The Reading / Listening - Spelling Mistakes - Level 3

Everyone makes spelling mistakes, even with "easier" words. Earlier this week, the opposition political party in the UK misspelled a word. The Conservative Party made a mistake with the name of its own country. The error was on the slogan on the wrapper of a chocolate bar. The word "Britain" was spelt "Britian" on the bar. The message was signed by the party's leader. The Conservatives were holding their annual conference. Each person who attended the event received the bar of chocolate. Organisers of the conference blamed the mistake on a "printing error". After they spotted the mistake, they immediately stopped handing out the chocolate.

Many people on social media made fun of the mistake. Journalist Natasha Clarke wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the Conservative Party wants to run Britain, but "can't spell it". A member of the UK's ruling Labour Party also commented on the spelling mistake. She said the Conservatives "can't proofread five words on a bar of chocolate". However, it is not the first time that political parties in the UK have had a spelling mishap. Earlier this year, Scottish Labour misspelt the word "Scottish" on its election leaflets. The handout said "Your Scotish Labour candidate," missing a "t". In 2024, the politician Lee Anderson's surname was incorrectly written as "Andersin" on his election leaflets.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Spelling Mistakes - Level 0 Spelling Mistakes - Level 1   or  Spelling Mistakes - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/06/conservative-party-misspell-britain-conference-chocolate-bar
  • https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/embarrassing-chocolate-bar-handed-out-32623227
  • https://metro.co.uk/2025/10/06/kemi-badenoch-makes-wonky-spelling-error-tory-chocolate-bar-24356118/


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. SPELLING MISTAKES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about spelling mistakes. 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?
       spelling mistakes / political party / country / slogan / chocolate bar / conference /
       social media / make fun of / journalist / spell / proofread / election / leaflet / surname
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. NOT SO IMPORTANT: Students A strongly believe spelling isn't so important; Students B strongly believe it is. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. ENGLISH: How important are these things? What's the best way to learn them? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How Important

How to Learn

Spelling

 

 

Vocabulary

 

 

Punctuation

 

 

Pronunciation

 

 

Slang

 

 

Handwriting

 

 

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

  • Spelling
  • Grammar
  • Punctuation
  • Pronunciation
  • Subject-verb agreement
  • Plurals
  • Missing articles
  • Wrong tense

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. opposition a. A group of people with the same ideas about how to run a country.
      2. political party b. A short, easy-to-remember phrase used by a group or company.
      3. error c. People or groups who do not agree with something or someone.
      4. slogan d. Happening every year.
      5. wrapper e. Paper or plastic that covers or protects things like food and other goods.
      6. annual f. Said that someone was responsible for something bad.
      7. blamed g. A mistake.

    Paragraph 2

      8. made fun of h. A small piece of paper that gives information.
      9. run (verb) i. Check writing for mistakes before it is finished.
      10. ruling j. A small accident or problem.
      11. proofread k. Laughed at someone (to be unkind).
      12. mishap l. Be in charge of something or control it.
      13. election m. When people vote to choose a new leader or government.
      14. leaflet n. Being the person or group that has power.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The article says everyone makes even easy spelling mistakes.     T / F
  2. The Conservative Party made a spelling mistake with its name.     T / F
  3. The spelling mistake was on a bar of chocolate.     T / F
  4. The conference organisers blamed the party's leader for the mistake.     T / F
  5. No one on social media thought the mistake was funny.     T / F
  6. The Labour Party said it wanted to proofread the slogan.     T / F
  7. Earlier this year, a party made a mistake with the word 'Scotland'.     T / F
  8. In 2024, a politician's surname was misspelt.     T / F

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

  1. mistakes
  2. wrapper
  3. attended
  4. spotted
  5. handing out
  6. formerly
  7. run
  8. proofread
  9. leaflets
  10. incorrectly
  1. previously
  2. saw
  3. be in charge of
  4. went to
  5. flyers
  6. errors
  7. check
  8. packaging
  9. wrongly
  10. giving out

