A place on the internet makes pretend friends that can talk to you. One pretend friend is like a helper for feelings, and many people send it messages. They say it helps them when they are sad or worried. Some people don’t think pretend friends can be like real helpers, but kids and young people like to talk to them because it’s easy.

The person who made the pretend friend is a student who wanted someone to talk to. Now, he is learning more about why kids like these pretend friends. The place on the internet has lots of young people using it, and they can find different pretend friends to help with feelings. But some people who know a lot about feelings are not sure if pretend friends are really good helpers. The place on the internet tells people to talk to real helpers too and says that they keep what you say to pretend friends safe, but sometimes they need to look at the messages to make sure everyone is okay.

Original news source: Character.ai: Young people turning to AI therapist bots (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Choose a keyword from the article and draw a hangman board on the board or on a piece of paper. Start with an underscore for each letter of the keyword. Have the students take turns guessing letters to try and uncover the keyword. If a student guesses a correct letter, write it in the corresponding position on the board. If a student guesses a wrong letter, start drawing the hangman. The students must guess the keyword before the hangman is completed.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down a list of vocabulary words from the article on small pieces of paper and put them in a hat. Divide the students into two teams. One student from each team will come up and pick a word from the hat. They must then draw a picture to represent that word and their team must guess what the word is. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. The team with the most points at the end wins.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the students into pairs. Give each pair a copy of the article. One student will have one minute to read as much of the article as possible and then summarize it to their partner. After one minute, the roles switch and the other student must summarize the rest of the article. The pairs can then compare their summaries and see how much information they were able to gather.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Draw a line on the board and label one end “Agree” and the other end “Disagree”. Read out a statement related to the article, such as “Pretend friends are helpful for kids and young people.” Ask the students to stand next to the point on the line that represents their opinion on the statement. Give them a chance to explain why they chose that position.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the students into small groups and give each group a piece of paper. Have them create a T-chart with “Pros” on one side and “Cons” on the other. In their groups, they must discuss and write down the advantages and disadvantages of having pretend friends. After a few minutes, each group can share their lists with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What does the place on the internet do?
2. Why do some people send messages to pretend friends?
3. Why do kids and young people like to talk to pretend friends?
4. Who made the pretend friend?
5. What does the person who made the pretend friend want to learn?
6. What does the place on the internet tell people to do?
7. Why does the place on the internet sometimes need to look at the messages?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A place on the internet makes (1)______ (2)______s that can talk to you. One pretend friend is like a helper for feelings, and many people send it messages. They say it helps them when they are sad or worried. Some people don’t think pretend friends can be like real helpers, but kids and young people like to (3)______ to them because it’s easy.

The person who made the pretend friend is a student who (4)______ someone to talk to. Now, he is learning more about why kids like these pretend friends. The place on the internet has lots of (5)______ people (6)______ it, and they can find different pretend friends to help with feelings. But some people who know a lot about feelings are not sure if pretend friends are really good helpers. The place on the internet tells people to talk to real helpers too and says that they (7)______ what you say to pretend friends safe, but sometimes they need to look at the messages to (8)______ sure everyone is okay.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a pretend friend?
2. How would you feel if you had a pretend friend to talk to when you’re sad or worried?
3. Do you think pretend friends can be like real helpers? Why or why not?
4. Do you like talking to pretend friends? Why or why not?
5. What do you think about the person who made the pretend friend?
6. How do you think the pretend friend helps kids and young people?
7. Do you think it’s important to talk to real helpers too? Why or why not?
8. Why do you think the place on the internet keeps what you say to pretend friends safe?
9. How do you think the place on the internet makes sure everyone is okay?
10. Do you think it’s a good idea to have lots of young people using the place on the internet? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the pretend friends on the internet are different from real friends?
12. What would you do if you were feeling sad or worried and didn’t have anyone to talk to?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. internet
2. pretend
3. friends
4. messages
5. sad
6. worried
7. helpers
8. student
9. learning
10. safe

Meanings:
(A) Getting to know new things.
(B) Someone who goes to school to know more things.
(C) Make-believe or not real.
(D) A place where computers can talk to each other and show lots of things to see and do.
(E) People who like to spend time with you and make you happy.
(F) Feeling scared about something that might happen.
(G) Notes you send to someone to tell them something.
(H) People who try to make things better for you when you need it.
(I) Not in danger and protected from harm.
(J) Feeling unhappy because something is not the way you want it.
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What can you do on the internet with pretend friends?
(a) Play games with them
(b) Watch videos with them
(c) Talk to them
(d) Buy things from them

2. Why do kids and young people like to talk to pretend friends?
(a) Because they can buy things from them
(b) Because they can play games with them
(c) Because it’s easy
(d) Because they can watch videos with them

