The Reading / Listening - Supermarket Workers - Level 3

Workers in supermarkets in the U.K. can now wear body cameras to protect themselves from attacks by customers. More and more staff are being punched or threatened with knives by angry people. Many sales assistants and checkout staff are afraid to go to work. They are stressed, and they are worried about their safety. The UK's largest supermarket chain Tesco is offering its staff body cameras. A spokesperson said the number of physical assaults on its workers has risen by a third in a year. He added that 200 Tesco employees are victims of serious physical assaults each month. Thousands more are shouted at and verbally abused every day. He asked the UK government to "put an end to this".

Many people say attacks on supermarket staff are a sign that Britain is "broken". There has been a huge rise in anti-social behaviour on Britain's streets. A survey published in the Daily Mail newspaper showed that 72 per cent of voters think Britain is broken. Tesco's CEO Ken Murphy said his company has spent £44 million ($55 million) on trying to keep staff safe. Despite this, there has also been a big rise in shoplifting. These two problems have led to higher prices. Mr Murphy wants stricter laws for people who verbally or physically attack staff. He said: "Crime is a scourge on society, and an insult to shoppers and [shop] workers." He said attacks on staff were "unacceptable" and "heart-breaking".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Supermarket Workers - Level 0,  Supermarket Workers - Level 1   or  Supermarket Workers - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tesco-staff-body-cameras-violence-b2403998.html
  • https://www.nationalworld.com/news/tesco-workers-to-be-offered-body-cameras-after-huge-increase-in-violent-attacks-on-staff-4279396
  • https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12474103/Tesco-workers-offered-body-cameras-following-shocking-increase-number-violent-attacks-employees-200-staff-fall-victim-physical-assaults-month.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. SUPERMARKETS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about supermarkets. 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?
       workers / supermarkets / body cameras / punched / angry people / victims / abused /
       Britain / anti-social behaviour / streets / shoplifting / shoppers / laws / crime / society
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. PRISON: Students A strongly believe anyone who attacks supermarket staff should go to prison for more than 10 years; Students B strongly believe not. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. STORES: What are the good and bad things about working in these stores? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Good Things

Bad Things

Supermarkets

 

 

Book shops

 

 

Bakeries

 

 

Electronics stores

 

 

Clothes shops

 

 

Pet shops

 

 
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. PUNCH: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "punch". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. BEST STORES: Rank these with your partner. Put the best stores at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Supermarkets
  • Book shops
  • Toy shops
  • Clothes shops
  • Bakeries
  • Electronics stores
  • Furniture stores
  • Pharmacies

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. protect a. Treated very badly or violently, especially regularly or repeatedly.
      2. threatened b. Feeling fear or anxiety; frightened.
      3. afraid c. Everything about the body (not the mind).
      4. offering d. Keep safe from harm or injury.
      5. physical e. A person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.
      6. victim f. Told someone they would do something bad against them.
      7. abused g. Saying you would do something (to help) someone.

    Paragraph 2

      8. huge h. Increase.
      9. anti-social i. The action of stealing from stores.
      10. survey j. A person or thing that causes a lot of trouble or suffering.
      11. rise k. Behaviour that is bad and upsets people around you.
      12. shoplifting l. An action that is against the law.
      13. crime m. A questionnaire to find out people's feelings, opinions or experiences.
      14. scourge n. Extremely large; enormous.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. All UK shop workers have to wear body cameras.     T / F
  2. Some customers punch store staff or pull a knife on them.     T / F
  3. Many checkout counter staff are afraid to go to work.     T / F
  4. One UK supermarket chain sees 200 of its staff attacked every month.    T / F
  5. Most voters who took part in a survey think Britain is broken.     T / F
  6. A supermarket chain spent over £55 million on better security.     T / F
  7. Shoplifting is one factor that leads to higher prices.     T / F
  8. A CEO said many staff have had heart attacks after being assaulted.     T / F

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

  1. workers
  2. angry
  3. assaults
  4. risen
  5. end
  6. huge
  7. broken
  8. led to
  9. insult
  10. unacceptable
  1. very big
  2. attacks
  3. caused
  4. furious
  5. slap in the face
  6. employees
  7. increased
  8. unsatisfactory
  9. finish
  10. damaged

