An Octopus and a Squid – English Effective Communication. English ESL Worksheets to improve reading and develop strong language and Speaking skills.
An Octopus and a Squid – English Effective Communication
An Octopus and a Squid – English Effective Communication
Procedure
Divide the class into pairs. Give each student a copy of either the A or B reading sheets. The students read the short articles silently by themselves and use a dictionary or consult the teacher if they don’t understand a word or phrase. After the students have read and understood the articles, the teacher takes the articles away. Then student A will communicate what was in A’s article to student B, and student B will communicate what was in B’s article to A. Then all of the students take a test to see how much information they were able to communicate.
| Blue-Ringed Octopus Did you know that an octopus is a mollusk? A mollusk is a soft-bodied animal with no bones. Clams are mollusks. Snails are mollusks. Octopuses and squid are mollusks. Even though they have soft bodies, some octopuses can be very dangerous. The blue-ringed octopus is a very small but very poisonous octopus. It is smaller than a child’s hand, but it has enough poison to kill about 20 people. The blue-ringed octopus is usually yellow or brown in color. It is called the blue-ringed octopus because blue rings appear on its skin just before it is about to attack something. If you see those blue rings, then you had better watch out. The venom, or poison, causes muscles to stop moving. People who have been bitten can’t move and sometimes can’t breathe. Though, they can’t move, they are completely aware of everything around them. They remember everything that happens.The blue-ringed octopus lives around the shallow waters of Australia. It eats mostly small crabs. | The Colossal Squid Do you ever wonder what lives in the deepest parts of the oceans? Actually, scientists know very little about what lives in the deepest parts of the oceans. Sailors of the past used to believe that there were giant squid called ‘Kraken’ that attacked ships and dragged them to the bottom of the ocean. These stories seem a bit ridiculous now, but there is a huge squid that lives in the deepest areas. It is called the colossal squid. It is even bigger than a bus. Since it is so big, you might think that many people have seen them, but colossal squid are very rare. In fact, only seven have ever been found. Two squid were captured by fishermen and five were found in the stomachs of whales. The colossal squid is interesting because it has hooks on its arms, as well as suckers like other squid and octopuses. Nobody is sure how big the squid can grow, but scientists think that it might grow as much as 12 meters. It eats fish that are bigger than two meters in length. |
An Octopus and a Squid
| Blue-Ringed Octopus What kind of animal is an Octopus? What is a mollusk? What other mollusks does the article mention? What small octopus is very dangerous? How small is it? How much poison does it have? What color is the blue-ringed octopus usually? When do blue-rings appear on the octopus? What happens to people who are bitten? Do the people remember what happens after they are bitten? Where does it live? What does it eat? | The Colossal Squid What animal does the article talk about? How much do scientists know about the deepest parts of the oceans? What did sailors use to believe? What squid does the article mention? What is the colossal squid bigger than? How common are the colossal squid? How many colossal squid have been found? Where did they find five squid? How did they find two squid? What does the colossal squid have on its arms? How big do scientists think it can grow? How big are the fish that it eats? |
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