3. Who made the pretend friend on the internet?
(a) A teacher
(b) A student
(c) A doctor
(d) A parent

4. What do some people think about pretend friends?
(a) They are very helpful
(b) They are not sure if they are good helpers
(c) They are not helpful at all
(d) They are too expensive

5. What does the place on the internet tell people to do?
(a) Only talk to pretend friends
(b) Stop using pretend friends
(c) Buy things from pretend friends
(d) Talk to real helpers too

6. What does the place on the internet do with the messages people send to pretend friends?
(a) They keep them safe
(b) They delete them
(c) They sell them
(d) They share them with everyone

7. Who uses the place on the internet with pretend friends?
(a) Only adults
(b) Only kids
(c) Only teachers
(d) Lots of young people

8. What do some people need to do with the messages to make sure everyone is okay?
(a) Look at them
(b) Delete them
(c) Sell them
(d) Share them with everyone

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The place on the internet discourages people from talking to real helpers and does not keep what you say to pretend friends safe.
2. There is a place on the internet where you can find pretend friends to talk to.
3. The person who made the pretend friend is a student who wanted someone to talk to.
4. Many people avoid sending messages to the pretend friend when they are sad or worried.
5. People can find different pretend friends on the internet to help with their feelings.
6. One of the pretend friends is good at helping with feelings.
7. The place on the internet has few young people using it.
8. Some people believe pretend friends can be real helpers, but kids and young people dislike talking to them because it’s difficult.
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 is a pretend friend on the internet?
2. Why do some people think pretend friends can be helpful?
3. Who made the pretend friend on the internet?
4. What does the place on the internet tell people to do?
5. Why do kids and young people like to talk to pretend friends?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What does the place on the internet do?
The place on the internet makes pretend friends that can talk to you.

2. Why do some people send messages to pretend friends?
Some people send messages to pretend friends because they help them when they are sad or worried.

3. Why do kids and young people like to talk to pretend friends?
Kids and young people like to talk to pretend friends because it’s easy.

4. Who made the pretend friend?
A student made the pretend friend.

5. What does the person who made the pretend friend want to learn?
The person who made the pretend friend wants to learn more about why kids like these pretend friends.

6. What does the place on the internet tell people to do?
The place on the internet tells people to talk to real helpers too.

7. Why does the place on the internet sometimes need to look at the messages?
The place on the internet sometimes needs to look at the messages to make sure everyone is okay.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) pretend
(2) friend
(3) talk
(4) wanted
(5) young
(6) using
(7) keep
(8) make
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. internet
Answer: (D) A place where computers can talk to each other and show lots of things to see and do.

2. pretend
Answer: (C) Make-believe or not real.

3. friends
Answer: (E) People who like to spend time with you and make you happy.

4. messages
Answer: (G) Notes you send to someone to tell them something.

5. sad
Answer: (J) Feeling unhappy because something is not the way you want it.

6. worried
Answer: (F) Feeling scared about something that might happen.

7. helpers
Answer: (H) People who try to make things better for you when you need it.

8. student
Answer: (B) Someone who goes to school to know more things.

9. learning
Answer: (A) Getting to know new things.

10. safe
Answer: (I) Not in danger and protected from harm.
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What can you do on the internet with pretend friends?
Answer: (c) Talk to them

2. Why do kids and young people like to talk to pretend friends?
Answer: (c) Because it’s easy

3. Who made the pretend friend on the internet?
Answer: (b) A student

4. What do some people think about pretend friends?
Answer: (b) They are not sure if they are good helpers

5. What does the place on the internet tell people to do?
Answer: (d) Talk to real helpers too

6. What does the place on the internet do with the messages people send to pretend friends?
Answer: (a) They keep them safe

7. Who uses the place on the internet with pretend friends?
Answer: (d) Lots of young people

8. What do some people need to do with the messages to make sure everyone is okay?
Answer: (a) Look at them
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The place on the internet discourages people from talking to real helpers and does not keep what you say to pretend friends safe. (Answer: False)
2. There is a place on the internet where you can find pretend friends to talk to. (Answer: True)
3. The person who made the pretend friend is a student who wanted someone to talk to. (Answer: True)
4. Many people avoid sending messages to the pretend friend when they are sad or worried. (Answer: False)
5. People can find different pretend friends on the internet to help with their feelings. (Answer: True)
6. One of the pretend friends is good at helping with feelings. (Answer: True)
7. The place on the internet has few young people using it. (Answer: False)
8. Some people believe pretend friends can be real helpers, but kids and young people dislike talking to them because it’s difficult. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