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

  1. protect themselves from attacks
  2. threatened
  3. employees are victims of serious
  4. Thousands more are shouted
  5. asked the UK government to put
  6. attacks on supermarket staff are a sign
  7. a huge rise in anti-
  8. These two problems have led
  9. people who verbally or
  10. Crime is a scourge
  1. that Britain is "broken"
  2. at and verbally abused
  3. physically attack staff
  4. social behaviour
  5. physical assaults
  6. by customers
  7. on society
  8. an end to this
  9. to higher prices
  10. with knives

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
third
afraid
attacks
end
number
serious
angry
safety

Workers in supermarkets in the U.K. can now wear body cameras to protect themselves from (1) _____________________ by customers. More and more staff are being punched or threatened with knives by (2) _____________________ people. Many sales assistants and checkout staff are (3) _____________________ to go to work. They are stressed, and they are worried about their (4) _____________________. The UK's largest supermarket chain Tesco is offering its staff body cameras. A spokesperson said the (5) _____________________ of physical assaults on its workers has risen by a (6) _____________________ in a year. He added that 200 Tesco employees are victims of (7) _____________________ physical assaults each month. Thousands more are shouted at and verbally abused every day. He asked the UK government to "put an (8) _____________________ to this".

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
insult
huge
breaking
laws
safe
sign
shoplifting
voters

Many people say attacks on supermarket staff are a (9) _____________________ that Britain is "broken". There has been a (10) _____________________ rise in anti-social behaviour on Britain's streets. A survey published in the Daily Mail newspaper showed that 72 per cent of (11) _____________________ think Britain is broken. Tesco's CEO Ken Murphy said his company has spent £44 million ($55 million) on trying to keep staff (12) _____________________. Despite this, there has also been a big rise in (13) _____________________. These two problems have led to higher prices. Mr Murphy wants stricter (14) _____________________ for people who verbally or physically attack staff. He said: "Crime is a scourge on society, and an (15) _____________________ to shoppers and [shop] workers." He said attacks on staff were "unacceptable" and "heart-(16) _____________________".

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) More and more staff are being punched or threatened with knives ______
     a.  by hungry people
     b.  by angrily people
     c.  by angry people
     d.  by angered people
2)  A spokesperson said the number of physical assaults on its workers has risen ______
     a.  by a three
     b.  by a third
     c.  by a thirds
     d.  by a thirdly
3)  200 Tesco employees are victims of serious physical ______
     a.  assaults each month
     b.  assaults each month
     c.  assaults each month
     d.  assaults each month
4)  Thousands more are shouted at and verbally ______
     a.  abused entire day
     b.  abused whole day
     c.  abused ever day
     d.  abused every day
5)  He asked the UK government to "put an ______"
     a.  ends to this
     b.  end to this
     c.  enter this
     d.  end at this

6)  Many people say attacks on supermarket staff are a sign that ______
     a.  Britain are "broken"
     b.  Britain is "broke"
     c.  Britain is "broken"
     d.  Britain is "bracken"
7)  There has been a huge rise in anti-social behaviour ______
     a.  on Britain's streets
     b.  on Britain's street
     c.  on Britain's sheets
     d.  on Britain's tweets
8)  his company has spent £44 million ($55 million) on trying to ______
     a.  keep staff safely
     b.  keep staff safe
     c.  keep staff safes
     d.  keep staff safety
9)  Mr Murphy wants stricter laws for people who verbally or ______
     a.  physical attack staff
     b.  physically attacks stuff
     c.  physically attack staff
     d.  physically attack stuff
10)  He said attacks on staff were "unacceptable" ______
     a.  and "heart-breaking"
     b.  and "heart-break king"
     c.  and "heart-break in"
     d.  and "heart-broken"

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Workers in supermarkets in the U.K. (1) ____________________ body cameras to protect themselves from attacks by customers. More and more staff (2) ____________________ or threatened with knives by angry people. Many sales assistants and checkout (3) ____________________ to go to work. They are stressed, and they are worried about their safety. The UK's (4) ________________________ Tesco is offering its staff body cameras. A spokesperson said the number of physical assaults on its workers has risen (5) ____________________ in a year. He added that 200 Tesco employees are victims of serious physical assaults each month. Thousands more are shouted at and verbally (6) ____________________. He asked the UK government to "put an end to this".

