Breaking News English Lesson: Humpback Whale

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Man briefly 'swallowed' by humpback whale (17th February 2025)

The Reading / Listening - Humpback Whale - Level 6

A packrafter had a lucky escape earlier this week after ending up in the jaws of a whale. Adrian Simancas, 23, was paddling through the icy waters of Patagonia, Chile, when an enormous humpback whale emerged from the deep and engulfed him and his inflatable raft in its mouth. Luckily for Mr Simancas, the esophagus of a humpback can only stretch to a diameter of 40 cm, and is ordinarily the width of a human fist. No sooner had Simancas been gulped up by the humpback than he was spat out into the choppy Southern Ocean. Simancas' father captured the whole horrifying incident on video. He said: "Suddenly, I saw Adrian emerge from the waves, along with what looked like a gigantic animal."

Mr Simancas recounted his terrifying ordeal to journalists back on dry land. He said: "I felt something hit me from behind. All this happened in a second. Something dark blue or white enveloped me, and a slimy texture brushed my face." He continued: "I started to sink, and I just closed my eyes, expecting an impact… I was surrounded by water. I realized that I was in something's mouth and I had been eaten." He added: "I felt like I was in a whirlpool… spinning around." The Guardian newspaper reported: "For a few fleeting moments, Adrian's fate was in the jaws of the 40-ton [mammal]." Adrian said his close encounter would not deter him from future rafting outings.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Humpback Whale - Level 4 or Humpback Whale - Level 5

Sources

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/world/americas/whale-swallowed-man-chile.html
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/14/whale-chile-survivor-adrian-simancas
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/13/americas/chile-humpback-whale-kayaker-intl-latam/index.html

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. WHALES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about whales. 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?
lucky / escape / jaws / icy waters / whale / inflatable raft / human fist / video / waves
terrifying ordeal / dry land / slimy / texture / whirlpool / sink / fate / close encounter
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. DOLPHINS: Students A strongly believe whales are better than dolphins; Students B strongly believe dolphins are better than whales. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. CETACEANS: Humpback whales belong toa family of marine creatures called cetaceans. What do you know and want to know about these cetaceans? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	What I Know	What I Want to Know
Humpback whales
Blue whales
Orca
Belugas
Common dolphin
Narwhals

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. LUCKY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "lucky". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Rank these with your partner. Put the worst creatures to have a close encounter with at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

Humpback whale
Lion
Grizzly bear
Tarantula
King cobra
Scorpion
Giant Asian hornet
Mosquito

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	paddling	a.	The tube in your body that carries food from your mouth to your stomach.
2.	emerged	b.	Very, very big.
3.	engulfed	c.	Moving a small boat or your hands and feet in water to go forward.
4.	inflatable	d.	Came out from somewhere.
5.	esophagus	e.	Something that can be filled with air.
6.	choppy	f.	Rough and not smooth, often used to describe water.
7.	gigantic	g.	Fully covered or surrounded by something.

Paragraph 2

8.	recounted	h.	To stop or discourage someone from doing something.
9.	ordeal	i.	Lasting for a very short time.
10.	enveloped	j.	Wet, sticky, and slippery.
11.	slimy	k.	Told a story or explained something that happened.
12.	fleeting	l.	Short trips for fun or relaxation.
13.	deter	m.	A very difficult or painful experience.
14.	outings	n.	Completely covered or wrapped in something.

Before reading / listening

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

The article says a whale had a lucky escape earlier this week. T / F
Adrian Simancas was traversing icy waters in a kayak. T / F
The throat of a humpback whale is just over a metre wide. T / F
Mr Simancas' father caught his son's encounter with the whale on video. T / F
Adrian Simancas was interviewed by journalists while still in the sea. T / F
Adrian said he felt something slimy touch his face. T / F
When he was inside the whale's mouth, he knew he had been eating. T / F
Adrian will go out to sea in the future. T / F

