Read & Explore 36: Exploring Deep Sea Volcanoes

Many volcanoes are deep in the sea. So, people use small ships to explore those volcanoes. The ships go under the water.

Lots of sea creatures live near volcanoes. Scientists have discovered colorful shrimp. Sharks even swim in volcanoes!

The umbrella octopus can also live near volcanoes. It looks like an open umbrella as it floats. Fantastic!

Activities:

1. Does the text tell us what sea creatures live near volcanoes? Do you know any other sea creatures living near volcanoes? Discuss with your partners in simple English.

2. Have you ever watched volcanoes erupt? How do volcanoes form and erupt? Do you think that volcanos are dangerous? Can you believe that many creatures live near volcanoes? Watch the videos to learn more about these. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Oq9_DU1Mc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivw9XY_NSXI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8jk9mWYVkM

Read & Explore 35: Exploring Caves

Caves are fun to explore. They are filled with endless surprises. Some walls in the cave might look like frozen waterfalls.  But they are motionless and cannot move.

You might see glowworms in some dark, sunless caves. Countless glowworms glow like stars in the night sky. It’s a colorful sight!

People see wonderful sights in caves. But people must be respectful. They must be careful not to harm animals or their homes.

Activities

1. Look at the underlined words. What do they have in common? What are their antonyms? Please find 5 more words like the underlined.

2. What does the text tell you about the caves? Have you ever been to any caves? Discuss with your partners in simple English.

3. Caves are distributed widely across the globe. So far, about 17,000 caves have been discovered in just the USA. Caves are fun. You might want to explore. Do you know how the caves are formed? Here are the videos you might be interested in:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldc1Z9ZRU88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puA0YC-hSPM

Read & Explore 34: A Bright Idea

Have you ever visited a science fair? It’s a place for bright ideas.

A girl named Ann had a bright idea. Her friend had no electricity, and so had no light at night. Without light, her friend could not study at night. Ann realized she might solve this serious problem.

Ann created a hollow flashlight using various parts but no battery! Ann realized that heat from her hands could fuel, or power, her flashlight and make it light up.

Ann’s creation got top prize in a science fair.

Activities:

1. What problem did Ann solve? How did she solve the problem? Do you have any other ideas to solve that problem? Discuss with your partners in simple English.

2. Kids like you are full of imagination. Have you ever tried solving some real problems by creating something truly original in your life? Watch the videos to see some amazing kid inventors.

Read & Explore 33: From Cow to Energy

People eat. Animals eat. Our bodies break up the food we eat into parts. Some parts give our bodies energy. Other parts we do not need.

One part that bodies do not need is a gas called methane. This gas moves out of our bodies every day. One day of one person’s body gas could fill two lunchtime milk cartons.

Cows move a lot more gas than people do. One day of one cow’s gas could fill over 3000 lunchtime milk cartons! Some people are trying to use this gas to make energy. One kind of energy is called electricity. We can burn methane gas to make electricity. One day of the gas a cow makes can equal one day of electricity for a refrigerator.

Human gas is much like cow gas. Someday, maybe we will use our gas to make electricity, too!

Activities:

1. Explain methane gas to your partners in simple English. Why did the scientists choose cow gas over human gas to make energy?

2. It is exciting to see animal gas turned into energy. Then how about animals’ other waste, e.g., poop? How to turn them into power? Recycling waste not only protects environment, but also creates a great fortune! Sweden is one of the world champions in environment awareness and waste management. How does Sweden turn its waste into gold? To learn about these, you might be interested in the following videos.

Read & Explore 32: Panda Loves Forest Home

Reporter: Please explain why you love your forest home in China.

Panda: I’ll tell you why. Bamboo plants grow here! That is my main food. I never have to search far for a meal.

Reporter: But is this forest safe for your babies?

Panda: sure! Trees keep them safe. When the babies are born, we stay inside a hollow tree trunk. It’s a safe shelter.

Reporter: How long do you remain there?

Panda: We stay for about 100 days. Later, my babies stay safe by climbing the trees.

Activities:

1. Why does panda love forest home? Where do panda babies live? Please retell the story in simple English.

2. It is fun to watch panda babies climb. Have you seen it before? You might like to watch the following video:

Read & Explore 31: Banana Museum and Potato Museum

There are many types and sizes of museums. A museum can be gigantic. A big museum might have a big selection of things to see. However, what about a tiny museum?

Have you ever heard about a banana museum? A banana museum is small. You can see banana perfume and socks there. You can see hundreds and hundreds of things shaped like bananas. You can even sip a banana beverage!

A banana museum is fun. You might learn about another fun museum. It is perfect for potato lovers. At the Idaho Potato Museum, people can learn about the potato. They can eat snacks made from potatoes, too.

Activities:

1. What does the text tell about the tiny museums? Please retell it to your partners in simple English.

2. To learn more about the banana museum and the potato museum, you might be interested in the videos:

Read & Explore 30: Jake’s Misadventures

Al was away, so Jake was caring for Ai’s pet, Bunny Jake had not listened carefully to Al’s instruction. That was disrespectful.

Now Jake wondered unhappily, “Did Al tell me to let Bunny go out? That seems unreasonable. What if Bunny disappears? That would be unhelpful.”

“Did Al tell me to wash Bunny? That seems unlikely. I must care for Bunny correctly, not incorrectly!”

Then Jake found a note from Al. It said, “Let Bunny out of her cage, but keep her inside. Wash her veggies because unwashed veggies make her sick.”

Jake said, “I’ll listen carefully from now on.”

Activities:

1. Look at all the underlined words. Find their antonyms. Do you notice what are the same among the underlined words? Can you find 5 more words like them? Have a try!

2. What do you learn from Jake’s misadventures? Retell the story to your partners in simple English.

3. Watch the video to learn more about how important it is to be careful.

Read & Explore 29: Golden Gate Park

Visitors to San Francisco can learn about a great park. Golden Gate Park is in the heart of the city.

A park map helps visitors get their bearings, or find their way to many fine sights. Ten lakes appear on the park map. On Stow Lake, visitors can rent rowboats or pedal boats.

Near the west end of this park, bison live in a field. In the early years of the park, bear, sheep, and goats roamed there, too.

Activities:

1. What does the text tell us about Golden Gate Park? Please retell it to your partners.

2. Have you ever been to Golden Gate Park? Can you imagine bison in a park? Watch the video to learn more about bison at Golden Gate Park.

Read & Explore 28: Hidden Animals

Many animals are hard to see in nature. They are visible, but you must look closely.

Some animals look similar to things around them, Leaf insects look similar to leaves. That keeps them safe from enemies. Can you find the insects on the leaves in the video?

An animal’s colors help it blend in with things around it. Look closely to find the owl in the tree.

Animals are visible when you look closely.

Activities:

1. What are the hidden animals mentioned in the text? Why are many animals hard to see in nature? Discuss with your partners in simple English.

2. To learn more about the hidden animals, watch the following videos: