,  Art Museum - Level 1   or  Art Museum - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/penguins-zoo-missouri-art-museum-gallery-a9516656.html
  • https://nypost.com/2020/05/15/penguins-waddle-around-art-museum-during-zoo-field-trip/
  • https://www.ladbible.com/news/animals-penguins-wander-art-museum-on-field-trip-20200515


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. ART MUSEUMS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about art museums. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       group / penguins / museum / zoo / bosses / scenery / pandemic / visitors / culture /
       executive / director / shutdown / artists / happy / colleagues / friends / native / Peru
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. INTERNET: Students A strongly believe the Internet is better than museums; Students B strongly believe museums are better.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. FIELD TRIP: What kind of field trip would these animals like? Why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What Kind of Field Trip?

Why?

Elephants

 

 

Mice

 

 

Dogs

 

 

Snakes

 

 

Bees

 

 

Emus

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. ZOO: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "zoo". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. MUSEUM: Rank these with your partner. Put the best museums at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Science museum
  • History Museum
  • Fashion Museum
  • Music Museum
  • Museum of English
  • Penguin museum
  • Anime and manga
  • Food museum

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. tour a. Sad because one has no friends or people to talk to.
      2. boss b. Because of.
      3. scenery c. A journey for pleasure in which different places are visited.
      4. lonely d. A small number more than two.
      5. due to e. A person in charge of a worker or organization.
      6. quarantine f. What you can see outside around you.
      7. several g. Being on your own to keep away from other people to stop spreading diseases.

    Paragraph 2

      8. regular h. An animal or plant from a particular place.
      9. interaction i. Usual.
      10. enrich j. Meeting and talking to or being with other people.
      11. stimulate k. Do something because something else happened.
      12. react l. Encourage interest or activity in a person or animal.
      13. colleague m. Make the quality better.
      14. native n. A person you work with.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Two penguins escaped from a zoo to visit an art gallery.     T / F
  2. A zoo boss wanted the penguins to have a change of scenery.     T / F
  3. The penguins weren't used to seeing visitors every day.     T / F
  4. The article said the penguins decided to go to a field.     T / F
  5. The zoo's executive director wanted the penguins to make him rich.     T / F
  6. The director said the penguins really liked French art.     T / F
  7. The penguins liked paintings by Caravaggio more than those by Monet.     T / F
  8. The penguins that visited the museum are from Chile and Peru.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. visited
  2. scenery
  3. due to
  4. several
  5. closed
  6. regular
  7. enrich
  8. react
  9. colleagues
  10. native
  1. better
  2. usual
  3. shut
  4. local
  5. because of
  6. co-workers
  7. went to
  8. view
  9. respond
  10. a small number

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. A group
  2. the penguins needed a change
  3. the zoo is closed due
  4. caused everyone to go a little stir
  5. get a
  6. The zoo's executive
  7. ways to enrich
  8. They seemed to react much
  9. welcome our colleagues
  10. native to
  1. their lives
  2. crazy
  3. director
  4. from the zoo
  5. to the coronavirus
  6. better to Caravaggio
  7. of penguins
  8. little culture
  9. Peru and Chile
  10. of scenery

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
due
stir
teamed
closed
tour
field
scenery
used

A group of penguins became a (1) ____________ group for the day when they visited an art museum. The penguins were from the Kansas City Zoo in the USA. The zoo (2) ____________ up with the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Bosses of both the zoo and the art museum decided the penguins needed a change of (3) ____________. The penguins were getting lonely because the zoo is closed (4) ____________ to the coronavirus pandemic. They are (5) ____________ to seeing many visitors every day. A zoo official said: "Quarantine has caused everyone to go a little (6) ____________ crazy, even the residents of the Kansas City Zoo. So several of the penguins decided to go on a (7) ____________ trip to the Nelson-Atkins, which is still (8) ____________, to get a little culture."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
stimulate
artists
special
executive
native
regular
happy
miss

