The Reading / Listening - Selfies - Level 3

Tourists can do silly things when they want a selfie. One tourist in Italy damaged a valuable painting after he asked his girlfriend to take a photo of him. The man was visiting the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which is full of priceless paintings. He wanted a photo of himself in front of a portrait by the Italian painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani, who died in 1726. The man lost his balance and fell backwards. When he tried to stop himself from falling, he put his hand through the bottom of the painting. Museum staff reported him to the police for causing damage to the priceless artwork. Experts are now repairing the painting. They say that luckily, there was not a lot of damage.

The tourist's careless action has angered many people in Italy. Simone Verde, the director of the Uffizi Gallery, told the UK's "Telegraph" newspaper that selfies are becoming a headache. He said: "The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now out of control. We put in place very precise rules to try to stop behaviour that is not compatible with respect for our cultural heritage." Vanessa Carlon, director of Italy's Palazzo Maffei Museum, commented on a similar incident that happened in her gallery. She said: "Sometimes we lose our minds to take a picture, and we don't think about the consequences."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Selfies - Level 0,  Selfies - Level 1   or  Selfies - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14837713/Fury-Italy-tourist-tears-hole-18th-century-painting-posing-selfie.html
  • https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/medici-portrait-damaged-by-tourist-at-uffizi-galleries-florence-1234745923/
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw5yky19623o


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. SELFIES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about selfies. 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?
       tourists / silly things / selfies / valuable paintings / photo / museum / staff / experts /
       careless actions / headache / memes / social media / rules / respect / heritage / Italy
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SELFIE BAN: Students A strongly believe selfies should be banned in public places; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. PHOTOS: Why do people take photos of these things? What do you think of photos of these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Why Take Photos

What I Think

Paintings

 

 

Flowers

 

 

Food

 

 

Themselves pouting

 

 

Puppies and kittens

 

 

Trains

 

 
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. TOURIST: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "tourist". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. TOURISM: Rank these with your partner. Put the worst effects of tourism at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Pollution
  • Water shortages
  • Carbon footprint
  • Increased trash
  • Overcrowding
  • Noise
  • Bad bevaviour
  • Effect on locals' life

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. tourist a. So, so, so important you cannot say how much it costs.
      2. silly b. A person who travels to another place for fun or a holiday.
      3. valuable c. Worth a lot of money or very important.
      4. priceless d. The ability to stay standing and not fall over.
      5. portrait e. A person who knows a lot about something.
      6. balance f. Funny or not serious; doing something that is not smart.
      7. expert g. A picture of a person’s face or head and shoulders.

    Paragraph 2

      8. careless h. Funny pictures or videos shared on the internet.
      9. gallery i. What happens (good or bad) because of something you do.
      10. headache j. Traditions, culture, or buildings from the past.
      11. memes k. A thing or person that causes worry or difficulty; a problem.
      12. compatible l. Can work well or be used together without problems.
      13. heritage m. Not being careful; making mistakes or breaking things easily.
      14. consequences n. A place where people go to look at art or pictures.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The article says tourists who take selfies are silly.     T / F
  2. A tourist asked his girlfriend to take a photo of him in front of a painting. T / F
  3. The damaged painting was painted in 1726.     T / F
  4. Experts say there wasn't much damage to the painting.     T / F
  5. A museum director gets a headache when he takes a selfie.     T / F
  6. The museum has rules that say no selfies are allowed.     T / F
  7. The museum asks all visitors to respect Italy's culture.     T / F
  8. Another museum director said people lose their minds over selfies.     T / F

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

  1. silly
  2. damaged
  3. priceless
  4. repairing
  5. luckily
  6. careless
  7. headache
  8. rules
  9. compatible
  10. lose our minds
  1. suited
  2. fortunately
  3. mindless
  4. harmed
  5. problem
  6. go crazy
  7. foolish
  8. fixing
  9. guidelines
  10. invaluable

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

  1. Tourists can do silly things when
  2. One tourist in Italy damaged
  3. full of priceless
  4. The man lost his balance
  5. Experts are now
  6. The tourist's careless action has
  7. create memes
  8. out of
  9. cultural
  10. Sometimes we lose
  1. or take selfies
  2. paintings
  3. repairing the painting
  4. our minds
  5. they want a selfie
  6. heritage
  7. angered many people
  8. a valuable painting
  9. control
  10. and fell backwards

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
priceless
died
take
causing
silly
luckily
front
hand

