The Reading / Listening - Woolly Mammoths - Level 3

Scientists are working on bringing back the woolly mammoth. The giant creature is an ancestor of the Asian elephant. It became extinct over 4,000 years ago, but scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back to life. The idea is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from the bones of a mammoth found in Siberia to revive the mammoth. They will also use cloning techniques. It would be the first time since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The lead scientist is professor George Church, a geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert in gene editing. An entrepreneur, Ben Lamm, said: "Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four to six years."

Ben Lamm is founder of a technology and software company called Colossal. He has provided $15 million for the research to move forward. He said he has big plans to bring the mammoth back to life and to revive other species. He said he hoped to "rapidly advance the field of species de-extinction" and "to restore the woolly mammoth to the Arctic tundra". Mr Lamm believes the research will result in innovations that will benefit biotechnology and health care. Lamm compared the project to the Apollo missions to the moon. He said they made people excited about space. They led to the development of everyday products like freeze-dried food, and of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes genetics will improve our lives.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Woolly Mammoths - Level 0,  Woolly Mammoths - Level 1   or  Woolly Mammoths - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/13/firm-bring-back-woolly-mammoth-from-extinction
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/13/world/woolly-mammoth-resurrect-deextinction-scn/index.html
  • https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/09/13/resurrect-woolly-mammoth-company-plans/8325439002/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. MAMMOTHS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about mammoths. 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?
       scientists / giant / creature / extinct / entrepreneur / DNA / technique / earth / goal /
       technology / software / species / Arctic / missions / moon / products / genetics
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. DE-EXTINCTION: Students A strongly believe scientists should try and bring species back from extinction; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. EXTINCT SPECIES: What do you know about these extinct species? Should they be brought back? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What I Know

Should They Come Back?

Woolly Mammoth

 

 

Dodo

 

 

Sabre-toothed tiger

 

 

Baiji white dolphin

 

 

Black rhinoceros

 

 

Great auk

 

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

  • De-extinction
  • Increasing intelligence
  • Personalised medicine
  • Ending hereditary diseases
  • Choosing eye colour
  • GM food
  • Growing organs
  • Partner matching

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. giant a. A person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.
      2. creature b. An animal or plant from history, which today's animals and plants came from.
      3. ancestor c. An animal, but not a human being.
      4. extinct d. A person who has a lot of knowledge about or skill in a particular area.
      5. entrepreneur e. Very, very, very big.
      6. revive f. Of a species, family, or other larger group that has no living members.
      7. expert g. Bring back to life.

    Paragraph 2

      8. provided h. Make or cause to become better and better.
      9. species i. The action of make changes in something to make it better, more modern, etc.
      10. rapidly j. An area of study, activity or interest.
      11. advance k. A group of living things that are in the same family / type.
      12. field l. Make or become better.
      13. innovation m. Made available for use; supplied; gave.
      14. improve n. Very quickly.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The Asian elephant is the ancestor of the woolly mammoth.     T / F
  2. The woolly mammoth died out more than 4,000 years ago.     T / F
  3. The woolly mammoth was the star of the movie Jurassic Park.     T / F
  4. Woolly mammoths could return to Earth within the next six years.     T / F
  5. An entrepreneur helped the research by giving $50 million.     T / F
  6. The entrepreneur wants to bring back more species from extinction.     T / F
  7. The Apollo moon missions led to the creation of GPS technology.     T / F
  8. The entrepreneur said genetics will improve freeze-dried food.     T / F

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

  1. bringing back
  2. extinct
  3. entrepreneur
  4. technique
  5. expert
  6. founder
  7. rapidly
  8. innovations
  9. missions
  10. improve
  1. quickly
  2. method
  3. make better
  4. wiped out
  5. changes
  6. reviving
  7. specialist
  8. journeys
  9. business person
  10. creator

