The Reading / Listening - Gen Z Protests - Level 6

Young people across the globe are taking to the streets in protest against their governments. From Madagascar, to Peru, to Indonesia, Generation Z is rising to express their growing discontent with their leaders. Gen Z consists of people born roughly between 1996 and 2010. They share a common perception of a world of increasing inequality, corruption, nepotism, corporate greed, and a bleak outlook regarding career prospects. This week in Madagascar, a group of protesters dubbed "Gen Z Madagascar" helped oust the country's president. Young Indonesians took part in deadly demonstrations over lawmakers' pay. In Morocco, people marched to call for better healthcare and education.

The protesters have two things in common. One is a growing exasperation about the state of the world; the other is the use of a flag from a Japanese manga called "One Piece". The flag depicts a skull with a straw hat and crossed bones. In the manga, a group of pirates fly the flag and fight against oppressive governments and injustice. In real life, the flag has appeared on banners and social media, and seen in graffiti worldwide. Al Jazeera reported that in protests in Nepal, the flag was painted on murals, hung from vehicles, and was displayed in place of national flags. It added: "It is used partly in satire, partly as a statement: rejecting the status quo, calling out what protesters see as failures of governance."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Gen Z Protests - Level 4  or  Gen Z Protests - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2025/10/the-gen-z-movement-this-is-why-were-risking-our-lives-to-protest/
  • https://apnews.com/article/gen-z-protests-madagascar-nepal-morocco-peru-e1859bc7e4203adbac829cf45f92138b
  • https://www.Al Jazeera.com/news/2025/8/16/indonesians-raise-anime-pirate-flag-in-protest-as-nation-marks-independence


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. PROTESTS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about protests. 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?
       young people / protest / Generation Z / discontent / inequality / nepotism / greed /
       things in common / exasperation / flag / skull / injustice / mural / graffiti / status quo
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. PETITIONS: Students A strongly believe petitions are better than protests; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. PROTESTING: What are the good and bad things about these ways of protesting? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Good Things

Bad Things

Taking to the streets

 

 

Petitions

 

 

Boycotts

 

 

Strikes

 

 

Writing letters

 

 

Street art

 

 
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. GLOBE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "globe". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. THINGS TO MAKE YOU PROTEST: Rank these with your partner. Put the things that would make you protest at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Government corruption
  • Saying no to war
  • Freedom of speech
  • LGBTQ+ rights
  • Climate change
  • Price/Tax rises
  • Saying no to fossil fuels
  • Religious freedom

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. the globe a. Giving jobs or help to family members instead of others.
      2. taking to the streets b. Wanting too much of something, especially money or power.
      3. perception c. The world; the Earth.
      4. nepotism d. To make someone leave a position of power.
      5. greed e. Going outside together to show strong feelings or protest.
      6. bleak f. The way someone sees or understands something.
      7. oust g. Without hope; not happy or bright.

    Paragraph 2

      8. exasperation h. The normal or usual way things are now.
      9. depict i. A strong feeling of anger or frustration.
      10. skull j. Shows something in a picture or drawing.
      11. oppressive k. A large picture painted on a wall or the side of a house.
      12. mural l. Very unfair or cruel.
      13. satire m. The large bone of the head.
      14. status quo n. Using humour to show that something is wrong or silly.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The article says young people are sitting in streets to protest.     T / F
  2. People from Generation Z were born in the 1960s and 1970s.     T / F
  3. There is no common theme among the things Gen Z is protesting about.  T / F
  4. Young Moroccans protested for better education and healthcare.     T / F
  5. Protestors worldwide are protesting with a flag from a Japanese manga.  T / F
  6. The flag has a picture of a skull wearing a leather hat.     T / F
  7. In Nepal, protestors used the flag instead of the national flag.     T / F
  8. Protestors are using the flag to reject the status quo.     T / F

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

  1. globe
  2. discontent
  3. perception
  4. nepotism
  5. oust
  6. state
  7. depicts
  8. oppressive
  9. satire
  10. status quo
  1. condition
  2. feeling
  3. parody
  4. overthrow
  5. shows
  6. dissatisfaction
  7. brutal
  8. the way things are
  9. world
  10. favouritism