Tourists can do (1) ______________________________________________ things when they want a selfie. One tourist in Italy damaged a valuable painting after he asked his girlfriend to (2) ______________________________________________ a photo of him. The man was visiting the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which is full of (3) ______________________________________________ paintings. He wanted a photo of himself in (4) ______________________________________________ of a portrait by the Italian painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani, who (5) ______________________________________________ in 1726. The man lost his balance and fell backwards. When he tried to stop himself from falling, he put his (6) ______________________________________________ through the bottom of the painting. Museum staff reported him to the police for (7) ______________________________________________ damage to the priceless artwork. Experts are now repairing the painting. They say that (8) ______________________________________________, there was not a lot of damage.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
headache
commented
respect
director
minds
careless
control
gallery

The tourist's (9) ______________________________________________ action has angered many people in Italy. Simone Verde, the (10) ______________________________________________ of the Uffizi Gallery, told the UK's "Telegraph" newspaper that selfies are becoming a (11) ______________________________________________. He said: "The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now out of (12) ______________________________________________. We put in place very precise rules to try to stop behaviour that is not compatible with (13) ______________________________________________ for our cultural heritage." Vanessa Carlon, director of Italy's Palazzo Maffei Museum, (14) ______________________________________________ on a similar incident that happened in her (15) ______________________________________________. She said: "Sometimes we lose our (16) ______________________________________________ to take a picture, and we don't think about the consequences."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Tourists can do silly things when they ______
     a.  want the selfie
     b.  want at selfie
     c.  want a selfie
     d.  want as selfie
2)  He wanted a photo of himself in front ______
     a.  off a portrait
     b.  over portrait
     c.  of a portrait
     d.  offer portrait
3)  The man lost his balance ______
     a.  and felt backwards
     b.  and feel backwards
     c.  and fall backwards
     d.  and fell backwards
4)  reported him to the police for causing damage to ______
     a.  the priced less artwork
     b.  the price lest artwork
     c.  the prices less artwork
     d.  the priceless artwork
5)  They say that luckily, there was not a ______
     a.  lot of damage
     b.  lots of damage
     c.  lot off damage
     d.  lot of damaged

6)  The tourist's careless action has ______
     a.  angers many people
     b.  anger did many people
     c.  angry many people
     d.  angered many people
7)  the UK's "Telegraph" newspaper that selfies are ______
     a.  becoming a headache
     b.  becoming a toothache
     c.  becoming a stomach ache
     d.  becoming a backache
8)  He said: "The problem of visitors coming to museums ______
     a.  to create means
     b.  to create meme
     c.  to create maims
     d.  to create memes
9)  stop behaviour that is not compatible with respect for ______
     a.  our cultural hermitage
     b.  our cultural heritage
     c.  our cultural inherited
     d.  our cultural inherit age
10)  She said: "Sometimes we ______"
     a.  loose your minds
     b.  loose our minds
     c.  ruse our minds
     d.  lose our minds

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Tourists can (1) __________________________________________________ when they want a selfie. One tourist in Italy damaged (2) __________________________________________________ after he asked his girlfriend to take a photo of him. The man was visiting the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which is (3) __________________________________________________ paintings. He wanted a photo of himself in front of a portrait by the Italian painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani, who died in 1726. The man (4) __________________________________________________ and fell backwards. When he tried to stop himself from falling, he put his hand (5) __________________________________________________ of the painting. Museum staff reported him to the police for causing damage to the priceless artwork. Experts are now repairing the painting. They say that luckily, there was not a (6) __________________________________________________.

The tourist's (7) __________________________________________________ angered many people in Italy. Simone Verde, the director of the Uffizi Gallery, told the UK's "Telegraph" newspaper that selfies are (8) __________________________________________________. He said: "The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now (9) __________________________________________________. We put in place very precise rules to try to stop behaviour that is not compatible (10) __________________________________________________ our cultural heritage." Vanessa Carlon, director of Italy's Palazzo Maffei Museum, commented on (11) __________________________________________________ that happened in her gallery. She said: "Sometimes we (12) __________________________________________________ to take a picture, and we don't think about the consequences."

