Elon Musk, a smart man who makes electric cars, talked about robots and computers that can think like humans. He thinks these robots might take away people’s jobs. He also worries that some robots could be scary and chase people. He talked about this in a big city called London, which is a place where many people are working on these smart robots and computers. Musk uses this smart computer technology in his cars, but he is also scared about how it might change our lives.

A man named Rishi Sunak, who is the leader of a country, also talked with Musk. He knows that people are scared about losing their jobs to robots. He agrees with Musk that we need someone to watch over these super smart computers. They also talked about good things robots can do, like being friends to lonely people or helping kids learn. But, they didn’t make any new plans about how to use or control these smart robots in the UK, the country where Sunak is the leader.

Original news source: Elon Musk tells Rishi Sunak AI will put an end to work (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Split the class into two teams. Have one student from each team come to the board. The teacher whispers a word related to the article (e.g., “robot,” “electric cars,” “jobs,” “technology”) to the two students. Those students then draw the word on the board without writing letters or numbers. The first team to guess the word correctly earns a point. Continue with new words and different students each round.

– Charades
Instructions: Write down phrases from the article on slips of paper (e.g., “smart man,” “electric cars,” “big city,” “lonely people”). Students take turns picking a slip of paper and acting out the phrase without speaking. The rest of the class tries to guess the phrase. If the class guesses correctly, the student acting out the phrase gets a point.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Prepare a list of simple statements about the article’s topic, such as “Robots are useful,” “Robots can be scary,” or “Robots should help with education.” Students walk around the classroom and ask their classmates whether they agree or disagree with each statement. They must also ask why to encourage simple explanations. At the end, discuss the results as a class.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask students to imagine the future with robots and smart computers. Each student writes one sentence about their prediction, such as “In the future, robots will help doctors” or “People will have robot friends.” Then, students share their predictions with a partner and discuss whether they think these predictions are good or bad.

– Mind Map
Instructions: On the board, write the word “Technology” in the center. Ask students to come up and draw branches from the center to words related to technology they remember from the article (e.g., “robots,” “computers,” “jobs,” “education”). Then, from those words, draw smaller branches with additional details or related vocabulary (e.g., from “robots” to “scary” or “helpful”). This activity helps students visualize and recall the connections between words and concepts.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What does Elon Musk make?
2. What can the robots and computers do?
3. Where did Elon Musk talk about robots?
4. What is the name of the man who is a leader of a country?
5. What are people scared about with robots?
6. What are some good things robots can do?
7. Did Elon Musk and the leader make new plans for the robots?
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Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Elon (1)______, a smart man who makes electric cars, talked about robots and computers that can think like (2)______. He thinks these robots might take away people’s jobs. He also worries that some robots could be scary and chase people. He talked about this in a big city called London, which is a place where many people are working on these (3)______ robots and computers. Musk uses this smart computer technology in his (4)______, but he is also scared about how it might change our lives.

A man named Rishi Sunak, who is the leader of a country, also talked with Musk. He knows that people are (5)______ about losing their jobs to robots. He agrees with Musk that we (6)______ someone to watch over these super smart computers. They also (7)______ about good things robots can do, like being friends to lonely people or helping kids (8)______. But, they didn’t make any new plans about how to use or control these smart robots in the UK, the country where Sunak is the leader.
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Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a robot?
2. Do you like robots? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if a robot could do your homework?
4. Do you think robots can be friends? Why?
5. What jobs do you think robots can do?
6. Would you be scared if a robot chased you? Why?
7. Can a computer be smart like a person? What do you think?
8. What do you like to do with a computer?
9. How would you feel if a robot took your mom’s or dad’s job?
10. Do you think we need rules for robots? Why or why not?
11. Would you like to have a robot help you learn?
12. Do you think robots should live in houses like people?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Elon Musk
2. electric cars
3. robots
4. computers
5. jobs
6. scary
7. London
8. technology

Meanings:
(a) A big city where many people work on smart machines
(b) Machines that can think and do things like humans
(c) A very smart man who makes special cars
(d) Machines that can move and do things by themselves
(e) Cars that run on electricity instead of gas
(f) The work that people do to earn money
(g) The special tools and machines that people use
(h) Something that makes you feel afraid
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who is Elon Musk?
(a) A famous singer
(b) A professional soccer player
(c) A chef in a restaurant
(d) A smart man who makes electric cars

2. What did Elon Musk talk about?
(a) Dogs and cats that can talk like humans
(b) Birds and fish that can swim like humans
(c) Robots and computers that can think like humans
(d) Trees and flowers that can grow like humans

