Breaking News English Lesson: Artemis II

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Artemis II crew bugged by Microsoft Outlook problems (6th April 2026)

The Reading / Listening - Artemis II - Level 6

A history-making space mission is well under way with NASA's Artemis II spacecraft venturing towards the far side of the Moon. Artemis launched to great fanfare on Wednesday. The 10-day odyssey will take its four astronauts farther away from Earth than humans have ever been. Despite the enormous technical demands of the mission, the crew has also been dogged by email problems. Astronaut Reid Wiseman relayed the problem to Mission Control in Texas. He said: "I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of those is working. Reboot it and check our software and those two Outlooks." NASA reloaded Outlook's files to correct a configuration issue.

Artemis II is the first crewed mission to go beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972. It will travel a record-breaking 406,773 km from Earth and 7,600 km beyond the Moon. It is the beginning of NASA's aim to return humans to the Moon and eventually establish a long-term presence there. The astronauts are engaged in a full-scale test for future Moon landings. The crew will test life support systems, communications, navigation, and deep-space operations. Hopefully, the Outlook problem will be a one-off blip. NASA hopes the current mission will pave the way for Artemis IV to land on the lunar surface. The USA hopes a moon landing will take place in 2028.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Artemis II - Level 4 or Artemis II - Level 5

Sources

https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-artemis-ii-mission-has-left-earths-orbit-104219933.html
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/nasa-artemis-microsoft-outlook-astronauts/
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/moon-bound-artemis-ii-astronauts-get-help-for-microsoft-outlook-glitch/

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. SPACE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about space. 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?
making history / space mission / spacecraft / the Moon / astronauts / email / issues /
Earth / NASA / Moon landings / life support / communications / navigation / blip
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. MORE FUNDING: Students A strongly believe there should be more funding for space research; Students B strongly believe there shouldn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. SPACE: What do you know about these things? What do you want to know? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	What I Know	What I Want to Know
The Moon
The Sun
Mars
Asteroids
Comets
The Milky Way

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. MOON: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "moon". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. EMAIL PROBLEMS: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest problems at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

Hitting "send" too soon
Spam mail
Phishing mail
Attachments too big
Storage full
Too much mail
Emails not sent
Losing emails

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	under way	a.	Started and continuing.
2.	venturing	b.	Passed information from one person to another.
3.	fanfare	c.	Going on an exciting journey.
4.	odyssey	d.	Caused problems again and again.
5.	dogged	e.	A lot of public attention and excitement.
6.	relayed	f.	A long and difficult journey.
7.	configuration	g.	The way something is set up.

Paragraph 2

8.	orbit	h.	A small problem or mistake.
9.	establish	i.	Finding the way to a place.
10.	engaged	j.	The path of an object moving around a planet or star.
11.	navigation	k.	Prepare for something to happen (in the future).
12.	blip	l.	To start and build something so it continues.
13.	pave the way	m.	About/Connected with the Moon.
14.	lunar	n.	Taking part 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 Artemis II is going to the dark side of the Moon. T / F
There was a fun fair at the launch of Artemis II on Wednesday. T / F
The next Artemis mission will see dogs go into space. T / F
The email problems were corrected by NASA. T / F
The last time astronauts went beyond low Earth orbit was in 1972. T / F
Artemis II will travel more than 76,000 km past the Moon. T / F
The crew will go deep-sea diving to train for their next mission. T / F
The USA is looking to land on the Moon in 2028. T / F

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

mission
demands
dogged
relayed
configuration
eventually
presence
operations
one-off
pave the way

passed on
format
existence
requirements
prepare
actions
journey
nonrecurring
ultimately
beset

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

A history-making space mission is well under
venturing towards the far
Artemis launched to great
the crew has also been dogged by
Reboot it and check our
go beyond low Earth
NASA's aim to return humans
The crew will test life
the Outlook problem will be a one-
the current mission will pave

support systems
software
to the Moon
side of the Moon
off blip
email problems
way
the way
fanfare
orbit

