A man named Adam Neumann had a company called WeWork. The company wanted to be very big and even go to Mars. It was worth a lot of money, but then it lost a lot of money and had big problems. Adam wanted to be very rich, but his company did not do well.

Adam was very good at talking and made people excited about WeWork. Many people wanted to work there or give money to the company. But WeWork was spending too much money, and it was not making enough. When they tried to tell everyone how the company was doing, people saw that there were big problems.

In the end, WeWork did not have enough money and was not worth as much. But Adam still got a lot of money when he left the company. He got more than one billion dollars. His company’s story shows that you have to be careful with money and not think your company is better than it is.

Original news source: How WeWork’s founder flew too close to the Sun (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Students will work in pairs. Partner A will have one minute to summarize the article to Partner B as if they are telling them the latest news. After one minute, Partner B will have 30 seconds to repeat the summary back to Partner A, ensuring they understood the main points.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word “WeWork” on the board. Students will take turns saying a word that they associate with the article about WeWork. Encourage them to think of words related to business, money, and success or failure. This will help to activate their prior knowledge and introduce them to the vocabulary of the article.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of statements about the article on the board (e.g., “It’s important to manage company finances well,” “Adam Neumann was wrong to take so much money”). Students will walk around the room and poll their classmates to agree or disagree with each statement. They should use English to ask for and record opinions.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Students will work individually or in small groups to create a catchy newspaper headline for the article. Encourage them to think of headlines that capture the essence of the story in a few words. Afterward, have them share their headlines with the class and discuss which ones are the most effective and why.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Discuss the article briefly as a class, ensuring students understand the key points. Then, ask students to write three predictions about what they think will happen next with Adam Neumann or WeWork. They can share their predictions with a partner or the class, and discuss the likelihood of these events happening.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What was the name of the man who had a company?
2. What was the name of the company that Adam Neumann owned?
3. What did the company WeWork want to do?
4. What happened to WeWork after it was worth a lot of money?
5. Why did people want to give money to WeWork?
6. What was one problem that WeWork had with its money?
7. How much money did Adam get when he left the company?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man named Adam Neumann had a (1)______ called WeWork. The company (2)______ to be very big and even go to Mars. It was (3)______ a lot of money, but then it lost a lot of money and had big problems. Adam wanted to be very rich, but his company did not do well.

(4)______ was very good at talking and made (5)______ excited about WeWork. Many people wanted to work there or (6)______ money to the company. But WeWork was spending too much money, and it was not (7)______ (8)______. When they tried to tell everyone how the company was doing, people saw that there were big problems.

In the end, (9)______ did not have enough money and was not worth as much. But Adam still got a lot of (10)______ when he left the company. He got (11)______ than one billion (12)______. His company’s story shows that you have to be careful with money and not think your company is better than it is.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a company?
2. Do you like the idea of working for a big company? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if your company wanted to go to Mars?
4. What do you think it means to be careful with money?
5. Have you ever wanted to be very rich? Why or why not?
6. Do you think it is good to dream big like wanting to go to Mars? Why?
7. What would you do if you got a lot of money from a company?
8. Do you think it is fair for someone to get a lot of money if their company has problems?
9. How would you feel if you worked for a company that lost a lot of money?
10. What is more important for a company, to make money or to spend money? Why?
11. Do you think every company can become very big? Why or why not?
12. Have you or someone you know ever had a problem with a company? What happened?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. company
2. problems
3. money
4. Adam
5. WeWork
6. rich
7. worth
8. billion

Meanings:
(a) The thing that people use to buy things
(b) The thing that WeWork had when it was not doing well
(c) The thing that Adam got when he left
(d) The thing that WeWork wanted to be
(e) The thing that WeWork had when it lost a lot of money
(f) The thing that WeWork had when it spent too much
(g) A person who started WeWork
(h) A very large amount of money
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What was the name of the man who had a company called WeWork?
(a) Adam Neumann
(b) John Smith
(c) Michael Johnson
(d) Emily Brown

2. What did WeWork want to do that was very big?
(a) Build a big house
(b) Travel around the world
(c) Go to Mars
(d) Make a big cake

3. What happened to WeWork’s value?
(a) It gained a lot of money
(b) It stayed the same
(c) It lost a lot of money
(d) It went to Mars

