The Reading / Listening - Saying 'Please' - Level 3

Technology is now helping to teach children to be polite. Amazon will soon start selling a children's version of its virtual assistant Alexa. The new digital assistant will be called "FreeTime". The child-friendly device will include what Amazon calls a "Magic Word" feature. Of course, there are two magic words: "Please," and: "Thank you." The smart software is programmed to encourage children to say "please" and "thank you" when they ask the device questions. An example of this is if a child asks FreeTime: "What is the capital city of Australia?" Alexa will answer and end its response with: "Thank you for asking so nicely." Amazon hopes this will encourage children to copy the device and be more polite.

Amazon says the new Magic Word feature is to answer the many customers who said technology was teaching children to be rude. Many smart devices simply give out sentences without using any polite words. Parents said children copy this way of speaking and forget to say "please" or "thank you". Children also got used to asking smart devices questions without being polite. Not everyone is happy with this new technology. Josh Golin, executive director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said: "AI devices...interfere with the face-to-face interactions and child-driven play that children need to grow." He believes parents should spend more time with children and teach them politeness.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Saying 'Please' - Level 0,  Saying 'Please' - Level 1   or  Saying 'Please' - Level 2

Sources
  • https://slate.com/technology/2018/04/amazon-announces-a-kid-friendly-alexa-freetime-and-echo-dot-kids-edition.html
  • https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2018/04/25/amazon-echo-dot-kids-alexa-thanks-them-saying-please/547911002/
  • http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43897516


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. SAYING PLEASE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about saying please. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       technology / polite / virtual / assistant / child-friendly / device / capital city / copy /
       feature / answer / sentences / questions / happy / interaction / campaign / parents
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. TECHNOLOGY: Students A strongly believe has a big part to play in teaching children politeness; Students B strongly believe it doesn't.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. POLITE: How polite should you be to these people and why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How polite?

Why?

Your parents

 

 

Your teachers

 

 

Your best friend

 

 

A religious leader

 

 

A country's president

 

 

A shop assistant

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. MAGIC: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "magic". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. RUDE: Rank these with your partner. Put the rudest things at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • shoes on seats
  • cutting in line
  • ignoring someone
  • using phone at dinner table
  • not saying 'thank you'
  • spitting
  • bad language
  • talking loudly

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. polite a. Using computer software to make something look or feel like the real world.
      2. version b. Give support, confidence, or hope to someone.
      3. virtual c. Showing good manners and speaking nicely to other people.
      4. assistant d. A different kind of the same thing (perhaps older, newer, bigger, better, faster, etc.).
      5. device e. Helper.
      6. encourage f. A thing made or changed for a particular purpose, especially a piece of mechanical or electronic equipment.
      7. capital city g. The main and most important city in a country.

    Paragraph 2

      8. feature h. Get in the way of things or people to stop something happening.
      9. rude i. A special part or function of something.
      10. smart j. An organized plan of action to achieve a goal.
      11. campaign k. Person-to-person talking or acting together.
      12. interfere l. Showing bad behaviour, actions or words towards other people.
      13. face-to-face m. Conversations or meetings between people.
      14. interactions n. A machine or computer programmed so that it can act independently.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Amazon is opening up an online politeness school for children.     T / F
  2. Software called Magic Word will encourage children to say "please".     T / F
  3. The software doesn't know what the capital city of Australia is.   T / F
  4. The software will use polite words when answering children's questions.   T / F
  5. Amazon customers said technology taught children to be rude.     T / F
  6. Parents said many devices talked to children without polite words.     T / F
  7. Everyone is happy with Amazon's new software.     T / F
  8. A campaign group said children should spend more time with technology. T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. polite
  2. assistant
  3. of course
  4. example
  5. copy
  6. rude
  7. happy
  8. interfere
  9. face-to-face
  10. believes
  1. naturally
  2. thinks
  3. mimic
  4. pleased
  5. illustration
  6. get in the way
  7. well-mannered
  8. direct
  9. helper
  10. impolite