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

technical
issue
mission
fanfare
neither
astronauts
dogged
venturing

A history-making space (1) _________________________________ is well under way with NASA's Artemis II spacecraft (2) _________________________________ towards the far side of the Moon. Artemis launched to great (3) _________________________________ on Wednesday. The 10-day odyssey will take its four (4) _________________________________ farther away from Earth than humans have ever been. Despite the enormous (5) _________________________________ demands of the mission, the crew has also been (6) _________________________________ by email problems. Astronaut Reid Wiseman relayed the problem to Mission Control in Texas. He said: "I have two Microsoft Outlooks and (7) _________________________________ one of those is working. Reboot it and check our software and those two Outlooks." NASA reloaded Outlook's files to correct a configuration (8) _________________________________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

blip
presence
beyond
navigation
lunar
beginning
pave
scale

Artemis II is the first crewed mission to go (9) _________________________________ low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972. It will travel a record-breaking 406,773 km from Earth and 7,600 km beyond the Moon. It is the (10) _________________________________ of NASA's aim to return humans to the Moon and eventually establish a long-term (11) _________________________________ there. The astronauts are engaged in a full- (12) _________________________________ test for future Moon landings. The crew will test life support systems, communications, (13) _________________________________, and deep-space operations. Hopefully, the Outlook problem will be a one-off (14) _________________________________. NASA hopes the current mission will (15) _________________________________ the way for Artemis IV to land on the (16) _________________________________ surface. The USA hopes a moon landing will take place in 2028.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) A history-making space mission is ______
     a. well over way
     b. wall under way
     c. well under way
     d. well under weigh
2) NASA's Artemis II spacecraft venturing towards ______
     a. the far scythe
     b. the far slide
     c. the fur side
     d. the far side
3) Artemis launched to great ______
     a. fanfare on Wednesday
     b. fun fare on Wednesday
     c. fan fair on Wednesday
     d. fun fair on Wednesday
4) the crew has also been dogged ______
     a. buy email problems
     b. by email problem
     c. by email problems
     d. by emailed problems
5) NASA reloaded Outlook's files to correct ______
     a. a configuration issuance
     b. a configuration issued
     c. a configuration issues
     d. a configuration issue

6) Artemis II is the first crewed mission to go beyond ______
     a. lowly Earth orbit
     b. low Earth orbit
     c. lowed Earth orbit
     d. lows Earth orbit
7) a record-breaking 406,773 km from Earth and 7,600 km ______
     a. beyond the Moon
     b. beyond a Moon
     c. behold the Moon
     d. be yonder Moon
8) NASA's aim to return humans to the Moon and eventually establish a ______
     a. long-term presents
     b. long-term prescience
     c. long-term pleasant
     d. long-term presence
9) The crew will test life support systems, communications, navigation, and ______
     a. deep-apace operations
     b. deep-pace operations
     c. deeps-ace operations
     d. deep-space operations
10) NASA hopes the current mission will pave the way for Artemis IV to land on ______
     a. the lunar surface
     b. the loner surface
     c. the loo nurse face
     d. the loo nurse ace

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A history-making space mission is (1) _______________________________________________ with NASA's Artemis II spacecraft venturing towards the far side of the Moon. Artemis launched to (2) _______________________________________________ Wednesday. The 10-day odyssey will take its four astronauts farther away from Earth than humans have ever been. Despite the (3) _______________________________________________ of the mission, the crew has also (4) _______________________________________________ email problems. Astronaut Reid Wiseman relayed the problem to Mission Control in Texas. He said: "I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of those is working. (5) _______________________________________________ check our software and those two Outlooks." NASA reloaded Outlook's files to correct (6) _______________________________________________.

Artemis II is the (7) _______________________________________________ to go beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972. It will travel (8) _______________________________________________ 406,773 km from Earth and 7,600 km beyond the Moon. It is the beginning of NASA's aim to return humans to the Moon and (9) _______________________________________________ long-term presence there. The astronauts are engaged in a full-scale test for future Moon landings. The crew will test life support systems, communications, navigation, and deep-space operations. Hopefully, the Outlook problem will be a (10) _______________________________________________. NASA hopes the current mission will (11) _______________________________________________ for Artemis IV to land on (12) _______________________________________________. The USA hopes a moon landing will take place in 2028.

