A lady named Kim Innes made a bakery that sells a sweet food called crumble. She made and sold a lot of them. She talks about her work and how she made her bakery good. She tells a story about how a big orange fruit called a pumpkin helped her work but also made things hard. Kim learned a lot when she was making her bakery better.

Kim says that the pumpkin was very important for her bakery to do well. She had some hard times when she was working. She wants to help people who want to start their own work. Her story is part of something called CEO Secrets where bosses share what they know. Kim’s story shows that you have to keep trying and change when you need to so you can do well at your work.

Original news source: CEO Secrets: ‘Pumpkins saved my business but almost squashed me’ (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Write down words related to the bakery and cooking, such as “oven,” “mix,” “roll,” “bake,” “pumpkin,” and “crumble” on small pieces of paper. Students take turns acting out these words without speaking while the rest of the class tries to guess the word. This helps students to connect physical actions with English vocabulary.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Pair up students and assign one to be a reporter and the other to be Kim Innes. The reporter will ask questions about Kim’s bakery and challenges with the pumpkin, while Kim answers using simple sentences. This encourages students to practice speaking and listening in a role-play situation.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups and provide them with a paper and pencil. Call out words from the article like “bakery,” “sweet,” “crumble,” “pumpkin,” and “CEO.” Each group has to quickly sketch their interpretation of the word. Afterward, they present their sketches to the class and explain their drawings in English, which can help with vocabulary retention and speaking skills.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Prepare a list of key vocabulary from the article such as “lady,” “innes,” “bakery,” “sweet,” “food,” “crumble,” “pumpkin,” “work,” “hard,” “important,” “boss,” “secrets,” “learn,” “start,” and “change.” Use the Pictionary game format where one student draws the word on the board without speaking or writing letters while the rest of the class guesses the word. This game helps to reinforce new vocabulary in a fun and interactive way.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of simple questions related to starting a business and overcoming challenges, such as “Is it hard to start a bakery?” or “How important is it to keep trying?” Have students walk around the classroom and ask their classmates these questions, tallying the yes/no responses. This will allow them to practice asking and answering questions while also learning to express basic opinions and preferences in English.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What sweet food does Kim Innes sell in her bakery?
2. What color is the big fruit that helped Kim with her work?
3. What is the name of the big orange fruit?
4. Did Kim only have easy times or did she have hard times too?
5. What does Kim want to do for other people who want to start work?
6. Where does Kim share her story about her bakery?
7. What does Kim’s story teach us about work?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A (1)______ named Kim Innes made a (2)______ that sells a sweet food called crumble. She made and sold a lot of them. She talks about her work and how she made her bakery good. She tells a story about how a big orange fruit called a pumpkin helped her work but also (3)______ things hard. Kim learned a lot when she was making her bakery better.

Kim (4)______ that the (5)______ was very important for her bakery to do well. She had some hard times when she was (6)______ing. She wants to help people who want to start their own work. Her story is part of something (7)______ CEO Secrets where bosses share what they know. Kim’s story (8)______ that you have to keep trying and change when you need to so you can do well at your work.
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Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a bakery?
2. Do you like sweet food? Why or why not?
3. Have you ever tried a crumble? Did you like it?
4. What is your favorite sweet food?
5. How would you feel if you made something like a crumble?
6. Do you think it is hard to make a bakery good? Why?
7. What is a pumpkin? Do you like pumpkins?
8. Have you ever had a hard time doing something? What was it?
9. Do you like to help people? How do you help them?
10. What do you think “keep trying” means?
11. Do you think it is good to change when things are hard? Why or why not?
12. Would you like to start your own work one day? What would it be?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. bakery
2. crumble
3. pumpkin
4. important
5. hard
6. story
7. trying
8. change

Meanings:
(a) A tale about something that happened
(b) A big orange vegetable that grows on a vine
(c) Not easy, needing a lot of effort
(d) Something that is necessary or has value
(e) Making an effort to do something
(f) A type of dessert made with fruit and flour
(g) To make something different from how it was
(h) A place where you can buy bread and cakes
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Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did Kim Innes make and sell at her bakery?
(a) Crumble
(b) Cupcakes
(c) Pizza
(d) Sushi

