Two bad men in France tricked old people into paying a lot of money for fake bug spray. They told the old people that their homes had tiny bugs called bedbugs. The old people were scared and gave the men money. The men lied and said they were getting rid of the bugs, but they were not. Many old ladies, some over 90 years old, were tricked.

The bad men would go to the old people’s houses and pretend to spray for bugs. They used cans that looked real but were not. They also sold a cream they said would keep bugs away, but it was just a cream that smelled like a plant. The old people paid the men a lot of money, from €300 to €2,100. The police watched the bad men and caught them after they left an old person’s house.

Original news source: Two arrested in France over alleged bedbug scam (BBC)

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Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the students into teams. Give each team a word or phrase related to the article (e.g. bug spray, bedbugs, tricked). One person from each team will act out the word or phrase without speaking, while their teammates guess what it is. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Repeat with different words or phrases.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner. Encourage them to use their own words and keep the summary concise. After each summary, the partner can ask questions for clarification.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board (e.g. bug spray, bedbugs, tricked, cream). Divide the students into pairs. One student from each pair chooses a word and draws a picture to represent it, while the other student guesses what the word is. They can only use gestures and drawings, no words.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Choose a keyword from the article (e.g. bug spray). Draw a series of blanks on the board to represent the letters in the word. Students take turns guessing letters. If a guessed letter is in the word, write it in the appropriate blank(s). If the guessed letter is not in the word, draw a part of the hangman. The game continues until the word is guessed or the hangman is completed.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Ask the students to think about a time when they were tricked or deceived. In pairs, they discuss their experiences and how it made them feel. After a few minutes, ask a few pairs to share their stories with the class.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the bad men do to trick the old people?
2. What did the bad men say the old people’s homes had?
3. Were the old people scared of the bugs?
4. What did the old people give the bad men?
5. What did the bad men pretend to do at the old people’s houses?
6. What did the cans the bad men used look like?
7. How much money did the old people pay the bad men?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Two bad men in France tricked old people into paying a lot of (1)______ for fake bug (2)______. They told the old people that their homes had tiny bugs called bedbugs. The old people were scared and gave the men money. The men lied and (3)______ they were getting rid of the bugs, but they were not. Many old (4)______, some over 90 years old, were tricked.

The bad men would go to the old people’s houses and pretend to spray for bugs. They (5)______ cans that looked real but were not. They also sold a cream they said would (6)______ bugs away, but it was just a cream that smelled like a (7)______. The old people paid the men a lot of money, from €300 to €2,100. The police watched the bad men and caught them after they (8)______ an old person’s house.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What are bedbugs?
2. How do you think the old people felt when the bad men tricked them?
3. Do you like bugs? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if someone tricked you and took your money?
5. Do you think it’s okay to lie to people and take their money? Why or why not?
6. What do you think the police should do to the bad men?
7. Have you ever been tricked by someone? How did it make you feel?
8. Do you think it’s important to be honest and tell the truth? Why or why not?
9. How would you feel if someone came to your house and pretended to do something but didn’t actually do it?
10. Have you ever had bugs in your house? How did you get rid of them?
11. What is a cream? Have you ever used a cream before?
12. How can we protect ourselves from people who want to trick us and take our money?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. tricked
2. bug spray
3. bedbugs
4. scared
5. lied
6. pretend
7. cans
8. cream
9. police
10. caught

Meanings:
(A) Feeling afraid or frightened
(B) Stopped someone from doing something wrong
(C) Containers that hold things like food or drinks
(D) People who make sure everyone follows the rules and is safe
(E) Not telling the truth
(F) A special spray that kills bugs
(G) Tiny bugs that live in beds and bite people
(H) Acting like something is true when it’s not
(I) A lotion that you put on your skin to make it soft
(J) Made someone believe something that wasn’t true
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the bad men trick the old people into buying?
(a) Real bug spray
(b) Bug traps
(c) Fake bug spray
(d) Bug repellent lotion

2. What did the bad men say the old people’s homes had?
(a) Tiny bugs called bedbugs
(b) Big bugs called spiders
(c) Flying bugs called mosquitoes
(d) Creepy bugs called cockroaches

3. How did the old people feel when the bad men told them about the bugs?
(a) Happy
(b) Excited
(c) Angry
(d) Scared

4. What did the bad men pretend to do at the old people’s houses?
(a) Clean the house
(b) Spray for bugs
(c) Fix the plumbing
(d) Paint the walls