4. What was Adam Neumann good at?
(a) Singing
(b) Talking
(c) Dancing
(d) Drawing

5. Why did WeWork have big problems?
(a) It didn’t spend any money
(b) It made too much money
(c) It didn’t make any money
(d) It spent too much money

6. What did Adam Neumann get when he left the company?
(a) A new car
(b) More than one billion dollars
(c) A big house
(d) A vacation to Mars

7. What does the article say about being careful with money?
(a) You have to be careful with money
(b) You don’t have to be careful with money
(c) Money is not important
(d) Money grows on trees

8. What does the article say about thinking your company is better than it is?
(a) You should always think your company is better than it is
(b) It doesn’t matter what you think about your company
(c) You should go to Mars with your company
(d) You should not think your company is better than it is

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Even though WeWork had enough money and was worth a lot, Adam still got less than one billion dollars when he left the company.
2. WeWork wanted to be a very big company and even go to Mars.
3. Adam Neumann did not want to be very rich, but his company did well.
4. WeWork was worth a lot of money at first, but then it lost a lot of money and had big problems.
5. Adam Neumann started a company called WeWork.
6. WeWork’s problems remained unclear when they tried to hide how the company was doing.
7. WeWork spent too much money and did not make enough.
8. Many people did not want to work at WeWork or give money to the company because Adam was not good at talking and making people excited about it.
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 Adam Neumann’s company, WeWork, want to do?
2. What happened to WeWork after it was worth a lot of money?
3. Was Adam Neumann good at making people interested in his company?
4. Why did WeWork have big problems?
5. Did Adam Neumann get a lot of money when he left WeWork?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What was the name of the man who had a company?
The man’s name was Adam Neumann.

2. What was the name of the company that Adam Neumann owned?
The company was called WeWork.

3. What did the company WeWork want to do?
WeWork wanted to be a very big company and even go to Mars.

4. What happened to WeWork after it was worth a lot of money?
After it was worth a lot of money, WeWork lost a lot of money and had big problems.

5. Why did people want to give money to WeWork?
People wanted to give money to WeWork because Adam was very good at talking and made them excited about the company.

6. What was one problem that WeWork had with its money?
One problem was that WeWork was spending too much money and not making enough.

7. How much money did Adam get when he left the company?
Adam got more than one billion dollars when he left the company.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) company
(2) wanted
(3) worth
(4) Adam
(5) people
(6) give
(7) making
(8) enough
(9) WeWork
(10) money
(11) more
(12) dollars
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. company
Answer: (g) A person who started WeWork

2. problems
Answer: (a) The thing that people use to buy things

3. money
Answer: (h) A very large amount of money

4. Adam
Answer: (e) The thing that WeWork had when it lost a lot of money

5. WeWork
Answer: (d) The thing that WeWork wanted to be

6. rich
Answer: (f) The thing that WeWork had when it spent too much

7. worth
Answer: (b) The thing that WeWork had when it was not doing well

8. billion
Answer: (c) The thing that Adam got when he left
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What was the name of the man who had a company called WeWork?
Answer: (a) Adam Neumann

2. What did WeWork want to do that was very big?
Answer: (c) Go to Mars

3. What happened to WeWork’s value?
Answer: (c) It lost a lot of money

4. What was Adam Neumann good at?
Answer: (b) Talking

5. Why did WeWork have big problems?
Answer: (d) It spent too much money

6. What did Adam Neumann get when he left the company?
Answer: (b) More than one billion dollars

7. What does the article say about being careful with money?
Answer: (a) You have to be careful with money

8. What does the article say about thinking your company is better than it is?
Answer: (d) You should not think your company is better than it is
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Even though WeWork had enough money and was worth a lot, Adam still got less than one billion dollars when he left the company. (Answer: False)
2. WeWork wanted to be a very big company and even go to Mars. (Answer: True)
3. Adam Neumann did not want to be very rich, but his company did well. (Answer: False)
4. WeWork was worth a lot of money at first, but then it lost a lot of money and had big problems. (Answer: True)
5. Adam Neumann started a company called WeWork. (Answer: True)
6. WeWork’s problems remained unclear when they tried to hide how the company was doing. (Answer: False)
7. WeWork spent too much money and did not make enough. (Answer: True)
8. Many people did not want to work at WeWork or give money to the company because Adam was not good at talking and making people excited about it. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