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. Technology is now helping to teach
  2. virtual
  3. the capital
  4. Thank you for
  5. encourage children
  6. the new Magic Word
  7. teaching children to be
  8. Parents said children copy this way
  9. interfere with the face-to-face
  10. parents should spend more
  1. asking so nicely
  2. time with children
  3. to copy the device
  4. rude
  5. of speaking
  6. children to be polite
  7. interactions
  8. city of Australia
  9. assistant
  10. feature

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
friendly
polite
copy
software
virtual
response
course
example

Technology is now helping to teach children to be (1) ____________. Amazon will soon start selling a children's version of its (2) ____________ assistant Alexa. The new digital assistant will be called "FreeTime". The child-(3) ____________ device will include what Amazon calls a "Magic Word" feature. Of (4) ____________, there are two magic words: "Please," and: "Thank you." The smart (5) ____________ is programmed to encourage children to say "please" and "thank you" when they ask the device questions. An (6) ____________ of this is if a child asks FreeTime: "What is the capital city of Australia?" Alexa will answer and end its (7) ____________ with: "Thank you for asking so nicely." Amazon hopes this will encourage children to (8) ____________ the device and be more polite.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
rude
spend
forget
director
answer
face-to-face
simply
questions

Amazon says the new Magic Word feature is to (9) ____________ the many customers who said technology was teaching children to be (10) ____________. Many smart devices (11) ____________ give out sentences without using any polite words. Parents said children copy this way of speaking and (12) ____________ to say "please" or "thank you". Children also got used to asking smart devices (13) ____________ without being polite. Not everyone is happy with this new technology. Josh Golin, executive (14) ____________ of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said: "AI devices...interfere with the (15) ____________ interactions and child-driven play that children need to grow." He believes parents should (16) ____________ more time with children and teach them politeness.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  Technology is now helping to teach children ______
     a.  to be politely
     b.  to be politeness
     c.  to be polite
     d.  to be poll light
2)  The smart software is programmed to encourage children ______
     a.  to speak "please"
     b.  to say "please"
     c.  to shout "please"
     d.  to talk "please"
3)  An example of this is if a child asks FreeTime: "What is the ______ Australia?"
     a.  capitol city of
     b.  cap-it-all city of
     c.  capital city of
     d.  capitalist city of
4)  Alexa will answer and end its response with: "Thank you for ______."
     a.  asking so nice
     b.  asking so nicety
     c.  asking so nicely
     d.  asking so nicer
5)  Amazon hopes this will encourage children to ______
     a.  cope the device
     b.  copier the device
     c.  copy the device
     d.  copied the device

6)  Parents said children copy this way of speaking and forget ______
     a.  to say "pleased"
     b.  to say "please"
     c.  to say "pleases"
     d.  to say "pleasure"
7)  Children also got used to asking smart devices questions without ______
     a.  been polite
     b.  be in polite
     c.  being in polite
     d.  being polite
8)  Not everyone is happy with this ______
     a.  news technology
     b.  new technology
     c.  newt technology
     d.  knew technology
9)  AI devices...interfere with the face-to-face interactions and ______
     a.  child-driven play
     b.  child-ridden play
     c.  child-piloted play
     d.  child-flown play
10)  He believes parents should spend more time with children and teach ______
     a.  these politeness
     b.  then politeness
     c.  there politeness
     d.  them politeness

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Technology is now helping to teach children (1) ___________________. Amazon will soon start selling a children's (2) ___________________ virtual assistant Alexa. The new digital assistant will be called "FreeTime". The child-friendly device (3) ___________________ Amazon calls a "Magic Word" feature. Of course, there are two magic words: "Please," and: "Thank you." The smart software is programmed (4) ___________________ to say "please" and "thank you" when they ask the device questions. An example of this is if a child asks FreeTime: "What is (5) ___________________ of Australia?" Alexa will answer and end its response with: "Thank you for asking so nicely." Amazon hopes (6) ___________________ children to copy the device and be more polite.