Comprehension questions

Where does the article say Artemis II is heading?
How long will the astronauts be on board the spacecraft?
What have the astronauts been dogged by?
Where is mission control for the Artemis II journey?
What did NASA do to correct a configuration issue?
When was the last time a crewed mission went beyond low Earth orbit?
How far past the Moon will Artemis II travel?
What does NASA want to establish on the Moon?
What kind of systems will the Artemis II crew test?
When does the USA hope to land on the Moon?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Where does the article say Artemis II is heading?
a) the Moon's surface
b) Mars
c) the far side of the Moon
d) into deep space
2) How long will the astronauts be on board the spacecraft?
a) 10 days
b) 20 days
c) a month
d) six months
3) What have the astronauts been dogged by?
a) email problems
b) pets
c) heat
d) a lack of oxygen
4) Where is mission control for the Artemis II journey?
a) Los Angeles
b) Houston, Texas
c) Miami, Florida
d) New York
5) What did NASA do to correct a configuration issue?
a) deleted three files
b) added some code
c) replaced a PC
d) reload Outlook files

6) When was the last time a crewed mission went beyond low Earth orbit?
a) 1971
b) 1972
c) 1973
d) 1974
7) How far past the Moon will Artemis II travel?
a) 7,600 km
b) 6,700 km
c) 6,600 km
d) 7,700 km
8) What does NASA want to establish on the Moon?
a) mineral mines
b) a city
c) a long-term presence
d) the US flag
9) What kind of systems will the Artemis II crew test?
a) oxygen systems
b) deep-space systems
c) email systems
d) life support systems
10) When does the USA hope to land on the Moon?
a) 2028
b) 2038
c) 2048
d) 2058

Role play

Role A – Spam Mail
You think spam mail is the biggest email problem. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): full storage, losing emails or attachments being too big.

Role B –Full Storage
You think full storage is the biggest email problem. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): spam mail, losing emails or attachments being too big.

Role C – Losing Emails
You think losing emails is the biggest email problem. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): full storage, spam mail or attachments being too big.

Role D – Attachments Too Big
You think attachments being too big is the biggest email problem. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): full storage, losing emails or spam mail.

After reading / listening

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

'space'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'moon'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

well

great

demands

dogged

neither

issue

beyond

breaking

return

support

blip

pave

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 - Artemis II

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 'moon'?
What do you think of space travel?
What do you think the Artemis II mission will teach us?
What would you like to know about the Moon?
What do you think being an astronaut is like?
How would you cope with being in space for 10 days?
What email problems do you regularly encounter?
What is the best email client?
How would you feel looking at Earth from space?

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 'astronaut'?
What do you think about what you read?
Do you think we should spend more money on space travel?
What do you know about the Apollo space missions?
What would it be like to live on the Moon?
What do you think of space wars?
Why are so many people trying to get to Mars?
What do you think of space tourism?
What questions would you like to ask the astronauts?

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 history-making space mission is well (1) ____ way with NASA's Artemis II spacecraft venturing towards the far side of the Moon. Artemis launched to great (2) ____ on Wednesday. The 10-day (3) ____ will take its four astronauts farther away from Earth than humans have ever been. Despite the enormous technical (4) ____ of the mission, the crew has also been dogged by email problems. Astronaut Reid Wiseman relayed the problem to Mission Control in Texas. He said: "I have two Microsoft Outlooks and (5) ____ one of those is working. Reboot it and check our software and those two Outlooks." NASA reloaded Outlook's files to correct a (6) ____ issue.

Artemis II is the first crewed mission to go (7) ____ low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972. It will travel a record-breaking 406,773 km from Earth and 7,600 km beyond the Moon. It is the beginning of NASA's aim to return humans to the Moon and (8) ____ establish a long-term presence there. The astronauts are engaged in a full-(9) ____ test for future Moon landings. The crew will test life support systems, communications, (10) ____, and deep-space operations. Hopefully, the Outlook problem will be a one-off (11) ____. NASA hopes the current mission will pave the way for Artemis IV to land on the (12) ____ surface. The USA hopes a moon landing will take place in 2028.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) under (b) beneath (c) over (d) above
(a) fun fare (b) affair (c) fanfare (d) fare
(a) oddment (b) oddball (c) odyssey (d) oddly
(a) takes (b) gives (c) supplies (d) demands
(a) neither (b) no (c) non (d) either
(a) conflagration (b) configuration (c) consternation (d) confederation
(a) apart (b) range (c) yonder (d) beyond
(a) eventual (b) eventually (c) eventing (d) event
(a) shale (b) stale (c) scale (d) shall
(a) invigoration (b) obfuscation (c) obliteration (d) navigation
(a) flip (b) clip (c) drip (d) blip
(a) solar (b) lunar (c) tidal (d) terrestrial