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

  1. Scientists are working on bringing
  2. The giant creature is an ancestor
  3. It became extinct
  4. They will also use cloning
  5. He is an expert
  6. rapidly advance the field of
  7. result in innovations that will benefit
  8. the Apollo missions
  9. They led to the development
  10. genetics will
  1. improve our lives
  2. techniques
  3. to the moon
  4. over 4,000 years ago
  5. biotechnology
  6. back the woolly mammoth
  7. species de-extinction
  8. of everyday products
  9. of the Asian elephant
  10. in gene editing

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
lead
revive
idea
calves
since
creature
editing
bones

Scientists are working on bringing back the woolly mammoth. The giant (1) _____________________ is an ancestor of the Asian elephant. It became extinct over 4,000 years ago, but scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back to life. The (2) _____________________ is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from the (3) _____________________ of a mammoth found in Siberia to (4) _____________________ the mammoth. They will also use cloning techniques. It would be the first time (5) _____________________ the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The (6) _____________________ scientist is professor George Church, a geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert in gene (7) _____________________. An entrepreneur, Ben Lamm, said: "Our goal is to have our first (8) _____________________ in the next four to six years."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
innovations
species
products
founder
genetics
project
provided
field

Ben Lamm is (9) _____________________ of a technology and software company called Colossal. He has (10) _____________________ $15 million for the research to move forward. He said he has big plans to bring the mammoth back to life and to revive other (11) _____________________. He said he hoped to "rapidly advance the (12) _____________________ of species de-extinction" and "to restore the woolly mammoth to the Arctic tundra". Mr Lamm believes the research will result in (13) _____________________ that will benefit biotechnology and health care. Lamm compared the (14) _____________________ to the Apollo missions to the moon. He said they made people excited about space. They led to the development of everyday (15) _____________________ like freeze-dried food, and of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes (16) _____________________ will improve our lives.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) bringing back the woolly mammoth. The giant creature is an ______ Asian elephant
     a.  ancestry of the
     b.  ancestral of the
     c.  ancestor of the
     d.  uncle and aunts of the
2)  but scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it ______
     a.  back to life
     b.  backed life
     c.  back to rife
     d.  backed to rife
3)  DNA from the bones of a mammoth found in Siberia to ______
     a.  revival the mammoth
     b.  rev viva the mammoth
     c.  revive the mammoth
     d.  revise the mammoth
4)  George Church, a geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert ______
     a.  in jeans editing
     b.  in gene editing
     c.  in genius editing
     d.  in genuine editing
5)  Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four ______
     a.  too six years
     b.  to six years
     c.  two six years
     d.  thru six years

6)  He has provided $15 million for the research ______
     a.  tomb move forward
     b.  tome move forward
     c.  too move forward
     d.  to move forward
7)  He said he has big plans to bring the mammoth back to life and to ______
     a.  revive other species
     b.  revive others species
     c.  revile other species
     d.  revise other species
8)  Mr Lamm believes the research will result in innovations that ______
     a.  will beneficial biotechnology
     b.  will benefit biotechnology
     c.  will benefits biotechnology
     d.  will benefitting biotechnology
9)  They led to the development of everyday products like ______
     a.  freeze-dry food
     b.  freezes-dried food
     c.  froze-dried food
     d.  freeze-dried food
10)  Mr Lamm believes genetics will ______
     a.  improve our lines
     b.  improve our wives
     c.  improve our hives
     d.  improve our lives

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Scientists are working (1) ____________________ the woolly mammoth. The giant creature is an ancestor of the Asian elephant. It (2) ____________________ 4,000 years ago, but scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back to life. The (3) ____________________ something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from the bones of a mammoth found in Siberia (4) ____________________ mammoth. They will also use cloning techniques. It would be the first time since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The (5) ____________________ professor George Church, a geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert (6) ____________________ editing. An entrepreneur, Ben Lamm, said: "Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four to six years."