Amazon says the new Magic Word (7) ___________________ answer the many customers who said technology was teaching children to be rude. Many smart (8) ___________________ out sentences without using any polite words. Parents said children (9) ___________________ of speaking and forget to say "please" or "thank you". Children also got used to (10) ___________________ questions without being polite. Not everyone is happy with this new technology. Josh Golin, executive director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said: "AI devices... (11) ___________________ face-to-face interactions and child-driven play that children need to grow." He believes parents should (12) ___________________ with children and teach them politeness.

Comprehension questions

  1. What is technology trying to teach children to do?
  2. What is the new digital assistant called?
  3. What is the feature of the software called?
  4. What country might the device ask what the capital is?
  5. What is the adverb the software will use in its responses to children?
  6. What did many customers think the device was teaching children to be?
  7. What do many smart devices not use when talking to children?
  8. What is the job of Josh Golin?
  9. What kind of interactions did Josh Golin think technology interferes with?
  10. Who did Josh Golin say should spend more time with children?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What is technology trying to teach children to do?
a) code
b) be polite
c) use computers
d) speak another language
2) What is the new digital assistant called?
a) Thanks Time
b) Polite Time
c) Speak Time
d) FreeTime
3) What is the feature of the software called?
a) Magic Word
b) Thank Please
c) Please Time
d) Thank Magic
4) What country might the device ask what the capital is?
a) Albania
b) Argentina
c) Australia
d) Austria
5) What is the adverb the software will use in its responses to children?
a) loudly
b) nicely
c) softly
d) quietly

6) What did many customers think the device was teaching children to be?
a) rude
b) clever
c) smart
d) annoying
7) What do many smart devices not use when talking to children?
a) volume
b) slang
c) polite words
d) spelling
8) What is the job of Josh Golin?
a) executive director
b) chief coder
c) spelling expert
d) English teacher
9) What kind of interactions did Josh Golin think technology interferes with?
a) face-to-face interactions
b) financial interactions
c) e-mail interactions
d) social interactions
10) Who did Josh Golin say should spend more time with children?
a) technologists
b) coders
c) teachers
d) parents

Role play

Role  A – Spitting
You think spitting is the rudest thing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so rude. Also, tell the others which is the least rude of these (and why): using bad language, putting your shoes on seats or not saying 'thank you'.

Role  B – Using Bad Language
You think using bad language is the rudest thing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so rude. Also, tell the others which is the least rude of these (and why): spitting, putting your shoes on seats or not saying 'thank you'.

Role  C – Shoes on Seats
You think putting your shoes on seats is the rudest thing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so rude. Also, tell the others which is the least rude of these (and why): using bad language, spitting or not saying 'thank you'.

Role  D –Not Saying 'Thank You'
You think not saying 'thank you' is the rudest thing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so rude. Also, tell the others which is the least rude of these (and why):  using bad language, putting your shoes on seats or spitting.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'please'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'thank you'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • feature
    • simply
    • used
    • happy
    • face
    • spend
    • helping
    • include
    • course
    • software
    • capital
    • copy

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Amazon Alexa to reward kids who say 'Please'

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'please'?
    3. How important is politeness?
    4. Who should teach us about politeness?
    5. What do you think of virtual assistants like Alexa?
    6. How important are the words "please" and "thank you"?
    7. Are some cultures more polite than others?
    8. Do you always say "please" and "thank you"?
    9. How important is face-to-face interaction?
    10. Who is the rudest person you've ever met?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'thank you'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How polite are you?
    5. Should technology teach children to be polite?
    6. Why are people rude?
    7. What do you find rude about tourists visiting your country?
    8. Do you ever say things to rude people?
    9. What do you think of a virtual assistant teaching children manners
    10. What questions would you like to ask Amazon's boss?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    Technology is now helping to teach children to be (1) ____. Amazon will soon start selling a children's version of its (2) ____ assistant Alexa. The new digital assistant will be called "FreeTime". The child-friendly device will include (3) ____ Amazon calls a "Magic Word" feature. Of course, there are two magic words: "Please," and: "Thank you." The (4) ____ software is programmed to encourage children to say "please" and "thank you" when they ask the device questions. An example of this is if a child asks FreeTime: "What is the capital (5) ____ of Australia?" Alexa will answer and end its response with: "Thank you for asking so nicely." Amazon hopes this will encourage children to (6) ____ the device and be more polite.

