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Boohoo’s Mistake: Wrong Tags on Clothes

Fast-fashion retailer Boohoo has been found to have mislabelled clothes made in South Asia as "Made in the UK," raising concerns about inspection and consumer deception.

Try this article at a different level?

 

A shop called Boohoo put wrong tags on their clothes. The tags said the clothes were made in the UK, but they were really made far away in South Asia. A group of people who look for the truth found this out. They saw that Boohoo took off the old tags and put on new ones that were not true. Boohoo said it was a mistake and they are trying to fix it.

Some people are worried about Boohoo’s mistake. They think Boohoo should have checked the clothes better. When clothes have the wrong tags, the people who buy them might get tricked. Boohoo might close the place where they changed the tags. They said it’s not because of the people who found the mistake.

Original news source: Boohoo put ‘Made in UK’ labels on clothes made overseas (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

1BoohooA name of a store where you can buy things to wear.
2tagsLittle pieces of cloth or paper that tell you about what you’re buying.
3clothesThings you wear, like shirts and pants.
4UKA place with lots of rain and a big clock called Big Ben.
5South AsiaA place that is very far with lots of people and different countries.
6groupSome people who are together.
7truthWhat is real and not made up.
8mistakeWhen you do something wrong without meaning to.
9worriedWhen you feel like something bad might happen.
10trickedWhen someone makes you believe something that is not true.

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Give each team a set of words related to the article (e.g. clothes, tags, mistake, Boohoo). One student from each team will act out a word without speaking, while their teammates try to guess the word. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– 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 their summaries concise. After both partners have shared their summaries, they can compare and discuss any differences or similarities.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word “Boohoo” on the board. Ask students to brainstorm as many words as they can that are related to the article or the topic of clothing. Encourage them to think of both positive and negative associations. In pairs or small groups, students can take turns sharing their word associations and explaining their choices.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Provide students with a list of key vocabulary words from the article (e.g. tags, tricked, mistake). In pairs, one student selects a word from the list and draws a picture to represent it, while their partner tries to guess the word. Students can take turns being the drawer and the guesser.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Pose a question related to the article (e.g. “What should Boohoo do to fix their mistake?”). Give students a few moments to think about their answer individually. Then, have them pair up with a partner and share their thoughts. After discussing in pairs, open up a class discussion and ask some pairs to share their ideas with the whole class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the shop Boohoo do wrong with their clothes?
2. Where were the clothes actually made?
3. Who found out about Boohoo’s mistake?
4. What did Boohoo do to the tags on the clothes?
5. Why are some people worried about Boohoo’s mistake?
6. What might happen to the place where Boohoo changed the tags?
7. Why is Boohoo closing the place not because of the people who found the mistake?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A (1)______ called Boohoo put wrong tags on their (2)______. The tags said the clothes were made in the UK, but they were really made far away in South Asia. A group of people who (3)______ for the truth found this out. They saw that Boohoo took off the old tags and put on new ones that were not true. Boohoo (4)______ it was a mistake and they are trying to fix it.

Some people are worried about (5)______’s mistake. They think Boohoo should have checked the clothes better. When clothes have the (6)______ tags, the (7)______ who buy them might get tricked. Boohoo might (8)______ the place where they changed the tags. They said it’s not because of the people who found the mistake.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a tag?
2. How would you feel if you bought clothes with the wrong tags?
3. Do you like shopping for clothes?
4. Do you think Boohoo should have checked the clothes better?
5. Why or why not?
6. What do you think about people who look for the truth?
7. Why do you think Boohoo put wrong tags on their clothes?
8. How do you think the people who found the mistake felt?
9. Would you still shop at Boohoo after this mistake?
10. Why or why not?
11. Do you think Boohoo will fix their mistake?
12. What do you think will happen to Boohoo’s shop where they changed the tags?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Boohoo
2. tags
3. clothes
4. UK
5. South Asia
6. group
7. truth
8. mistake
9. worried
10. tricked

Meanings:
(A) When you do something wrong without meaning to.
(B) When you feel like something bad might happen.
(C) A name of a store where you can buy things to wear.
(D) Things you wear, like shirts and pants.
(E) A place that is very far with lots of people and different countries.
(F) What is real and not made up.
(G) Little pieces of cloth or paper that tell you about what you’re buying.
(H) Some people who are together.
(I) When someone makes you believe something that is not true.
(J) A place with lots of rain and a big clock called Big Ben.
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the tags on the clothes at Boohoo say?
(a) The clothes were made in South Asia
(b) The clothes were made in the UK
(c) The clothes were made in the USA
(d) The clothes were made in Africa

