The Grand Canyon: A River's Work

In the news: The story

Read a 147-word news story: One small river made this very big hole

The Grand Canyon is in Arizona, in the United States. It is a very big canyon, a deep valley with high walls of rock. It is about 450 kilometres long and about 1.6 kilometres deep. From the top, people can see many colours: red, orange, brown and grey. At the bottom there is a river. It is the Colorado River. From the top it looks very small, like a line. But this river made the canyon. The water moved the rock, a little bit every year, for millions of years. About five million people visit the canyon every year. Some people walk down to the river. It is hot and it takes many hours, so they take a lot of water. Other people stay at the top and look. In the evening the rock is very orange, and it is a good time to take a photo.

Vocabulary: Words to know

7 items

Discussion: Look at the picture

3 discussion questions

• What can you see in the picture? What colours are there?
• Is the water clean or dirty? What is in the water?
• Would you like to go there? Say yes or no, and one reason.

Discussion: Your life

3 discussion questions

• Is there a river near your home? What is its name?
• Do you take a lot of photos? What do you take photos of?
• What is the biggest thing you have seen? A mountain, the sea, a big city?

Discussion: Big questions, simple words

3 discussion questions

• The river was slow, but after millions of years it made a canyon. Is slow work good work?
• Five million visitors every year. Is that too many people for one place?
• How can we look after a place like this?