When the coronavirus made people stay home, they played a lot of video games. So, companies that make games got bigger and hired more people. Amazon spent a lot of money to buy other companies that make games. But now, people are not buying as many games because they can go outside again. So, the companies that make games have to spend less money, and that means some people lose their jobs.
Even though some people are losing their jobs, there are still many great games to play this year. There are new adventures and stories in games about heroes and magical lands. But the problem is that making these games costs a lot of money, and the companies are not making enough money back when they sell the games. So they have to find ways to spend less money, and sometimes that means they can't keep all their workers.
Original news source: Amazon latest firm to cut jobs in gaming industry (BBC)
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide students into two teams. Write down key terms from the article (e.g., "video games," "Twitch," "layoff," "coronavirus," "adventure," "magical lands") on individual slips of paper. One student from a team draws the term without speaking or writing words or numbers, while their team tries to guess the word within a time limit. Alternate between teams for each term.
– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Pair up students and assign them the roles of a news reporter and a company spokesperson. The reporter interviews the spokesperson about the layoffs at Amazon Games and the state of the gaming industry using information from the article. Encourage students to use their own words to explain the situation and to ask follow-up questions.
– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Write statements on the board like "Video games are important for entertainment," "Companies should always avoid layoffs," and "The gaming industry is unpredictable." Ask students to stand along a line in the classroom according to how strongly they agree or disagree with each statement. Then, select students from different points on the spectrum to share their opinions and reasons.
– Sketch It
Instructions: Ask students to draw a simple scene or object related to the article on the board or on paper (e.g., a person playing video games, a Twitch stream, an employee receiving the news of a layoff). The rest of the class guesses what aspect of the article the drawing represents. This encourages students to recall and visualize the content they read.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have students discuss in small groups or pairs what they think will happen in the gaming industry based on the trends mentioned in the article. Prompt them with questions like, "Do you think more companies will have layoffs?" or "What kinds of video games do you think will be popular in the future?" After the discussion, each group can share their predictions with the class.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
Amazon Games is letting go of 180 people from their team that makes video games.
They closed it because not enough people were watching their channel.
Over 6,500 people have lost their jobs in the video game industry this year.
Video game companies got bigger because people had to stay home and played a lot of video games.
Amazon spent a lot of money to buy other companies that make video games.
People are not buying as many games now because they can go outside again and do other things.
One problem is that it costs a lot of money to make new games, and the companies are not making enough money back when they sell the games.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Amazon Games is letting go of 180 who work on making video games. This is happening because they want to change how the company works. They also closed their own video channel on Twitch, a website where people others play games, because not many people were watching it. Lots of other places that games are also letting people go, with over 6,500 people losing their jobs this year, even though there are new and fun games coming out. When the coronavirus made people stay home, they a lot of games. So, companies that make games got bigger and hired more people. spent a lot of money to buy other that make games. But now, people are not buying as games because they can go outside again. So, the companies that make games have to less money, and that means some people lose their jobs. Even though some people are losing their jobs, there are still many great games to play this year. There are new adventures and stories in games about heroes and magical lands. But the problem is that these games costs a lot of money, and the companies are not making enough money back when they sell the games. So they to find ways to spend less money, and sometimes that they can't keep all their workers.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is a video game?
2. How would you feel if you lost your job?
3. Do you like to play video games? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it's sad when people lose their jobs? Why?
5. What is Twitch?
6. Have you ever watched someone play video games on the internet? Did you like it?
7. Why do you think people played more video games when they had to stay home?
8. Do you think it's a good idea for companies to spend a lot of money to make video games? Why or why not?
9. What do you like to do outside when you are not playing video games?
10. Do you think it is important for companies to make new games even if they lose money? Why?
11. Can you imagine a magical land? What would it be like?
12. What would you do if you were in charge of a company that makes video games?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
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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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