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NZ PM in ponytail-pulling problem (25th April, 2015)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key could be in trouble after he pulled the ponytail of a waitress in a café. Mr Key apologised after waitress Amanda Bailey posted online that the PM had pulled her hair many times when he visited the café. Ms Bailey said Mr Key started the hair-pulling last year during his election campaign. She said she repeatedly told him to stop and to not do it again, but he didn't listen to her. She could now take New Zealand's leader to court. He could be investigated for the crime of "hostile touching" if Ms Bailey goes to the police. A New Zealand legal expert said: "You have to remember this is an older white male with a lot of power." He said Ms Bailey was in a powerless position.

Mr Key has apologised for his actions and said he was just "horsing around" (joking) with the waitress. However, many people in New Zealand think the apology is not enough. Women's rights campaigner Marilyn Waring told Radio New Zealand that she believed Mr Key had broken the law. She said: "I'm getting tired of it being called anything but illegal." New Zealand's deputy leader Tracey Martin said it was unacceptable behaviour for a leader of any country. She added: "If he doesn't understand where people's personal boundaries lie, we've got some rather serious problems." The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, said: "It's never OK to touch someone without their permission."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11436981
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/22/asia/john-key-new-zealand-hair-pulling/index.html

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

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. PONYTAILS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about ponytails. 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?

be in trouble / ponytail / online / election / campaign / repeatedly / hostile / powerless / apologized / joking / women's rights / break the law / illegal / unacceptable / touch

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. HAIRSTYLE: Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Pros	Cons
Ponytail
Curly
Bald
Short
Long fringe
Waist length

4. HAIR: Students A strongly believe hair is a waste of time and we don't need it; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

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. WOMEN'S RIGHTS: Rank these with your partner. Put the ones need solving most at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• same salary as men

• violence against women

• maternity leave

• sex slavery

• lack of women CEOs

• lack of women politicians

• poverty

• "job work" and housework

6. EQUAL RIGHTS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the term "equal rights". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	New Zealand's leader pulled the ponytail of a waitress.	T / F
b.	The waitress has asked the leader many times to stop pulling her hair.	T / F
c.	It's possible for the waitress to take the leader to court.	T / F
d.	The leader could face a charge of hostile touching in court.	T / F
e.	Everyone in New Zealand thinks the leader's apology is enough.	T / F
f.	New Zealand's deputy leader said the behaviour wasn't unacceptable.	T / F
g.	The deputy leader said the leader knew where personal boundaries lay.	T / F
h.	An equal rights group said you don't need permission to touch people.	T / F

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

1.	pulled	a.	specialist
2.	apologised	b.	tugged
3.	repeatedly	c.	thought
4.	investigated	d.	quite
5.	expert	e.	constantly
6.	horsing around	f.	consent
7.	believed	g.	joking
8.	called	h.	said sorry
9.	rather	i.	named
10.	permission	j.	looked into

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

1.	John Key could be	a.	of "hostile touching"
2.	during his election	b.	for a leader
3.	He could be investigated for the crime	c.	position
4.	an older white male	d.	boundaries lie
5.	Ms Bailey was in a powerless	e.	for his actions
6.	Mr Key has apologised	f.	law
7.	broken the	g.	in trouble
8.	unacceptable behaviour	h.	permission
9.	where people's personal	i.	with a lot of power
10.	without their	j.	campaign

GAP FILL

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key could be in (1) ____________ after he pulled the ponytail of a waitress in a café. Mr Key apologised after waitress Amanda Bailey (2) ____________ online that the PM had pulled her hair many times when he visited the café. Ms Bailey said Mr Key started the hair-pulling last year (3) ____________ his election campaign. She said she (4) ____________ told him to stop and to not do it again, but he didn't listen to her. She could now take New Zealand's leader to court. He could be investigated for the (5) ____________ of "hostile touching" if Ms Bailey goes to the police. A New Zealand legal (6) ____________ said: "You have to remember this is an older white male with a lot of (7) ____________." He said Ms Bailey was in a powerless (8) ____________.