    Amazon says the new Magic Word feature is to answer the (7) ____ customers who said technology was teaching children to be (8) ____. Many smart devices simply give out sentences without using any polite words. Parents said children copy this way of speaking and forget to say "please" or "thank you". Children also got (9) ____ to asking smart devices questions without being polite. Not everyone is happy (10) ____ this new technology. Josh Golin, executive director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said: "AI devices...interfere with the face-to-face interactions and child-(11) ____ play that children need to grow." He believes parents should spend more time with children and teach (12) ____ politeness.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     polite     (b)     politeness     (c)     politely     (d)     politer    
    2. (a)     virtue     (b)     virtuoso     (c)     virtual     (d)     virtually    
    3. (a)     that     (b)     what     (c)     while     (d)     how    
    4. (a)     part     (b)     start     (c)     mart     (d)     smart    
    5. (a)     city     (b)     village     (c)     region     (d)     town    
    6. (a)     cope     (b)     copy     (c)     cop     (d)     cops    
    7. (a)     must     (b)     much     (c)     more     (d)     many    
    8. (a)     dude     (b)     rude     (c)     nude     (d)     cued    
    9. (a)     uses     (b)     use     (c)     used     (d)     using    
    10. (a)     whilst     (b)     while     (c)     what     (d)     with    
    11. (a)     sudden     (b)     trodden     (c)     ridden     (d)     driven    
    12. (a)     these     (b)     them     (c)     those     (d)     this

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. teach children to be oetipl
    2. start selling a children's orvsien
    3. The new digital taitssnsa
    4. eceuarong children to say "please"
    5. An eplmexa of this
    6. answer the many etumorcss

    Paragraph 2

    1. the new Magic Word eurafet
    2. simply give out snceetsen
    3. reotgf to say "please"
    4. executive drtrecoi
    5. AI devices fetrirene
    6. face-to-face intanctrsoei

    Put the text back together

    (...)  questions. An example of this is if a child asks FreeTime: "What is the capital city of
    (...)  grow." He believes parents should spend more time with children and teach them politeness.
    (...)  with the face-to-face interactions and child-driven play that children need to
    (...)  director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said: "AI devices...interfere
    (...)  Amazon says the new Magic Word feature is to answer the many customers who said technology was teaching
    (...)  children to be rude. Many smart devices simply give out sentences without using any polite
    (...)  and: "Thank you." The smart software is programmed to encourage children to say "please" and "thank you" when they ask the device
    (...)  Australia?" Alexa will answer and end its response with: "Thank you for asking so
    (  1  ) Technology is now helping to teach children to be polite. Amazon will soon start selling a children's
    (...)  include what Amazon calls a "Magic Word" feature. Of course, there are two magic words: "Please,"
    (...)  nicely." Amazon hopes this will encourage children to copy the device and be more polite.
    (...)  used to asking smart devices questions without being polite. Not everyone is happy with this new technology. Josh Golin, executive
    (...)  version of its virtual assistant Alexa. The new digital assistant will be called "FreeTime".  The child-friendly device will
    (...)  words. Parents said children copy this way of speaking and forget to say "please" or "thank you". Children also got

    Put the words in the right order

    1. children   now   be   helping   is   to   polite   .   Technology
    2. a   virtual   version   of   children's   assistant   .   Selling   its
    3. magic   course,   two   are   there   words   .   Of
    4. capital   is   the   Australia?   city   What   of
    5. children   copy   device   .   This   to   the   encourage   will
    6. teaching   to   be   children   Technology   rude   .   was
    7. smart   devices   out   Many   give   sentences   .   simply
    8. this   with   happy   new   Not   technology   .   is   everyone
    9. AI   face-to-face   interactions   .   interfere   devices   with
    10. with   more   Parents   time   spend   children   .   should

