Jimmy Cooper is a very old nurse who works at a big hospital in Belfast. He is almost 80 years old but he doesn’t want to stop working. He tried to stop working once when he was 69, but he got bored and came back. Jimmy loves his job helping very sick people get better. He started being a nurse after he met some other nurses a long time ago.

People who work with Jimmy think he is very good at his job. A lady named Heather says Jimmy was very patient with her when she was learning to be a nurse. A doctor named Brian says Jimmy is very kind and knows a lot about being a nurse. Even though Jimmy has been a nurse for a very long time, he wants to keep working for three more years. He thinks working with younger people helps him stay young and healthy.

Original news source: Belfast Royal Victoria Hospital: I’m nearly 80 and still nursing (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Prepare a list of key words from the article (e.g., nurse, hospital, patient, kind, healthy). One student from a team comes up to the front and draws a picture on the board representing one of the words, without writing any letters or words. Their team has to guess the word within a set time limit. If they guess correctly, the team gets a point. Then it’s the other team’s turn. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

– Charades
Instructions: Write down phrases or sentences from the article on slips of paper (e.g., “helping sick people,” “working at a big hospital”). Students take turns acting out the phrase without speaking while the rest of the class tries to guess what it is. This will help reinforce their understanding of the article’s content and the meaning of the phrases.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Pair students up and have one student be the news reporter and the other be Jimmy Cooper or one of his colleagues. The news reporter interviews Jimmy or the colleague about his decision to continue working. They can use information from the article to answer questions. After a few minutes, have the pairs switch roles. This activity encourages speaking practice and comprehension of the article’s details.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Ask students to imagine they are newspaper editors and to create a catchy headline for an article about Jimmy Cooper. Encourage them to use adjectives and strong action words to grab the reader’s attention. Examples could be “Super Senior Nurse Continues to Inspire at Belfast Hospital” or “Dedicated Nurse Refuses Retirement to Keep Saving Lives.” This helps students practice word order, adjectives, and summarization skills.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Conduct a class survey asking whether students think it’s a good idea for someone as old as Jimmy to keep working. Provide sentence starters for students to give their opinions, such as “I think Jimmy should keep working because…” or “I think Jimmy should retire because…”. Tally the results on the board and discuss as a class, using the article to support their opinions. This activity helps beginners practice giving opinions and using because to explain reasons.

Comprehension Questions:

1. How old is Jimmy Cooper?
2. Where does Jimmy Cooper work?
3. Did Jimmy Cooper try to stop working before? How old was he then?
4. What does Jimmy Cooper like to do at his job?
5. Who did Jimmy meet that made him want to be a nurse?
6. What does a lady named Heather say about Jimmy?
7. How long does Jimmy want to keep working?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Jimmy Cooper is a very old (1)______ who works at a big hospital in Belfast. He is almost 80 years old but he doesn’t want to (2)______ working. He tried to stop working once when he was 69, but he got (3)______ and came back. (4)______ loves his job helping very sick people get better. He started being a nurse after he met some other nurses a long time ago.

People who work with Jimmy think he is very (5)______ at his job. A lady named Heather says Jimmy was very patient with her when she was learning to be a nurse. A doctor named (6)______ says Jimmy is very kind and knows a lot about being a nurse. Even though Jimmy has been a nurse for a very long (7)______, he wants to (8)______ working for three more years. He thinks working with younger people helps him stay young and healthy.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a nurse?
2. Do you like to help people? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if you were very old like Jimmy?
4. Jimmy got bored when he stopped working. What do you do when you are bored?
5. Do you think it is good to work when you are old? Why?
6. What job do you want to do when you grow up?
7. Jimmy likes to work with young people. Do you like to play with people older or younger than you?
8. Do you think working can make you stay young and healthy? Why or why not?
9. Jimmy has worked for a long time. What thing do you like to do for a long time?
10. Do you think being patient is important? Why?
11. Have you ever met someone very kind? Who was it?
12. Jimmy wants to work for three more years. What do you want to do in three years?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. nurse
2. hospital
3. old
4. job
5. sick
6. patient
7. doctor
8. younger

Meanings:
(a) A person who helps sick people but is not a nurse
(b) A big building where sick people go to get help
(c) Someone who helps sick people feel better
(d) Someone who waits calmly and doesn’t get angry
(e) Very, very old
(f) Not as old as someone else
(g) Not feeling well or healthy
(h) Something you do to help people and get money
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. How old is Jimmy Cooper?
(a) 69 years old
(b) 50 years old
(c) Almost 80 years old
(d) 30 years old