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

  1. people across the globe are taking
  2. express their growing
  3. corporate
  4. a bleak
  5. people marched to
  6. The protesters have two things
  7. a growing exasperation
  8. a group of pirates fly
  9. displayed in place of national
  10. rejecting the status
  1. outlook
  2. about the state of the world
  3. discontent
  4. call for better healthcare
  5. quo
  6. to the streets in protest
  7. flags
  8. in common
  9. greed
  10. the flag

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
nepotism
dubbed
rising
marched
perception
pay
streets
bleak

Young people across the globe are taking to the (1) _________________________________ in protest against their governments. From Madagascar, to Peru, to Indonesia, Generation Z is (2) _________________________________ to express their growing discontent with their leaders. Gen Z consists of people born roughly between 1996 and 2010. They share a common (3) _________________________________ of a world of increasing inequality, corruption, (4) _________________________________, corporate greed, and a (5) _________________________________ outlook regarding career prospects. This week in Madagascar, a group of protesters (6) _________________________________ "Gen Z Madagascar" helped oust the country's president. Young Indonesians took part in deadly demonstrations over lawmakers' (7) _________________________________. In Morocco, people (8) _________________________________ to call for better healthcare and education.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
murals
injustice
common
failures
fly
satire
graffiti
depicts

The protesters have two things in (9) _________________________________. One is a growing exasperation about the state of the world; the other is the use of a flag from a Japanese manga called "One Piece". The flag (10) _________________________________ a skull with a straw hat and crossed bones. In the manga, a group of pirates (11) _________________________________ the flag and fight against oppressive governments and (12) _________________________________. In real life, the flag has been seen on banners and social media, and seen in (13) _________________________________ worldwide. Al Jazeera reported that in protests in Nepal, the flag was painted on (14) _________________________________, hung from vehicles, and was displayed in place of national flags. It added: "It is used partly in (15) _________________________________, partly as a statement: rejecting the status quo, calling out what protesters see as (16) _________________________________ of governance."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  Young people across the globe are taking to the ______
     a.  streets on protest
     b.  streets at protest
     c.  streets of protest
     d.  streets in protest
2)  From Madagascar, to Peru, to Indonesia, ______
     a.  Generation Z is raising
     b.  Generation Z is rising
     c.  Generation Z is risen
     d.  Generation Z is raised
3)  increasing inequality, corruption, nepotism, corporate greed, and ______
     a.  a break outlook
     b.  a bleach outlook
     c.  a bleak outlook
     d.  ab leak outlook
4)  This week in Madagascar, a group of protesters ______
     a.  daubed "Gen Z Madagascar"
     b.  dubbed "Gen Z Madagascar"
     c.  dabbed "Gen Z Madagascar"
     d.  dobbed "Gen Z Madagascar"
5)  Young Indonesians took part in deadly demonstrations ______
     a.  over lawmakers' pay
     b.  under lawmakers' pay
     c.  over lawmakers' paid
     d.  over lawmakers' pays

6)  The protesters have two ______
     a.  things of common
     b.  things at common
     c.  things on common
     d.  things in common
7)  The flag depicts a skull with a straw hat ______
     a.  and cross bone
     b.  and crossed bones
     c.  and cross bones
     d.  end crossed bones
8)  a group of pirates fly the flag and fight against oppressive ______
     a.  government end injustice
     b.  governments end injustice
     c.  governments and injustice
     d.  governments and justice
9)  Al Jazeera reported that in protests in Nepal, the flag was ______
     a.  paint it on murals
     b.  painted on murals
     c.  painted on morals
     d.  paint ton morals
10)  rejecting the status quo, calling out what protesters see as ______
     a.  failures off governance
     b.  failures of governance
     c.  failures oft governance
     d.  failure soft governance

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Young people across the (1) _______________________________________________ to the streets in protest against their governments. From Madagascar, to Peru, to Indonesia, Generation Z is (2) _______________________________________________ their growing discontent with their leaders. Gen Z consists of people born roughly between 1996 and 2010. They share a (3) _______________________________________________ a world of increasing inequality, corruption, nepotism, corporate greed, and (4) _______________________________________________ regarding career prospects. This week in Madagascar, a group of protesters dubbed "Gen Z Madagascar" (5) _______________________________________________ country's president. Young Indonesians took part in deadly demonstrations over lawmakers' pay. In Morocco, people (6) _______________________________________________ for better healthcare and education.