Comprehension questions

  1. Who does the article say can do silly things?
  2. When did the Italian painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani die?
  3. What did the man lose when his girlfriend was taking a photo?
  4. Who did museum staff report the tourist to?
  5. Who said there was not a lot of damage to the painting?
  6. Who is angry because of the action of the tourist?
  7. What did a museum director say selfies were becoming?
  8. What did the director say was out of control?
  9. What does the director want people to respect?
  10. What did another museum director say people are losing?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Who does the article say can do silly things?
a) art lovers
b) tourists
c) painters
d) museum directors
2) When did the Italian painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani die?
a) 1672
b) 1762
c) 1267
d) 1726
3) What did the man lose when his girlfriend was taking a photo?
a) his balance
b) his girlfriend
c) his wallet
d) his milkshake
4) Who did museum staff report the tourist to?
a) the museum director
b) security staff
c) the police
d) his parents
5) Who said there was not a lot of damage to the painting?
a) the museum director
b) experts
c) the tourist
d) the police

6) Who is angry because of the action of the tourist?
a) many people in Italy
b) experts
c) the police
d) art lovers
7) What did a museum director say selfies were becoming?
a) popular
b) crazy
c) a headache
d) more artistic
8) What did the director say was out of control?
a) selfies for social media
b) the Internet
c) tourism
d) memes
9) What does the director want people to respect?
a) Italy's cultural heritage
b) art
c) Florence
d) the Uffizi Gallery
10) What did another museum director say people are losing?
a) their respect
b) their friends
c) their money
d) their minds

Role play

HERE

After reading / listening

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

'selfie'

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

    • and 'painting'.

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

    • • 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:

    • silly
    • full
    • front
    • lost
    • police
    • luckily
    • action
    • headache
    • control
    • rules
    • similar
    • lose

    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 - Selfies

    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 'selfie'?
    3. What do you think of tourists?
    4. What do you think of paintings?
    5. What do you think of selfies?
    6. Should cameras be banned in museums and galleries?
    7. What's your favourite museum or gallery?
    8. What do you think of photos of yourself?
    9. What should happen to the man?
    10. What advice do you have for museums to protect artwork?

    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 'painting'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Are you a good tourist?
    5. What's your favourite painting?
    6. What do you think of people who take selfies?
    7. What do you think of people putting selfies on social media?
    8. What do you think of your country's cultural heritage?
    9. Do you think people 'lose their minds' to take photos?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the man?

    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)

    Tourists can do (1) ____ things when they want a selfie. One tourist in Italy damaged a valuable painting after he asked his girlfriend to take a photo of (2) ____. The man was visiting the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which is full (3) ____ priceless paintings. He wanted a photo of himself in front of a portrait by the Italian painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani, who (4) ____ in 1726. The man lost his balance and fell backwards. When he tried to stop himself from (5) ____, he put his hand through the bottom of the painting. Museum staff reported him to the police for causing damage to the priceless artwork. Experts are now (6) ____ the painting. They say that luckily, there was not a lot of damage.

    The tourist's (7) ____ action has angered many people in Italy. Simone Verde, the director of the Uffizi Gallery, told the UK's "Telegraph" newspaper that selfies are becoming (8) ____ headache. He said: "The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now (9) ____ of control. We put in place very precise rules to try to stop behaviour that is not compatible with respect (10) ____ our cultural heritage." Vanessa Carlon, director of Italy's Palazzo Maffei Museum, commented (11) ____ a similar incident that happened in her gallery. She said: "Sometimes we lose our (12) ____ to take a picture, and we don't think about the consequences."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     silliest     (b)     silly     (c)     sill     (d)     silo    
    2. (a)     his     (b)     him     (c)     he     (d)     me    
    3. (a)     on     (b)     by     (c)     at     (d)     of    
    4. (a)     dies     (b)     died     (c)     death     (d)     dead    
    5. (a)     failing     (b)     fell     (c)     fall     (d)     falling    
    6. (a)     repairs     (b)     repair     (c)     repairing     (d)     repaired    
    7. (a)     careless     (b)     fearless     (c)     toothless     (d)     talentless    
    8. (a)     the     (b)     big     (c)     a     (d)     pain    
    9. (a)     down     (b)     in     (c)     up     (d)     out    
    10. (a)     for     (b)     up     (c)     to     (d)     at    
    11. (a)     on     (b)     up     (c)     in     (d)     of    
    12. (a)     minds     (b)     skulls     (c)     brains     (d)     faces

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. One tourist in Italy damaged a vluablae painting
    2. full of eecilsrps paintings
    3. a roapitrt by the Italian painter
    4. The man lost his lanbcae
    5. reported him to the police for causing medaga
    6. srtpxee are now repairing the painting

    Paragraph 2

    1. The tourist's sclaeesr action
    2. dnaereg many people in Italy
    3. create emesm or take selfies
    4. compatible with respect for our cultural grteehia
    5. commented on a similar tiiecnnd
    6. we don't think about the neceoesusqnc