3. Where did Elon Musk talk about robots and computers?
(a) Paris
(b) London
(c) Berlin
(d) Tokyo

4. What did Elon Musk say about robots taking away people’s jobs?
(a) He thinks robots might give people more jobs
(b) He thinks robots don’t like jobs
(c) He thinks robots are scared of jobs
(d) He thinks robots might take away people’s jobs

5. What did Elon Musk worry about?
(a) Some robots could be funny and make people laugh
(b) Some robots could be kind and help people
(c) Some robots could be scary and chase people
(d) Some robots could be small and hide from people

6. Who is Rishi Sunak?
(a) The leader of a country
(b) A famous actor
(c) A professional basketball player
(d) A teacher in a school

7. What did Rishi Sunak talk with Elon Musk about?
(a) Watching over super smart computers
(b) Watching over super smart dogs
(c) Watching over super smart cats
(d) Watching over super smart birds

8. Where is Rishi Sunak the leader?
(a) The USA
(b) The UK
(c) Canada
(d) Australia

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Elon Musk doesn’t rely on smart computer technology in his cars.
2. Rishi Sunak agrees with Elon Musk that we need someone to watch over super smart computers.
3. Elon Musk is a smart man who makes cars that run on electricity.
4. Rishi Sunak is the leader of a country.
5. Elon Musk discussed this in a small town called London, where few people are working on smart robots and computers.
6. Elon Musk is excited about how smart computer technology might improve our lives.
7. Elon Musk is worried that some robots could be scary and chase people.
8. Elon Musk believes that robots and computers will create more job opportunities for people.
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. Who makes cars that use batteries?
2. What city did Elon Musk talk in?
3. What are Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak worried about with robots?
4. Can robots do nice things too? What are they?
5. Did Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak decide what to do about the robots?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What does Elon Musk make?
Elon Musk makes electric cars.

2. What can the robots and computers do?
The robots and computers can think like humans.

3. Where did Elon Musk talk about robots?
Elon Musk talked about robots in a big city called London.

4. What is the name of the man who is a leader of a country?
The man’s name is Rishi Sunak.

5. What are people scared about with robots?
People are scared that robots might take their jobs and that some robots could chase them.

6. What are some good things robots can do?
Robots can be friends to lonely people and help kids learn.

7. Did Elon Musk and the leader make new plans for the robots?
No, they did not make any new plans for the robots.
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Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Musk
(2) humans
(3) smart
(4) cars
(5) scared
(6) need
(7) talked
(8) learn
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Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Elon Musk
Answer: (c) A very smart man who makes special cars

2. electric cars
Answer: (e) Cars that run on electricity instead of gas

3. robots
Answer: (d) Machines that can move and do things by themselves

4. computers
Answer: (b) Machines that can think and do things like humans

5. jobs
Answer: (f) The work that people do to earn money

6. scary
Answer: (h) Something that makes you feel afraid

7. London
Answer: (a) A big city where many people work on smart machines

8. technology
Answer: (g) The special tools and machines that people use
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who is Elon Musk?
Answer: (d) A smart man who makes electric cars

2. What did Elon Musk talk about?
Answer: (c) Robots and computers that can think like humans

3. Where did Elon Musk talk about robots and computers?
Answer: (b) London

4. What did Elon Musk say about robots taking away people’s jobs?
Answer: (d) He thinks robots might take away people’s jobs

5. What did Elon Musk worry about?
Answer: (c) Some robots could be scary and chase people

6. Who is Rishi Sunak?
Answer: (a) The leader of a country

7. What did Rishi Sunak talk with Elon Musk about?
Answer: (a) Watching over super smart computers

8. Where is Rishi Sunak the leader?
Answer: (b) The UK
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Elon Musk doesn’t rely on smart computer technology in his cars. (Answer: False)
2. Rishi Sunak agrees with Elon Musk that we need someone to watch over super smart computers. (Answer: True)
3. Elon Musk is a smart man who makes cars that run on electricity. (Answer: True)
4. Rishi Sunak is the leader of a country. (Answer: True)
5. Elon Musk discussed this in a small town called London, where few people are working on smart robots and computers. (Answer: False)
6. Elon Musk is excited about how smart computer technology might improve our lives. (Answer: False)
7. Elon Musk is worried that some robots could be scary and chase people. (Answer: True)
8. Elon Musk believes that robots and computers will create more job opportunities for people. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