Ben Lamm is founder of a (7) ____________________ company called Colossal. He has provided $15 million for the research to move forward. He said he has big plans to bring the mammoth (8) ____________________ and to revive other species. He said he hoped to "rapidly advance the (9) ____________________ de-extinction" and "to restore the woolly mammoth to the Arctic tundra". Mr Lamm believes the research will result in innovations (10) ____________________ biotechnology and health care. Lamm compared the project to the Apollo missions to the moon. He said they made people excited about space. They led to the development of everyday products like (11) ____________________, and of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes genetics will (12) ____________________.

Comprehension questions

  1. What is a living descendant of the woolly mammoth?
  2. When did the woolly mammoth become extinct?
  3. Where did scientists get woolly mammoth DNA from?
  4. What is professor George Church an expert on?
  5. When might the first woolly members reappear on Earth?
  6. What kind of company is Colossal?
  7. What else does Ben Lamm want to revive?
  8. Where will future woolly mammoths live?
  9. What missions did Mr Lamm compare the woolly mammoth project to?
  10. What did Mr Lamm say genetics would improve?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What is a living descendant of the woolly mammoth?
a) kangaroos
b) the rhinoceros
c) warthogs
d) the Asian elephant
2) When did the woolly mammoth become extinct?
a) exactly 4,000 years ago
b) over 4,000 years ago
c) around 4,000 years ago
d) just under 4,000 years ago
3) Where did scientists get woolly mammoth DNA from?
a) a lab
b) chemicals
c) mammoth bones
d) Africa
4) What is professor George Church an expert on?
a) gene editing
b) woolly mammoths
c) ancient history
d) the Ice Age
5) When might the first woolly members reappear on Earth?
a) next decade
b) in the middle of the century
c) in the next four to six years
d) no time soon

6) What kind of company is Colossal?
a) a de-extinction company
b) a technology and software company
c) a publisher
d) a genetics company
7) What else does Ben Lamm want to revive?
a) dinosaurs
b) the Ice Age
c) hopes and dreams
d) other species
8) Where will future woolly mammoths live?
a) the Arctic tundra
b) all across Africa
c) the Australian Outback
d) Patagonia
9) What missions did Mr Lamm compare the woolly mammoth project to?
a) missions to Mars
b) the ascent of Everest
c) the Apollo missions to the moon
d) missions to find a rainbow unicorn
10) What did Mr Lamm say genetics would improve?
a) dinosaurs
b) our lives
c) the Ice Age
d) climate change

Role play

Role  A – De-extinction
You think de-extinction is the best use of genetics. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): GM food, growing organs or personalised medicine.

Role  B – GM Food
You think GM food is the best use of genetics. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): de-extinction, growing organs or personalised medicine.

Role  C – Growing Organs
You think growing organs is the best use of genetics. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): GM food, de-extinction or personalised medicine.

Role  D – Personalised Medicine
You think personalised medicine is the best use of genetics. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): GM food, growing organs or de-extinction.

After reading / listening

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

'giant'

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

    • and 'creature'.

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

    • • 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:

    • ancestor
    • movie
    • techniques
    • walk
    • expert
    • first
    • provided
    • big
    • rapidly
    • result
    • missions
    • dried

    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 - Woolly Mammoths

    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 'mammoth'?
    3. What do you know about woolly mammoths?
    4. Do you think bringing the woolly mammoth back is a good idea?
    5. Why do you think scientists want to bring it back?
    6. What are the dangers of reviving the woolly mammoth?
    7. What do you think of cloning?
    8. How much like Jurassic Park is bringing back the woolly mammoth?
    9. What do you know about the Ice Age?
    10. How important is the job of a geneticist?

    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 'life'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think of woolly mammoths?
    5. Would you like scientists to bring back the dinosaurs?
    6. What do you think of the idea of de-extinction?
    7. How might this research benefit our lives?
    8. What extinct animal would you like scientists to bring back?
    9. What three adjectives best describe this story?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the scientists?