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

  1. Everyone makes
  2. the slogan on the wrapper
  3. Each person who attended
  4. blamed the mistake
  5. After they spotted
  6. people on social media
  7. the Conservative Party wants
  8. the Conservatives can't proofread
  9. misspelt the word "Scottish" on
  10. Anderson's surname was incorrectly
  1. made fun of the mistake
  2. on a printing error
  3. its election leaflets
  4. five words
  5. the event
  6. to run Britain
  7. spelling mistakes
  8. the mistake
  9. written
  10. of a chocolate bar

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
error
bar
wrapper
even
immediately
misspelled
printing
signed

Everyone makes spelling mistakes, (1) ______________________________________________ with "easier" words. Earlier this week, the opposition political party in the UK (2) ______________________________________________ a word. The Conservative Party made a mistake with the name of its own country. The (3) ______________________________________________ was on the slogan on the (4) ______________________________________________ of a chocolate bar. The word "Britain" was spelt "Britian" on the bar. The message was (5) ______________________________________________ by the party's leader. The Conservatives were holding their annual conference. Each person who attended the event received the (6) ______________________________________________ of chocolate. Organisers of the conference blamed the mistake on a "(7) ______________________________________________ error". After they spotted the mistake, they (8) ______________________________________________ stopped handing out the chocolate.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
formerly
missing
proofread
surname
fun
handout
ruling
first

Many people on social media made (9) ______________________________________________ of the mistake. Journalist Natasha Clarke wrote on X ((10) ______________________________________________ Twitter) that the Conservative Party wants to run Britain, but "can't spell it". A member of the UK's (11) ______________________________________________ Labour Party also commented on the spelling mistake. She said the Conservatives "can't (12) ______________________________________________ five words on a bar of chocolate". However, it is not the (13) ______________________________________________ time that political parties in the UK have had a spelling mishap. Earlier this year, Scottish Labour misspelt the word "Scottish" on its election leaflets. The (14) ______________________________________________ said "Your Scotish Labour candidate," (15) ______________________________________________ a "t". In 2024, the politician Lee Anderson's (16) ______________________________________________ was incorrectly written as "Andersin" on his election leaflets.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Everyone makes spelling mistakes, even ______
     a.  with "easier" word
     b.  with "easiest" words
     c.  with "easier" words
     d.  without "easier" words
2)  The Conservative Party made a mistake with the name of ______
     a.  its own country
     b.  its owns country
     c.  its owner country
     d.  its owned country
3)  The Conservatives were holding ______
     a.  their annually conference
     b.  their annual conference
     c.  there annual conference
     d.  their annual conferenced
4)  Organisers of the conference blamed the mistake on ______
     a.  a printing terror
     b.  a print tin error
     c.  a printing error
     d.  a print tin terror
5)  After they spotted the mistake, they immediately stopped handing ______
     a.  up the chocolate
     b.  down the chocolate
     c.  in the chocolate
     d.  out the chocolate

6)  Many people on social media made fun ______
     a.  of the mistake
     b.  of the mistaken
     c.  of the mistook
     d.  of the miss take
7)  wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the Conservative Party wants ______
     a.  to ruin Britain
     b.  to run Britain
     c.  to rune Britain
     d.  to runs Britain
8)  She said the Conservatives can't ______
     a.  prove read five words
     b.  proof freed five words
     c.  proof lead five words
     d.  proofread five words
9)  it is not the first time that political parties in the UK have had ______
     a.  a spelling mishap
     b.  a spelling misshape
     c.  a spelling misshapes
     d.  a spelling mishaps
10)  The handout said "Your Scotish Labour candidate," ______
     a.  miss inner "t"
     b.  miss in a "t"
     c.  missing a "t"
     d.  miss sin a "t"

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Everyone makes spelling mistakes, (1) __________________________________________________ words. Earlier this week, the opposition political party in the UK misspelled a word. The Conservative Party made a mistake with (2) __________________________________________________ its own country. The error was on the slogan on the wrapper of a chocolate bar. The word "Britain" was spelt "Britian" on the bar. The message (3) __________________________________________________ the party's leader. The Conservatives (4) __________________________________________________ annual conference. Each person who attended the event received the bar of chocolate. Organisers of the conference blamed the mistake on (5) __________________________________________________. After they spotted the mistake, they immediately stopped (6) __________________________________________________ chocolate.