The zoo's (9) ____________ director, Randy Wisthoff, said the penguins have missed their (10) ____________ interactions with zoo visitors. He said: "We're always looking for ways to enrich their lives and (11) ____________ their days. During this shutdown period, our animals really (12) ____________ visitors coming up to see them." The museum director joked that the penguins liked the art of Italian (13) ____________. He said: "They seemed to react much better to Caravaggio than to Monet." He added: "We are so (14) ____________ today to welcome our colleagues from the zoo and they've brought (15) ____________ friends and we're seeing how they react to art." The penguins that visited the museum were Humboldt penguins, which are (16) ____________ to Peru and Chile.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  A group of penguins became a tour group ______
     a.  for the daily
     b.  for the date
     c.  for the daze
     d.  for the day
2)  the art museum decided the penguins needed a ______
     a.  change of scenery
     b.  change of scene airy
     c.  change of scenery
     d.  change of see nearly
3)  Quarantine has caused everyone to go a ______
     a.  little stir crazy
     b.  little stir crazily
     c.  little slur crazy
     d.  little slurp crazy
4)  So several of the penguins decided to go on ______
     a.  afield trip
     b.  a field trip
     c.  a fold trip
     d.  aphid trip
5)  which is still closed, to get ______
     a.  a little culture
     b.  a few culture
     c.  a small culture
     d.  all tall culture

6)  said the penguins have missed their ______
     a.  regular interactions
     b.  regulate interactions
     c.  regulars interactions
     d.  regularly interactions
7)  We're always looking for ways to ______
     a.  and rich their lives
     b.  an rich their lives
     c.  enrich their lives
     d.  and reach their lives
8)  During this shutdown period, our animals ______
     a.  really miss visitors
     b.  really Mrs. visitors
     c.  really Mr. visitors
     d.  really Ms. visitors
9)  He added: "We are so happy today to ______"
     a.  welcome our colleagues
     b.  welcome our collages
     c.  welcome our call leagues
     d.  welcome our cold eagles
10)  the museum were Humboldt penguins, which ______ Peru
     a.  are native too
     b.  are native two
     c.  are native through
     d.  are native to

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A group of penguins became a (1) ___________________ the day when they visited an art museum. The penguins were from the Kansas City Zoo in the USA. The zoo (2) ___________________ the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Bosses of both the zoo and the art museum decided the penguins needed a (3) ___________________. The penguins were getting lonely because the zoo is (4) ___________________ the coronavirus pandemic. They are used to seeing many visitors every day. A zoo official said: "Quarantine has caused everyone to go a (5) ___________________, even the residents of the Kansas City Zoo. So several of the penguins decided to go on (6) ___________________ to the Nelson-Atkins, which is still closed, to get a little culture."

The zoo's executive director, Randy Wisthoff, said the penguins have (7) ___________________ interactions with zoo visitors. He said: "We're always (8) ___________________ to enrich their lives and stimulate their days. During this shutdown period, our animals (9) ___________________ coming up to see them." The museum director joked that the penguins liked the art of Italian artists. He said: "They seemed (10) ___________________ better to Caravaggio than to Monet." He added: "We are so happy today to welcome our colleagues from the zoo and they've (11) ___________________ and we're seeing how they react to art." The penguins that visited the museum were Humboldt penguins, which (12) ___________________ Peru and Chile.

Comprehension questions

  1. What zoo were the penguins from?
  2. What did the zoo decide the penguins needed a change of?
  3. What were the penguins used to seeing every day?
  4. What has caused the penguins to go a little stir crazy?
  5. What did the penguins want to get at the art museum?
  6. In what period are the penguins missing visitors?
  7. What kind of artists did the penguins like?
  8. Who did the penguins prefer the artist Caravaggio to?
  9. Who did the museum welcome, besides the penguins?
  10. Where are the penguins native to?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What zoo were the penguins from?
a) Beijing
b) London
c) Kansas
d) Nairobi
2) What did the zoo decided the penguins needed a change of?
a) scenery
b) weather
c) food
d) friends
3) What were the penguins used to seeing every day?
a) fish
b) visitors
c) zookeepers
d) elephants
4) What has caused the penguins to go a little stir crazy?
a) their pool
b) fished
c) soup
d) quarantine

5) What did the penguins want to get at the art museum?
a) a painting
b) freedom
c) a little culture
d) fish

6) In what period are the penguins missing visitors?
a) the first period
b) the shutdown period
c) the early period
d) the shut up period
7) What kind of artists did the penguins like?
a) manga artists
b) penguin artists
c) modern artists
d) Italian artists
8) Who did the penguins prefer the artist Caravaggio to?
a) Picasso
b) Monet
c) Da Vinci
d) Banksy
9) Who did the museum welcome, besides the penguins?
a) sea lions
b) colleagues
c) elephants
d) fish
10) Where are the penguins native to?
a) Peru
b) New Zealand
c) Siberia
d) Argentina

Role play

Role  A – Science Museum
You think the Science Museum is the best museum. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their museums. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Penguin Museum, Food Museum or Museum of English.