    Put the text back together

    (    )     asked his girlfriend to take a photo of him. The man was visiting the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which
    (    )     behaviour that is not compatible with respect for our cultural heritage." Vanessa Carlon,
    (    )     director of Italy's Palazzo Maffei Museum, commented on a similar incident that happened in her
    (    )     for social media is now out of control. We put in place very precise rules to try to stop
    (    )     gallery. She said: "Sometimes we lose our minds to take a picture, and we don't think about the consequences."
    (    )     headache. He said: "The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies
    (    )     him to the police for causing damage to the priceless artwork. Experts are now
    (    )     is full of priceless paintings. He wanted a photo of himself in front of a portrait by the Italian
    (    )     of the Uffizi Gallery, told the UK's "Telegraph" newspaper that selfies are becoming a
    (    )     painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani, who died in 1726. The man lost his balance and fell backwards. When he tried
    (    )     repairing the painting. They say that luckily, there was not a lot of damage.
    (    )     The tourist's careless action has angered many people in Italy. Simone Verde, the director
    (    )     to stop himself from falling, he put his hand through the bottom of the painting. Museum staff reported
    (  1  )   Tourists can do silly things when they want a selfie. One tourist in Italy damaged a valuable painting after he

    Put the words in the right order

    1. Tourists   silly   for   things   selfie   a   do   can      .
    2. One   tourist   damaged   painting   valuable   a   in   Italy      .
    3. He   to   take   photo   girlfriend   asked   a   his      .
    4. The   fell   man   and   backwards   lost   balance   his      .
    5. Luckily   there   not   lot   of   was   a   damage      .
    6. The   has   many   careless   people   angered   action   tourist's      .
    7. The   to   problem   visitors   of   museums   coming      .
    8. Taking   is   selfies   out   media   for   of   control   social      .
    9. Not   for   respect   compatible   heritage   with   cultural   our      .
    10. Sometimes   lose   picture   we   to   a   minds   take   our      .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Tourists can do silliest / silly things when they want a selfie. One tourist in Italy damaged / damages a valuable painting after he asked his girlfriend to take a photo of he / him. The man was visiting the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which is full of priceless / pricey paintings. He wanted a photo of himself in front of a portrait by / on the Italian painter Anton Domenico Gabbiani, who died in 1726. The man found / lost his balance and fell backwards. When he tried to stop himself from fallen / falling, he put his hand through the bottom of the painting. Museum staff / stuff reported him to the police for / to causing damage to the priceless artwork. Experts are now repairing the painting. They say that lucky / luckily, there was not a lot of damage.

    The tourist's careless action has angered / angry many people in Italy. Simone Verde, the director of the Uffizi Gallery, told the / a UK's "Telegraph" newspaper that selfies are becoming / become a headache. He said: "The problem of visitors coming to museums for / to create memes or take selfies for social media is now out of / in control. We put in place very precise rules to try to stop behaviour that is so / not compatible with respect for our cultural charity / heritage." Vanessa Carlon, director of Italy's Palazzo Maffei Museum, commented on a similarity / similar incident that happened in her gallery. She said: "Sometimes we lose our brains / minds to take a picture, and we don't think / thinking about the consequences."

    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)

    T__r_sts  c_n  d_  s_lly  th_ngs  wh_n  th_y  w_nt  _  s_lf__.  _n_  t__r_st  _n  _t_ly  d_m_g_d  _  v_l__bl_  p__nt_ng  _ft_r  h_  _sk_d  h_s  g_rlfr__nd  t_  t_k_  _  ph_t_  _f  h_m.  Th_  m_n  w_s  v_s_t_ng  th_  w_rld-f_m__s  _ff_z_  G_ll_ry  _n  Fl_r_nc_,  wh_ch  _s  f_ll  _f  pr_c_l_ss  p__nt_ngs.  H_  w_nt_d  _  ph_t_  _f  h_ms_lf  _n  fr_nt  _f  _  p_rtr__t  by  th_  _t_l__n  p__nt_r  _nt_n  D_m_n_c_  G_bb__n_,  wh_  d__d  _n  1726.  Th_  m_n  l_st  h_s  b_l_nc_  _nd  f_ll  b_ckw_rds.  Wh_n  h_  tr__d  t_  st_p  h_ms_lf  fr_m  f_ll_ng,  h_  p_t  h_s  h_nd  thr__gh  th_  b_tt_m  _f  th_  p__nt_ng.  M_s__m  st_ff  r_p_rt_d  h_m  t_  th_  p_l_c_  f_r  c__s_ng  d_m_g_  t_  th_  pr_c_l_ss  _rtw_rk.  _xp_rts  _r_  n_w  r_p__r_ng  th_  p__nt_ng.  Th_y  s_y  th_t  l_ck_ly,  th_r_  w_s  n_t  _  l_t  _f  d_m_g_.