Many people on social media (7) __________________________________________________ the mistake. Journalist Natasha Clarke wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the Conservative Party (8) __________________________________________________ Britain, but "can't spell it". A member of the UK's ruling Labour Party also commented on the spelling mistake. She said the Conservatives "can't (9) __________________________________________________ on a bar of chocolate". However, it is not the first time that political parties in the UK have had (10) __________________________________________________. Earlier this year, Scottish Labour misspelt the word "Scottish" on its election leaflets. The handout said "Your Scotish Labour candidate," (11) __________________________________________________. In 2024, the politician Lee Anderson's (12) __________________________________________________ written as "Andersin" on his election leaflets.

Comprehension questions

  1. Who does the article say makes mistakes, even with easy words?
  2. Where was the mistake written?
  3. How was the word "Britain" misspelt?
  4. What kind of event did the mistake take place at?
  5. What did organisers blame the mistake on?
  6. Who is Natasha Clark?
  7. What did Natasha Clark say the Conservatives wanted to run?
  8. What did the Labour Party say the Conservatives could not do?
  9. What letter was missing on a Scottish Labour election leaflet?
  10. What was incorrectly spelt on the election leaflet of a politician?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Who does the article say makes mistakes, even with easy words?
a) politicians
b) children
c) students
d) everyone
2) Where was the mistake written?
a) on a poster
b) on a chocolate bar
c) on the Internet
d) on t-shirts
3) How was the word "Britain" misspelt?
a) "Brittan"
b) "Britien"
c) "Britian"
d) "Britten"
4) What kind of event did the mistake take place at?
a) an annual conference
b) a birthday party
c) an election
d) a spelling contest
5) What did organisers blame the mistake on?
a) a computer bug
b) AI
c) a printing error
d) the leader

6) Who is Natasha Clark?
a) a Conservative politician
b) a journalist
c) a spelling expert
d) an English teacher
7) What did Natasha Clark say the Conservatives wanted to run?
a) a new party
b) everything
c) a different government
d) Britain
8) What did the Labour Party say the Conservatives could not do?
a) proofread five words
b) write good slogans
c) lead the country
d) make good chocolate
9) What letter was missing on a Scottish Labour election leaflet?
a) the letter "x"
b) the letter "s"
c) the letter "t"
d) the letter "c"
10) What was incorrectly spelt on the election leaflet of a politician?
a) the party name
b) the politician's surname
c) the politician's given name
d) the name of the politician's city

Role play

Role  A – Spelling Mistakes
You think spelling mistakes are worst. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their mistakes aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least harmful of these (and why): punctuation mistakes, grammar mistakes or vocabulary mistakes.

Role  B – Punctuation Mistakes
You think punctuation mistakes are worst. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their mistakes aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least harmful of these (and why): spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes or vocabulary mistakes.

Role  C – Grammar Mistakes
You think grammar mistakes are worst. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their mistakes aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least harmful of these (and why): punctuation mistakes, spelling mistakes or vocabulary mistakes.

Role  D – Vocabulary Mistakes
You think vocabulary mistakes are worst. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their mistakes aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least harmful of these (and why): punctuation mistakes, grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes.

After reading / listening

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

'spelling'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'mistake'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • 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:

    • everyone
    • own
    • slogan
    • annual
    • blamed
    • after
    • fun
    • run
    • five
    • first
    • handout
    • surname

    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 - Spelling Mistakes

    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 'spelling'?
    3. What's your spelling in English like?
    4. Are you good at spelling the words in your own language?
    5. Why is English spelling so difficult?
    6. What English words do you make mistakes with?
    7. Why do you think the word 'Britain' was spelt incorrectly?
    8. What can we do to get better at spelling?
    9. How important is spelling?
    10. Should all words be made easier to spell?

