Chuck Grassley, a 90-year-old Republican Senator, is being called the ultimate matchmaker on social media. He recently went to the wedding of two of his employees, Jennifer Heins and Nick Davis, who met while working for him. This is the 20th couple who got married after meeting in Grassley’s office. Grassley shared a picture of himself and his wife with the newlyweds at their wedding in Iowa. People in Washington, DC joked about wanting to work for Grassley to find love.
Some people congratulated the couple and gave them advice, but others think that Grassley has been in Congress for too long because so many of his staff members get married. Grassley is the oldest member of Congress and has been in office for 48 years. He got re-elected for his eighth term last year. Some people on social media used this as a chance to criticize Grassley for being in Congress for so long.
Grassley hasn’t said anything about his matchmaking skills, but he has competition from Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer. Schumer also has a lot of staff members who got married after meeting in his office. In 2016, Schumer’s spokesperson said that there were 13 “Schumer marriages” and 14 “Schumer babies.” People who used to work for Schumer say that he encourages his staff to find love.
In summary, Chuck Grassley, a Republican Senator, is getting attention on social media for being a matchmaker. 20 couples have gotten married after meeting in his office. Some people think it’s great, while others think Grassley has been in Congress for too long. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is also known for having staff members who get married.
Original news source: Chuck Grassley crowned ‘matchmaker’ after 20 staff marriages (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a few minutes to read the article. Then, ask each group to summarize the article in 2-3 sentences. Afterward, have each group share their summary with the class.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Ask the class to form two lines facing each other. Assign one side as “Agree” and the other side as “Disagree”. Read out statements related to the article, such as “Matchmaking in the workplace is a good thing.” Have students move to the appropriate side of the room based on their opinion. Give a few students from each side a chance to explain their reasoning.
– Sketch It
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Assign one person in each pair to be the “artist” and the other to be the “describer”. The describer must describe the main idea of the article and the artist must draw it based on the description. After a few minutes, have the pairs switch roles. Finally, have each pair share their drawings and descriptions with the class.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary words from the article on separate slips of paper and place them in a bag or hat. Divide the class into teams. One player from each team will take turns drawing a slip of paper and attempting to draw the word without using any letters or numbers. The team members must guess the word based on the drawing within a certain time limit. The team that guesses the most words correctly wins.
– Headline Creation
Instructions: Provide the class with the main idea of the article. In small groups, ask the students to come up with catchy headlines to summarize the article. After a few minutes, have each group share their headlines with the class. Encourage creativity and concise summarization.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Who recently went to the wedding of two of his employees?
2. How many couples have gotten married after meeting in Chuck Grassley’s office?
3. How long has Chuck Grassley been in Congress?
4. Who is the oldest member of Congress?
5. Who is Chuck Grassley’s competition as a matchmaker?
6. How many “Schumer marriages” were there according to Schumer’s spokesperson?
7. What do some people think about Grassley’s matchmaking skills?
8. What do some people say Schumer encourages his staff to do?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Chuck Grassley, a 90-year-old Republican Senator, is being (1)______ the ultimate matchmaker on social media. He recently went to the wedding of two of his employees, Jennifer Heins and Nick Davis, who met while working for him. This is the 20th couple who got married after (2)______ in Grassley’s (3)______. Grassley shared a picture of himself and his wife with the newlyweds at their wedding in Iowa. (4)______ in Washington, DC joked about wanting to work for Grassley to find love.
Some (5)______ congratulated the couple and gave them advice, but others think that Grassley has been in Congress for too long because so many of his (6)______ members get married. Grassley is the oldest member of Congress and has been in office for 48 years. He got re-elected for his (7)______ term last year. Some people on (8)______ media used this as a (9)______ to (10)______ Grassley for being in Congress for so long.
Grassley hasn’t said anything about his matchmaking skills, but he has competition from (11)______ Senator Chuck Schumer. Schumer also has a lot of staff members who got married after meeting in his office. In 2016, Schumer’s spokesperson said that there were 13 “”Schumer marriages”” and 14 “”Schumer (12)______.”” People who used to work for Schumer say that he encourages his staff to find love.
