The UK’s money situation got a little worse from July to September. Before, people thought it didn’t change, but now they say it went down a bit. This is the second time in a row it didn’t get better, and that could mean the UK is in a tough spot called a recession. Some smart people who study money think the UK might not do well with money for a while.

When a country’s money situation isn’t good, it can be hard for people. They might lose their jobs, and it’s tough for young people to find work. There’s going to be a big vote in the UK soon, and how to make the money situation better will be important for the people running for office. The UK’s money boss says things will get better, but another important person says the leader isn’t doing a good job with the country’s money.

Some new information shows that when it costs more to borrow money, people don’t buy as much stuff. This can slow down how fast the country’s money situation gets better. The people who keep track of the UK’s money found out that some businesses, like movie making and phone companies, didn’t do as well as they thought. Small companies, especially ones that give food, drinks, and computer services, also didn’t do very well.

Original news source: UK at risk of recession after economy shrinks (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Give each group a copy of the article.
3. Ask the groups to read the article and summarize the main points.
4. After a few minutes, have each group share their summary with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Write the following question on the board: “Do you think the UK is in a recession? Why or why not?”
2. Have students pair up and discuss their opinions on the topic.
3. After a few minutes, ask each pair to share their opinions with the class.
4. Encourage students to ask follow-up questions or challenge each other’s opinions.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write a list of key vocabulary words from the article on the board.
2. Divide the class into teams.
3. Give each team a whiteboard or a piece of paper and a marker.
4. Call out one of the vocabulary words and have each team draw a picture to represent the word.
5. The first team to correctly guess the word gets a point.
6. Repeat with different vocabulary words.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs.
2. Give each pair a copy of the article.
3. Set a timer for 2 minutes.
4. In those 2 minutes, one student from each pair has to summarize the article to their partner as quickly as possible.
5. After the 2 minutes are up, have the pairs switch roles and summarize again.
6. Repeat this process with a different pair each time.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into small groups.
2. Assign each group a topic related to the article, such as “The impact of a recession on businesses” or “The role of the UK’s money boss.”
3. Ask each group to brainstorm a list of pros and cons for their assigned topic.
4. After a few minutes, have each group share their pros and cons with the class.
5. Encourage students to discuss and debate the different points of view.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the UK’s money situation from July to September?
2. What does it mean if a country is in a recession?
3. What can happen to people when a country’s money situation isn’t good?
4. Why is the vote in the UK important?
5. What does the UK’s money boss say about the situation?
6. Why might people not buy as much stuff when it costs more to borrow money?
7. Which types of businesses didn’t do well in the UK recently?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

The UK’s money situation got a little (1)______ from July to (2)______. Before, people thought it didn’t change, but now they say it went down a bit. This is the second time in a row it didn’t get better, and that could mean the UK is in a tough spot called a recession. Some smart people who (3)______ money think the UK might not do well with (4)______ for a while.

When a country’s money situation isn’t good, it can be hard for people. They might lose their jobs, and it’s (5)______ for young people to find work. There’s going to be a big vote in the UK soon, and how to (6)______ the money situation better will be important for the (7)______ running for office. The UK’s money boss says things will get better, but another important person says the leader isn’t doing a good job with the country’s money.

Some new information (8)______ that when it costs more to borrow money, people don’t buy as much (9)______. This can slow down how fast the country’s money situation gets better. The people who keep track of the UK’s money found out that some businesses, like movie making and (10)______ companies, didn’t do as well as they thought. (11)______ companies, especially ones that (12)______ food, drinks, and computer services, also didn’t do very well.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a recession? Why is it tough for people when a country is in a recession?
2. How would you feel if you lost your job? Why?
3. Do you think it’s important for the people running for office to know how to make the money situation better? Why or why not?
4. What do you think the UK’s money boss means when he says things will get better? Do you believe him? Why or why not?
5. How do you think it affects the country’s money situation when people don’t buy as much stuff? Why?
6. Do you think it’s fair for the leader to be blamed for the country’s money situation? Why or why not?
7. What are some businesses that didn’t do well in the UK recently? Why do you think they struggled?
8. How do you think small companies that give food, drinks, and computer services were affected by the bad money situation? Why?
9. What would you do if you were in charge of improving the UK’s money situation? Why?
10. Do you think it’s important for young people to find work? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the big vote in the UK will help improve the money situation? Why?
12. Do you like studying money and how it affects countries? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. recession
2. economists
3. situation
4. challenging
5. employment
6. significant
7. borrow
8. decrease
9. industries
10. tracking
11. services
12. beverages

Meanings:
(A) Having a job or work
(B) Something that is hard to do or deal with
(C) Different types of businesses or work areas
(D) To get something from someone with the plan to give it back later
(E) A time when there is less money in a country and people can’t find jobs easily
(F) Drinks like water, soda, or juice
(G) People who know a lot about money and jobs
(H) What is happening or the condition of something
(I) Keeping a close watch on something or following it
(J) Very important or big
(K) Things that are done to help or work for someone
(L) When something becomes less or goes down
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to the UK’s money situation from July to September?
(a) It stayed the same
(b) It got a lot better
(c) It improved a bit
(d) It got a little worse