The protesters have two (7) _______________________________________________. One is a growing exasperation about the state of the world; the other is the use of a flag from a Japanese manga called "One Piece". The (8) _______________________________________________ skull with a straw hat and crossed bones. In the manga, a group of pirates fly the flag and (9) _______________________________________________ governments and injustice. In real life, the flag has been seen on banners and social media, and seen in graffiti worldwide. Al Jazeera reported that in protests in Nepal, the flag was (10) _______________________________________________, hung from vehicles, and was displayed in place of national flags. It added: "It is used (11) _______________________________________________, partly as a statement: rejecting the status quo, calling out what protesters (12) _______________________________________________ of governance."

Comprehension questions

  1. Who is Gen Z expressing discontent about?
  2. What kind of greed is Gen Z protesting about?
  3. What did Gen Z in Madagascar do to their president?
  4. What are young Indonesians demonstrating about?
  5. Where are protesters calling for better education and healthcare?
  6. How many things do the protesters have in common?
  7. What kind of hat is shown on the "One Piece" flag?
  8. Who in the Japanese manga fights against oppressive governments?
  9. Where was the "One Piece" flag displayed instead of a national flag?
  10. What did Al Jazeera say protesters are rejecting?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  Who is Gen Z expressing discontent about?
a) climate change
b) their governments
c) nuclear weapons
d) the threat from AI
2) What kind of greed is Gen Z protesting about?
a) a greed for food
b) a greed for power
c) a greed for resources
d) corporate greed
3) What did Gen Z in Madagascar do to their president?
a) They ousted him.
b) They talked to him.
c) They supported him.
d) They ignored him.
4) What are young Indonesians demonstrating about?
a) climate change
b) jobs
c) lawmakers' pay
d) equal rights
5) Where are protesters calling for better education and healthcare?
a) Nepal
b) Morocco
c) Madagascar
d) Peru

6) How many things do the protesters have in common?
a) four
b) three
c) two
d) one
7) What kind of hat is shown on the "One Piece" flag?
a) a nightcap
b) a woollen hat
c) a leather hat
d) a straw hat
8) Who in the Japanese manga fights against oppressive governments?
a) pirates
b) soldiers
c) teenagers
d) mythical beasts
9) Where was the "One Piece" flag displayed instead of a national flag?
a) Nepal
b) Madagascar
c) Indonesia
d) Peru
10) What did Al Jazeera say protesters are rejecting?
a) job offers
b) the status quo
c) criticism
d) the truth

Role play

Role  A – Government Corruption
You think government corruption is the most important thing to protest about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as worthy. Also, tell the others which is the least worthy of these (and why): saying no to war, saying no to fossil fuels or freedom of speech.

Role  B – Saying No to War
You think saying no to war is the most important thing to protest about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as worthy. Also, tell the others which is the least worthy of these (and why): government corruption, saying no to fossil fuels or freedom of speech.

Role  C – Saying No to Fossil Fuels
You think saying no to fossil fuels is the most important thing to protest about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as worthy. Also, tell the others which is the least worthy of these (and why): saying no to war, government corruption or freedom of speech.

Role  D – Freedom of Speech
You think freedom of speech is the most important thing to protest about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as worthy. Also, tell the others which is the least worthy of these (and why): saying no to war, saying no to fossil fuels or government corruption.

After reading / listening

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

'generation'

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

    • and 'protests'.

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

    • • 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:

    • taking
    • express
    • share
    • outlook
    • oust
    • Morocco
    • two
    • state
    • depicts
    • real
    • painted
    • failures

    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 - Gen Z Protests

    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 'protest'?
    3. What do you think about your generation?
    4. What do you think of protests?
    5. How happy or unhappy are you with the world today?
    6. What are your biggest complaints about your country's government?
    7. What inequalities are there in your country?
    8. What damage is corporate greed doing to the world?
    9. What do you think of nepotism?
    10. What advice do you have for the protesters?