Many people say attacks on supermarket staff (7) ____________________ that Britain is "broken". There has been a (8) ____________________ anti-social behaviour on Britain's streets. A survey published in the Daily Mail newspaper showed that 72 per cent (9) ____________________ Britain is broken. Tesco's CEO Ken Murphy said his company has spent £44 million ($55 million) (10) ____________________ keep staff safe. Despite this, there has also been a big rise in shoplifting. These two problems have led to higher prices. Mr Murphy (11) ____________________ for people who verbally or physically attack staff. He said: "Crime is a scourge on society, and an (12) ____________________ and [shop] workers." He said attacks on staff were "unacceptable" and "heart-breaking".

Comprehension questions

  1. What do customers threaten supermarket staff with?
  2. What are supermarket staff worried about?
  3. What's the name of the UK's largest supermarket chain?
  4. By how much have assaults on a supermarkets chain's staff increased?
  5. What kind of abuse do supermarket staff get every day?
  6. What do many people say Britain is?
  7. What has a supermarket spent £44 million on?
  8. What does shoplifting lead to?
  9. What does Ken Murphy want to be stricter?
  10. Who did Ken Murphy say crime was an insult to?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  What do customers threaten supermarket staff with?
a) baseball bats
b) knives
c) clubs
d) guns
2)  What are supermarket staff worried about?
a) higher prices
b) keeping their jobs
c) their safety
d) their company
3)  What's the name of the UK's largest supermarket chain?
a) BestCo
b) FreshCo
c) Fresco
d) Tesco
4)  By how much have assaults on a supermarkets chain's staff increased?
a) a quarter
b) a third
c) three-quarters
d) three-fifths
5)  What kind of abuse do supermarket staff get every day?
a) verbal abuse
b) mental abuse
c) shocking abuse
d) domestic abuse

6)  What do many people say Britain is?
a) broken
b) great
c) dangerous
d) safe
7)  What has a supermarket spent £44 million on?
a) new employees
b) advertising
c) new stores
d) keeping staff safe
8)  What does shoplifting lead to?
a) prison
b) bigger crimes
c) higher prices
d) burglaries
9)  What does Ken Murphy want to be stricter?
a) teachers
b) schools
c) the police
d) laws
10)  Who did Ken Murphy say crime was an insult to?
a) police officers
b) shoppers and shop workers
c) the UK
d) supermarket CEOs

Role play

Role  A – Supermarkets
You think supermarkets are the best stores. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their stores. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): toy shops, book stores or bakeries.

Role  B – Toy Shops
You think toy shops the best stores. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their stores. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): supermarkets, book stores or bakeries.

Role  C – Book Stores
You think book stores the best stores. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their stores. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): toy shops, supermarkets or bakeries.

Role  D – Bakeries
You think bakeries the best stores. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their stores. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): toy shops, book stores or supermarkets.

After reading / listening

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

'supermarket'

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

    • and 'body camera'.

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

    • • 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:

    • now
    • knives
    • worried
    • number
    • 200
    • day
    • sign
    • survey
    • company
    • safe
    • problems
    • insult

    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 - Supermarket Workers

    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 'supermarket'?
    3. What do you think of supermarket staff?
    4. Would you like to work in a supermarket?
    5. What do you think of supermarket staff wearing body cameras?
    6. What do you think of people attacking supermarket staff?
    7. What's your favourite supermarket, and why?
    8. What should happen to people who attack supermarket staff?
    9. Why do you think people are attacking supermarket staff?
    10. What advice do you have for supermarket staff?

