Two musicians, Chris Roberts and Seth Bye, walked a long way around Wales with their music stuff on their backs. They played music at almost 50 places in 60 days and finished in a town called Chepstow. They want to show that musicians can travel and play music without hurting the earth. They also want to use less stuff when they play.

Chris and Seth walked through many places in Wales and made new music from the sounds they heard. They played music for people who don’t usually get to hear live music and collected money for a charity. They walked even when the weather was very bad, but nice people let them stay in their houses at night.

The musicians started walking because they didn’t want to hurt the earth by driving in cars a lot. After walking so much, they think they will use buses and trains more than walking for their next music shows. Their walking trip showed that traveling in a way that’s good for the earth is important and can help people and the earth.

Original news source: Band walks 870 miles to complete Wales tour (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Students will be divided into pairs. One student will act as a news reporter, and the other will be either Chris Roberts or Seth Bye. The reporter will interview the musician about their journey, focusing on the reasons behind their walk, the challenges they faced, and their future plans regarding eco-friendly travel and performances. After the role-play, students will switch roles.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary from the article on cards (e.g., musicians, travel, charity, weather, walking). Students will take turns drawing the word on the card without speaking or writing any words or numbers, while their teammates try to guess the word. This will help reinforce new vocabulary through visual association.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Pose a question to the class: “Why is it important for people to consider eco-friendly ways of traveling?” Students will first think individually for a few minutes, then pair up with a partner to discuss their thoughts. After that, they will share their ideas with the class. This activity encourages students to use their English to express opinions and ideas related to the article’s theme.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Students will be given a segment of the article (e.g., the musicians walking with their instruments, playing at different venues, staying with locals). Individually, they will draw a sketch to represent this part of the story. Afterwards, they will describe their drawing to a partner, using English to explain the part of the article their sketch represents.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Create a line in the classroom to represent a spectrum of opinions from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Read out statements related to the article, such as “Musicians should travel more by foot to save the environment” or “Music is an effective way to raise awareness about environmental issues.” Students will physically place themselves along the line according to their opinion and then discuss their reasons with the students next to them, practicing the use of persuasive language and justification.

Comprehension Questions:

1. How many musicians walked around Wales?
2. What did Chris Roberts and Seth Bye carry on their backs?
3. How many days did it take them to play music at almost 50 places?
4. Where did Chris and Seth finish their music journey?
5. What did the musicians do with the sounds they heard in Wales?
6. Why did Chris and Seth start walking instead of driving?
7. What will the musicians use more for their next music shows instead of walking?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Two (1)______, Chris Roberts and (2)______ Bye, walked a long way around Wales with their music stuff on their backs. They played music at almost 50 places in 60 days and finished in a town called Chepstow. They (3)______ to show that musicians can travel and play music without hurting the earth. They also want to use (4)______ stuff when they play.

Chris and Seth (5)______ through many places in Wales and made new music from the sounds they (6)______. They played music for people who don’t usually get to hear (7)______ music and collected (8)______ for a charity. They walked even when the (9)______ was very bad, but nice people let them stay in their houses at night.

The musicians started walking because they didn’t want to hurt the earth by driving in cars a lot. After walking so much, they think they will use buses and trains more than walking for their next music shows. Their walking trip (10)______ that (11)______ in a way that’s (12)______ for the earth is important and can help people and the earth.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a musician?
2. Do you like to listen to live music? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if musicians played music in your town?
4. What do you think about walking a long way to go somewhere?
5. Do you think it’s important to take care of the earth? Why?
6. Have you ever done something nice for strangers? What was it?
7. Do you think traveling by bus or train is better for the earth than driving a car? Why?
8. Have you ever helped collect money for charity? What did you do?
9. What is a charity?
10. How would you feel if you had to walk in very bad weather?
11. Do you think musicians can change the world with their music? Why or why not?
12. Would you like to go on a long walk like Chris and Seth? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. musicians
2. charity
3. earth
4. walking
5. buses
6. trains
7. sounds
8. trip

Meanings:
(a) Money given to help others
(b) Vehicles that run on tracks
(c) Noises that you hear
(d) Vehicles that take people places
(e) A journey from one place to another
(f) Our planet
(g) Moving on your feet
(h) People who play music
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. How many places did Chris and Seth play music at during their trip?
(a) Exactly 100
(b) Almost 50
(c) Less than 20
(d) More than 60

2. Where did Chris and Seth finish their trip?
(a) Cardiff
(b) Swansea
(c) Wrexham
(d) Chepstow

3. What did Chris and Seth want to show by walking around Wales with their music stuff?
(a) Musicians can travel and play music without hurting the earth
(b) Musicians should use cars to travel to their shows
(c) Musicians should use a lot of stuff when they play
(d) Musicians should only play music in big cities

