A famous singer, Taylor Swift, is the most important person of the year in a big magazine. She sang in a very big show that many people wanted to see. So many people wanted tickets that a website stopped working. Taylor talked about how singing a lot can make her tired and about liking a football player. She sings very well and many people like her music.

Taylor has a lot of money because of her music. She is the first singer to have so much money just from songs. She put her cute cat on the cover of the magazine. Taylor will sing in more places soon. She will also make an old album new again.

Original news source: Taylor Swift named Time Magazine’s person of the year (BBC)

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Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and act out a word or phrase related to the article using gestures and body movements. The rest of the class will try to guess what they are acting out. The team who guesses correctly gets a point.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Give each student a piece of paper and a pen. Write a word from the article on the board and have the students draw a picture that represents that word. The rest of the class will try to guess what word they are drawing. The student who guesses correctly gets a point.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Each pair will create a headline for the article using the vocabulary from the article. Encourage the students to be creative and come up with catchy headlines. After they have created their headlines, have them share with the rest of the class.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Write a keyword from the article on the board with the vowels missing. Have the students take turns guessing the missing vowels and then guessing the keyword. If a student guesses a correct vowel, write it on the board. If they guess a wrong vowel, draw a body part of the hangman. The student who guesses the keyword correctly gets a point.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have the students think about one thing they learned from the article. Then, have them pair up with a classmate and share what they learned. After they have shared with their partner, ask a few students to share what they learned with the whole class.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is the most important person of the year in a big magazine?
2. What did Taylor Swift do in a very big show that many people wanted to see?
3. Why did a website stop working?
4. What did Taylor talk about being tired from?
5. Who does Taylor like that plays football?
6. Why does Taylor have a lot of money?
7. What did Taylor put on the cover of the magazine?
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Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A (1)______ singer, Taylor Swift, is the most important person of the year in a big magazine. She sang in a very big show that (2)______ people wanted to see. So many people wanted tickets that a (3)______ (4)______ working. Taylor talked about how singing a lot can make her tired and about liking a football player. She sings very well and many (5)______ like her music.

(6)______ has a lot of money because of her music. She is the first singer to have so much money just from songs. She put her cute cat on the (7)______ of the (8)______. Taylor will sing in more places soon. She will also make an old album new again.
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Discussion Questions:

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

1. Who is Taylor Swift?
2. What is a famous singer?
3. How would you feel if you were the most important person of the year?
4. Do you like Taylor Swift’s music? Why or why not?
5. What is a big show?
6. How do you think Taylor feels when she sings a lot?
7. What is a football player?
8. Do you think it’s fun to have a cute cat on a magazine cover? Why or why not?
9. Why do you think Taylor has a lot of money?
10. What does it mean to make an old album new again?
11. Have you ever been to a concert? How did you feel?
12. Do you like to sing? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. tired
2. magazine
3. tickets
4. website
5. money
6. cover
7. places
8. album
9. singer
10. music

Meanings:
(A) Different locations or areas
(B) A book with lots of pictures and stories
(C) A collection of songs that you can listen to
(D) Small pieces of paper that let you go to a show or event
(E) Someone who sings songs
(F) Feeling sleepy and needing to rest
(G) Sounds that you listen to and enjoy
(H) The front of a book or magazine
(I) Something you use to buy things
(J) A place on the internet where you can find information
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Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who is the most important person of the year in a big magazine?
(a) Beyonce
(b) Justin Bieber
(c) Taylor Swift
(d) Rihanna

2. What did Taylor Swift do in a very big show?
(a) She danced
(b) She acted
(c) She sang
(d) She painted

3. Why did a website stop working?
(a) Taylor Swift broke it
(b) The website was old
(c) The internet was slow
(d) Many people wanted tickets

4. What did Taylor talk about being tired from?
(a) Dancing a lot
(b) Playing sports
(c) Eating too much candy
(d) Singing a lot

5. Who did Taylor say she likes?
(a) A movie star
(b) A football player
(c) A singer
(d) A teacher

6. How did Taylor become very rich?
(a) From her music
(b) From acting in movies
(c) From playing sports
(d) From selling clothes

7. What did Taylor put on the cover of the magazine?
(a) Her favorite food
(b) Her cute cat
(c) Her best friend
(d) Her favorite toy

8. What will Taylor do soon?
(a) Sing in more places
(b) Travel to space
(c) Become a teacher
(d) Start a new job

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True or False Questions:

1. Taylor also dislikes a football player.
2. So few people wanted tickets that a website kept operating.
3. Few people like Taylor’s music because she sings very poorly.
4. Taylor gets tired from singing a lot, but she still likes it.
5. Taylor has a lot of money because of her music.
6. Taylor Swift is an infamous singer who is insignificant this year.
7. Many people wanted to see Taylor sing in a big show.
8. Taylor put her cute cat on the cover of a magazine.
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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. Who is the most important person of the year in a big magazine?
2. What did Taylor Swift do in a very big show?
3. Why did the website stop working?
4. What did Taylor talk about being tired from?
5. What did Taylor put on the cover of the magazine?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who is the most important person of the year in a big magazine?
Taylor Swift is the most important person of the year in a big magazine.

2. What did Taylor Swift do in a very big show that many people wanted to see?
Taylor Swift sang in a very big show that many people wanted to see.

3. Why did a website stop working?
A website stopped working because so many people wanted tickets to see Taylor Swift.

4. What did Taylor Swift talk about being tired from?
Taylor Swift talked about being tired from singing a lot.

5. Who does Taylor Swift like that plays football?
Taylor Swift likes a football player.

6. Why does Taylor Swift have a lot of money?
Taylor Swift has a lot of money because of her music.

7. What did Taylor Swift put on the cover of the magazine?
Taylor Swift put her cute cat on the cover of the magazine.
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Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) famous
(2) many
(3) website
(4) stopped
(5) people
(6) Taylor
(7) cover
(8) magazine
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Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. tired
Answer: (F) Feeling sleepy and needing to rest

2. magazine
Answer: (B) A book with lots of pictures and stories

3. tickets
Answer: (D) Small pieces of paper that let you go to a show or event

4. website
Answer: (J) A place on the internet where you can find information

5. money
Answer: (I) Something you use to buy things

6. cover
Answer: (H) The front of a book or magazine

7. places
Answer: (A) Different locations or areas

8. album
Answer: (C) A collection of songs that you can listen to

9. singer
Answer: (E) Someone who sings songs

10. music
Answer: (G) Sounds that you listen to and enjoy
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Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who is the most important person of the year in a big magazine?
Answer: (c) Taylor Swift

2. What did Taylor Swift do in a very big show?
Answer: (c) She sang

3. Why did a website stop working?
Answer: (d) Many people wanted tickets

4. What did Taylor talk about being tired from?
Answer: (d) Singing a lot

5. Who did Taylor say she likes?
Answer: (b) A football player

6. How did Taylor become very rich?
Answer: (a) From her music

7. What did Taylor put on the cover of the magazine?
Answer: (b) Her cute cat

8. What will Taylor do soon?
Answer: (a) Sing in more places
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True or False Answers:

1. Taylor also dislikes a football player. (Answer: False)
2. So few people wanted tickets that a website kept operating. (Answer: False)
3. Few people like Taylor’s music because she sings very poorly. (Answer: False)
4. Taylor gets tired from singing a lot, but she still likes it. (Answer: True)
5. Taylor has a lot of money because of her music. (Answer: True)
6. Taylor Swift is an infamous singer who is insignificant this year. (Answer: False)
7. Many people wanted to see Taylor sing in a big show. (Answer: True)
8. Taylor put her cute cat on the cover of a magazine. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