There is a new kind of mirror called the Magic Mirror. It is like a big phone that you can touch and it shows you a video of a pretend teacher who helps you exercise. You tell the mirror about yourself, and it makes a special exercise plan just for you. The pretend teacher can tell you how to do better. A lot of people are using things like this to exercise, and it is becoming very popular.

Some people still like to exercise with a real person who can teach them. A lady who teaches exercises says it is important to be with people to get healthy and strong. But a fast runner lady thinks that the pretend teacher can also help you feel good when you exercise alone. There are also places where you can go to exercise with other people, and a pretend teacher on a big TV helps everyone. But a doctor who helps fix sore muscles says you should be careful and sometimes ask a real person for help so you don’t hurt yourself.

Original news source: Can artificial intelligence help you get fit? (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of exercise actions or movements written on separate pieces of paper. One student from each group will pick a paper and act out the exercise without speaking while the rest of the group guesses what exercise it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Continue until all the papers have been used. The group with the most points wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: Read the article aloud to the class. Afterward, have the students work in pairs or small groups to write a summary of the article in their own words. Encourage them to use key vocabulary from the article. Then, have each group share their summaries with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Have each pair discuss whether they prefer exercising with a real person or using a pretend teacher like the Magic Mirror. Afterward, have each pair conduct a mini opinion poll by asking other pairs in the class which option they prefer. Finally, have a few pairs share their findings with the whole class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Create a list of key vocabulary words from the article (e.g. mirror, exercise, teacher, video, pretend). Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a whiteboard or a large sheet of paper and a marker. One student from each group will randomly select a vocabulary word and draw a picture representing that word. The rest of the group must guess the word within a certain time limit. Rotate turns until all the words have been used.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Ask the students to individually think about the benefits and drawbacks of using the Magic Mirror for exercising. After a few minutes, have them pair up with a partner to share their thoughts. Then, have a few pairs share their ideas with the whole class. Encourage the students to use the target language and vocabulary from the article in their discussions.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What is the Magic Mirror?
2. How does the Magic Mirror help you exercise?
3. Can the pretend teacher tell you how to do better?
4. Do some people like to exercise with a real person?
5. Why does the lady who teaches exercises think it’s important to be with people?
6. How can the pretend teacher on a big TV help everyone?
7. Why does the doctor say you should ask a real person for help sometimes?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

There is a new kind of mirror called the Magic Mirror. It is like a big phone that you can touch and it shows you a video of a (1)______ teacher who helps you exercise. You tell the mirror about yourself, and it (2)______ a special exercise plan just for you. The pretend (3)______ can tell you how to do better. A lot of people are using things like this to exercise, and it is (4)______ very popular.

Some people still like to exercise with a real person who can teach them. A lady who teaches exercises says it is (5)______ to be with people to get healthy and (6)______. But a fast runner lady thinks that the pretend teacher can also help you feel good when you exercise alone. There are also places where you can go to exercise with (7)______ people, and a pretend teacher on a big TV helps everyone. But a (8)______ who helps fix sore muscles says you should be careful and sometimes ask a real person for help so you don’t hurt yourself.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a Magic Mirror?
2. How would you feel if you could exercise with a pretend teacher?
3. Do you like exercising with other people or by yourself? Why?
4. Do you think a pretend teacher can help you feel good when you exercise alone? Why or why not?
5. What are some places where you can go to exercise with other people?
6. How would you feel if a pretend teacher on a big TV helped you exercise with other people?
7. Do you think it’s important to be with people to get healthy and strong? Why or why not?
8. What does a doctor who helps fix sore muscles say about asking a real person for help?
9. How would you feel if you hurt yourself while exercising?
10. Do you think it’s better to exercise with a real person or a pretend teacher? Why or why not?
11. What are some other ways you can exercise besides using a Magic Mirror?
12. How would you feel if you could create your own exercise plan with a pretend teacher on a Magic Mirror?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. mirror
2. exercise
3. video
4. popular
5. pretend
6. healthy
7. muscles
8. careful
9. alone
10. fix

Meanings:
(A) Make something that is broken work again
(B) Liked by many people
(C) Feeling good and not sick
(D) Something shiny that you can look into to see yourself
(E) Being safe and not getting hurt
(F) The parts of your body that make you strong and let you move
(G) Make-believe or not real
(H) A movie that you can watch on a screen
(I) By yourself with no one else
(J) Moving your body to make it strong
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the new mirror?
(a) Super Mirror
(b) Big Mirror
(c) Talking Mirror
(d) Magic Mirror

2. How does the Magic Mirror help you exercise?
(a) It shows you a video of a pretend teacher
(b) It plays music for you
(c) It tells you jokes
(d) It shows you pictures of animals

3. What does the pretend teacher do?
(a) Gives you food
(b) Plays games with you
(c) Tells you how to do better
(d) Cleans your room