2. Where does Jimmy work?
(a) London
(b) Belfast
(c) Berlin
(d) Tokyo

3. Why did Jimmy come back to work after he tried to stop?
(a) He got sick
(b) He didn’t like his job
(c) He wanted to travel
(d) He got bored

4. What does Jimmy love about his job?
(a) Helping very sick people get better
(b) Working with computers
(c) Playing sports
(d) Cooking

5. How do people who work with Jimmy describe him?
(a) Very patient and kind
(b) Very loud and mean
(c) Very lazy and rude
(d) Very funny and silly

6. How long does Jimmy want to keep working?
(a) One more year
(b) Five more years
(c) Ten more years
(d) Three more years

7. Why does Jimmy think working with younger people helps him?
(a) It helps him make more money
(b) It helps him travel more
(c) It helps him stay young and healthy
(d) It helps him learn new things

8. How did Jimmy start being a nurse?
(a) He went to school for many years
(b) He met some other nurses a long time ago
(c) He saw a movie about nurses
(d) He read a book about nursing

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Jimmy started being a nurse after he met some other nurses a long time ago.
2. People who work with Jimmy think he is very good at his job.
3. Jimmy hates his job helping very sick people get better.
4. A lady named Heather says Jimmy was very impatient with her when she was learning to be a nurse.
5. Jimmy is almost 80 years old but he doesn’t want to stop working.
6. Jimmy Cooper is a very young nurse who works at a small clinic in Belfast.
7. Jimmy tried to stop working once when he was 69, but he got bored and came back.
8. Jimmy wants to retire in three more years because he thinks working with younger people makes him feel old and tired.
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. How old is Jimmy Cooper?
2. What does Jimmy Cooper do at the hospital?
3. Did Jimmy Cooper ever stop working? When?
4. What does Heather say about Jimmy?
5. Why does Jimmy want to keep working?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. How old is Jimmy Cooper?
Jimmy Cooper is almost 80 years old.

2. Where does Jimmy Cooper work?
Jimmy Cooper works at a big hospital in Belfast.

3. Did Jimmy Cooper try to stop working before? How old was he then?
Yes, Jimmy tried to stop working when he was 69 years old.

4. What does Jimmy Cooper like to do at his job?
Jimmy likes to help very sick people get better.

5. Who did Jimmy meet that made him want to be a nurse?
Jimmy wanted to be a nurse after he met some other nurses.

6. What does a lady named Heather say about Jimmy?
Heather says Jimmy was very patient with her when she was learning to be a nurse.

7. How long does Jimmy want to keep working?
Jimmy wants to keep working for three more years.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) nurse
(2) stop
(3) bored
(4) Jimmy
(5) good
(6) Brian
(7) time
(8) keep
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. nurse
Answer: (c) Someone who helps sick people feel better

2. hospital
Answer: (b) A big building where sick people go to get help

3. old
Answer: (e) Very, very old

4. job
Answer: (h) Something you do to help people and get money

5. sick
Answer: (g) Not feeling well or healthy

6. patient
Answer: (d) Someone who waits calmly and doesn’t get angry

7. doctor
Answer: (a) A person who helps sick people but is not a nurse

8. younger
Answer: (f) Not as old as someone else
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. How old is Jimmy Cooper?
Answer: (c) Almost 80 years old

2. Where does Jimmy work?
Answer: (b) Belfast

3. Why did Jimmy come back to work after he tried to stop?
Answer: (d) He got bored

4. What does Jimmy love about his job?
Answer: (a) Helping very sick people get better

5. How do people who work with Jimmy describe him?
Answer: (a) Very patient and kind

6. How long does Jimmy want to keep working?
Answer: (d) Three more years

7. Why does Jimmy think working with younger people helps him?
Answer: (c) It helps him stay young and healthy

8. How did Jimmy start being a nurse?
Answer: (b) He met some other nurses a long time ago
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Jimmy started being a nurse after he met some other nurses a long time ago. (Answer: True)
2. People who work with Jimmy think he is very good at his job. (Answer: True)
3. Jimmy hates his job helping very sick people get better. (Answer: False)
4. A lady named Heather says Jimmy was very impatient with her when she was learning to be a nurse. (Answer: False)
5. Jimmy is almost 80 years old but he doesn’t want to stop working. (Answer: True)
6. Jimmy Cooper is a very young nurse who works at a small clinic in Belfast. (Answer: False)
7. Jimmy tried to stop working once when he was 69, but he got bored and came back. (Answer: True)
8. Jimmy wants to retire in three more years because he thinks working with younger people makes him feel old and tired. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