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)
π§ Listen:
π 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.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The place on the internet makes pretend friends that can talk to you.
Some people send messages to pretend friends because they help them when they are sad or worried.
Kids and young people like to talk to pretend friends because it's easy.
A student made the pretend friend.
The person who made the pretend friend wants to learn more about why kids like these pretend friends.
The place on the internet tells people to talk to real helpers too.
The place on the internet sometimes needs to look at the messages to make sure everyone is okay.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
A place on the internet makes 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 to them because it's easy. The person who made the pretend friend is a student who someone to talk to. Now, he is learning more about why kids like these pretend friends. The place on the internet has lots of people 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 what you say to pretend friends safe, but sometimes they need to look at the messages to sure everyone is okay.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
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
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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