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Technology is now / known helping to teach children to be polite. Amazon will sooner / soon start selling a children's version of its virtually / virtual assistant Alexa. The new digital assistance / assistant will be called "FreeTime".  The child-friendly device will include what / that Amazon calls a "Magic Word" feature. Of course, there are two magic words: "Please," and: "Thank you." The smarmy / smart software is programmed to encourage children to say "please" and "thank you" when they ask the crevice / device questions. An example of this is if a child asks FreeTime: "What is the capital city / town of Australia?" Alexa will answer and end its respire / response with: "Thank you for asking so nicely." Amazon hopes this will encourage children to copy / cope the device and be more polite.

    Amazon says the new Magic Word feature is to question / answer the many customers who said technology was teaching children to be crude / rude. Many smart devices simply give in / out sentences without using any polite words / wordy. Parents said children copy this way of speak / speaking and forget to say "please" or "thank you". Children also got used to asking smart devices questions without been / being polite. Not everyone is happy with this new technology / technological. Josh Golin, executive director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said: "AI devices...interfere with the face-to-face interactions and child-ridden / child-driven play that children need to grow." He believes / beliefs parents should spend more time with children and teach these / them politeness.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    T_c h n_l_g y  _s   n_w   h_l p_n g   t_  t__ c h   c h_l d r_n   t_  b_  p_l_t_.   A m_z_n   w_l l   s__ n   s t_r t   s_l l_n g  _  c h_l d r_n ' s   v_r s__ n  _f  _t s   v_r t__ l  _s s_s t_n t   A l_x_.   T h_  n_w   d_g_t_l  _s s_s t_n t   w_l l   b_  c_l l_d   " F r__ T_m_" .     T h_  c h_l d - f r__ n d l y   d_v_c_  w_l l  _n c l_d_  w h_t   A m_z_n   c_l l s  _  " M_g_c   W_r d "   f__ t_r_.   O f   c__ r s_,   t h_r_ _r_  t w_  m_g_c   w_r d s :   " P l__ s_, "  _n d :   " T h_n k   y__ . "   T h_  s m_r t   s_f t w_r_ _s   p r_g r_m m_d   t_ _n c__ r_g_  c h_l d r_n   t_  s_y   " p l__ s_"  _n d   " t h_n k   y__ "   w h_n   t h_y  _s k   t h_  d_v_c_  q__ s t__ n s .   A n  _x_m p l_ _f   t h_s  _s  _f  _  c h_l d  _s k s   F r__ T_m_:   " W h_t  _s   t h_  c_p_t_l   c_t y  _f   A_s t r_l__ ? "   A l_x_  w_l l  _n s w_r  _n d  _n d  _t s   r_s p_n s_  w_t h :   " T h_n k   y__   f_r  _s k_n g   s_  n_c_l y . "   A m_z_n   h_p_s   t h_s   w_l l  _n c__ r_g_  c h_l d r_n   t_  c_p y   t h_  d_v_c_ _n d   b_  m_r_  p_l_t_.