Spelling

Paragraph 1

ignrvneut towards the far side of the Moon
Artemis launched to great faarnef
The 10-day yosdesy
take its four tstraaosnu farther away
the noesumor technical demands
correct a tniigfcrnuaoo issue

Paragraph 2

the first wderce mission
establish a long-term ceerneps
gdgnaee in a full-scale test
support systems, communications, ivntaniaog
deep-space eoatpisonr
land on the uarnl surface

Put the text back together

( 1 )   A history-making space mission is well under way with NASA's Artemis II spacecraft venturing
(    )   aim to return humans to the Moon and eventually establish a long-term presence
(    )   Artemis II is the first crewed mission to go beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972. It will travel a
(    )   Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of those is working. Reboot it and check our
(    )   odyssey will take its four astronauts farther away from Earth than humans have ever been. Despite the enormous
(    )   off blip. NASA hopes the current mission will pave the way for Artemis IV to land on the lunar
(    )   problems. Astronaut Reid Wiseman relayed the problem to Mission Control in Texas. He said: "I have two
(    )   record-breaking 406,773 km from Earth and 7,600 km beyond the Moon. It is the beginning of NASA's
(    )   software and those two Outlooks." NASA reloaded Outlook's files to correct a configuration issue.
(    )   support systems, communications, navigation, and deep-space operations. Hopefully, the Outlook problem will be a one-
(    )   surface. The USA hopes a moon landing will take place in 2028.
(    )   technical demands of the mission, the crew has also been dogged by email
(    )   there. The astronauts are engaged in a full-scale test for future Moon landings. The crew will test life
(    )   towards the far side of the Moon. Artemis launched to great fanfare on Wednesday. The 10-day

Put the words in the right order

A history-making is mission space under way well .
far Moon of side the the towards Venturing .
Artemis fanfare great launched on to Wednesday .
demands Despite enormous mission of technical the the .
a configuration correct files issue NASA reloaded to .
aim humans Moon NASA's return the to to .
crew life support systems test The will .
a be blip one-off problem The will .
current mission NASA's pave the way will .
a hopes It landing moon place take will .

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

A history-making space mission is well over / under way with NASA's Artemis II spacecraft venturing at / towards the far side of the Moon. Artemis launched to great fanfare / fun fare on Wednesday. The 10-day odyssey will take its four astronauts further / farther away from Earth than humans have ever been. Despite the enormity / enormous technical demands of the mission, the crew has also been dogged / petted by email problems. Astronaut Reid Wiseman relayed / delayed the problem to Mission Control in Texas. He said: "I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of those are / is working. Reboot it and check our software and them / those two Outlooks." NASA reloaded Outlook's files to / for correct a configuration issue.

Artemis II is the first clued / crewed mission to go beyond low Earth orbit since / for Apollo 17 in December 1972. It will travel a record-breaking 406,773 km from Earth and 7,600 km beneath / beyond the Moon. It is the beginning of NASA's aim to / by return humans to the Moon and eventually / eventual establish a long-term presence there. The astronauts are enraged / engaged in a full-scale test for / on future Moon landings. The crew will test life support systems, communications, navigation, and deep-space operations. Hopefully, the Outlook problem will be a one-off blip / clip. NASA hopes the current mission will pave / tarmac the way for Artemis IV to land on the lunar surface. The USA hopes a moon lander / landing will take place in 2028.

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)

_ h_st_ry-m_k_ng sp_c_ m_ss__n _s w_ll _nd_r w_y w_th N_S_'s _rt_m_s __ sp_c_cr_ft v_nt_r_ng t_w_rds th_ f_r s_d_ _f th_ M__n. _rt_m_s l__nch_d t_ gr__t f_nf_r_ _n W_dn_sd_y. Th_ 10-d_y _dyss_y w_ll t_k_ _ts f__r _str_n__ts f_rth_r _w_y fr_m __rth th_n h_m_ns h_v_ _v_r b__n. D_sp_t_ th_ _n_rm__s t_chn_c_l d_m_nds _f th_ m_ss__n, th_ cr_w h_s _ls_ b__n d_gg_d by _m__l pr_bl_ms. _str_n__t R__d W_s_m_n r_l_y_d th_ pr_bl_m t_ M_ss__n C_ntr_l _n T_x_s. H_ s__d: "_ h_v_ tw_ M_cr_s_ft __tl__ks _nd n__th_r _n_ _f th_s_ _s w_rk_ng. R_b__t _t _nd ch_ck __r s_ftw_r_ _nd th_s_ tw_ __tl__ks." N_S_ r_l__d_d __tl__k's f_l_s t_ c_rr_ct _ c_nf_g_r_t__n _ss__.

