A man named Jared Leto did something no one else has ever done before. He climbed up a very, very tall building called the Empire State Building. He wore an orange outfit and used a rope to help him climb. Jared is in a music group and did this to tell people about his group’s new shows. He saw his mom when he was climbing, and that made him happy.

Jared is also in movies and has won a big prize for acting. He saw the sun come up over the city when he was on the building. His music group has not played big shows for five years, but they will start again soon. Jared’s climb made many people excited to see his group play music. Climbing the building was a way to tell people about the music in a fun way.

Original news source: Jared Leto climbs Empire State Building (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Prepare slips of paper with words from the article (e.g., climb, building, rope, music, sunrise, acting). Divide the class into two teams. Students take turns drawing a slip and acting out the word without speaking. Their team has to guess the word within a time limit. This activity helps students with vocabulary recall and non-verbal communication skills.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Students pair up and role-play as a news reporter and Jared Leto. The reporter asks questions about the climb, the reason behind it, and Jared’s feelings during the event. The student playing Jared Leto answers based on the information from the article. This helps students practice question forms and responses in a real-life context.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word “climb” on the board. Ask students to say or write words that they associate with “climb” (e.g., rope, tall, building). Each student can add one word to the list, and they can discuss how each word relates to the article. This helps with vocabulary expansion and encourages making connections between words and concepts.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Have students create a catchy newspaper headline for Jared Leto’s accomplishment. They can work individually or in pairs. Encourage them to use adjectives and strong action verbs. Share the headlines with the class and discuss which ones capture the event’s excitement. This activity focuses on creativity and language economy.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Pose a simple question to the class: “Do you think climbing a building is a good way to promote music?” Students can express their opinion by standing on different sides of the room: one side for “yes,” and the other for “no.” Select a few students from each side to explain their choice. This encourages students to practice expressing opinions and using language to justify their thoughts.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What did Jared Leto climb?
2. What color was Jared’s outfit?
3. Why did Jared climb the tall building?
4. Who did Jared see while he was climbing that made him happy?
5. What else does Jared do besides being in a music group?
6. What did Jared see when he was on top of the building?
7. How long has it been since Jared’s music group played big shows?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man (1)______ (2)______ Leto did something no one else has ever done before. He climbed up a very, very tall building called the Empire State Building. He wore an orange outfit and used a (3)______ to help him climb. Jared is in a (4)______ group and did this to tell people about his group’s new shows. He saw his mom when he was climbing, and that made him happy.

Jared is also in movies and has won a big prize for acting. He saw the sun come up over the (5)______ when he was on the building. His music group has not played big (6)______ for five years, but they will start again soon. Jared’s climb made many people excited to see his group (7)______ music. (8)______ the building was a way to tell people about the music in a fun way.
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Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is climbing?
2. Have you ever climbed something? What was it?
3. Do you like to watch the sun come up? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you saw your mom while doing something hard?
5. Do you like to wear orange clothes? Why or why not?
6. What is a prize? Have you ever won a prize?
7. Do you like to listen to music? What kind of music do you like?
8. Have you ever seen a very, very tall building? What did it look like?
9. Do you think climbing a tall building is fun or scary? Why?
10. What is a rope? Why do you think Jared used a rope to climb?
11. Can you think of a fun way to tell people about something you can do?
12. Would you like to see Jared’s music group play? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. climbed
2. building
3. orange
4. rope
5. prize
6. sun
7. group
8. music

Meanings:
(a) Sounds that make you want to dance or sing
(b) A very tall structure with many floors
(c) A long, strong string used for climbing
(d) Went up something high
(e) The big, hot thing in the sky during the day
(f) Something you get when you do something great
(g) A fruit colour that is like a mix of red and yellow
(h) A bunch of people who do things together
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why did Jared Leto climb the Empire State Building?
(a) To see his mom
(b) To win a big prize for acting
(c) To tell people about his music group’s new shows
(d) To watch the sunset

2. What did Jared Leto wear when he climbed the building?
(a) A blue outfit
(b) A green outfit
(c) An orange outfit
(d) A red outfit