In summary, Chuck Grassley, a Republican Senator, is getting attention on social media for being a (13)______. 20 couples have gotten (14)______ after meeting in his office. Some people think it’s great, while others think Grassley has been in Congress for too long. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is also (15)______ for having staff (16)______ who get married.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is a matchmaker?
2. How would you feel if you met your future spouse at work?
3. Do you think it’s a good idea for employers to encourage their staff to find love? Why or why not?
4. Have you ever heard of someone getting married after meeting at work?
5. Do you think it’s important for politicians to have long careers in Congress? Why or why not?
6. How do you think Chuck Grassley feels about being called a matchmaker?
7. Why do you think people on social media criticized Grassley for being in Congress for so long?
8. Do you think it’s fair to judge someone’s abilities based on the relationships formed by their staff members? Why or why not?
9. What do you think about the idea of finding love at work?
10. Do you think it’s common for people to meet their future spouses at work? Why or why not?
11. How do you think Grassley and Schumer feel about their staff members getting married after meeting in their offices?
12. Why do you think Grassley and Schumer’s matchmaking skills are getting attention on social media?
13. Would you like to work for a boss who encourages staff members to find love? Why or why not?
14. What advice would you give to someone who wants to find love at work?
15. Do you think it’s important for politicians to have a personal connection with their staff members? Why or why not?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. Republican
2. Senator
3. matchmaker
4. social media
5. married
6. office
7. attention
8. staff
Meanings:
(a) A place where people work
(b) Websites and apps where people connect online
(c) The people who work for someone in an organization
(d) A member of a political party in the US
(e) Joined in matrimony
(f) Someone who helps people find love
(g) People are looking at and talking about
(h) A person who makes laws in the government
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Why is Chuck Grassley getting attention on social media?
(a) He recently got re-elected for his eighth term in Congress.
(b) He has successfully matched 20 couples who got married after meeting in his office.
(c) He is the oldest member of Congress.
(d) He shared a picture of himself and his wife at a wedding in Iowa.
2. How long has Chuck Grassley been in Congress?
(a) 20 years
(b) 8 years
(c) 48 years
(d) 90 years
3. What did some people criticize Chuck Grassley for?
(a) Being a matchmaker
(b) Attending weddings of his employees
(c) Sharing pictures on social media
(d) Being in Congress for too long
4. Who is Chuck Schumer?
(a) A Republican Senator
(b) A Democratic Senator
(c) A matchmaker
(d) Chuck Grassley’s spouse
5. What did Chuck Schumer’s spokesperson say about “”Schumer marriages””?
(a) There were 13 of them
(b) There were 20 of them
(c) There were 48 of them
(d) There were 90 of them
6. What do some people say about Chuck Schumer?
(a) He encourages his staff to find love
(b) He is the oldest member of Congress
(c) He has been in office for 48 years
(d) He recently got re-elected for his eighth term
7. What did Chuck Grassley share on social media?
(a) A picture of himself and his wife at a wedding in Iowa
(b) A picture of himself and his wife at a wedding in Washington, DC
(c) A picture of himself and his wife with a newlywed couple
(d) A picture of himself and his wife with Chuck Schumer
8. What did people in Washington, DC joke about?
(a) Wanting to work for Chuck Schumer to find love
(b) Wanting to work for Chuck Grassley to criticize him
(c) Wanting to work for Chuck Schumer to criticize him
(d) Wanting to work for Chuck Grassley to find love
True or False Questions:
1. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is not known for having staff members who get married.