2. Where were the clothes actually made?
(a) The UK
(b) The USA
(c) Africa
(d) South Asia

3. Who found out about Boohoo’s mistake?
(a) Boohoo’s employees
(b) The government
(c) Nobody
(d) A group of people

4. What did Boohoo do to the tags on the clothes?
(a) Left the old tags on the clothes
(b) Did not change the tags
(c) Took off the old tags and put on new ones
(d) Threw away the tags

5. Why are some people worried about Boohoo’s mistake?
(a) They want to buy the clothes with the wrong tags
(b) They think Boohoo should close their shop
(c) They think people might get tricked when buying the clothes
(d) They don’t care about Boohoo’s mistake

6. What might happen to the place where Boohoo changed the tags?
(a) It might become bigger
(b) It might close down
(c) It might move to a different country
(d) It might get more customers

7. Why did Boohoo say they made the mistake?
(a) They said it was a mistake
(b) They said they didn’t care
(c) They said the tags were correct
(d) They said they didn’t know

8. Why did Boohoo say they are trying to fix the mistake?
(a) They want to make the customers happy
(b) They want to make more money
(c) They want to close down the shop
(d) They don’t want anyone to find out about the mistake

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Boohoo took off the old tags and put on new ones that were not true.
2. A shop called Boohoo placed the correct tags on their clothes.
3. Boohoo will not close the place where they changed the tags because of the people who found the mistake.
4. Some people are not concerned about Boohoo’s mistake.
5. People who buy clothes with the wrong tags might get tricked.
6. The tags said the clothes were made in the UK, but they were really made far away in South Asia.
7. Boohoo denied it was a mistake and they are not trying to fix it.
8. A group of people found out about Boohoo’s mistake.
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 tags on the clothes at Boohoo say?
2. Where were the clothes actually made?
3. Who found out about the mistake with the tags?
4. Why are some people worried about Boohoo’s mistake?
5. What might happen to the place where Boohoo changed the tags?

Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did the shop Boohoo do wrong with their clothes?
Boohoo put wrong tags on their clothes.

2. Where were the clothes actually made?
The clothes were actually made in South Asia.

3. Who found out about Boohoo’s mistake?
A group of people who look for the truth found out about Boohoo’s mistake.

4. What did Boohoo do to the tags on the clothes?
Boohoo took off the old tags and put on new ones that were not true.

5. Why are some people worried about Boohoo’s mistake?
Some people are worried because when clothes have the wrong tags, the people who buy them might get tricked.

6. What might happen to the place where Boohoo changed the tags?
The place where Boohoo changed the tags might close.

7. Why is Boohoo closing the place not because of the people who found the mistake?
Boohoo is closing the place not because of the people who found the mistake.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) shop
(2) clothes
(3) look
(4) said
(5) Boohoo
(6) wrong
(7) people
(8) close
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Boohoo
Answer: (C) A name of a store where you can buy things to wear.

2. tags
Answer: (G) Little pieces of cloth or paper that tell you about what you’re buying.

3. clothes
Answer: (D) Things you wear, like shirts and pants.

4. UK
Answer: (J) A place with lots of rain and a big clock called Big Ben.

5. South Asia
Answer: (E) A place that is very far with lots of people and different countries.

6. group
Answer: (H) Some people who are together.

7. truth
Answer: (F) What is real and not made up.

8. mistake
Answer: (A) When you do something wrong without meaning to.

9. worried
Answer: (B) When you feel like something bad might happen.

10. tricked
Answer: (I) When someone makes you believe something that is not true.
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did the tags on the clothes at Boohoo say?
Answer: (b) The clothes were made in the UK

2. Where were the clothes actually made?
Answer: (d) South Asia

3. Who found out about Boohoo’s mistake?
Answer: (d) A group of people

4. What did Boohoo do to the tags on the clothes?
Answer: (c) Took off the old tags and put on new ones

5. Why are some people worried about Boohoo’s mistake?
Answer: (c) They think people might get tricked when buying the clothes

6. What might happen to the place where Boohoo changed the tags?
Answer: (b) It might close down

7. Why did Boohoo say they made the mistake?
Answer: (a) They said it was a mistake

8. Why did Boohoo say they are trying to fix the mistake?
Answer: (a) They want to make the customers happy
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Boohoo took off the old tags and put on new ones that were not true. (Answer: True)
2. A shop called Boohoo placed the correct tags on their clothes. (Answer: False)
3. Boohoo will not close the place where they changed the tags because of the people who found the mistake. (Answer: False)
4. Some people are not concerned about Boohoo’s mistake. (Answer: False)
5. People who buy clothes with the wrong tags might get tricked. (Answer: True)
6. The tags said the clothes were made in the UK, but they were really made far away in South Asia. (Answer: True)
7. Boohoo denied it was a mistake and they are not trying to fix it. (Answer: False)
8. A group of people found out about Boohoo’s mistake. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧

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