Hawaii Scientists Study Threatened Shark Species 

Vocabulary

Direction: Read each word and let the student repeat it.
threaten
[ˈθretn] (verb)
– to say that you will cause trouble, hurt somebody, etc. if you do not get what you want
ex.He threatened to kill me if I told anybody.

facility
[fəˈsɪləti] (noun)
– a place, usually including buildings, used for a particular purpose or activity
ex.Sport facilities were built for the Olympiad.

bay

[beɪ] (noun)
– a large area of water that is part of an ocean or lake and partly surrounded by land
ex.We could see the bay from our hotel window.

digestion
[daɪˈdʒestʃən] (noun)
– the process of your body changing food into substances your body can use
ex.I’ve been having digestion problems.

tracking device
[trækɪŋ dɪˈvaɪs] (noun phrase)
– a piece of equipment that observes people or things and their movement
ex.Jack put a tracking device on his dog in case it would get lost.

coverage
[ˈkʌvərɪdʒ] (noun)
– the reporting of news and sport in newspapers and on the radio and television
ex.Media coverage of the event focused on the celebrities.

dramatize
[ˈdræmətaɪz] (verb)
– to make something seem more exciting or important than it really is
ex.Don’t dramatize your break up with Troy; it wasn’t that bad!

Article

Direction: Read each paragraph and let the student repeat it.

Hawaii Scientists Study Threatened Shark Species

Fishing, climate change and pollution threaten many shark species. Now, scientists are getting a close look at the shark environment. They want to better understand the threats this important animal faces.

The University of Hawaii research site is on Coconut Island in Hawaii. It is just minutes by motorboat from the shore of Oahu, the most populated of the Hawaiian Islands. The facility is a good place to observe sharks, since they are native to local waters. Some are being kept in this sheltered bay for study.

[…]

Scientists also observe the behavior of sharks in the open ocean. They place a sensor device in their food to observe the digestion process. They also measure the animals. Then the researchers release the sharks with electronic tracking devices attached to their fins.

The researchers study tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, blacktip sharks and many others. They recently attached a camera to a sandbar shark to record its everyday activities.

[…]

Sharks are quick and deadly but rarely attack humans.

Carl Meyer says those rare attacks receive heavy media coverage and are dramatized in movies like 1975’s “Jaws.”

[…]

Questions

Direction: Ask the students the questions, and give the answers.

1What threatens sharks?

Fishing, climate change and pollution.

2Why are scientists studying sharks?

They want to better understand the threats sharks face.

3What kinds of sharks do the researchers study?

They study tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, blacktip sharks and many others.

Discussion

Direction: Discuss the topics.

1Do you think people should save endangered animals (animals that may disappear soon)?

Follow-up question1: Why/why not?
Follow-up question2: Would you donate to save endangered animals?

2Are you afraid of sharks?

Follow-up question1: Have you seen a shark in real life?
Follow-up question2: Have you seen the movie “Jaws”? If yes; were you afraid of the shark there?

3What are you afraid of?

Follow-up question1: Are you scared easily?
Follow-up question2: Are you scared by horror movies?

Quoted from

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/hawaii-scientists-study-threatened-shark-species/2650574.html