    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 'body camera'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What are the challenges of working in a supermarket?
    5. What kinds of anti-social behaviour do you see in your country?
    6. In what ways is your country 'broken'?
    7. What do you think of shoplifting?
    8. How bad is the problem of crime in your country?
    9. What would you do if you saw someone attacking a store worker?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the supermarket 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)

    Workers (1) ____ supermarkets in the U.K. can now wear body cameras to protect (2) ____ from attacks by customers. More and more staff are being punched or threatened with knives by angry people. Many sales assistants and (3) ____ staff are afraid to go to work. They are stressed, and they are worried about their safety. The UK's largest supermarket chain Tesco is (4) ____ its staff body cameras. A spokesperson said the number of physical assaults on its workers has (5) ____ by a third in a year. He added that 200 Tesco employees are victims of serious physical assaults each month. Thousands more are shouted at and verbally abused every day. He asked the UK government to "put an (6) ____ to this".

    Many people say attacks on supermarket staff are a sign that Britain is "broken". There has been a (7) ____ rise in anti-social behaviour on Britain's streets. A survey published in the Daily Mail newspaper (8) ____ that 72 per cent of voters think Britain is broken. Tesco's CEO Ken Murphy said his company has spent £44 million ($55 million) on trying to keep staff (9) ____. Despite this, there has also been a big rise in shoplifting. These two problems have led to higher prices. Mr Murphy wants (10) ____ laws for people who verbally or physically attack staff. He said: "Crime is a (11) ____ on society, and an insult to shoppers and [shop] workers." He said attacks on staff were "unacceptable" and "heart-(12) ____".

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    (a)     as     (b)     by     (c)     in     (d)     on     2.    
    (a)     themselves     (b)     myself     (c)     self     (d)     selves     3.    
    (a)     checkout     (b)     check-up     (c)     check-in     (d)     check off     4.    
    (a)     offering     (b)     offers     (c)     offered     (d)     offer     5.    
    (a)     rise     (b)     risen     (c)     rising     (d)     arisen     6.    
    (a)     act     (b)     finish     (c)     stop     (d)     end     7.    
    (a)     hugs     (b)     hug     (c)     huge     (d)     hugest     8.    
    (a)     show     (b)     showing     (c)     shown     (d)     showed     9.    
    (a)     safe     (b)     safety     (c)     safes     (d)     safely     10.    
    (a)     stricter     (b)     slicker     (c)     stalker     (d)     sticker     11.    
    (a)     blessing     (b)     scourge     (c)     thing     (d)     pass     12.    
    (a)     broken     (b)     breaks     (c)     breaking     (d)     breaker

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. protect themselves from asttack
    2. eeterndtha with knives
    3. ygnar people
    4. sales stitassnsa
    5. the number of hlayspci assaults
    6. shouted at and verbally aubdes

    Paragraph 2

    1. a huge rise in anti-social biuhoaver
    2. 72 per cent of ertosv
    3. there has also been a big rise in fnsilgtopih
    4. Mr Murphy wants irsrtect laws
    5. an usnlti to shoppers
    6. attacks on staff were lnccbueaeatp

    Put the text back together

    (...)   and [shop] workers." He said attacks on staff were "unacceptable" and "heart-breaking".
    (...)   a big rise in shoplifting. These two problems have led to higher prices. Mr Murphy wants stricter laws for people
    (...)   staff body cameras. A spokesperson said the number of physical assaults on its workers has risen by a
    (...)   company has spent £44 million ($55 million) on trying to keep staff safe. Despite this, there has also been
    (...)   more are shouted at and verbally abused every day. He asked the UK government to "put an end to this".
    (...)   who verbally or physically attack staff. He said: "Crime is a scourge on society, and an insult to shoppers
    (...)   by angry people. Many sales assistants and checkout staff are afraid to go to
    (.1.) Workers in supermarkets in the U.K. can now wear body cameras to protect themselves from attacks by
    (...)   rise in anti-social behaviour on Britain's streets. A survey published
    (...)   third in a year. He added that 200 Tesco employees are victims of serious physical assaults each month. Thousands
    (...)   customers. More and more staff are being punched or threatened with knives
    (...)   in the Daily Mail newspaper showed that 72 per cent of voters think Britain is broken. Tesco's CEO Ken Murphy said his
    (...)   Many people say attacks on supermarket staff are a sign that Britain is "broken". There has been a huge
    (...)   work. They are stressed, and they are worried about their safety. The UK's largest supermarket chain Tesco is offering its