4. Why do some people still like to exercise with a real person?
(a) To get healthy and strong
(b) To watch TV
(c) To eat ice cream
(d) To play video games

5. What does the fast runner lady think about the pretend teacher?
(a) It can make you run faster
(b) It can help you feel good when you exercise alone
(c) It can make you tired
(d) It can make you sad

6. Where can you go to exercise with other people?
(a) Parks
(b) Schools
(c) Libraries
(d) Places

7. What does the doctor say you should do to avoid hurting yourself?
(a) Watch TV
(b) Play video games
(c) Ask a real person for help
(d) Eat ice cream

8. What is becoming very popular?
(a) Watching movies
(b) Using things like the Magic Mirror to exercise
(c) Eating pizza
(d) Sleeping all day

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. There is a new kind of mirror that is like a big phone and shows videos of a pretend teacher.
2. The mirror makes a generic exercise plan just for you when you don’t tell it about yourself.
3. It is unimportant to be careless and never ask a fake person for help so you hurt yourself when exercising.
4. A lady who teaches exercises thinks it is unimportant to be alone to get unhealthy and weak.
5. The pretend teacher can tell you how to do better when you exercise.
6. Some people no longer like to exercise with a real person who can’t teach them.
7. A fast runner lady thinks that the pretend teacher can also help you feel good when you exercise alone.
8. Many people are using things like the Magic Mirror to exercise and it is getting popular.
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 the Magic Mirror?
2. How does the Magic Mirror help you exercise?
3. Do a lot of people use things like the Magic Mirror to exercise?
4. Do some people still like to exercise with a real person?
5. What does a doctor say about exercising with the Magic Mirror?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What is the Magic Mirror?
The Magic Mirror is a special kind of mirror that acts like a big phone and helps you exercise.

2. How does the Magic Mirror help you exercise?
The Magic Mirror shows you a video of a pretend teacher who gives you an exercise plan. You can touch the mirror and it will show you how to exercise.

3. Can the pretend teacher tell you how to do better?
Yes, the pretend teacher can tell you how to do better and improve your exercise.

4. Do some people like to exercise with a real person?
Yes, some people prefer to exercise with a real person who can teach them.

5. Why does the lady who teaches exercises think it’s important to be with people?
The lady who teaches exercises thinks it’s important to be with people because it helps you get healthy and strong. Exercising with others can be more fun and motivating.

6. How can the pretend teacher on a big TV help everyone?
The pretend teacher on a big TV can help everyone by showing them how to exercise and giving them tips. It can also make exercising with others more enjoyable.

7. Why does the doctor say you should ask a real person for help sometimes?
The doctor says you should ask a real person for help sometimes because they can make sure you are doing the exercises correctly and avoid hurting yourself. A real person can also give you personalized advice based on your specific needs.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) pretend
(2) makes
(3) teacher
(4) becoming
(5) important
(6) strong
(7) other
(8) doctor
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. mirror
Answer: (D) Something shiny that you can look into to see yourself

2. exercise
Answer: (J) Moving your body to make it strong

3. video
Answer: (H) A movie that you can watch on a screen

4. popular
Answer: (B) Liked by many people

5. pretend
Answer: (G) Make-believe or not real

6. healthy
Answer: (C) Feeling good and not sick

7. muscles
Answer: (F) The parts of your body that make you strong and let you move

8. careful
Answer: (E) Being safe and not getting hurt

9. alone
Answer: (I) By yourself with no one else

10. fix
Answer: (A) Make something that is broken work again
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the new mirror?
Answer: (d) Magic Mirror

2. How does the Magic Mirror help you exercise?
Answer: (a) It shows you a video of a pretend teacher

3. What does the pretend teacher do?
Answer: (c) Tells you how to do better

4. Why do some people still like to exercise with a real person?
Answer: (a) To get healthy and strong

5. What does the fast runner lady think about the pretend teacher?
Answer: (b) It can help you feel good when you exercise alone

6. Where can you go to exercise with other people?
Answer: (d) Places

7. What does the doctor say you should do to avoid hurting yourself?
Answer: (c) Ask a real person for help

8. What is becoming very popular?
Answer: (b) Using things like the Magic Mirror to exercise
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. There is a new kind of mirror that is like a big phone and shows videos of a pretend teacher. (Answer: True)
2. The mirror makes a generic exercise plan just for you when you don’t tell it about yourself. (Answer: False)
3. It is unimportant to be careless and never ask a fake person for help so you hurt yourself when exercising. (Answer: False)
4. A lady who teaches exercises thinks it is unimportant to be alone to get unhealthy and weak. (Answer: False)
5. The pretend teacher can tell you how to do better when you exercise. (Answer: True)
6. Some people no longer like to exercise with a real person who can’t teach them. (Answer: False)
7. A fast runner lady thinks that the pretend teacher can also help you feel good when you exercise alone. (Answer: True)
8. Many people are using things like the Magic Mirror to exercise and it is getting popular. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