2. Grassley recently skipped the wedding of two of his employees who met while working for him.
3. Grassley shared a picture of himself and his wife with the newlyweds at their wedding in Iowa.
4. Chuck Grassley, a 90-year-old Republican Senator, is being praised on social media for being a matchmaker.
5. Grassley has been in Congress for 48 years but is not the oldest member.
6. Some people praised Grassley for being in Congress for so long, using the marriages as an example.
7. Some people in Washington, DC joked about wanting to work for Grassley to find love.
8. This is the 20th couple who got married after meeting in Grassley’s office.
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. Who is Chuck Grassley and why is he getting attention on social media?
2. How many couples have gotten married after meeting in Grassley’s office?
3. How do some people feel about Grassley’s matchmaking skills?
4. Who is Chuck Schumer and what is his connection to Grassley?
5. What is the general opinion about Grassley and Schumer’s matchmaking efforts?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. Who recently went to the wedding of two of his employees?
Chuck Grassley, a Republican Senator, recently went to the wedding of two of his employees.
2. How many couples have gotten married after meeting in Chuck Grassley’s office?
Twenty couples have gotten married after meeting in Chuck Grassley’s office.
3. How long has Chuck Grassley been in Congress?
Chuck Grassley has been in Congress for 48 years.
4. Who is the oldest member of Congress?
Chuck Grassley is the oldest member of Congress.
5. Who is Chuck Grassley’s competition as a matchmaker?
Chuck Schumer, a Democratic Senator, is Chuck Grassley’s competition as a matchmaker.
6. How many “Schumer marriages” were there according to Schumer’s spokesperson?
According to Schumer’s spokesperson, there were 13 “Schumer marriages.”
7. What do some people think about Grassley’s matchmaking skills?
Some people think it’s great that Grassley has been able to facilitate so many couples finding love, while others think he has been in Congress for too long.
8. What do some people say Schumer encourages his staff to do?
Some people say that Schumer encourages his staff to find love.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
(1) called
(2) meeting
(3) office
(4) People
(5) people
(6) staff
(7) eighth
(8) social
(9) chance
(10) criticize
(11) Democratic
(12) babies
(13) matchmaker
(14) married
(15) known
(16) members
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. Republican
Answer: (d) A member of a political party in the US
2. Senator
Answer: (h) A person who makes laws in the government
3. matchmaker
Answer: (f) Someone who helps people find love
4. social media
Answer: (b) Websites and apps where people connect online
5. married
Answer: (e) Joined in matrimony
6. office
Answer: (a) A place where people work
7. attention
Answer: (g) People are looking at and talking about
8. staff
Answer: (c) The people who work for someone in an organization
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. Why is Chuck Grassley getting attention on social media?
Answer: (b) He has successfully matched 20 couples who got married after meeting in his office.
2. How long has Chuck Grassley been in Congress?
Answer: (c) 48 years
3. What did some people criticize Chuck Grassley for?
Answer: (d) Being in Congress for too long
4. Who is Chuck Schumer?
Answer: (b) A Democratic Senator
5. What did Chuck Schumer’s spokesperson say about “”Schumer marriages””?
Answer: (a) There were 13 of them
6. What do some people say about Chuck Schumer?
Answer: (a) He encourages his staff to find love
7. What did Chuck Grassley share on social media?
Answer: (c) A picture of himself and his wife with a newlywed couple
8. What did people in Washington, DC joke about?
Answer: (d) Wanting to work for Chuck Grassley to find love
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is not known for having staff members who get married. (Answer: False)
2. Grassley recently skipped the wedding of two of his employees who met while working for him. (Answer: False)
3. Grassley shared a picture of himself and his wife with the newlyweds at their wedding in Iowa. (Answer: True)
4. Chuck Grassley, a 90-year-old Republican Senator, is being praised on social media for being a matchmaker. (Answer: True)
5. Grassley has been in Congress for 48 years but is not the oldest member. (Answer: False)
6. Some people praised Grassley for being in Congress for so long, using the marriages as an example. (Answer: False)
7. Some people in Washington, DC joked about wanting to work for Grassley to find love. (Answer: True)
8. This is the 20th couple who got married after meeting in Grassley’s office. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧
