A small bakery in San Jose, California, had a problem when a big company, Tesla, owned by a man named Elon Musk, canceled a big order. The bakery lost $2,000 because of this. But when the bakery’s owner talked about the problem on the internet, Elon Musk said he would pay the money back. Even though the bakery got so much support from people that they couldn’t make a new big order for Tesla, the owner was still very thankful for everyone’s help.

The lady who owns the bakery, Voahangy Rasetarinera, was very happy and surprised by how kind people were, including Elon Musk. She was thankful for all the support and the money Musk offered to give. But because so many people wanted to buy her bakery’s pies, she couldn’t make enough pies for a new big order from Tesla. The mayor of San Jose also said nice things about how the community helped the bakery and was happy that Musk paid for the pies.

This story shows how talking about problems on the internet can really help small businesses. The bakery got a lot of support and even got more attention because of what happened. It also shows that even very successful people like Elon Musk can make mistakes. But what’s important is how they fix those mistakes.

Original news source: Elon Musk eats humble pie over unpaid bakery bill (BBC)

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Read the article aloud to the students.
2. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
3. Instruct each group to write a summary of the article in their own words, focusing on the main points and key details.
4. Give the groups a few minutes to discuss and write their summaries.
5. Have each group share their summary with the class.
6. Discuss any differences or similarities between the summaries and the main ideas of the article.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write down a list of key vocabulary words from the article on the board.
2. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
3. Give each group a set of blank paper and markers.
4. Instruct each group to choose a word from the list and draw a picture to represent that word.
5. The other groups have to guess the word based on the drawing.
6. After a few rounds, discuss the meanings and definitions of the words as a class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Give each group a list of questions related to the article.
3. Instruct the groups to discuss and share their opinions on each question.
4. After a few minutes, have each group report their opinions to the class.
5. Facilitate a class discussion by asking follow-up questions and encouraging students to explain their opinions.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Instruct each group to make a list of the pros and cons of Elon Musk’s decision to pay back the bakery.
3. Give the groups a few minutes to discuss and write their lists.
4. Have each group share their lists with the class.
5. Facilitate a class discussion by asking follow-up questions and encouraging students to explain their reasoning.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Instruct each group to take turns summarizing the article in one minute or less.
3. Give each group a stopwatch or timer to keep track of the time.
4. After each round, have the groups switch roles and summarize again.
5. Discuss any differences or similarities between the summaries and the main ideas of the article.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the bakery in San Jose, California?
2. Who is the owner of the bakery?
3. How did the bakery lose money?
4. What did the bakery’s owner do when she had a problem?
5. What did Elon Musk offer to do?
6. Why couldn’t the bakery make a new big order for Tesla?
7. What did the mayor of San Jose say about the bakery and Elon Musk?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A small (1)______ in San Jose, California, had a (2)______ when a big company, Tesla, owned by a man named (3)______ Musk, canceled a big order. The bakery lost $2,000 because of this. But when the bakery’s owner talked about the problem on the internet, Elon Musk said he would pay the money back. Even though the bakery got so much support from people that they couldn’t (4)______ a new big (5)______ for Tesla, the owner was still very thankful for everyone’s help.

The lady who owns the bakery, Voahangy Rasetarinera, was very (6)______ and surprised by how kind people were, including Elon Musk. She was thankful for all the support and the money (7)______ offered to give. But because so many people (8)______ to buy her bakery’s pies, she couldn’t make enough pies for a new big order from Tesla. The mayor of San Jose also said nice things about how the (9)______ helped the bakery and was happy that Musk paid for the pies.

This story (10)______ how talking about problems on the (11)______ can really help small businesses. The bakery got a lot of support and even got more attention because of what happened. It also shows that even very (12)______ people like Elon Musk can make mistakes. But what’s important is how they fix those mistakes.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a bakery?
2. How do you think the bakery owner felt when the big order was canceled?
3. How would you feel if you lost $2,000 because of a canceled order?
4. Do you think it was nice of Elon Musk to offer to pay the money back? Why or why not?
5. Why do you think the bakery owner was thankful for everyone’s help?
6. How do you think the bakery owner felt when so many people wanted to buy her pies?
7. Do you like pies? Why or why not?
8. How do you think the mayor of San Jose felt about the community helping the bakery?
9. What do you think the bakery owner learned from this experience?
10. How do you think talking about problems on the internet can help small businesses?
11. Do you think it’s important for successful people to fix their mistakes? Why or why not?
12. Have you ever had a problem that you talked about on the internet? What happened?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. bakery
2. canceled
3. order
4. support
5. thankful
6. pies
7. mayor
8. community
9. attention
10. successful
11. mistakes
12. fix

Meanings:
(A) A group of people who live in the same area
(B) When people notice or talk about something
(C) Help or backing from others
(D) A place where bread and cakes are made or sold
(E) Having achieved a lot, especially by working hard
(F) Stopped something from happening or being done
(G) Feeling happy and grateful because of something nice that happened
(H) To correct something that is wrong
(I) The leader of a city or town
(J) A type of food that is usually round, with a crust and filling
(K) A request to buy something
(L) Things that are done wrong or badly
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where is the small bakery located?
(a) New York City, New York
(b) San Jose, California
(c) Los Angeles, California
(d) Chicago, Illinois