    Put the words in the right order

    1. themselves   Wear   attacks   .   cameras   to   protect   body   from
    2. staff   Checkout   go   work   .   to   are   to   afraid
    3. its   The   assaults   physical   workers   .   number   of   on
    4. are   serious   assaults   .   victims   of   Employees   physical
    5. every   and   day   .   Shouted   verbally   abused   at
    6. is   Britain   a   sign   are   Attacks   that   broken   .
    7. been   There   behaviour   .   has   in   a   rise   anti-social
    8. in   has   rise   a   also   been   There   shoplifting   .
    9. on   He   crime   is   said   scourge   society   .   a
    10. He   the   attacks   said   unacceptable   .   staff   were   on

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Workers in supermarkets in the U.K. can now wear / wearing body cameras to protect themselves from attacks at / by customers. More and more staff are being punched or threatened with knife / knives by angry people. Many sales assistants and checkout staff are frighten / afraid to go to work. They are stressed / stressful, and they are worried about their safety. The UK's largest supermarket chain Tesco is offering / offers its staff body cameras. A spokesperson said the number of physical assaults on / in its workers has risen by a third / three in a year. He added that 200 Tesco employees are victims of serious physical assaults whole / each month. Thousands more are shouted at and verbally abused every day. He asked the UK government to "put the / an end to this".

    Many people say attacks on supermarket staff are a sign what / that Britain is "broken". There has been a huge rise in / on anti-social behaviour on Britain's streets. A / The survey published in the Daily Mail newspaper showed that 72 per cent of voters think Britain is broken / break. Tesco's CEO Ken Murphy said his company has spent £44 million ($55 million) on trying to / for keep staff safe. Despite this, there has also been a big rise in  shopping / shoplifting. These two problems have led to height / higher prices. Mr Murphy wants stricter laws for people who grammatically / verbally or physically attack staff. He said: "Crime is a scourge / blessing on society, and an insult to shoppers and [shop] workers." He said attacks on staff were "unacceptable" and "breaking heart / heart-breaking".

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

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

    W_rk_rs  _n  s_p_rm_rk_ts  _n  th_  _.K.  c_n  n_w  w__r  b_dy  c_m_r_s  t_  pr_t_ct  th_ms_lv_s  fr_m  _tt_cks  by  c_st_m_rs.  M_r_  _nd  m_r_  st_ff  _r_  b__ng  p_nch_d  _r  thr__t_n_d  w_th  kn_v_s  by  _ngry  p__pl_.  M_ny  s_l_s  _ss_st_nts  _nd  ch_ck__t  st_ff  _r_  _fr__d  t_  g_  t_  w_rk.  Th_y  _r_  str_ss_d,  _nd  th_y  _r_  w_rr__d  _b__t  th__r  s_f_ty.  Th_  _K's  l_rg_st  s_p_rm_rk_t  ch__n  T_sc_  _s  _ff_r_ng  _ts  st_ff  b_dy  c_m_r_s.  _  sp_k_sp_rs_n  s__d  th_  n_mb_r  _f  phys_c_l  _ss__lts  _n  _ts  w_rk_rs  h_s  r_s_n  by  _  th_rd  _n  _  y__r.  H_  _dd_d  th_t  200  T_sc_  _mpl_y__s  _r_  v_ct_ms  _f  s_r___s  phys_c_l  _ss__lts  __ch  m_nth.  Th__s_nds  m_r_  _r_  sh__t_d  _t  _nd  v_rb_lly  _b_s_d  _v_ry  d_y.  H_  _sk_d  th_  _K  g_v_rnm_nt  t_  "p_t  _n  _nd  t_  th_s".

    M_ny  p__pl_  s_y  _tt_cks  _n  s_p_rm_rk_t  st_ff  _r_  _  s_gn  th_t  Br_t__n  _s  "br_k_n".  Th_r_  h_s  b__n  _  h_g_  r_s_  _n  _nt_-s_c__l  b_h_v___r  _n  Br_t__n's  str__ts.  _  s_rv_y  p_bl_sh_d  _n  th_  D__ly  M__l  n_wsp_p_r  sh_w_d  th_t  72  p_r  c_nt  _f  v_t_rs  th_nk  Br_t__n  _s  br_k_n.  T_sc_'s  C__  K_n  M_rphy  s__d  h_s  c_mp_ny  h_s  sp_nt  £44  m_ll__n  ($55  m_ll__n)  _n  try_ng  t_  k__p  st_ff  s_f_.  D_sp_t_  th_s,  th_r_  h_s  _ls_  b__n  _  b_g  r_s_  _n  sh_pl_ft_ng.  Th_s_  tw_  pr_bl_ms  h_v_  l_d  t_  h_gh_r  pr_c_s.  Mr  M_rphy  w_nts  str_ct_r  l_ws  f_r  p__pl_  wh_  v_rb_lly  _r  phys_c_lly  _tt_ck  st_ff.  H_  s__d:  "Cr_m_  _s  _  sc__rg_  _n  s_c__ty,  _nd  _n  _ns_lt  t_  sh_pp_rs  _nd  [sh_p]  w_rk_rs."  H_  s__d  _tt_cks  _n  st_ff  w_r_  "_n_cc_pt_bl_"  _nd  "h__rt-br__k_ng".

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    workers in supermarkets in the uk can now wear body cameras to protect themselves from attacks by customers more and more staff are being punched or threatened with knives by angry people many sales assistants and checkout staff are afraid to go to work they are stressed and they are worried about their safety the uks largest supermarket chain tesco is offering its staff body cameras a spokesperson said the number of physical assaults on its workers has risen by a third in a year he added that 200 tesco employees are victims of serious physical assaults each month thousands more are shouted at and verbally abused every day he asked the uk government to put an end to this

    many people say attacks on supermarket staff are a sign that britain is broken there has been a huge rise in antisocial behaviour on britains streets a survey published in the daily mail newspaper showed that 72 per cent of voters think britain is broken tescos ceo ken murphy said his company has spent 44 million 55 million on trying to keep staff safe despite this there has also been a big rise in shoplifting these two problems have led to higher prices mr murphy wants stricter laws for people who verbally or physically attack staff he said crime is a scourge on society and an insult to shoppers and shop workers he said attacks on staff were unacceptable and heartbreaking

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    WorkersinsupermarketsintheU.K.cannowwearbodycamerastoprote
    ctthemselvesfromattacksbycustomers.Moreandmorestaffarebeing
    punchedorthreatenedwithknivesbyangrypeople.Manysalesassistan
    tsandcheckoutstaffareafraidtogotowork.Theyarestressed,andtheya
    reworriedabouttheirsafety.TheUK'slargestsupermarketchainTescoi
    sofferingitsstaffbodycameras.Aspokespersonsaidthenumberofphys
    icalassaultsonitsworkershasrisenbyathirdinayear.Headdedthat200
    Tescoemployeesarevictimsofseriousphysicalassaultseachmonth.Th
    ousandsmoreareshoutedatandverballyabusedeveryday.Heaskedth
    eUKgovernmentto"putanendtothis".Manypeoplesayattacksonsuper
    marketstaffareasignthatBritainis"broken".Therehasbeenahugerisei
    nanti-socialbehaviouronBritain'sstreets.AsurveypublishedintheDail
    yMailnewspapershowedthat72percentofvotersthinkBritainisbroken
    .Tesco'sCEOKenMurphysaidhiscompanyhasspent£44million($55mil
    lion)ontryingtokeepstaffsafe.Despitethis,therehasalsobeenabigrise
    inshoplifting.Thesetwoproblemshaveledtohigherprices.MrMurphyw
    antsstricterlawsforpeoplewhoverballyorphysicallyattackstaff.Hesai
    d:"Crimeisascourgeonsociety,andaninsulttoshoppersand[shop]wor
    kers."Hesaidattacksonstaffwere"unacceptable"and"heart-breaki
    ng".

    Free writing

    Write about supermarket workers for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    People who attack shop workers should go to prison for 10 years. 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. SUPERMARKETS: Make a poster about supermarkets. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR: Write a magazine article about making anti-social behaviour a crime. 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 supermarkets. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to keep staff safe. 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

    $US 9.99

    Answers

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

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