2. What color was the big fruit that helped Kim’s bakery?
(a) Red
(b) Green
(c) Purple
(d) Orange

3. What did Kim learn when she was making her bakery better?
(a) Nothing
(b) A little
(c) A lot
(d) Everything

4. What does Kim want to help people do?
(a) Close their bakery
(b) Buy a bakery
(c) Start their own work
(d) Eat at her bakery

5. What does Kim’s story show you have to do to do well at your work?
(a) Give up
(b) Keep trying and change when you need to
(c) Stay the same
(d) Work only in the morning

6. What is the name of the series where bosses share what they know?
(a) Boss Stories
(b) Bakery Tales
(c) Work Tips
(d) CEO Secrets

7. What does Kim say the pumpkin was for her bakery?
(a) Not important
(b) Very important
(c) A little important
(d) Very unimportant

8. What did Kim make a lot of at her bakery?
(a) Crumble
(b) Cookies
(c) Ice cream
(d) Salad

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Kim Innes made a bakery that sells a sweet food called crumble.
2. Kim doesn’t want to help people who want to start their own work.
3. Kim talks about how she made her bakery good.
4. Kim says the pumpkin was very unimportant for her bakery to do well.
5. She sold a lot of crumbles at her bakery.
6. A small orange fruit called a pumpkin helped her work but also made things easy.
7. Kim’s story shows that you have to keep trying and change when you need to so you can do well at your work.
8. She had some easy times when she was working.
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 sweet food does Kim Innes sell in her bakery?
2. What color is the big fruit that helped Kim with her bakery?
3. Did Kim have easy times or hard times when she was working?
4. Who does Kim want to help with her story?
5. What does Kim’s story teach us about work?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What sweet food does Kim Innes sell in her bakery?
Kim Innes sells a sweet food called crumble in her bakery.

2. What color is the big fruit that helped Kim with her work?
The big fruit that helped Kim is orange.

3. What is the name of the big orange fruit?
The name of the big orange fruit is a pumpkin.

4. Did Kim only have easy times or did she have hard times too?
Kim had hard times too, not just easy times.

5. What does Kim want to do for other people who want to start work?
Kim wants to help people who want to start their own work.

6. Where does Kim share her story about her bakery?
Kim shares her story in something called CEO Secrets.

7. What does Kim’s story teach us about work?
Kim’s story teaches us that you have to keep trying and change when you need to so you can do well at your work.
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Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) lady
(2) bakery
(3) made
(4) says
(5) pumpkin
(6) work
(7) called
(8) shows
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Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. bakery
Answer: (h) A place where you can buy bread and cakes

2. crumble
Answer: (f) A type of dessert made with fruit and flour

3. pumpkin
Answer: (b) A big orange vegetable that grows on a vine

4. important
Answer: (d) Something that is necessary or has value

5. hard
Answer: (c) Not easy, needing a lot of effort

6. story
Answer: (a) A tale about something that happened

7. trying
Answer: (e) Making an effort to do something

8. change
Answer: (g) To make something different from how it was
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did Kim Innes make and sell at her bakery?
Answer: (a) Crumble

2. What color was the big fruit that helped Kim’s bakery?
Answer: (d) Orange

3. What did Kim learn when she was making her bakery better?
Answer: (c) A lot

4. What does Kim want to help people do?
Answer: (c) Start their own work

5. What does Kim’s story show you have to do to do well at your work?
Answer: (b) Keep trying and change when you need to

6. What is the name of the series where bosses share what they know?
Answer: (d) CEO Secrets

7. What does Kim say the pumpkin was for her bakery?
Answer: (b) Very important

8. What did Kim make a lot of at her bakery?
Answer: (a) Crumble
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True or False Answers:

1. Kim Innes made a bakery that sells a sweet food called crumble. (Answer: True)
2. Kim doesn’t want to help people who want to start their own work. (Answer: False)
3. Kim talks about how she made her bakery good. (Answer: True)
4. Kim says the pumpkin was very unimportant for her bakery to do well. (Answer: False)
5. She sold a lot of crumbles at her bakery. (Answer: True)
6. A small orange fruit called a pumpkin helped her work but also made things easy. (Answer: False)
7. Kim’s story shows that you have to keep trying and change when you need to so you can do well at your work. (Answer: True)
8. She had some easy times when she was working. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