    Th_  t__r_st's  c_r_l_ss  _ct__n  h_s  _ng_r_d  m_ny  p__pl_  _n  _t_ly.  S_m_n_  V_rd_,  th_  d_r_ct_r  _f  th_  _ff_z_  G_ll_ry,  t_ld  th_  _K's  "T_l_gr_ph"  n_wsp_p_r  th_t  s_lf__s  _r_  b_c_m_ng  _  h__d_ch_.  H_  s__d:  "Th_  pr_bl_m  _f  v_s_t_rs  c_m_ng  t_  m_s__ms  t_  cr__t_  m_m_s  _r  t_k_  s_lf__s  f_r  s_c__l  m_d__  _s  n_w  __t  _f  c_ntr_l.  W_  p_t  _n  pl_c_  v_ry  pr_c_s_  r_l_s  t_  try  t_  st_p  b_h_v___r  th_t  _s  n_t  c_mp_t_bl_  w_th  r_sp_ct  f_r  __r  c_lt_r_l  h_r_t_g_."  V_n_ss_  C_rl_n,  d_r_ct_r  _f  _t_ly's  P_l_zz_  M_ff__  M_s__m,  c_mm_nt_d  _n  _  s_m_l_r  _nc_d_nt  th_t  h_pp_n_d  _n  h_r  g_ll_ry.  Sh_  s__d:  "S_m_t_m_s  w_  l_s_  __r  m_nds  t_  t_k_  _  p_ct_r_,  _nd  w_  d_n't  th_nk  _b__t  th_  c_ns_q__nc_s."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    tourists can do silly things when they want a selfie one tourist in italy damaged a valuable painting in italy after he asked his girlfriend to take a photo of him the man was visiting the world famous uffizi gallery in florence which is full of priceless paintings he wanted a photo of himself in front of a portrait by the italian painter anton domenico gabbiani who died in 1726 the man lost his balance and fell backwards when he tried to stop himself from falling he put his hand through the bottom of the painting museum staff reported him to the police for causing damage to the priceless artwork experts are now repairing the painting they say that luckily there was not a lot of damage

    the tourists careless action has angered many people in italy simone verde the director of the uffizi gallery told the uks telegraph newspaper that selfies are becoming a headache he said the problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now out of control we put in place very precise rules to try to stop behaviour that is not compatible with respect for our cultural heritage vanessa carlon director of italys palazzo maffei museum commented on a similar incident that happened in her gallery she said sometimes we lose our minds to take a picture and we dont think about the consequences

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Touristscandosillythingswhentheywantaselfie.OnetouristinItalyda
    magedavaluablepaintingafterheaskedhisgirlfriendtotakeaphotoofhi
    m.Themanwasvisitingtheworld-famousUffiziGalleryinFlorence,whi
    chisfullofpricelesspaintings.Hewantedaphotoofhimselfinfrontofapor
    traitbytheItalianpainterAntonDomenicoGabbiani,whodiedin1726.T
    hemanlosthisbalanceandfellbackwards.Whenhetriedtostophimselff
    romfalling,heputhishandthroughthebottomofthepainting.Museums
    taffreportedhimtothepoliceforcausingdamagetothepricelessartwor
    k.Expertsarenowrepairingthepainting.Theysaythatluckily,therewas
    notalotofdamage.Thetourist'scarelessactionhasangeredmanypeopl
    einItaly.SimoneVerde,thedirectoroftheUffiziGallery,toldtheUK's"Tel
    egraph"newspaperthatselfiesarebecomingaheadache.Hesaid:"The
    problemofvisitorscomingtomuseumstocreatememesortakeselfiesfo
    rsocialmediaisnowoutofcontrol.Weputinplaceverypreciserulestotryt
    ostopbehaviourthatisnotcompatiblewithrespectforourculturalherita
    ge."VanessaCarlon,directorofItaly'sPalazzoMaffeiMuseum,commen
    tedonasimilarincidentthathappenedinhergallery.Shesaid:"Sometim
    esweloseourmindstotakeapicture,andwedon'tthinkabouttheconseq
    uences."

    Free writing

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

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    Academic writing

    Cameras should be banned in museums and galleries. 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. SELFIES: Make a poster about selfies. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. SELFIE BAN: Write a magazine article about selfies should be banned in museums, galleries and similar places. 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 selfies. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on them. 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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