    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 'mistake'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How good are you at proofreading?
    5. Do you always use a spellchecker when you use a computer?
    6. How is social media changing people's spelling ability?
    7. Is it OK for words to be misspelt if we can understand them?
    8. Which is more important, correct spelling or pronunciation?
    9. How do you feel if people cannot spell your name?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the party leaders?

    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)

    Everyone (1) ____ spelling mistakes, even with "easier" words. Earlier this week, the opposition (2) ____ party in the UK misspelled a word. The Conservative Party made a mistake with the name of its (3) ____ country. The error was on the slogan on the wrapper of a chocolate bar. The word "Britain" was spelt "Britian" on the bar. The message was (4) ____ by the party's leader. The Conservatives were holding their annual conference. Each person (5) ____ attended the event received the bar of chocolate. Organisers of the conference blamed the mistake on a "printing error". After they spotted the mistake, they immediately stopped handing (6) ____ the chocolate.

    Many people on social media made (7) ____ of the mistake. Journalist Natasha Clarke wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the Conservative Party wants to (8) ____ Britain, but "can't spell it". A member of the UK's ruling Labour Party also commented (9) ____ the spelling mistake. She said the Conservatives "can't proofread five words on a bar of chocolate". However, it is not the first time that political parties in the UK have (10) ____ a spelling mishap. Earlier this year, Scottish Labour misspelt the word "Scottish" on its election leaflets. The handout said "Your Scotish Labour candidate," (11) ____ a "t". In 2024, the politician Lee Anderson's surname was incorrectly written (12) ____ "Andersin" on his election leaflets.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     takes     (b)     makes     (c)     fakes     (d)     bakes    
    2. (a)     politician     (b)     political     (c)     politics     (d)     politically    
    3. (a)     owns     (b)     owned     (c)     owner     (d)     own    
    4. (a)     singed     (b)     signed     (c)     singled     (d)     signal    
    5. (a)     what     (b)     who     (c)     whoever     (d)     whom    
    6. (a)     up     (b)     of     (c)     out     (d)     at    
    7. (a)     funny     (b)     funnier     (c)     fun     (d)     funniest    
    8. (a)     reign     (b)     ring     (c)     run     (d)     ruin    
    9. (a)     by     (b)     at     (c)     in     (d)     on    
    10. (a)     have     (b)     having     (c)     has     (d)     had    
    11. (a)     missing     (b)     miss     (c)     missed     (d)     mrs    
    12. (a)     was     (b)     has     (c)     as     (d)     ask

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. the opposition taliclpoi party
    2. The error was on the oaslng
    3. the rpraepw of a chocolate bar
    4. holding their nluana conference
    5. elmbad the mistake on a "printing error"
    6. they dietamlmiey stopped

    Paragraph 2

    1. Clarke wrote on X (lmyorerf Twitter)
    2. the UK's gurnil Labour Party
    3. the Conservatives can't rfapeodor five words
    4. had a spelling mshiap
    5. itepmssl the word "Scottish"
    6. Anderson's eumnras was incorrectly written

    Put the text back together

    (    )   "Britian" on the bar. The message was signed by the party's leader. The Conservatives were holding their annual
    (    )   "t". In 2024, the politician Lee Anderson's surname was incorrectly written as "Andersin" on his election leaflets.
    (    )   conference. Each person who attended the event received the bar of chocolate. Organisers
    (    )   country. The error was on the slogan on the wrapper of a chocolate bar. The word "Britain" was spelt
    (    )   Everyone makes spelling mistakes, even with "easier" words. Earlier this week, the opposition political
    (    )   five words on a bar of chocolate". However, it is not the first time that political parties in the UK have
    (    )   had a spelling mishap. Earlier this year, Scottish Labour misspelt the word "Scottish" on its election
    (    )   leaflets. The handout said "Your Scotish Labour candidate," missing a
    (    )   Many people on social media made fun of the mistake. Journalist Natasha Clarke wrote
    (    )   of the conference blamed the mistake on a "printing error". After they spotted
    (    )   of the UK's ruling Labour Party also commented on the spelling mistake. She said the Conservatives "can't proofread
    (    )   on X (formerly Twitter) that the Conservative Party wants to run Britain, but "can't spell it". A member
    (    )   party in the UK misspelled a word. The Conservative Party made a mistake with the name of its own
    (    )   the mistake, they immediately stopped handing out the chocolate.