    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 'Gen Z'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think of Generation Z?
    5. What are you most exasperated about?
    6. What things would make you take to the streets?
    7. What do you think of Japanese manga?
    8. What will it take to end all oppressive governments?
    9. What single change would you like to see in the world?
    10. What questions would you like to ask governments about protests?

    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)

    Young people across the (1) ____ are taking to the streets in protest against their governments. From Madagascar, to Peru, to Indonesia, Generation Z is (2) ____ to express their growing discontent with their leaders. Gen Z consists of people born (3) ____ between 1996 and 2010. They share a common perception of a world of increasing inequality, corruption, (4) ____, corporate greed, and a bleak outlook regarding career prospects. This week in Madagascar, a group of protesters (5) ____ "Gen Z Madagascar" helped oust the country's president. Young Indonesians took part in deadly demonstrations (6) ____ lawmakers' pay. In Morocco, people marched to call for better healthcare and education.

    The protesters have two things (7) ____ common. One is a growing exasperation about the (8) ____ of the world; the other is the use of a flag from a Japanese manga called "One Piece". The flag depicts a skull with a straw hat and crossed bones. In the manga, a group of pirates (9) ____ the flag and fight against oppressive governments and injustice. In real life, the flag has been seen on banners and social media, and seen in graffiti worldwide. Al Jazeera reported that in protests in Nepal, the flag was painted on (10) ____, hung from vehicles, and was displayed in (11) ____ of national flags. It added: "It is used partly in satire, partly as a statement: rejecting the status quo, calling out what protesters see (12) ____ failures of governance."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    (a)     global     (b)     globe     (c)     globalize     (d)     globally    
    (a)     raising     (b)     rising     (c)     raised     (d)     arise    
    (a)     rougher     (b)     roughage     (c)     rough     (d)     roughly    
    (a)     optimism     (b)     nepotism     (c)     liberalism     (d)     schism    
    (a)     dibbed     (b)     dobbed     (c)     dabbed     (d)     dubbed    
    (a)     up     (b)     above     (c)     over     (d)     higher    
    (a)     in     (b)     on     (c)     at     (d)     by    
    (a)     stave     (b)     stale     (c)     state     (d)     stare    
    (a)     pilot     (b)     travel     (c)     aviate     (d)     fly    
    (a)     murals     (b)     murky     (c)     plurals     (d)     mirages    
    (a)     place     (b)     peace     (c)     pace     (d)     pact    
    (a)     as     (b)     was     (c)     has     (d)     at

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. They share a common erncoetppi
    2. inequality, corruption, opsimnet
    3. a kbale outlook
    4. career spostcrep
    5. helped suot the country's president
    6. irmdatnoonests over lawmakers' pay

    Paragraph 2

    1. growing eaoapnseixrt
    2. The flag ectidps a skull
    3. fight against reipsosvep governments
    4. in fitaigrf worldwide
    5. the flag was painted on lmasur
    6. failures of necgonarev

    Put the text back together

    (    )   banners and social media, and seen in graffiti worldwide. Al Jazeera reported that in protests in Nepal, the flag was painted
    (    )   demonstrations over lawmakers' pay. In Morocco, people marched to call for better healthcare and education.
    (    )   depicts a skull with a straw hat and crossed bones. In the manga, a group of pirates fly the
    (    )   flag and fight against oppressive governments and injustice. In real life, the flag has been seen on
    (    )   of the world; the other is the use of a flag from a Japanese manga called "One Piece". The flag
    (    )   on murals, hung from vehicles, and was displayed in place of national flags. It added: "It is used partly in satire,
    (    )   oust the country's president. Young Indonesians took part in deadly
    (    )   outlook regarding career prospects. This week in Madagascar, a group of protesters dubbed "Gen Z Madagascar" helped
    (    )   partly as a statement: rejecting the status quo, calling out what protesters see as failures of governance."
    (    )   perception of a world of increasing inequality, corruption, nepotism, corporate greed, and a bleak
    (    )   The protesters have two things in common. One is a growing exasperation about the state
    (    )   to Peru, to Indonesia, Generation Z is rising to express their growing discontent
    (    )   with their leaders. Gen Z consists of people born roughly between 1996 and 2010. They share a common
    (  1  )   Young people across the globe are taking to the streets in protest against their governments. From Madagascar,