Role  B – Penguin Museum
You think the Penguin Museum is the best museum. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their museums. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Science Museum, Food Museum or Museum of English.

Role  C – Food Museum
You think the Food Museum is the best museum. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their museums. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Penguin Museum, Science Museum or Museum of English.

Role  D – Museum of English
You think the Museum of English is the best museum. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their museums. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Penguin Museum, Food Museum or Science Museum.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

''

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and ''.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • tour
    • teamed
    • both
    • due
    • little
    • still
    • executive
    • days
    • period
    • joked
    • happy
    • native

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Art Museum

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'penguin'?
    3. What do you think of penguins?
    4. What do you think of zoos?
    5. What are the good things about zoos?
    6. What are the bad things about zoos?
    7. Would you like a change of scenery?
    8. Would you like to have many visitors every day?
    9. Have you ever gone stir crazy?
    10. What was the last field trip you went on?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'museum'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think of art museums?
    5. Do you prefer art museums or other museums?
    6. What is your favourite museum?
    7. What art do you like?
    8. Who is your favourite artist?
    9. What other animals might like art?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the zoo owner?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    A (1) ____ of penguins became a tour group for the day when they visited an art museum. The penguins were from the Kansas City Zoo in the USA. The zoo teamed (2) ____ with the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Bosses of both the zoo and the art museum decided the penguins needed a (3) ____ of scenery. The penguins were getting lonely because the zoo is closed (4) ____ to the coronavirus pandemic. They are used to seeing many visitors every day. A zoo official said: "Quarantine has caused everyone to go a little (5) ____ crazy, even the residents of the Kansas City Zoo. So several of the penguins decided to go on a (6) ____ trip to the Nelson-Atkins, which is still closed, to get a little culture."

    The zoo's executive director, Randy Wisthoff, said the penguins have missed their (7) ____ interactions with zoo visitors. He said: "We're always looking for ways to enrich their lives and stimulate (8) ____ days. During this shutdown period, our animals really miss visitors coming up to see them." The museum director (9) ____ that the penguins liked the art of Italian artists. He said: "They seemed to react much better to Caravaggio than to Monet." He added: "We are so happy today to (10) ____ our colleagues from the zoo and they've brought special friends and we're seeing how they react (11) ____ art." The penguins that visited the museum were Humboldt penguins, which are (12) ____ to Peru and Chile.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     gaggle     (b)     group     (c)     drop     (d)     host    
    2. (a)     in     (b)     up     (c)     down     (d)     out    
    3. (a)     chant     (b)     chance     (c)     charge     (d)     change    
    4. (a)     dew     (b)     due     (c)     does     (d)     do    
    5. (a)     mix     (b)     stir     (c)     combine     (d)     whisk    
    6. (a)     garden     (b)     patch     (c)     field     (d)     paddy    
    7. (a)     worry     (b)     distance     (c)     regular     (d)     naturally    
    8. (a)     them     (b)     they     (c)     their     (d)     that    
    9. (a)     whispered     (b)     coughed     (c)     sniffed     (d)     joked    
    10. (a)     hello     (b)     pleased     (c)     greetings     (d)     welcome    
    11. (a)     to     (b)     of     (c)     by     (d)     to    
    12. (a)     motive     (b)     festive     (c)     native     (d)     active

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. A pogur of penguins
    2. the penguins needed a change of cserney
    3. due to the coronavirus andmicep
    4. the tindesesr of the Kansas City Zoo
    5. laveser of the penguins decided
    6. get a little euctrul

    Paragraph 2

    1. The zoo's cveiuxtee
    2. missed their eaglurr interactions
    3. tiusmlate their days
    4. The museum drcirtoe
    5. welcome our escaglueol from the zoo
    6. veitna to Peru and Chile