    Put the words in the right order

    1. makes   Everyone   mistakes   spelling,   with   even   words   easier   .
    2. The   political   opposition   misspelled   party   word   a   .
    3. A   with   mistake   name   the   its   of   country   .
    4. message   The   signed   was   the   by   leader   party's   .
    5. They   stopped   immediately   out   handing   chocolate   the   bar   .
    6. media   Social   fun   made   the   of   mistake   spelling   .
    7. A   of   member   UK's   the   Labour   ruling   Party   .
    8. five   Proofread   on   words   bar   a   chocolate   of   .
    9. Political   have   parties   a   had   mishap   spelling   .
    10. It   the   misspelt   Scottish   "word"   its   on   leaflets   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Everyone takes / makes spelling mistakes, even with "easier" words. Earlier this week, the opposition politician / political party in the UK misspelled a word. The Conservative Party made a mistake with the name of its down / own country. The error was on the slogan to / on the wrapper of a chocolate bar / ban. The word "Britain" was spelt "Britian" on the bar. The message was singed / signed by the party's leader. The Conservatives were holding their / them annual conference. Each person who attended the event received the bar on / of chocolate. Organisers of the conference blamed the mistake at / on a "printing error". After they spotted the mistake, they immediately stopped handing out / up the chocolate.

    Many people on social media made fun / funny of the mistake. Journalist Natasha Clarke wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that / what the Conservative Party wants to walk / run Britain, but "can't spelling / spell it". A member of the UK's ruling Labour Party also commented on / in the spelling mistake. She said the Conservatives "can't proofread five words on a bar of chocolate". However, it is not the firstly / first time that political parties in the UK have had / having a spelling mishap. Earlier this year, Scottish Labour misspelt the word "Scottish" on its elect / election leaflets. The handout said "Your Scotish Labour candidate," missing all / a "t". In 2024, the politician Lee Anderson's surname was incorrectly written to / as "Andersin" on his election leaflets.

    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)

    _v_ry_n_  m_k_s  sp_ll_ng  m_st_k_s,  _v_n  w_th  "__s__r"  w_rds.  __rl__r  th_s  w__k,  th_  _pp_s_t__n  p_l_t_c_l  p_rty  _n  th_  _K  m_ssp_ll_d  _  w_rd.  Th_  C_ns_rv_t_v_  P_rty  m_d_  _  m_st_k_  w_th  th_  n_m_  _f  _ts  _wn  c__ntry.  Th_  _rr_r  w_s  _n  th_  sl_g_n  _n  th_  wr_pp_r  _f  _  ch_c_l_t_  b_r.  Th_  w_rd  "Br_t__n"  w_s  sp_lt  "Br_t__n"  _n  th_  b_r.  Th_  m_ss_g_  w_s  s_gn_d  by  th_  p_rty's  l__d_r.  Th_  C_ns_rv_t_v_s  w_r_  h_ld_ng  th__r  _nn__l  c_nf_r_nc_.  __ch  p_rs_n  wh_  _tt_nd_d  th_  _v_nt  r_c__v_d  th_  b_r  _f  ch_c_l_t_.  _rg_n_s_rs  _f  th_  c_nf_r_nc_  bl_m_d  th_  m_st_k_  _n  _  "pr_nt_ng  _rr_r".  _ft_r  th_y  sp_tt_d  th_  m_st_k_,  th_y  _mm_d__t_ly  st_pp_d  h_nd_ng  __t  th_  ch_c_l_t_.