    A m_z_n   s_y s   t h_  n_w   M_g_c   W_r d   f__ t_r_ _s   t_ _n s w_r   t h_  m_n y   c_s t_m_r s   w h_  s__ d   t_c h n_l_g y   w_s   t__ c h_n g   c h_l d r_n   t_  b_  r_d_.   M_n y   s m_r t   d_v_c_s   s_m p l y   g_v_ __ t   s_n t_n c_s   w_t h__ t  _s_n g  _n y   p_l_t_  w_r d s .   P_r_n t s   s__ d   c h_l d r_n   c_p y   t h_s   w_y  _f   s p__ k_n g  _n d   f_r g_t   t_  s_y   " p l__ s_"  _r   " t h_n k   y__ " .   C h_l d r_n  _l s_  g_t  _s_d   t_ _s k_n g   s m_r t   d_v_c_s   q__ s t__ n s   w_t h__ t   b__ n g   p_l_t_.   N_t  _v_r y_n_ _s   h_p p y   w_t h   t h_s   n_w   t_c h n_l_g y .   J_s h   G_l_n ,  _x_c_t_v_  d_r_c t_r  _f   C_m p__ g n   f_r  _  C_m m_r c__ l - F r__   C h_l d h__ d ,   s__ d :   " A I   d_v_c_s . . ._n t_r f_r_  w_t h   t h_  f_c_- t_- f_c_ _n t_r_c t__ n s  _n d   c h_l d - d r_v_n   p l_y   t h_t   c h_l d r_n   n__ d   t_  g r_w . "   H_  b_l__ v_s   p_r_n t s   s h__ l d   s p_n d   m_r_  t_m_  w_t h   c h_l d r_n  _n d   t__ c h   t h_m   p_l_t_n_s s .

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    technology is now helping to teach children to be polite amazon will soon start selling a childrens version of its virtual assistant alexa the new digital assistant will be called freetime  the childfriendly device will include what amazon calls a magic word feature of course there are two magic words please and thank you the smart software is programmed to encourage children to say please and thank you when they ask the device questions an example of this is if a child asks freetime what is the capital city of australia alexa will answer and end its response with thank you for asking so nicely amazon hopes this will encourage children to copy the device and be more polite

    amazon says the new magic word feature is to answer the many customers who said technology was teaching children to be rude many smart devices simply give out sentences without using any polite words parents said children copy this way of speaking and forget to say please or thank you children also got used to asking smart devices questions without being polite not everyone is happy with this new technology josh golin executive director of campaign for a commercialfree childhood said ai devicesinterfere with the facetoface interactions and childdriven play that children need to grow he believes parents should spend more time with children and teach them politeness.

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Technologyisnowhelpingtoteachchildrentobepolite.Amazonwillsoon
    startsellingachildren'sversionofitsvirtualassistantAlexa.Thenewdigi
    talassistantwillbecalled"FreeTime".Thechild-friendlydevicewillinclu
    dewhatAmazoncallsa"MagicWord"feature.Ofcourse,therearetwoma
    gicwords:"Please,"and:"Thankyou."Thesmartsoftwareisprogramm
    edtoencouragechildrentosay"please"and"thankyou"whentheyaskth
    edevicequestions.AnexampleofthisisifachildasksFreeTime:"Whatist
    hecapitalcityofAustralia?"Alexawillanswerandenditsresponsewith:"
    Thankyouforaskingsonicely."Amazonhopesthiswillencouragechildre
    ntocopythedeviceandbemorepolite.AmazonsaysthenewMagicWordf
    eatureistoanswerthemanycustomerswhosaidtechnologywasteachin
    gchildrentoberude.Manysmartdevicessimplygiveoutsentenceswith
    outusinganypolitewords.Parentssaidchildrencopythiswayofspeakin
    gandforgettosay"please"or"thankyou".Childrenalsogotusedtoaskin
    gsmartdevicesquestionswithoutbeingpolite.Noteveryoneishappywi
    ththisnewtechnology.JoshGolin,executivedirectorofCampaignforaC
    ommercial-FreeChildhood,said:"AIdevices...interferewiththeface-
    to-faceinteractionsandchild-drivenplaythatchildrenneedtogrow."H
    ebelievesparentsshouldspendmoretimewithchildrenandteachthem
    politeness.

    Free writing

    Write about saying please for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    It is great that technology is teaching children to be polite. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. SAYING PLEASE: Make a poster about saying please. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. TECHNOLOGY: Write a magazine article about technology playing a bigger role in helping children to be polite. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on saying please. Ask him/her three questions about being polite. Give him/her three of your ideas on how we can teach children to be more polite. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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