    Put the text back together

    (...)  that visited the museum were Humboldt penguins, which are native to Peru and Chile.
    (...)  decided to go on a field trip to the Nelson-Atkins, which is still closed, to get a little culture."
    (...)  of Art. Bosses of both the zoo and the art museum decided the penguins needed a change of
    (...)  than to Monet." He added: "We are so happy today to welcome our colleagues from
    (...)  The zoo's executive director, Randy Wisthoff, said the penguins have missed their regular interactions with zoo
    (...)  the zoo and they've brought special friends and we're seeing how they react to art." The penguins
    (...)  go a little stir crazy, even the residents of the Kansas City Zoo. So several of the penguins
    (...)  of Italian artists. He said: "They seemed to react much better to Caravaggio
    (...)  pandemic. They are used to seeing many visitors every day. A zoo official said: "Quarantine has caused everyone to
    (...)  visitors. He said: "We're always looking for ways to enrich their lives and stimulate their days. During this shutdown
    (...)  scenery. The penguins were getting lonely because the zoo is closed due to the coronavirus
    (  1  ) A group of penguins became a tour group for the day when they visited an art museum. The penguins were
    (...)  period, our animals really miss visitors coming up to see them." The museum director joked that the penguins liked the art
    (...)  from the Kansas City Zoo in the USA. The zoo teamed up with the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum

    Put the words in the right order

    1. became   a   A   group   of   penguins   group   .   tour
    2. a   The   needed   scenery   .   change   of   penguins
    3. to   used   visitors   .   many   They   seeing   are
    4. everyone   Caused   crazy   .   a   to   little   go   stir
    5. on   field   Penguins   trip   .   to   decided   a   go
    6. missed   regular   have   interactions   .   The   penguins   their
    7. to   Always   their   lives   .   for   enrich   looking   ways
    8. joked   liked   penguins   that   director   the   art   .   The
    9. are   so   our   colleagues   .   We   happy   to   welcome
    10. how   art   .   they   seeing   to   We're   react

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A group of penguins became a tour / sour group for the day when they visited an / a art museum. The penguins were from the Kansas City Zoo in the USA. The zoo teamed down / up with the nearby / nearly Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Bosses of both the zoo and the art museum decided the penguins needed a change of ocean / scenery. The penguins were getting lonely because the zoo is closed because / due to the coronavirus pandemic. They are used to seeing many visitors every / over day. A zoo official said: "Quarantine has caused everyone to go a little spoon / stir crazy, even the residents of the Kansas City Zoo. So several of the penguins decided to going / go on a field trip to the Nelson-Atkins, which is still closed, to get a little / few culture."

    The zoo's executive director, Randy Wisthoff, said the penguins have mist / missed their regular interactions with zoo visitors. He said: "We're always looking for weighs / ways to enrich their lives and stimulate there / their days. During this shutdown period / session, our animals really miss visitors coming up to see them." The museum director joking / joked that the penguins liked the art of Italian artists. He said: "They seemed to react / repeat much better to Caravaggio than to Monet." He added: "We are such / so happy today to welcome our colleagues from the zoo and they've brought special / specially friends and we're seeing how they react of / to art." The penguins that visited the museum were Humboldt penguins, which are native / festive to Peru and Chile.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    A g r__ p _f p_n g__ n s b_c_m_ _ t__ r g r__ p f_r t h_ d_y w h_n t h_y v_s_t_d _n _r t m_s__ m . T h_ p_n g__ n s w_r_ f r_m t h_ K_n s_s C_t y Z__ _n t h_ U S A . T h_ z__ t__ m_d _p w_t h t h_ n__ r b y N_l s_n - A t k_n s M_s__ m _f A r t . B_s s_s _f b_t h t h_ z__ _n d t h_ _r t m_s__ m d_c_d_d t h_ p_n g__ n s n__ d_d _ c h_n g_ _f s c_n_r y . T h_ p_n g__ n s w_r_ g_t t_n g l_n_l y b_c__ s_ t h_ z__ _s c l_s_d d__ t_ t h_ c_r_n_v_r_s p_n d_m_c . T h_y _r_ _s_d t_ s___n g m_n y v_s_t_r s _v_r y d_y . A z__ _f f_c__ l s__ d : " Q__ r_n t_n_ h_s c__ s_d _v_r y_n_ t_ g_ _ l_t t l_ s t_r c r_z y , _v_n t h_ r_s_d_n t s _f t h_ K_n s_s C_t y Z__ . S_ s_v_r_l _f t h_ p_n g__ n s d_c_d_d t_ g_ _n _ f__ l d t r_p t_ t h_ N_l s_n - A t k_n s , w h_c h _s s t_l l c l_s_d , t_ g_t _ l_t t l_ c_l t_r_. "