    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)

    Scientists are working on (1) ____ back the woolly mammoth. The giant creature is an ancestor of the Asian elephant. It (2) ____ extinct over 4,000 years ago, but scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back to life. The idea is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from the (3) ____ of a mammoth found in Siberia to revive the mammoth. They will also use (4) ____ techniques. It would be the first time since the ice (5) ____ for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The lead scientist is professor George Church, a geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert (6) ____ gene editing. An entrepreneur, Ben Lamm, said: "Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four to six years."

    Ben Lamm is founder of a technology and software company called Colossal. He has provided $15 million (7) ____ the research to move forward. He said he has big plans to bring the mammoth back to life and to revive (8) ____ species. He said he hoped to "rapidly advance the field of species de-extinction" and "to restore the woolly mammoth to the Arctic tundra". Mr Lamm believes the research will result (9) ____ innovations that will benefit biotechnology and health care. Lamm compared the project (10) ____ the Apollo missions to the moon. He said they made people excited about space. They (11) ____ to the development of everyday products like freeze-dried food, and of technology (12) ____ as GPS. Mr Lamm believes genetics will improve our lives.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     taking     (b)     bringing     (c)     having     (d)     giving    
    2. (a)     had     (b)     became     (c)     appeared     (d)     been    
    3. (a)     boned     (b)     boneless     (c)     boney     (d)     bones    
    4. (a)     cleaner     (b)     cloning     (c)     clan     (d)     cleanse    
    5. (a)     period     (b)     age     (c)     days     (d)     compartment    
    6. (a)     by     (b)     as     (c)     in     (d)     to    
    7. (a)     of     (b)     under     (c)     for     (d)     over    
    8. (a)     others     (b)     the others     (c)     other     (d)     bother    
    9. (a)     as     (b)     at     (c)     of     (d)     in    
    10. (a)     to     (b)     at     (c)     of     (d)     on    
    11. (a)     led     (b)     leader     (c)     leading     (d)     leads    
    12. (a)     so     (b)     seem     (c)     such     (d)     thus

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. The giant ueearrct
    2. an ocaetsrn of the Asian elephant
    3. It became xtctnei over 4,000 years ago
    4. They will also use ngocinl techniques
    5. a steiintegc from Harvard Medical School
    6. He is an pxerte in gene editing

    Paragraph 2

    1. revive other eecpssi
    2. he hoped to rapidly enadacv the field
    3. the research will result in nitoannvois
    4. etenbif biotechnology and health care
    5. the Apollo imnssois to the moon
    6. irepomv our lives

    Put the text back together

    (...)  bones of a mammoth found in Siberia to revive the mammoth. They will also use cloning
    (...)  to life. The idea is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from the
    (...)  the Arctic tundra". Mr Lamm believes the research will result in innovations that will benefit biotechnology and health
    (...)  techniques. It would be the first time since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The lead
    (...)  editing. An entrepreneur, Ben Lamm, said: "Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four to six years."
    (...)  revive other species. He said he hoped to "rapidly advance the field of species de-extinction" and "to restore the woolly mammoth to
    (...)  research to move forward. He said he has big plans to bring the mammoth back to life and to
    (  1  ) Scientists are working on bringing back the woolly mammoth. The giant creature is an ancestor of the
    (...)  Asian elephant. It became extinct over 4,000 years ago, but scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back
    (...)  care. Lamm compared the project to the Apollo missions to the moon. He said they made people
    (...)  excited about space. They led to the development of everyday products like freeze-dried food, and
    (...)  of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes genetics will improve our lives.
    (...)  scientist is professor George Church, a geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert in gene
    (...)  Ben Lamm is founder of a technology and software company called Colossal. He has provided $15 million for the