    M_ny  p__pl_  _n  s_c__l  m_d__  m_d_  f_n  _f  th_  m_st_k_.  J__rn_l_st  N_t_sh_  Cl_rk_  wr_t_  _n  X  (f_rm_rly  Tw_tt_r)  th_t  th_  C_ns_rv_t_v_  P_rty  w_nts  t_  r_n  Br_t__n,  b_t  "c_n't  sp_ll  _t".  _  m_mb_r  _f  th_  _K's  r_l_ng  L_b__r  P_rty  _ls_  c_mm_nt_d  _n  th_  sp_ll_ng  m_st_k_.  Sh_  s__d  th_  C_ns_rv_t_v_s  "c_n't  pr__fr__d  f_v_  w_rds  _n  _  b_r  _f  ch_c_l_t_".  H_w_v_r,  _t  _s  n_t  th_  f_rst  t_m_  th_t  p_l_t_c_l  p_rt__s  _n  th_  _K  h_v_  h_d  _  sp_ll_ng  m_sh_p.  __rl__r  th_s  y__r,  Sc_tt_sh  L_b__r  m_ssp_lt  th_  w_rd  "Sc_tt_sh"  _n  _ts  _l_ct__n  l__fl_ts.  Th_  h_nd__t  s__d  "Y__r  Sc_t_sh  L_b__r  c_nd_d_t_,"  m_ss_ng  _  "t".  _n  2024,  th_  p_l_t_c__n  L__  _nd_rs_n's  s_rn_m_  w_s  _nc_rr_ctly  wr_tt_n  _s  "_nd_rs_n"  _n  h_s  _l_ct__n  l__fl_ts.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    everyone makes spelling mistakes even with easier words earlier this week the opposition political party in the uk misspelled a word the conservative party made a mistake with the name of its own country the error was on the slogan on the wrapper of a chocolate bar the word britain was spelt britian on the bar the message was signed by the partys leader the conservatives were holding their annual conference each person who attended the event received the bar of chocolate organisers of the conference blamed the mistake on a printing error after they spotted the mistake they immediately stopped handing out the chocolate

    many people on social media made fun of the mistake journalist natasha clarke wrote on x formerly twitter that the conservative party wants to run britain but cant spell it a member of the uks ruling labour party also commented on the spelling mistake she said the conservatives cant proofread five words on a bar of chocolate however it is not the first time that political parties in the uk have had a spelling mishap earlier this year scottish labour misspelt the word scottish on its election leaflets the handout said your scotish labour candidate missing a t in 2024 the politician lee andersons surname was incorrectly written as andersin on his election leaflets

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Everyonemakesspellingmistakes,evenwith"easier"words.Earlierthi
    sweek,theoppositionpoliticalpartyintheUKmisspelledaword.TheCon
    servativePartymadeamistakewiththenameofitsowncountry.Theerro
    rwasonthesloganonthewrapperofachocolatebar.Theword"Britain"w
    asspelt"Britian"onthebar.Themessagewassignedbytheparty'sleade
    r.TheConservativeswereholdingtheirannualconference.Eachperson
    whoattendedtheeventreceivedthebarofchocolate.Organisersofthec
    onferenceblamedthemistakeona"printingerror".Aftertheyspottedth
    emistake,theyimmediatelystoppedhandingoutthechocolate.Manyp
    eopleonsocialmediamadefunofthemistake.JournalistNatashaClarke
    wroteonX(formerlyTwitter)thattheConservativePartywantstorunBri
    tain,but"can'tspellit".AmemberoftheUK'srulingLabourPartyalsocom
    mentedonthespellingmistake.ShesaidtheConservatives"can'tproofr
    eadfivewordsonabarofchocolate".However,itisnotthefirsttimethatp
    oliticalpartiesintheUKhavehadaspellingmishap.Earlierthisyear,Scot
    tishLabourmisspelttheword"Scottish"onitselectionleaflets.Thehand
    outsaid"YourScotishLabourcandidate,"missinga"t".In2024,thepoliti
    cianLeeAnderson'ssurnamewasincorrectlywrittenas"Andersin"onhi
    selectionleaflets.

    Free writing

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

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    Academic writing

    Spelling mistakes are OK if we can understand the word. 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. SPELLING MISTAKES: Make a poster about spelling mistakes. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. UNDERSTANDABLE: Write a magazine article about allowing spelling mistakes if the word is understandable. 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 spelling mistakes. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how people can improve their spelling. 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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