2. What does it mean if a country is in a recession?
(a) The country’s money situation is very good
(b) The country’s money situation is the same
(c) The country’s money situation is not good
(d) The country’s money situation is getting better

3. What can happen to people when a country’s money situation isn’t good?
(a) They might get a raise
(b) They might go on vacation
(c) They might win the lottery
(d) They might lose their jobs

4. What will be important for the people running for office in the UK soon?
(a) How to make the weather better
(b) How to make the money situation better
(c) How to make the food situation better
(d) How to make the transportation situation better

5. What does the UK’s money boss say about the future?
(a) Things will get better
(b) Things will stay the same
(c) Things will get worse
(d) Things will never change

6. What happens when it costs more to borrow money?
(a) People buy more stuff
(b) People don’t buy as much stuff
(c) People save more money
(d) People give away their money

7. Which businesses didn’t do well in the UK?
(a) Restaurants and cafes
(b) Clothing stores and toy shops
(c) Movie making and phone companies
(d) Banks and insurance companies

8. Which companies did not do very well in the UK?
(a) Small companies that give food, drinks, and computer services
(b) Big companies that sell cars and houses
(c) Medium-sized companies that sell clothes and shoes
(d) All companies in the UK did well

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The upcoming vote in the UK will focus on improving the money situation.
2. The UK’s money boss believes things will get better, but another important person disagrees.
3. New information shows that when borrowing money becomes more expensive, people buy less stuff, which slows down the country’s money situation improvement.
4. This is the second consecutive time the UK’s money situation didn’t improve.
5. No experts believe the UK might be in a recession.
6. The UK’s money situation improved from July to September.
7. When a country’s money situation is bad, it can be easy for people, and they might keep their jobs.
8. Young people may easily find work during a tough money situation.
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 UK’s money situation from July to September?
2. What does it mean if the UK is in a recession?
3. Why is it hard for people when a country’s money situation isn’t good?
4. Why is the vote in the UK important for the money situation?
5. What kind of businesses didn’t do well in the UK?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the UK’s money situation from July to September?
The UK’s money situation got worse from July to September.

2. What does it mean if a country is in a recession?
If a country is in a recession, it means that the economy is not doing well and people might lose their jobs.

3. What can happen to people when a country’s money situation isn’t good?
When a country’s money situation isn’t good, people can lose their jobs and it can be hard for young people to find work.

4. Why is the vote in the UK important?
The vote in the UK is important because the leaders who are elected will have to make decisions on how to make the money situation better for the country.

5. What does the UK’s money boss say about the situation?
The UK’s money boss says that things will get better.

6. Why might people not buy as much stuff when it costs more to borrow money?
When it costs more to borrow money, people might not buy as much stuff because they have less money to spend.

7. Which types of businesses didn’t do well in the UK recently?
Some businesses that didn’t do well in the UK recently are movie making, phone companies, and small companies that give food, drinks, and computer services.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) worse
(2) September
(3) study
(4) money
(5) tough
(6) make
(7) people
(8) shows
(9) stuff
(10) phone
(11) Small
(12) give
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. recession
Answer: (E) A time when there is less money in a country and people can’t find jobs easily

2. economists
Answer: (G) People who know a lot about money and jobs

3. situation
Answer: (H) What is happening or the condition of something

4. challenging
Answer: (B) Something that is hard to do or deal with

5. employment
Answer: (A) Having a job or work

6. significant
Answer: (J) Very important or big

7. borrow
Answer: (D) To get something from someone with the plan to give it back later

8. decrease
Answer: (L) When something becomes less or goes down

9. industries
Answer: (C) Different types of businesses or work areas

10. tracking
Answer: (I) Keeping a close watch on something or following it

11. services
Answer: (K) Things that are done to help or work for someone

12. beverages
Answer: (F) Drinks like water, soda, or juice
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened to the UK’s money situation from July to September?
Answer: (d) It got a little worse

2. What does it mean if a country is in a recession?
Answer: (c) The country’s money situation is not good

3. What can happen to people when a country’s money situation isn’t good?
Answer: (d) They might lose their jobs

4. What will be important for the people running for office in the UK soon?
Answer: (b) How to make the money situation better

5. What does the UK’s money boss say about the future?
Answer: (a) Things will get better

6. What happens when it costs more to borrow money?
Answer: (b) People don’t buy as much stuff

7. Which businesses didn’t do well in the UK?
Answer: (c) Movie making and phone companies

8. Which companies did not do very well in the UK?
Answer: (a) Small companies that give food, drinks, and computer services
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The upcoming vote in the UK will focus on improving the money situation. (Answer: True)
2. The UK’s money boss believes things will get better, but another important person disagrees. (Answer: True)
3. New information shows that when borrowing money becomes more expensive, people buy less stuff, which slows down the country’s money situation improvement. (Answer: True)
4. This is the second consecutive time the UK’s money situation didn’t improve. (Answer: True)
5. No experts believe the UK might be in a recession. (Answer: False)
6. The UK’s money situation improved from July to September. (Answer: False)
7. When a country’s money situation is bad, it can be easy for people, and they might keep their jobs. (Answer: False)
8. Young people may easily find work during a tough money situation. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