    Put the words in the right order

    1. back   working   are   Scientists   mammoth   .   bringing   the   on
    2. became   The   mammoth   extinct   over   ago   .   4,000   years
    3. is   The   idea   movie   .   from   a   something   like
    4. since   first   The   age   .   the   ice   time
    5. years   .   four   six   In   to   the   next
    6. million   He   has   the   provided   research   .   for   $15
    7. advance   species   field   Rapidly   of   the   de-extinction   .
    8. said   He   excited   they   space   .   about   made   people
    9. everyday   products   .   of   led   the   development   to   They
    10. Lamm   genetics   believes   improve   our   Mr   will   lives   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Scientists are working on bringing / brought back the woolly mammoth. The giant creature is an ancestor / ancestry of the Asian elephant. It became extinct over 4,000 years ago, but scientist / scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back to life / living. The idea is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from the bones of a mammoth finding / found in Siberia to revive the mammoth. They will also use cloning techniques. It would be the first time for / since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The lead / iron scientist is professor George Church, a genetics / geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert in jeans / gene editing. An entrepreneur, Ben Lamm, said: "Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four by / to six years."

    Ben Lamm is founder of a technology and software company called Colossal. He has provided / gave $15 million for the research to move forward / backward. He said he has big plans to bring / bringing the mammoth back to life and to revival / revive other species. He said he hoped / hopped to "rapidly advance the field of species de-extinction" and "to restore the woolly mammoth to the Arctic tundra". Mr Lamm beliefs / believes the research will result in innovations that will benefit / beneficial biotechnology and health care. Lamm compared the project to the Apollo missions to the moon. He said they / it made people excited about space. They led to the development of everyday products like / same freeze-dried food, and of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes genetics will improvement / improve our lives.

    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)

    Sc__nt_sts  _r_  w_rk_ng  _n  br_ng_ng  b_ck  th_  w__lly  m_mm_th.  Th_  g__nt  cr__t_r_  _s  _n  _nc_st_r  _f  th_  _s__n  _l_ph_nt.  _t  b_c_m_  _xt_nct  _v_r  4,000  y__rs  _g_,  b_t  sc__nt_sts  _nd  _ntr_pr_n__rs  w_nt  t_  br_ng  _t  b_ck  t_  l_f_.  Th_  _d__  _s  l_k_  s_m_th_ng  fr_m  th_  m_v__  J_r_ss_c  P_rk.  Sc__nt_sts  w_ll  _s_  th_  DN_  fr_m  th_  b_n_s  _f  _  m_mm_th  f__nd  _n  S_b_r__  t_  r_v_v_  th_  m_mm_th.  Th_y  w_ll  _ls_  _s_  cl_n_ng  t_chn_q__s.  _t  w__ld  b_  th_  f_rst  t_m_  s_nc_  th_  _c_  _g_  f_r  _  m_mm_th  t_  w_lk  _n  th_  __rth.  Th_  l__d  sc__nt_st  _s  pr_f_ss_r  G__rg_  Ch_rch,  _  g_n_t_c_st  fr_m  H_rv_rd  M_d_c_l  Sch__l.  H_  _s  _n  _xp_rt  _n  g_n_  _d_t_ng.  _n  _ntr_pr_n__r,  B_n  L_mm,  s__d:  "__r  g__l  _s  t_  h_v_  __r  f_rst  c_lv_s  _n  th_  n_xt  f__r  t_  s_x  y__rs."