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

lucky
enormous
emerged
gulped
horrifying
recounted
slimy
fleeting
fate
deter

alarming
swallowed
brief
told
gargantuan
destiny
appeared
put off
fortunate
greasy

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

A packrafter had a lucky
ending up in the jaws
paddling through
stretch to a diameter
he was spat out into the choppy
back on
Something dark blue or white
a slimy
For a few fleeting
his close encounter would not

dry land
the icy waters
moments
escape earlier this week
texture
of a whale
Southern Ocean
deter him
enveloped me
of 40 cm

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

spat
escape
gigantic
emerged
horrifying
paddling
width
inflatable

A packrafter had a lucky (1) _________________________________ earlier this week after ending up in the jaws of a whale. Adrian Simancas, 23, was (2) _________________________________ through the icy waters of Patagonia, Chile, when an enormous humpback whale (3) _________________________________ from the deep and engulfed him and his (4) _________________________________ raft in its mouth. Luckily for Mr Simancas, the esophagus of a humpback can only stretch to a diameter of 40 cm, and is ordinarily the (5) _________________________________ of a human fist. No sooner had Simancas been gulped up by the humpback than he was (6) _________________________________ out into the choppy Southern Ocean. Simancas' father captured the whole (7) _________________________________ incident on video. He said: "Suddenly, I saw Adrian emerge from the waves, along with what looked like a (8) _________________________________ animal."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

enveloped
realized
outings
ordeal
fate
impact
second
spinning

Mr Simancas recounted his terrifying (9) _________________________________ to journalists back on dry land. He said: "I felt something hit me from behind. All this happened in a (10) _________________________________. Something dark blue or white (11) _________________________________ me, and a slimy texture brushed my face." He continued: "I started to sink, and I just closed my eyes, expecting an (12) _________________________________ … I was surrounded by water. I (13) _________________________________ that I was in something's mouth and I had been eaten." He added: "I felt like I was in a whirlpool… (14) _________________________________ around." The Guardian newspaper reported: "For a few fleeting moments, Adrian's (15) _________________________________ was in the jaws of the 40-ton [mammal]." Adrian said his close encounter would not deter him from future rafting (16) _________________________________.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) A packrafter had a lucky escape earlier this week after ending up ______
     a. in the jaw
     b. in the jowls
     c. in the doors
     d. in the jaws
2) Adrian Simancas, 23, was paddling through ______
     a. the icy watery
     b. the icy watered
     c. the icy waters
     d. the icy waiters
3) an enormous humpback whale emerged from the deep and engulfed him and ______
     a. his insatiable raft
     b. his inflatable raft
     c. his unflatterable raft
     d. his flatulent raft
4) stretch to a diameter of 40 cm, and is ordinarily the width of ______
     a. a human first
     b. a human fist
     c. a human fast
     d. a human fissure
5) Simancas' father captured the whole horrifying ______
     a. incident in video
     b. incident on video
     c. incident by video
     d. incident yon video

6) Mr Simancas recounted his terrifying ordeal to journalists back ______
     a. one dry land
     b. on dry land
     c. on try land
     d. on dry landing
7) Something dark blue or white enveloped me, and a slimy texture ______
     a. crashed my face
     b. crushed my face
     c. blushed my face
     d. brushed my face
8) He continued: "I started to sink, and I just closed my eyes, ______."
     a. expecting an compact
     b. expecting an in pact
     c. expecting an in packed
     d. expecting an impact
9) He added: "I felt like I was in a ______."
     a. whirlpool… spinning around
     b. whirlpool… spinning abound
     c. whirlpool… spin in around
     d. whirlpool… spanning around
10) Adrian said his close encounter would not deter him from ______
     a. future rafting innings
     b. future rafting outings
     c. future rafting goings
     d. future rafting comings

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A packrafter had a (1) _______________________________________________ this week after ending up in the jaws of a whale. Adrian Simancas, 23, was paddling through the icy waters of Patagonia, Chile, (2) _______________________________________________ humpback whale emerged from the deep and engulfed him and his (3) _______________________________________________ its mouth. Luckily for Mr Simancas, the esophagus of a humpback can only stretch to (4) _______________________________________________ 40 cm, and is ordinarily the width of a human fist. No sooner had Simancas been gulped up by the humpback than he was spat out into the choppy Southern Ocean. Simancas' father (5) _______________________________________________ horrifying incident on video. He said: "Suddenly, I saw Adrian emerge from the waves, along with what looked (6) _______________________________________________ animal."