3. What did Jared Leto use to help him climb the building?
(a) A ladder
(b) A rope
(c) A skateboard
(d) A bike

4. What did Jared Leto see when he was on the building?
(a) The moon come up over the city
(b) The stars in the sky
(c) The clouds in the sky
(d) The sun come up over the city

5. How long has it been since Jared Leto’s music group played big shows?
(a) Ten years
(b) Five years
(c) One year
(d) Two years

6. Why did Jared Leto climb the building in an orange outfit?
(a) To tell people about his music in a fun way
(b) To win a big prize for acting
(c) To see the sunset
(d) To visit his mom

7. What made Jared Leto happy when he was climbing the building?
(a) Seeing his mom
(b) Seeing the sun come up over the city
(c) Wearing an orange outfit
(d) Using a rope to climb

8. What did Jared Leto’s climb make many people excited for?
(a) To see the sunset
(b) To win a big prize for acting
(c) To visit the Empire State Building
(d) To see his music group play

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Jared is not in a music group and did not want to tell people about their new shows.
2. He wore an orange outfit and used a rope to help him climb.
3. Jared Leto did not climb a very tall building called the Empire State Building.
4. He saw the sun come up over the city while he was on the building.
5. Jared is not in movies and has not won a big prize for acting.
6. His music group has played big shows for five years, but they will not start again soon.
7. Jared’s climb made many people excited to see his group play music.
8. He saw his mom while he was climbing and it made him happy.
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 did Jared Leto climb?
2. What color was Jared’s outfit?
3. Why did Jared climb the tall building?
4. Who did Jared see while he was climbing?
5. What did Jared do after not playing big shows for five years?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did Jared Leto climb?
Jared Leto climbed the Empire State Building.

2. What color was Jared’s outfit?
Jared’s outfit was orange.

3. Why did Jared climb the tall building?
Jared climbed the tall building to tell people about his music group’s new shows.

4. Who did Jared see while he was climbing that made him happy?
Jared saw his mom while he was climbing and that made him happy.

5. What else does Jared do besides being in a music group?
Jared is also in movies and has won a big prize for acting.

6. What did Jared see when he was on top of the building?
Jared saw the sun come up over the city when he was on top of the building.

7. How long has it been since Jared’s music group played big shows?
It has been five years since Jared’s music group played big shows.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) named
(2) Jared
(3) rope
(4) music
(5) city
(6) shows
(7) play
(8) Climbing
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. climbed
Answer: (d) Went up something high

2. building
Answer: (b) A very tall structure with many floors

3. orange
Answer: (g) A fruit colour that is like a mix of red and yellow

4. rope
Answer: (c) A long, strong string used for climbing

5. prize
Answer: (f) Something you get when you do something great

6. sun
Answer: (e) The big, hot thing in the sky during the day

7. group
Answer: (h) A bunch of people who do things together

8. music
Answer: (a) Sounds that make you want to dance or sing
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why did Jared Leto climb the Empire State Building?
Answer: (c) To tell people about his music group’s new shows

2. What did Jared Leto wear when he climbed the building?
Answer: (c) An orange outfit

3. What did Jared Leto use to help him climb the building?
Answer: (b) A rope

4. What did Jared Leto see when he was on the building?
Answer: (d) The sun come up over the city

5. How long has it been since Jared Leto’s music group played big shows?
Answer: (b) Five years

6. Why did Jared Leto climb the building in an orange outfit?
Answer: (a) To tell people about his music in a fun way

7. What made Jared Leto happy when he was climbing the building?
Answer: (a) Seeing his mom

8. What did Jared Leto’s climb make many people excited for?
Answer: (d) To see his music group play
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Jared is not in a music group and did not want to tell people about their new shows. (Answer: False)
2. He wore an orange outfit and used a rope to help him climb. (Answer: True)
3. Jared Leto did not climb a very tall building called the Empire State Building. (Answer: False)
4. He saw the sun come up over the city while he was on the building. (Answer: True)
5. Jared is not in movies and has not won a big prize for acting. (Answer: False)
6. His music group has played big shows for five years, but they will not start again soon. (Answer: False)
7. Jared’s climb made many people excited to see his group play music. (Answer: True)
8. He saw his mom while he was climbing and it made him happy. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