2. Who canceled a big order from the bakery?
(a) Tesla
(b) Voahangy Rasetarinera
(c) The mayor of San Jose
(d) The bakery’s customers

3. How much money did the bakery lose because of the canceled order?
(a) $1,000
(b) $5,000
(c) $2,000
(d) $10,000

4. Who offered to pay the money back to the bakery?
(a) Voahangy Rasetarinera
(b) The mayor of San Jose
(c) Elon Musk
(d) Tesla

5. Why couldn’t the bakery make a new big order for Tesla?
(a) Because they didn’t want to work with Tesla anymore
(b) Because they didn’t have enough money to buy ingredients
(c) Because they didn’t have enough time to make the pies
(d) Because they couldn’t make enough pies

6. Who was thankful for the support and money offered by Elon Musk?
(a) The mayor of San Jose
(b) Tesla
(c) The bakery’s customers
(d) Voahangy Rasetarinera

7. What did the mayor of San Jose say about the community’s help and Musk’s payment?
(a) Negative things
(b) Nice things
(c) Nothing
(d) He didn’t talk about it

8. What does this story show about talking about problems on the internet?
(a) It can really help small businesses
(b) It doesn’t make a difference
(c) It can harm small businesses
(d) It is not important

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The mayor of San Francisco criticized how the community helped the bakery.
2. Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, said he would pay the money back to the bakery.
3. Elon Musk showed that even successful people can make mistakes, but it’s important how they fix them.
4. The bakery couldn’t make a new big order for Tesla because they had too many customers wanting to buy their pies.
5. The bakery owner avoided discussing the problem on the internet.
6. A bakery in San Francisco, California gained $2,000 because a big company placed a big order.
7. Talking about problems on the internet can help small businesses.
8. Few people supported the bakery and the owner was ungrateful for their help.
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 happened to the bakery in San Jose, California?
2. How did the bakery lose money?
3. Who offered to pay the bakery back?
4. Why was the bakery owner thankful?
5. What did the story show about talking about problems on the internet?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the bakery in San Jose, California?
The bakery had a big order canceled by Tesla, which caused them to lose money.

2. Who is the owner of the bakery?
The owner of the bakery is Voahangy Rasetarinera.

3. How did the bakery lose money?
The bakery lost money because Tesla canceled a big order.

4. What did the bakery’s owner do when she had a problem?
The bakery’s owner talked about the problem on the internet.

5. What did Elon Musk offer to do?
Elon Musk offered to pay the money back that the bakery lost.

6. Why couldn’t the bakery make a new big order for Tesla?
The bakery couldn’t make a new big order for Tesla because they had too many people wanting to buy their pies.

7. What did the mayor of San Jose say about the bakery and Elon Musk?
The mayor of San Jose said nice things about how the community helped the bakery and was happy that Musk paid for the pies.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) bakery
(2) problem
(3) Elon
(4) make
(5) order
(6) happy
(7) Musk
(8) wanted
(9) community
(10) shows
(11) internet
(12) successful
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. bakery
Answer: (D) A place where bread and cakes are made or sold

2. canceled
Answer: (F) Stopped something from happening or being done

3. order
Answer: (K) A request to buy something

4. support
Answer: (C) Help or backing from others

5. thankful
Answer: (G) Feeling happy and grateful because of something nice that happened

6. pies
Answer: (J) A type of food that is usually round, with a crust and filling

7. mayor
Answer: (I) The leader of a city or town

8. community
Answer: (A) A group of people who live in the same area

9. attention
Answer: (B) When people notice or talk about something

10. successful
Answer: (E) Having achieved a lot, especially by working hard

11. mistakes
Answer: (L) Things that are done wrong or badly

12. fix
Answer: (H) To correct something that is wrong
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where is the small bakery located?
Answer: (b) San Jose, California

2. Who canceled a big order from the bakery?
Answer: (a) Tesla

3. How much money did the bakery lose because of the canceled order?
Answer: (c) $2,000

4. Who offered to pay the money back to the bakery?
Answer: (c) Elon Musk

5. Why couldn’t the bakery make a new big order for Tesla?
Answer: (d) Because they couldn’t make enough pies

6. Who was thankful for the support and money offered by Elon Musk?
Answer: (d) Voahangy Rasetarinera

7. What did the mayor of San Jose say about the community’s help and Musk’s payment?
Answer: (b) Nice things

8. What does this story show about talking about problems on the internet?
Answer: (a) It can really help small businesses
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The mayor of San Francisco criticized how the community helped the bakery. (Answer: False)
2. Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, said he would pay the money back to the bakery. (Answer: True)
3. Elon Musk showed that even successful people can make mistakes, but it’s important how they fix them. (Answer: True)
4. The bakery couldn’t make a new big order for Tesla because they had too many customers wanting to buy their pies. (Answer: True)
5. The bakery owner avoided discussing the problem on the internet. (Answer: False)
6. A bakery in San Francisco, California gained $2,000 because a big company placed a big order. (Answer: False)
7. Talking about problems on the internet can help small businesses. (Answer: True)
8. Few people supported the bakery and the owner was ungrateful for their help. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