Mr Simancas recounted (7) _______________________________________________ to journalists back on dry land. He said: "I felt something hit me from behind. All this happened in a second. Something dark blue or (8) _______________________________________________, and a slimy texture brushed my face." He continued: "I started to sink, and I just closed my eyes, (9) _______________________________________________… I was surrounded by water. I realized that I was in something's mouth and I had been eaten." He added: "I felt like I was (10) _______________________________________________… spinning around." The Guardian newspaper reported: "For a (11) _______________________________________________, Adrian's fate was in the jaws of the 40-ton [mammal]." Adrian said his close encounter would not deter him from (12) _______________________________________________.

Comprehension questions

What does the article say about the temperature of the ocean?
What kind of craft was Adrian Simancas in?
How wide can a humpback whale's throat stretch?
What part of the human body is compared to a humpback's throat?
Who caught the encounter with the whale on video?
Where did journalists interview Adrian Simancas?
What was the texture of the thing that touch Adrian Simancas' face?
What did Mr Simancas think would happen after he closed his eyes?
What did Mr Simancas feel like he was in?
How much did the whale weigh?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say about the temperature of the ocean?
a) 5ºC
b) icy cold
c) temperate
d) lukewarm
2) What kind of craft was Adrian Simancas in?
a) a tiny motor boat
b) a kayak
c) an inflatable raft
d) a rowing boat
3) How wide can a humpback whale's throat stretch?
a) 70 cm
b) 20 cm
c) 30 cm
d) 40 cm
4) What part of the human body is compared to a humpback's throat?
a) a thigh
b) a fist
c) the rib cage
d) the pelvis
5) Who caught the encounter with the whale on video?
a) Adrian Simancas' father
b) a fisherman
c) a journalist
d) a cruise ship passenger

6) Where did journalists interview Adrian Simancas?
a) on dry land
b) at his house
c) in the ocean
d) at the news company
7) What was the texture of the thing that touch Adrian Simancas' face?
a) coarse
b) silky
c) rough
d) slimy
8) What did Mr Simancas think would happen after he closed his eyes?
a) he'd end up in the stomach
b) he'd be chewed to death
c) some kind of impact
d) he'd be trapped
9) What did Mr Simancas feel like he was in?
a) an ice bath
b) a dark sauna
c) a cave
d) a whirlpool
10) How much did the whale weigh?
a) 50 tons
b) 40 tons
c) 30 tons
d) 20 tons

Role play

Role A – Giant Asian Hornets
You think giant Asian hornets are the scariest creatures. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their creatures aren't as scary. Also, tell the others which is the least scary of these (and why): lions, tarantulas or king cobras.

Role B – Lions
You think lions are the scariest creatures. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their creatures aren't as scary. Also, tell the others which is the least scary of these (and why): giant Asian hornets, tarantulas or king cobras.

Role C – Tarantulas
You think tarantulas are the scariest creatures. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their creatures aren't as scary. Also, tell the others which is the least scary of these (and why): lions, giant Asian hornets or king cobras.

Role D – King Cobras
You think king cobras are the scariest creatures. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their creatures aren't as scary. Also, tell the others which is the least scary of these (and why): lions, tarantulas or giant Asian hornets.

After reading / listening

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

'ocean'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'whale'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

lucky

icy

enormous

stretch

gulped

suddenly

dry

dark

closed

realized

few

close

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 - Humpback Whale

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

What did you think when you read the headline?
What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'whale'?
What do you know about humpback whales?
What do you know about Patagonia?
Would you like to go rafting in the sea?
What do you think of Adrian's ordeal?
Have you ever had a lucky escape?
How would you feel at being in a whale's mouth?
Have you had any scary encounters with animals?
What advice do you have for Adrian?

