News by Levels · Level 3 · For teachers

Teacher guide & answers

In this lesson: Separate a demonstrated planning idea from real-world reliability.

Robot Planning Study Tests Inference From Human Instructions

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 worksheet

A 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.

Which claim does the study support?
Correct answer: C — The simulated arm can generalise a typed warning
Why: The opening paragraph describes generalisation in a simulation.
Clue in the story: FLEX, developed by MIT and New York University researchers, lets a simulated robot generalise from typed instructions, MIT reported on November 9.
What would require additional evidence?
Correct answer: C — That the approach is reliable in real homes
Why: The final clause explicitly leaves real-home reliability unestablished.
Clue in the story: A laptop warning during a coffee task led it to avoid electronics more broadly. The study demonstrates a planning approach in simulations; it does not establish reliability in real homes.

The open question: accept different answers

Ask learners: Write a careful one-sentence conclusion about FLEX.

One possible answer: FLEX demonstrated generalisation from typed instructions in simulated robot planning, but the study does not establish reliability in real homes.

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.

Grammar to discuss

A limit on evidence

does not establish reliability

Does not establish means the evidence here does not prove that conclusion. It does not prove the opposite either.