News by Levels · Level 2 · For teachers
Teacher guide & answers
A Brain Interface Helps Patients Control Beeps
How to use these two pages
Give learners the student worksheet. It contains the story and questions, without the answers. Keep this guide for yourself. Use it to lead the activity and explain the answers afterwards.
Student worksheetA simple 15–20-minute lesson
- Before reading · 2 minutes
Show the title. Ask: “What do you think this story is about?”
- Read and answer · 8–10 minutes
Give out the student worksheet. Learners read for the main idea, then reread to answer the 2 questions. They can compare answers with a partner.
- Discuss and write · 5–8 minutes
Check the answers below together. Ask learners to point to the clue in the story, then finish with the open question.
Adjust the support: Let learners use word help or Level 1 if needed. For a challenge, compare the wording in another level. This activity is not a proficiency test.
Answers to the 2 questions
The question numbers match the student worksheet. Each answer includes a reason and the clue learners can find in the story.
How widespread was success in this small study?
Correct answer: C — Around a third of the 41 patients
Why: The report gives a proportion of this study group.
Clue in the story: A Columbia study tested a noninvasive brain-computer interface in 41 unresponsive patients with acute brain injuries. Around one third controlled a tone after training.
What distinguishes this system from a brain implant?
Correct answer: A — It recorded activity with electrodes without a chip
Why: The second paragraph specifies no implanted chip.
Clue in the story: Electrodes recorded brain activity without an implanted chip. Researchers hope to develop communication tools; ordinary conversation was not demonstrated.
The open question: accept different answers
Ask learners: Explain why controlling a tone is a step towards communication.
One possible answer: Some patients controlled sound; this does not establish ordinary conversation or a cure.
This is an example, not the only correct answer. Look for a relevant idea, a reason and the learner’s own words. Learners can answer aloud or write one or two sentences.