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

Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
What do you think of when you hear the word 'ocean'?
What do you think about what you read?
What do you think of whales?
What three adjectives best describe Adrian's ordeal?
How lucky is Adrian to have survived?
Do you believe in fate?
Should we do more to protect whales?
Which are better – whales or dolphins?
What questions would you like to ask Adrian about his experience?

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 packrafter had a (1) ____ escape earlier this week after ending up in the jaws of a whale. Adrian Simancas, 23, was (2) ____ through the icy waters of Patagonia, Chile, when an enormous humpback whale (3) ____ from the deep and engulfed him and his inflatable raft in its mouth. Luckily for Mr Simancas, the esophagus of a humpback can only stretch to a diameter of 40 cm, and is ordinarily the (4) ____ of a human fist. No sooner had Simancas been gulped (5) ____ by the humpback than he was spat out into the choppy Southern Ocean. Simancas' father captured the whole horrifying incident on video. He said: "Suddenly, I saw Adrian emerge from the waves, (6) ____ with what looked like a gigantic animal."

Mr Simancas recounted his terrifying (7) ____ to journalists back on dry land. He said: "I felt something hit me from behind. All this happened in a second. Something dark blue or white (8) ____ me, and a slimy texture brushed my face." He continued: "I started to sink, and I just closed my eyes, (9) ____ an impact… I was surrounded by water. I realized that I was in something's mouth and I had been (10) ____." He added: "I felt like I was in a whirlpool… spinning around." The Guardian newspaper reported: "For a few (11) ____ moments, Adrian's fate was in the jaws of the 40-ton [mammal]." Adrian said his close encounter would not (12) ____ him from future rafting outings.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) lucked out (b) lucky (c) luckily (d) unlucky
(a) peddling (b) paddling (c) piddling (d) plodding
(a) demerge (b) submerged (c) merged (d) emerged
(a) widen (b) width (c) wide (d) widening
(a) off (b) in (c) on (d) up
(a) long (b) longing (c) along (d) longs
(a) ordeal (b) ideal (c) deal (d) misdeal
(a) stamped (b) posted (c) enveloped (d) addressed
(a) tanking (b) gambling (c) betting (d) expecting
(a) eaten (b) ate (c) eating (d) eats
(a) fleeting (b) bleating (c) sleeting (d) treating
(a) deter (b) defer (c) demure (d) detest

Spelling

Paragraph 1

emerged from the deep and lugenfed him
his bleantlafi raft
the hgsesaupo of a humpback
Simancas been luegdp up by the humpback
the whole riihrynofg incident
looked like a icntggia animal

Paragraph 2

recounted his terrifying dlorea
Something dark blue or white eovnpdlee me
a ilyms texture
I felt like I was in a iolwhplro
For a few nfigltee moments
his close encounter would not etedr him

Put the text back together

(...)   than he was spat out into the choppy Southern Ocean. Simancas' father captured the whole horrifying
(...)   incident on video. He said: "Suddenly, I saw Adrian emerge from the waves, along with what looked like a gigantic animal."
(...)   reported: "For a few fleeting moments, Adrian's fate was in the jaws of the 40-ton
(...)   texture brushed my face." He continued: "I started to sink, and I just closed my eyes, expecting an
(..1..) A packrafter had a lucky escape earlier this week after ending up in the jaws
(...)   of a whale. Adrian Simancas, 23, was paddling through the icy waters of Patagonia, Chile, when an enormous
(...)   mammal." Adrian said his close encounter would not deter him from future rafting outings.
(...)   raft in its mouth. Luckily for Mr Simancas, the esophagus of a humpback can only stretch to a diameter
(...)   Mr Simancas recounted his terrifying ordeal to journalists back on dry land. He said: "I felt something hit me
(...)   humpback whale emerged from the deep and engulfed him and his inflatable
(...)   eaten." He added: "I felt like I was in a whirlpool… spinning around." The Guardian newspaper
(...)   impact… I was surrounded by water. I realized that I was in something's mouth and I had been
(...)   from behind. All this happened in a second. Something dark blue or white enveloped me, and a slimy
(...)   of 40 cm, and is ordinarily the width of a human fist. No sooner had Simancas been gulped up by the humpback

