Japan’s royal family just started using Instagram. Emperor Naruhito, who became emperor five years ago, wants to make the royal family more modern and connect with young people. They decided to use Instagram 15 years after the British royal family did. But, the pictures and stories they are sharing are very serious and about their royal work. They also don’t let people leave comments on their posts.

The royal family in Japan used to only talk to people through old-fashioned ways like TV or newspapers. Now, they are trying Instagram to talk to more people. But, the things they are sharing are not very fun or about their personal lives. They only write in Japanese and keep everything very official. They turned off the comments to avoid any trouble or mean words that could make them look bad.

By using Instagram, the royal family in Japan hopes to seem cool to young people and control what people think about them. Even though their Instagram is a bit boring now, they want to make sure they only share good things. They have always been very careful about how they appear to the public. People in Japan think of the royal family as good examples to follow, and the royal family wants to keep it that way with their new Instagram.

Original news source: Bonsai and bowing: Japan’s royal family join Instagram (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: After reading the article, students will work in pairs or small groups to summarize the main points of the article. They should focus on the key details and use their own words to explain the main ideas. Each group will then share their summary with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Each group will discuss and share their opinions on the following question: “Do you think the royal family in Japan should use Instagram to connect with young people?” After discussing, each group will choose a representative to present their group’s opinion to the class and explain their reasons.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board. Divide the class into teams. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and choose a word from the list. They must then draw a picture to represent the word, while their team members try to guess what it is. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Repeat with new students and words until all words have been drawn.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, students will create catchy headlines for an article about the royal family in Japan starting to use Instagram. They should try to come up with attention-grabbing and creative headlines that would make people want to read the article. Each group will share their headline with the class and explain why they chose it.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Students will work individually or in pairs to make predictions about the future of the royal family’s Instagram use. They should think about how the account might change over time, what kind of content they might start sharing, and how it could affect their relationship with young people. After making their predictions, students will share their ideas with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Why did Emperor Naruhito start using Instagram?
2. How long ago did the British royal family start using Instagram?
3. What kind of pictures and stories does the royal family in Japan share on Instagram?
4. How did the royal family in Japan used to talk to people before Instagram?
5. Why did they turn off the comments on their Instagram posts?
6. What do they hope to achieve by using Instagram?
7. Why do people in Japan think of the royal family as good examples?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Japan’s royal (1)______ just started using Instagram. Emperor Naruhito, who became (2)______ five years ago, wants to make the royal family more modern and connect with young people. They decided to use Instagram 15 years after the British royal family did. But, the (3)______ and stories they are sharing are very serious and about their royal work. They also don’t let people leave (4)______ on their posts.

The royal family in Japan used to only talk to people through old-fashioned ways like TV or newspapers. Now, they are trying Instagram to talk to (5)______ people. But, the (6)______ they are sharing are not very fun or about their (7)______ lives. They only write in Japanese and keep everything very (8)______. They turned off the comments to avoid any trouble or mean words that could (9)______ them look bad.

By using Instagram, the royal family in Japan hopes to seem cool to young people and control what people think about them. Even though their Instagram is a bit boring now, they want to make (10)______ they only share good things. They have always been very (11)______ about how they appear to the public. People in Japan (12)______ of the royal family as good examples to follow, and the royal family wants to keep it that way with their new Instagram.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is Instagram?
2. How do you think young people feel about the royal family using Instagram?
3. Do you think it’s a good idea for the royal family to connect with young people? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you couldn’t leave comments on someone’s Instagram posts? Why?
5. Do you like the idea of the royal family sharing serious pictures and stories on Instagram? Why or why not?
6. How do you think the royal family feels about sharing their personal lives on Instagram?
7. Do you think it’s important for the royal family to only write in Japanese on Instagram? Why or why not?
8. How do you think the royal family feels about turning off comments on their posts?
9. Do you think it’s a good idea for the royal family to control what people think about them? Why or why not?
10. How do you think the royal family wants young people to see them?
11. Do you think the royal family is doing a good job of being good examples to follow? Why or why not?
12. How do you think the royal family’s Instagram could be more interesting?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Instagram
2. emperor
3. modern
4. connect
5. official
6. comments
7. old-fashioned
8. trouble
9. public
10. examples
11. control
12. boring

Meanings:
(A) Related to work or jobs, very serious
(B) A popular app where you can share photos and stories
(C) Messages people leave under your posts on social media
(D) Up-to-date or new
(E) A king in some countries
(F) Problems or difficulties
(G) People or things you should try to be like
(H) To make a relationship or link with someone
(I) To have power over something or manage it
(J) Not modern, like things from a long time ago
(K) All the people who can see or hear something
(L) Not interesting or fun
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who is the emperor of Japan?
(a) Emperor Naruhito
(b) Emperor Akihito
(c) Emperor Hirohito
(d) Emperor Meiji