4. What did Chris and Seth collect money for during their trip?
(a) Themselves
(b) New music instruments
(c) A charity
(d) A music festival

5. Why did Chris and Seth start walking instead of driving in cars?
(a) They wanted to exercise
(b) They didn’t like driving
(c) They didn’t want to hurt the earth
(d) They wanted to save money

6. What did Chris and Seth do when the weather was very bad during their trip?
(a) They played music indoors
(b) They stayed in people’s houses
(c) They stopped playing music
(d) They kept walking

7. What do Chris and Seth want to use more for their next music shows?
(a) Cars
(b) Buses and trains
(c) Bicycles
(d) Walking

8. What did the musicians’ walking trip show?
(a) Traveling in a way that’s good for the earth is important
(b) Traveling by car is the best option
(c) Walking is not good for the earth
(d) Musicians should use a lot of stuff when they play

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Chris and Seth walked even when the weather was very bad, but kind people let them stay in their houses at night.
2. They played music at less than 50 places in 60 days and finished in a town called Monmouth. They also want to use more things when they play music. After their walking trip, the musicians plan to use cars and bikes more than walking for their next music shows. The musicians made old music from the sounds they heard while walking through a few places in Wales.
3. They played music for people who don’t usually get to hear live music and collected money for a charity.
4. Two musicians, Chris Roberts and Seth Bye, walked around Wales with their music equipment on their backs.
5. Chris and Seth want to show that musicians can travel and play music without harming the earth.
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 Chris Roberts and Seth Bye walk around Wales with their music stuff?
2. How many days did it take them to play music in almost 50 places?
3. What did Chris and Seth want to show by traveling this way?
4. What did the musicians do when they heard new sounds in Wales?
5. What kind of help did Chris and Seth get from people when the weather was bad?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. How many musicians walked around Wales?
Two musicians walked around Wales.

2. What did Chris Roberts and Seth Bye carry on their backs?
They carried their music stuff on their backs.

3. How many days did it take them to play music at almost 50 places?
It took them 60 days.

4. Where did Chris and Seth finish their music journey?
They finished in a town called Chepstow.

5. What did the musicians do with the sounds they heard in Wales?
They made new music from the sounds they heard.

6. Why did Chris and Seth start walking instead of driving?
They started walking to not hurt the earth.

7. What will the musicians use more for their next music shows instead of walking?
They will use buses and trains more.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) musicians
(2) Seth
(3) want
(4) less
(5) walked
(6) heard
(7) live
(8) money
(9) weather
(10) showed
(11) traveling
(12) good
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. musicians
Answer: (h) People who play music

2. charity
Answer: (a) Money given to help others

3. earth
Answer: (f) Our planet

4. walking
Answer: (g) Moving on your feet

5. buses
Answer: (d) Vehicles that take people places

6. trains
Answer: (b) Vehicles that run on tracks

7. sounds
Answer: (c) Noises that you hear

8. trip
Answer: (e) A journey from one place to another
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. How many places did Chris and Seth play music at during their trip?
Answer: (b) Almost 50

2. Where did Chris and Seth finish their trip?
Answer: (d) Chepstow

3. What did Chris and Seth want to show by walking around Wales with their music stuff?
Answer: (a) Musicians can travel and play music without hurting the earth

4. What did Chris and Seth collect money for during their trip?
Answer: (c) A charity

5. Why did Chris and Seth start walking instead of driving in cars?
Answer: (c) They didn’t want to hurt the earth

6. What did Chris and Seth do when the weather was very bad during their trip?
Answer: (d) They kept walking

7. What do Chris and Seth want to use more for their next music shows?
Answer: (b) Buses and trains

8. What did the musicians’ walking trip show?
Answer: (a) Traveling in a way that’s good for the earth is important
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Chris and Seth walked even when the weather was very bad, but kind people let them stay in their houses at night. (Answer: True)
2. They played music at less than 50 places in 60 days and finished in a town called Monmouth. They also want to use more things when they play music. After their walking trip, the musicians plan to use cars and bikes more than walking for their next music shows. The musicians made old music from the sounds they heard while walking through a few places in Wales. (Answer: False)
3. They played music for people who don’t usually get to hear live music and collected money for a charity. (Answer: True)
4. Two musicians, Chris Roberts and Seth Bye, walked around Wales with their music equipment on their backs. (Answer: True)
5. Chris and Seth want to show that musicians can travel and play music without harming the earth. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