Put the words in the right order

lucky earlier He a week . had this escape
was the through paddling icy waters . He
whale An the enormous humpback from deep . emerged
width the ordinarily It's human a fist . of
the ocean . was out into choppy spat He
behind . something felt I hit me from
slimy a Then texture face . my brushed
that was I I in realized mouth . something's
like I whirlpool . a in felt was I
would deter not His encounter him . close

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

A packrafter had a luckily / lucky escape earlier this week after ending up in the jaws of a whale. Adrian Simancas, 23, was paddling through the icy waters of Patagonia, Chile, when an enormous / gigantic humpback whale emerged from the depth / deep and engulfed him and his inflatable / inflation raft in its mouth. Luckily for Mr Simancas, the esophagus of a humpback can only stretch to a diameter / diametrical of 40 cm, and is ordinarily the width of a human tryst / fist. No sooner / later had Simancas been gulped up by the humpback than he was splat / spat out into the choppy Southern Ocean. Simancas' father captured the whole horrifying incident on video. He said: "Suddenly, I saw Adrian submerge / emerge from the waves, along with what looked like a frenetic / gigantic animal."

Mr Simancas recounted his terrifying ordeal to / at journalists back on dry / dried land. He said: "I felt something hit me from hinder / behind. All this happened in a second. Something dark blue or white enveloped me, and a slimy texture blushed / brushed my face." He continued: "I started to sink, and I just closed its / my eyes, expecting an impact… I was surrounded of / by water. I realized that I was in something's mouth and I had been eaten / eating." He added: "I felt like I was in a whirlpool… spinning around / abound." The Guardian newspaper reported: "For a few / less fleeting moments, Adrian's fate was in the jaws of the 40-ton [mammal]." Adrian said his close encounter would not deter him in / from future rafting outings.

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

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

_ p_ckr_ft_r h_d _ l_cky _sc_p_ __rl__r th_s w__k _ft_r _nd_ng _p _n th_ j_ws _f _ wh_l_. _dr__n S_m_nc_s, 23, w_s p_ddl_ng thr__gh th_ _cy w_t_rs _f P_t_g_n__, Ch_l_, wh_n _n _n_rm__s h_mpb_ck wh_l_ _m_rg_d fr_m th_ d__p _nd _ng_lf_d h_m _nd h_s _nfl_t_bl_ r_ft _n _ts m__th. L_ck_ly f_r Mr S_m_nc_s, th_ _s_ph_g_s _f _ h_mpb_ck c_n _nly str_tch t_ _ d__m_t_r _f 40 cm, _nd _s _rd_n_r_ly th_ w_dth _f _ h_m_n f_st. N_ s__n_r h_d S_m_nc_s b__n g_lp_d _p by th_ h_mpb_ck th_n h_ w_s sp_t __t _nt_ th_ ch_ppy S__th_rn _c__n. S_m_nc_s' f_th_r c_pt_r_d th_ wh_l_ h_rr_fy_ng _nc_d_nt _n v_d__. H_ s__d: "S_dd_nly, _ s_w _dr__n _m_rg_ fr_m th_ w_v_s, _l_ng w_th wh_t l__k_d l_k_ _ g_g_nt_c _n_m_l."