    T h_ z__ ' s _x_c_t_v_ d_r_c t_r , R_n d y W_s t h_f f , s__ d t h_ p_n g__ n s h_v_ m_s s_d t h__ r r_g_l_r _n t_r_c t__ n s w_t h z__ v_s_t_r s . H_ s__ d : " W_' r_ _l w_y s l__ k_n g f_r w_y s t_ _n r_c h t h__ r l_v_s _n d s t_m_l_t_ t h__ r d_y s . D_r_n g t h_s s h_t d_w n p_r__ d , __ r _n_m_l s r__ l l y m_s s v_s_t_r s c_m_n g _p t_ s__ t h_m . " T h_ m_s__ m d_r_c t_r j_k_d t h_t t h_ p_n g__ n s l_k_d t h_ _r t _f I t_l__ n _r t_s t s . H_ s__ d : " T h_y s__ m_d t_ r__ c t m_c h b_t t_r t_ C_r_v_g g__ t h_n t_ M_n_t . " H_ _d d_d : " W_ _r_ s_ h_p p y t_d_y t_ w_l c_m_ __ r c_l l__ g__ s f r_m t h_ z__ _n d t h_y ' v_ b r__ g h t s p_c__ l f r__ n d s _n d w_' r_ s___n g h_w t h_ r__ c t t_ _r t . " T h_ p_n g__ n s t h_t v_s_t_d t h_ m_s__ m w_r_ H_m b_l d t p_n g__ n s , w h_c h _r_ n_t_v_ t_ P_r_ _n d C h_l_.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a group of penguins became a tour group for the day when they visited an art museum the penguins were from the kansas city zoo in the usa the zoo teamed up with the nearby nelsonatkins museum of art bosses of both the zoo and the art museum decided the penguins needed a change of scenery the penguins were getting lonely because the zoo is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic they are used to seeing many visitors every day a zoo official said quarantine has caused everyone to go a little stir crazy even the residents of the kansas city zoo so several of the penguins decided to go on a field trip to the nelsonatkins which is still closed to get a little culture

    the zoos executive director randy wisthoff said the penguins have missed their regular interactions with zoo visitors he said were always looking for ways to enrich their lives and stimulate their days during this shutdown period our animals really miss visitors coming up to see them the museum director joked that the penguins liked the art of italian artists he said they seemed to react much better to caravaggio than to monet he added we are so happy today to welcome our colleagues from the zoo and theyve brought special friends and were seeing how they react to art the penguins that visited the museum were humboldt penguins which are native to peru and chile

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Agroupofpenguinsbecameatourgroupforthedaywhentheyvisitedana
    rtmuseum.ThepenguinswerefromtheKansasCityZoointheUSA.Thez
    ooteamedupwiththenearbyNelson-AtkinsMuseumofArt.Bossesofbo
    ththezooandtheartmuseumdecidedthepenguinsneededachangeofs
    cenery.Thepenguinsweregettinglonelybecausethezooiscloseddueto
    thecoronaviruspandemic.Theyareusedtoseeingmanyvisitorseveryd
    ay.Azooofficialsaid:"Quarantinehascausedeveryonetogoalittlestircr
    azy,eventheresidentsoftheKansasCityZoo.Soseveralofthepenguins
    decidedtogoonafieldtriptotheNelson-Atkins,whichisstillclosed,toge
    talittleculture."Thezoo'sexecutivedirector,RandyWisthoff,saidthepe
    nguinshavemissedtheirregularinteractionswithzoovisitors.Hesaid:"
    We'realwayslookingforwaystoenrichtheirlivesandstimulatetheirday
    s.Duringthisshutdownperiod,ouranimalsreallymissvisitorscomingu
    ptoseethem."Themuseumdirectorjokedthatthepenguinslikedtheart
    ofItalianartists.Hesaid:"TheyseemedtoreactmuchbettertoCaravagg
    iothantoMonet."Headded:"Wearesohappytodaytowelcomeourcolle
    aguesfromthezooandthey'vebroughtspecialfriendsandwe'reseeing
    howthereacttoart."ThepenguinsthatvisitedthemuseumwereHumbol
    dtpenguins,whicharenativetoPeruandChile.

    Free writing

    Write about art museum for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    All animals would benefit from art. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. ART MUSEUMS: Make a poster about art museums. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. ANIMALS: Write a magazine article about the need to show art to animals. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on art museums. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on art museums. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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