2. Why did the royal family in Japan start using Instagram?
(a) To share personal stories
(b) To become famous
(c) To sell products
(d) To connect with young people

3. How long ago did the British royal family start using Instagram?
(a) 5 years ago
(b) 10 years ago
(c) 20 years ago
(d) 15 years ago

4. What kind of pictures and stories are the royal family in Japan sharing on Instagram?
(a) Funny and about their personal lives
(b) Serious and about their royal work
(c) Sad and about their hobbies
(d) Exciting and about their vacations

5. Why did the royal family in Japan turn off comments on their Instagram posts?
(a) To make people curious
(b) To avoid mean words or trouble
(c) To get more followers
(d) To show they are important

6. How did the royal family in Japan used to talk to people before Instagram?
(a) Through social media
(b) Through phone calls
(c) Through TV and newspapers
(d) Through letters

7. What language do the royal family in Japan write in on Instagram?
(a) English
(b) Spanish
(c) Japanese
(d) French

8. Why does the royal family in Japan want to control what people think about them on Instagram?
(a) To seem cool to young people
(b) To become famous
(c) To sell products
(d) To make money

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The British royal family started using Snapchat 15 years ago.
2. The royal family turned off comments to encourage interaction and positivity.
3. The royal family in Japan recently joined Instagram to connect with young people.
4. People are not allowed to leave comments on the royal family’s Instagram posts.
5. The Japanese royal family only writes in Japanese on Instagram.
6. The pictures and stories shared by the Japanese royal family are serious and about their royal work.
7. The royal family used to communicate through radio and magazines.
8. Empress Masako wants to make the royal family more traditional.
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. Why did Emperor Naruhito and the royal family in Japan start using Instagram?
2. How long after the British royal family did the Japanese royal family start using Instagram?
3. What kind of pictures and stories are the Japanese royal family sharing on Instagram?
4. Why did the Japanese royal family turn off the comments on their Instagram posts?
5. What does the Japanese royal family hope to achieve by using Instagram?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Emperor Naruhito started using Instagram to make the royal family more modern and connect with young people.
2. The British royal family started using Instagram 15 years ago.
3. The royal family in Japan shares serious pictures and stories about their royal work on Instagram.
4. The royal family in Japan used to talk to people through old-fashioned ways like TV or newspapers.
5. They turned off the comments on their Instagram posts to avoid any trouble or mean words that could make them look bad.
6. The royal family in Japan hopes to seem cool to young people and control what people think about them by using Instagram.
7. People in Japan think of the royal family as good examples because they have always been very careful about how they appear to the public.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) family
(2) emperor
(3) pictures
(4) comments
(5) more
(6) things
(7) personal
(8) official
(9) make
(10) sure
(11) careful
(12) think
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Instagram
Answer: (B) A popular app where you can share photos and stories

2. emperor
Answer: (E) A king in some countries

3. modern
Answer: (D) Up-to-date or new

4. connect
Answer: (H) To make a relationship or link with someone

5. official
Answer: (A) Related to work or jobs, very serious

6. comments
Answer: (C) Messages people leave under your posts on social media

7. old-fashioned
Answer: (J) Not modern, like things from a long time ago

8. trouble
Answer: (F) Problems or difficulties

9. public
Answer: (K) All the people who can see or hear something

10. examples
Answer: (G) People or things you should try to be like

11. control
Answer: (I) To have power over something or manage it

12. boring
Answer: (L) Not interesting or fun
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who is the emperor of Japan?
Answer: (a) Emperor Naruhito

2. Why did the royal family in Japan start using Instagram?
Answer: (d) To connect with young people

3. How long ago did the British royal family start using Instagram?
Answer: (d) 15 years ago

4. What kind of pictures and stories are the royal family in Japan sharing on Instagram?
Answer: (b) Serious and about their royal work

5. Why did the royal family in Japan turn off comments on their Instagram posts?
Answer: (b) To avoid mean words or trouble

6. How did the royal family in Japan used to talk to people before Instagram?
Answer: (c) Through TV and newspapers

7. What language do the royal family in Japan write in on Instagram?
Answer: (c) Japanese

8. Why does the royal family in Japan want to control what people think about them on Instagram?
Answer: (a) To seem cool to young people
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The British royal family started using Snapchat 15 years ago. (Answer: False)
2. The royal family turned off comments to encourage interaction and positivity. (Answer: False)
3. The royal family in Japan recently joined Instagram to connect with young people. (Answer: True)
4. People are not allowed to leave comments on the royal family’s Instagram posts. (Answer: True)
5. The Japanese royal family only writes in Japanese on Instagram. (Answer: True)
6. The pictures and stories shared by the Japanese royal family are serious and about their royal work. (Answer: True)
7. The royal family used to communicate through radio and magazines. (Answer: False)
8. Empress Masako wants to make the royal family more traditional. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