_rt_m_s __ _s th_ f_rst cr_w_d m_ss__n t_ g_ b_y_nd l_w __rth _rb_t s_nc_ _p_ll_ 17 _n D_c_mb_r 1972. _t w_ll tr_v_l _ r_c_rd-br__k_ng 406,773 km fr_m __rth _nd 7,600 km b_y_nd th_ M__n. _t _s th_ b_g_nn_ng _f N_S_'s __m t_ r_t_rn h_m_ns t_ th_ M__n _nd _v_nt__lly _st_bl_sh _ l_ng-t_rm pr_s_nc_ th_r_. Th_ _str_n__ts _r_ _ng_g_d _n _ f_ll-sc_l_ t_st f_r f_t_r_ M__n l_nd_ngs. Th_ cr_w w_ll t_st l_f_ s_pp_rt syst_ms, c_mm_n_c_t__ns, n_v_g_t__n, _nd d__p-sp_c_ _p_r_t__ns. H_p_f_lly, th_ __tl__k pr_bl_m w_ll b_ _ _n_-_ff bl_p. N_S_ h_p_s th_ c_rr_nt m_ss__n w_ll p_v_ th_ w_y f_r _rt_m_s _V t_ l_nd _n th_ l_n_r s_rf_c_. Th_ _S_ h_p_s _ m__n l_nd_ng w_ll t_k_ pl_c_ _n 2028.

Punctuate the text and add capitals

a historymaking space mission is well under way with nasas artemis ii spacecraft venturing towards the far side of the moon artemis launched to great fanfare on wednesday the 10day odyssey will take its four astronauts farther away from earth than humans have ever been despite the enormous technical demands of the mission the crew has also been dogged by email problems astronaut reid wiseman relayed the problem to mission control in texas he said i have two microsoft outlooks and neither one of those is working reboot it and check our software and those two outlooks nasa reloaded outlooks files to correct a configuration issue

artemis ii is the first crewed mission to go beyond low earth orbit since apollo 17 in december 1972 it will travel a recordbreaking 406773 km from earth and 7600 km beyond the moon it is the beginning of nasas aim to return humans to the moon and eventually establish a longterm presence there the astronauts are engaged in a fullscale test for future moon landings the crew will test life support systems communications navigation and deepspace operations hopefully the outlook problem will be a oneoff blip nasa hopes the current mission will pave the way for artemis iv to land on the lunar surface the usa hopes a moon landing will take place in 2028

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Ahistory-makingspacemissioniswellunderwaywithNASA'sArtemisI
IspacecraftventuringtowardsthefarsideoftheMoon.Artemislaunched
togreatfanfareonWednesday.The10-dayodysseywilltakeitsfourast
ronautsfartherawayfromEarththanhumanshaveeverbeen.Despiteth
eenormoustechnicaldemandsofthemission,thecrewhasalsobeendog
gedbyemailproblems.AstronautReidWisemanrelayedtheproblemto
MissionControlinTexas.Hesaid:"IhavetwoMicrosoftOutlooksandneit
heroneofthoseisworking.Rebootitandcheckoursoftwareandthosetw
oOutlooks."NASAreloadedOutlook'sfilestocorrectaconfigurationissu
e.ArtemisIIisthefirstcrewedmissiontogobeyondlowEarthorbitsinceA
pollo17inDecember1972.Itwilltravelarecord-breaking406,773kmf
romEarthand7,600kmbeyondtheMoon.ItisthebeginningofNASA'sai
mtoreturnhumanstotheMoonandeventuallyestablishalong-termpr
esencethere.Theastronautsareengagedinafull-scaletestforfutureMo
onlandings.Thecrewwilltestlifesupportsystems,communications,na
vigation,anddeep-spaceoperations.Hopefully,theOutlookproblemwi
llbeaone-offblip.NASAhopesthecurrentmissionwillpavethewayforAr
temisIVtolandonthelunarsurface.TheUSAhopesamoonlandingwillta
keplacein2028.

Free writing

Write about Artenis II for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

We need to spend much more money on space travel. 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. SPACE: Make a poster about space. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. MORE FUNDING: Write a magazine article about making more funding available for space travel. 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 space travel. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on venturing into space. 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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