Mr S_m_nc_s r_c__nt_d h_s t_rr_fy_ng _rd__l t_ j__rn_l_sts b_ck _n dry l_nd. H_ s__d: "_ f_lt s_m_th_ng h_t m_ fr_m b_h_nd. _ll th_s h_pp_n_d _n _ s_c_nd. S_m_th_ng d_rk bl__ _r wh_t_ _nv_l_p_d m_, _nd _ sl_my t_xt_r_ br_sh_d my f_c_." H_ c_nt_n__d: "_ st_rt_d t_ s_nk, _nd _ j_st cl_s_d my _y_s, _xp_ct_ng _n _mp_ct… _ w_s s_rr__nd_d by w_t_r. _ r__l_z_d th_t _ w_s _n s_m_th_ng's m__th _nd _ h_d b__n __t_n." H_ _dd_d: "_ f_lt l_k_ _ w_s _n _ wh_rlp__l… sp_nn_ng _r__nd." Th_ G__rd__n n_wsp_p_r r_p_rt_d: "F_r _ f_w fl__t_ng m_m_nts, _dr__n's f_t_ w_s _n th_ j_ws _f th_ 40-t_n [m_mm_l]." _dr__n s__d h_s cl_s_ _nc__nt_r w__ld n_t d_t_r h_m fr_m f_t_r_ r_ft_ng __t_ngs.

Punctuate the text and add capitals

a packrafter had a lucky escape earlier this week after ending up in the jaws of a whale adrian simancas 23 was paddling through the icy waters of patagonia chile when an enormous humpback whale emerged from the deep and engulfed him and his inflatable raft in its mouth luckily for mr simancas the esophagus of a humpback can only stretch to a diameter of 40 cm and is ordinarily the width of a human fist no sooner had simancas been gulped up by the humpback than he was spat out into the choppy southern ocean simancas father captured the whole horrifying incident on video he said suddenly i saw adrian emerge from the waves along with what looked like a gigantic animal

mr simancas recounted his terrifying ordeal to journalists back on dry land he said i felt something hit me from behind all this happened in a second something dark blue or white enveloped me and a slimy texture brushed my face he continued i started to sink and i just closed my eyes expecting an impact i was surrounded by water i realized that i was in somethings mouth and i had been eaten he added i felt like i was in a whirlpool spinning around the guardian newspaper reported for a few fleeting moments adrians fate was in the jaws of the 40ton mammal adrian said his close encounter would not deter him from future rafting outings

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Apackrafterhadaluckyescapeearlierthisweekafterendingupinthejaw
sofawhale.AdrianSimancas,23,waspaddlingthroughtheicywatersof
Patagonia,Chile,whenanenormoushumpbackwhaleemergedfromth
edeepandengulfedhimandhisinflatableraftinitsmouth.LuckilyforMrS
imancas,theesophagusofahumpbackcanonlystretchtoadiameterof4
0cm,andisordinarilythewidthofahumanfist.NosoonerhadSimancasb
eengulpedupbythehumpbackthanhewasspatoutintothechoppySout
hernOcean.Simancas'fathercapturedthewholehorrifyingincidenton
video.Hesaid:"Suddenly,IsawAdrianemergefromthewaves,alongwi
thwhatlookedlikeagiganticanimal."MrSimancasrecountedhisterrifyi
ngordealtojournalistsbackondryland.Hesaid:"Ifeltsomethinghitmef
rombehind.Allthishappenedinasecond.Somethingdarkblueorwhitee
nvelopedme,andaslimytexturebrushedmyface."Hecontinued:"Istar
tedtosink,andIjustclosedmyeyes,expectinganimpact…Iwassurroun
dedbywater.IrealizedthatIwasinsomething'smouthandIhadbeeneat
en."Headded:"IfeltlikeIwasinawhirlpool…spinningaround."TheGuar
diannewspaperreported:"Forafewfleetingmoments,Adrian'sfatewa
sinthejawsofthe40-ton[mammal]."Adriansaidhiscloseencounterwo
uldnotdeterhimfromfutureraftingoutings.

Free writing

Write about humpback whale for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

Whales are Earth's most wonderful creatures. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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. WHALES: Make a poster about whales. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. PROTECT THE WHALES: Write a magazine article about governments spending lots of money to protect whales. 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 whales. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on whales. 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

$US 9.99

Answers

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

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Breaking News English Lesson: Humpback Whale

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