    B_n  L_mm  _s  f__nd_r  _f  _  t_chn_l_gy  _nd  s_ftw_r_  c_mp_ny  c_ll_d  C_l_ss_l.  H_  h_s  pr_v_d_d  $15  m_ll__n  f_r  th_  r_s__rch  t_  m_v_  f_rw_rd.  H_  s__d  h_  h_s  b_g  pl_ns  t_  br_ng  th_  m_mm_th  b_ck  t_  l_f_  _nd  t_  r_v_v_  _th_r  sp_c__s.  H_  s__d  h_  h_p_d  t_  "r_p_dly  _dv_nc_  th_  f__ld  _f  sp_c__s  d_-_xt_nct__n"  _nd  "t_  r_st_r_  th_  w__lly  m_mm_th  t_  th_  _rct_c  t_ndr_".  Mr  L_mm  b_l__v_s  th_  r_s__rch  w_ll  r_s_lt  _n  _nn_v_t__ns  th_t  w_ll  b_n_f_t  b__t_chn_l_gy  _nd  h__lth  c_r_.  L_mm  c_mp_r_d  th_  pr_j_ct  t_  th_  _p_ll_  m_ss__ns  t_  th_  m__n.  H_  s__d  th_y  m_d_  p__pl_  _xc_t_d  _b__t  sp_c_.  Th_y  l_d  t_  th_  d_v_l_pm_nt  _f  _v_ryd_y  pr_d_cts  l_k_  fr__z_-dr__d  f__d,  _nd  _f  t_chn_l_gy  s_ch  _s  GPS.  Mr  L_mm  b_l__v_s  g_n_t_cs  w_ll  _mpr_v_  __r  l_v_s.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    scientists are working on bringing back the woolly mammoth the giant creature is an ancestor of the asian elephant it became extinct over 4000 years ago but scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back to life the idea is like something from the movie jurassic park scientists will use the dna from the bones of a mammoth found in siberia to revive the mammoth they will also use cloning techniques it would be the first time since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth the lead scientist is professor george church a geneticist from harvard medical school he is an expert in gene editing an entrepreneur ben lamm said our goal is to have our first calves in the next four to six years

    ben lamm is founder of a technology and software company called colossal he has provided 15 million for the research to move forward he said he has big plans to bring the mammoth back to life and to revive other species he said he hoped to rapidly advance the field of species deextinction and to restore the woolly mammoth to the arctic tundra mr lamm believes the research will result in innovations that will benefit biotechnology and health care lamm compared the project to the apollo missions to the moon he said they made people excited about space they led to the development of everyday products like freezedried food and of technology such as gps mr lamm believes genetics will improve our lives

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Scientistsareworkingonbringingbackthewoollymammoth.Thegiantc
    reatureisanancestoroftheAsianelephant.Itbecameextinctover4,000
    yearsago,butscientistsandentrepreneurswanttobringitbacktolife.Th
    eideaislikesomethingfromthemovieJurassicPark.Scientistswilluseth
    eDNAfromthebonesofamammothfoundinSiberiatorevivethemamm
    oth.Theywillalsousecloningtechniques.Itwouldbethefirsttimesincet
    heIceAgeforamammothtowalkontheearth.Theleadscientistisprofes
    sorGeorgeChurch,ageneticistfromHarvardMedicalSchool.Heisanex
    pertingeneediting.Anentrepreneur,BenLamm,said:"Ourgoalistohav
    eourfirstcalvesinthenextfourtosixyears."BenLammisfounderofatech
    nologyandsoftwarecompanycalledColossal.Hehasprovided$15milli
    onfortheresearchtomoveforward.Hesaidhehasbigplanstobringthem
    ammothbacktolifeandtoreviveotherspecies.Hesaidhehopedto"rapid
    lyadvancethefieldofspeciesde-extinction"and"torestorethewoollym
    ammothtotheArctictundra".MrLammbelievestheresearchwillresulti
    ninnovationsthatwillbenefitbiotechnologyandhealthcare.Lammcom
    paredtheprojecttotheApollomissionstothemoon.Hesaidtheymadepe
    opleexcitedaboutspace.Theyledtothedevelopmentofeverydayprodu
    ctslikefreeze-driedfood,andoftechnologysuchasGPS.MrLammbel
    ievesgeneticswillimproveourlives.

    Free writing

    Write about woolly mammoths for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Bringing extinct species back to life is dangerous. 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. MAMMOTHS: Make a poster about mammoths. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. GENETICS: Write a magazine article about using genetics to bring back extinct species. 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 mammoths. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on bringing back woolly mammoths. 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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