5. What did the cans of bug spray that the bad men used look like?
(a) Fake
(b) Real
(c) Empty
(d) Broken

6. What did the bad men sell to the old people besides bug spray?
(a) Cream that smelled like a plant
(b) Cream that smelled like a flower
(c) Cream that smelled like a fruit
(d) Cream that smelled like a cake

7. How much money did the old people give to the bad men?
(a) From €50 to €100
(b) From €10 to €50
(c) From €2,000 to €5,000
(d) From €300 to €2,100

8. How did the police catch the bad men?
(a) They followed them to their hideout
(b) They called them on the phone and tricked them
(c) They watched them and caught them after they left an old person’s house
(d) They asked the old people to help them catch the bad men

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. They also sold a cream that smelled like a plant and said it would keep bugs away, but it was not true.
2. The old people paid the men a lot of money, from €300 to €2,100.
3. The bad men used real bug spray cans that looked fake but were not.
4. Two good men in France helped old people by genuinely getting rid of bugs in their homes.
5. The young people were confident and refused to give the men money because they knew they had tiny bugs called bedbugs.
6. The police watched the bad men and caught them after they left an old person’s house.
7. Many of the old ladies who were tricked were over 90 years old.
8. The bad men were telling the truth and actually getting rid of the bugs.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What did the bad men in France trick old people into buying?
2. Why were the old people scared?
3. What did the bad men pretend to do at the old people’s houses?
4. What did the fake bug spray cans look like?
5. How did the police catch the bad men?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did the bad men do to trick the old people?
The bad men tricked the old people by pretending there were bugs in their homes and selling them fake bug spray and cream.

2. What did the bad men say the old people’s homes had?
The bad men said the old people’s homes had tiny bugs called bedbugs.

3. Were the old people scared of the bugs?
Yes, the old people were scared of the bugs because they thought they were real.

4. What did the old people give the bad men?
The old people gave the bad men a lot of money.

5. What did the bad men pretend to do at the old people’s houses?
The bad men pretended to spray bug spray and sell bug cream at the old people’s houses.

6. What did the cans the bad men used look like?
The cans the bad men used looked real, but they were actually fake.

7. How much money did the old people pay the bad men?
The old people paid the bad men from €300 to €2,100.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) money
(2) spray
(3) said
(4) ladies
(5) used
(6) keep
(7) plant
(8) left
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. tricked
Answer: (J) Made someone believe something that wasn’t true

2. bug spray
Answer: (F) A special spray that kills bugs

3. bedbugs
Answer: (G) Tiny bugs that live in beds and bite people

4. scared
Answer: (A) Feeling afraid or frightened

5. lied
Answer: (E) Not telling the truth

6. pretend
Answer: (H) Acting like something is true when it’s not

7. cans
Answer: (C) Containers that hold things like food or drinks

8. cream
Answer: (I) A lotion that you put on your skin to make it soft

9. police
Answer: (D) People who make sure everyone follows the rules and is safe

10. caught
Answer: (B) Stopped someone from doing something wrong
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did the bad men trick the old people into buying?
Answer: (c) Fake bug spray

2. What did the bad men say the old people’s homes had?
Answer: (a) Tiny bugs called bedbugs

3. How did the old people feel when the bad men told them about the bugs?
Answer: (d) Scared

4. What did the bad men pretend to do at the old people’s houses?
Answer: (b) Spray for bugs

5. What did the cans of bug spray that the bad men used look like?
Answer: (b) Real

6. What did the bad men sell to the old people besides bug spray?
Answer: (a) Cream that smelled like a plant

7. How much money did the old people give to the bad men?
Answer: (d) From €300 to €2,100

8. How did the police catch the bad men?
Answer: (c) They watched them and caught them after they left an old person’s house
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. They also sold a cream that smelled like a plant and said it would keep bugs away, but it was not true. (Answer: True)
2. The old people paid the men a lot of money, from €300 to €2,100. (Answer: True)
3. The bad men used real bug spray cans that looked fake but were not. (Answer: False)
4. Two good men in France helped old people by genuinely getting rid of bugs in their homes. (Answer: False)
5. The young people were confident and refused to give the men money because they knew they had tiny bugs called bedbugs. (Answer: False)
6. The police watched the bad men and caught them after they left an old person’s house. (Answer: True)
7. Many of the old ladies who were tricked were over 90 years old. (Answer: True)
8. The bad men were telling the truth and actually getting rid of the bugs. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