    Put the words in the right order

    1. worldwide   People   taking   are   the   to   streets   .
    2. their   Express   discontent   growing   their   with   leaders   .
    3. born   People   between   roughly   and   1996   2010   .
    4. Gen Z   helped   protesters   the   oust   president   country's   .
    5. People   to   marched   for   call   healthcare   better   .
    6. An   about   exasperation   state   the   the   of   world   .
    7. group   A   pirates   of   the   fly   flag   .
    8. flag   The   been   has   flying   seen   banners   on   .
    9. In   the,   Nepal   was   flag   on   painted   murals   .
    10. out   Calling   protesters   what   as   see   failures   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Young people across the globe / global are taking to the streets at / in protest against their governments. From Madagascar, to Peru, to Indonesia, Generation Z is raising / rising to express their growing discontent with their leaders. Gen Z contrasts / consists of people born roughly / roughage between 1996 and 2010. They share a common / commonly perception of a world of increasing inequality, corruption, nepotism, corporate greed, and a break / bleak outlook regarding career prospects. This week in Madagascar, a group of protesters dubbed "Gen Z Madagascar" helped oust / joust the country's president. Young Indonesians took part of / in deadly demonstrations over lawmakers' pay. In Morocco, people marched / marching to call for better healthcare and education.

    The protesters have two things on / in common. One is a growing exasperation about the state to / of the world; the other is the use of a flag from a Japanese manga called "One Piece". The flag depicts the / a skull with a straw hat and cross / crossed bones. In the manga, a group of pirates fly / aviate the flag and fight against oppressive governments and injustice. In real / reality life, the flag has been seen on banners and social media, and seen in graffiti worldwide. Al Jazeera reported that in protests in Nepal, the flag was painted on mural / murals, hung from vehicles, and was displayed in / at place of national flags. It added: "It is used partly in satire, partly as a statement: rejecting the status quo, calling in / out what protesters see as failures of govern / governance."

    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)

    Y__ng  p__pl_  _cr_ss  th_  gl_b_  _r_  t_k_ng  t_  th_  str__ts  _n  pr_t_st  _g__nst  th__r  g_v_rnm_nts.  Fr_m  M_d_g_sc_r,  t_  P_r_,  t_  _nd_n_s__,  G_n_r_t__n  Z  _s  r_s_ng  t_  _xpr_ss  th__r  gr_w_ng  d_sc_nt_nt  w_th  th__r  l__d_rs.  G_n  Z  c_ns_sts  _f  p__pl_  b_rn  r__ghly  b_tw__n  1996  _nd  2010.  Th_y  sh_r_  _  c_mm_n  p_rc_pt__n  _f  _  w_rld  _f  _ncr__s_ng  _n_q__l_ty,  c_rr_pt__n,  n_p_t_sm,  c_rp_r_t_  gr__d,  _nd  _  bl__k  __tl__k  r_g_rd_ng  c_r__r  pr_sp_cts.  Th_s  w__k  _n  M_d_g_sc_r,  _  gr__p  _f  pr_t_st_rs  d_bb_d  "G_n  Z  M_d_g_sc_r"  h_lp_d  __st  th_  c__ntry's  pr_s_d_nt.  Y__ng  _nd_n_s__ns  t__k  p_rt  _n  d__dly  d_m_nstr_t__ns  _v_r  l_wm_k_rs'  p_y.  _n  M_r_cc_,  p__pl_  m_rch_d  t_  c_ll  f_r  b_tt_r  h__lthc_r_  _nd  _d_c_t__n.

