Amazing Animal Abilities

Handout Classy Tutoring

Name: ______________________ Date: ____________

Reading

Last month, aquarium keepers saw something incredible. One octopus escaped from its tank, crawled across the floor, and opened another tank to free a friend.

But they aren't the only animals with surprising abilities. Last year, researchers found that elephants can recognise themselves in a mirror. They tested this by painting a mark on each elephant's head. When the elephants saw themselves, they touched the mark — they knew it was them!

And what about pigeons? In a 1995 study, scientists taught pigeons to tell the difference between paintings by Picasso and Monet. The birds learned to recognise the styles.

Last summer, my class visited a wildlife centre. The keepers gave us a puzzle: a box with food inside and no instructions. We tried for twenty minutes. Then a crow flew down, opened the box in four steps, and took the food. Nobody laughed louder than our teacher.

Later, a keeper told us about the animals they look after. She said that some of them learn a new trick in a week, and others never learn it at all. She wrote the results on a board so the class could see them. My friend took a photo of the crow, and she put it on the classroom wall.

Comprehension

Answer in full sentences.

What did the octopus do?
How did scientists test if elephants recognise themselves?
What did the elephants do when they saw themselves?
What did scientists teach pigeons to do?
What was the date of the pigeon study?

Words to know

Word	What it means
octopus	a sea animal with eight arms
escape	to get away from a place
mirror	a shiny surface that shows your reflection
recognise	to know who or what something is
mark	a spot or line made with paint or ink
painting	a picture made with paint
style	the special way an artist does their work

Grammar: Past Simple

The rule: Past Simple is for actions that started and finished in the past. Regular verbs add -ed. Irregular verbs change their shape. For questions and negatives, use did or didn't + the base form of the verb.

	Regular	Irregular
Base	discover	find
Past Simple	discovered	found
Base	learn	teach
Past Simple	learned	taught

Worked example: Scientists discovered something incredible last month.

Exercise 1

Put the verb in brackets into the Past Simple.

Last night, my cat ____________ (catch) a mouse.
The dolphin ____________ (jump) out of the water three times.
____________ you ____________ (see) the documentary about whales?
The parrot ____________ (not speak) until it was two years old.
How ____________ the octopus ____________ (escape)?
I ____________ (never / know) that dogs can smell cancer.

Exercise 2

Complete the mini-story with the Past Simple form of each verb.

Yesterday, I ____________ (wake) up early and ____________ (go) to the zoo. I ____________ (see) a zookeeper who ____________ (feed) the penguins. One penguin ____________ (not want) to eat — it just ____________ (swim) in circles. The zookeeper ____________ (say) it ____________ (be) new and still ____________ (feel) shy. I ____________ (watch) them for twenty minutes. It ____________ (be) really interesting.

Writing

Write 6–8 sentences about something you saw or experienced with an animal. Use Past Simple in every sentence.

It could be:

A pet you had (or have)
An animal you saw at a zoo or in nature
A funny video you watched

Homework

Research one amazing animal fact (use your phone or think of one you already know). Write 4 Past Simple questions about it, then answer them.

Example:

Where did the scientists find this animal? — They found it in Australia.
What did it do? — It used a stick to get food.

Bring it to the next lesson.