    Th_  pr_t_st_rs  h_v_  tw_  th_ngs  _n  c_mm_n.  _n_  _s  _  gr_w_ng  _x_sp_r_t__n  _b__t  th_  st_t_  _f  th_  w_rld;  th_  _th_r  _s  th_  _s_  _f  _  fl_g  fr_m  _  J_p_n_s_  m_ng_  c_ll_d  "_n_  P__c_".  Th_  fl_g  d_p_cts  _  sk_ll  w_th  _  str_w  h_t  _nd  cr_ss_d  b_n_s.  _n  th_  m_ng_,  _  gr__p  _f  p_r_t_s  fly  th_  fl_g  _nd  f_ght  _g__nst  _ppr_ss_v_  g_v_rnm_nts  _nd  _nj_st_c_.  _n  r__l  l_f_,  th_  fl_g  h_s  b__n  s__n  _n  b_nn_rs  _nd  s_c__l  m_d__,  _nd  s__n  _n  gr_ff_t_  w_rldw_d_.  _l J_z__r_  r_p_rt_d  th_t  _n  pr_t_sts  _n  N_p_l,  th_  fl_g  w_s  p__nt_d  _n  m_r_ls,  h_ng  fr_m  v_h_cl_s,  _nd  w_s  d_spl_y_d  _n  pl_c_  _f  n_t__n_l  fl_gs.  _t  _dd_d:  "_t  _s  _s_d  p_rtly  _n  s_t_r_,  p_rtly  _s  _  st_t_m_nt:  r_j_ct_ng  th_  st_t_s  q__,  c_ll_ng  __t  wh_t  pr_t_st_rs  s__  _s  f__l_r_s  _f  g_v_rn_nc_."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    young people across the globe are taking to the streets in protest against their governments from madagascar to peru to indonesia generation z is rising to express their growing discontent with their leaders gen z consists of people born roughly between 1996 and 2010 they share a common perception of a world of increasing inequality corruption nepotism corporate greed and a bleak outlook regarding career prospects this week in madagascar a group of protesters dubbed gen z madagascar helped oust the countrys president young indonesians took part in deadly demonstrations over lawmakers pay in morocco people marched to call for better healthcare and education

    the protesters have two things in common one is a growing exasperation about the state of the world the other is the use of a flag from a japanese manga called one piece the flag depicts a skull with a straw hat and crossed bones in the manga a group of pirates fly the flag and fight against oppressive governments and injustice in real life the flag has been seen on banners and social media and seen in graffiti worldwide al jazeera reported that in protests in nepal the flag was painted on murals hung from vehicles and was displayed in place of national flags it added it is used partly in satire partly as a statement rejecting the status quo calling out what protesters see as failures of governance

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Youngpeopleacrosstheglobearetakingtothestreetsinprotestagainstt
    heirgovernments.FromMadagascar,toPeru,toIndonesia,Generation
    Zisrisingtoexpresstheirgrowingdiscontentwiththeirleaders.GenZco
    nsistsofpeoplebornroughlybetween1996and2010.Theyshareacom
    monperceptionofaworldofincreasinginequality,corruption,nepotism
    ,corporategreed,andableakoutlookregardingcareerprospects.Thisw
    eekinMadagascar,agroupofprotestersdubbed"GenZMadagascar"hel
    pedoustthecountry'spresident.YoungIndonesianstookpartindeadly
    demonstrationsoverlawmakers'pay.InMorocco,peoplemarchedtoca
    llforbetterhealthcareandeducation.Theprotestershavetwothingsinc
    ommon.Oneisagrowingexasperationaboutthestateoftheworld;theo
    theristheuseofaflagfromaJapanesemangacalled"OnePiece".Theflag
    depictsaskullwithastrawhatandcrossedbones.Inthemanga,agroupo
    fpiratesflytheflagandfightagainstoppressivegovernmentsandinjusti
    ce.Inreallife,theflaghasbeenseenonbanners,socialmedia,andingraff
    itiworldwide.AlJazeerareportedthatinprotestsinNepal,theflagwaspa
    intedonmurals,hungfromvehicles,andwasdisplayedinplaceofnation
    alflags.Itadded:"Itisusedpartlyinsatire,partlyasastatement:rejectin
    gthestatusquo,callingoutwhatprotestersseeasfailuresofgovernance
    ."

    Free writing

    Write about Gen Z protests for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Public protests are an important part of society and democracy. 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. GENERATION Z: Make a poster about Generation Z. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. PROTESTS: Write a magazine article about encouraging more people to protest against things. 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 protests. Ask him/her three questions about them. Tell him/her about three things that would make you join a protest. 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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