repeatedly
during
expert
trouble
position
crime
posted
power

Mr Key has apologised for his actions and said he was just "horsing (9) ____________ " (joking) with the waitress. However, many people in New Zealand think the apology is not (10) ____________. Women's rights campaigner Marilyn Waring told Radio New Zealand that she believed Mr Key had broken the (11) ____________. She said: "I'm getting tired of it being called anything but (12) ____________." New Zealand's deputy leader Tracey Martin said it was (13) ____________ behaviour for a leader of any country. She added: "If he doesn't understand where people's (14) ____________ boundaries lie, we've got some rather (15) ____________ problems." The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, said: "It's never OK to touch someone without their (16) ____________."

illegal
around
serious
law
unacceptable
permission
enough
personal

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	John Key could be in trouble after he pulled the ponytail ______ in a café
	a. for a waitress b. of a waitress c. from a waitress d. off a waitress
2)	the PM had pulled her hair many times ______ the café
	a. when he visit it b. when he visiting c. when he visited it d. when he visited
3)	She said she repeatedly told him to stop ______ again
	a. and to not do that b. and to not do it c. and to not do wit d. and to not do with
4)	You have to remember this is an older white male ______
	a. with a lot of power b. with the lot of power c. with a lot off power d. with a lot of off power
5)	He said Ms Bailey was in a ______
	a. power less position b. powered less position c. power lass position d. power lets position
6)	Mr Key has apologised for his actions and said he was ______
	a. just "horsing around" b. just "horse in around" c. just "hoarse in around" d. just "housing around"
7)	She said: "I'm getting tired of it being called ______."
	a. anything but legal b. anything but illegally c. anything but ill eagle d. anything but illegal
8)	Tracey Martin said it was unacceptable behaviour for a leader ______
	a. of many country b. of some country c. of enemy country d. of any country
9)	If he doesn't understand where people's personal boundaries lie, we've ______ serious problems
	a. got some lather b. got some rather c. got some lava d. got some rubber
10)	It's never OK to touch someone without ______
	a. their permission b. they're permission c. the permission d. there permission

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key could (1) ___________________ he pulled the ponytail of a waitress in a café. Mr Key apologised after waitress Amanda Bailey (2) ___________________ the PM had pulled her hair many times when he visited the café. Ms Bailey said Mr Key started the hair-pulling last year (3) ___________________ campaign. She said she repeatedly told him to stop and to not do it again, but he didn't listen to her. She could now take New Zealand's (4) ___________________. He could be investigated for the crime of "(5) ___________________" if Ms Bailey goes to the police. A New Zealand legal expert said: "You have to remember this is an older white male (6) ___________________ power." He said Ms Bailey was in a powerless position.

Mr Key has apologised (7) ___________________ and said he was just "horsing around" (joking) with the waitress. However, many people in New Zealand think the apology (8) ___________________. Women's rights campaigner Marilyn Waring told Radio New Zealand that she believed Mr Key had broken the law. She said: "I'm (9) ___________________ it being called anything but illegal." New Zealand's deputy leader Tracey Martin said it was unacceptable behaviour (10) ___________________ any country. She added: "If he doesn't understand where people's personal boundaries lie, we've got (11) ___________________ problems." The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, said: "It's (12) ___________________ someone without their permission."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	Where did John Key pull the waitress' ponytail?
2.	What kind of campaign was there last year?
3.	How often did Mr Key pull the waitress' ponytail?
4.	Where could Amanda Bailey take John Key?
5.	What kind of position was Ms Bailey in?
6.	What words did Mr Key use to say he was joking?
7.	What did a women's rights campaigner say Mr Key had broken?
8.	What job does Tracey Martin have?
9.	What kind of problems did Tracey Martin say John Key might have?
10.	What did the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission say was not OK?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	Where did John Key pull the waitress' ponytail?	6.	What words did Mr Key use to say he was joking?
	a) in his office b) in the street c) on a train d) in a cafe		a) monkey business b) horsing around c) donkey work d) a dog's life
2.	What kind of campaign was there last year?	7.	What did a women's rights campaigner say Mr Key had broken?
	a) a charity campaign b) an election campaign c) a military campaign d) a fundraising campaign		a) a plate b) a record c) the public's trust d) the law
3.	How often did Mr Key pull the waitress' ponytail?	8.	What job does Tracey Martin have?
	a) two times every three weeks b) once every three weeks c) repeatedly d) every week		a) deputy leader b) CEO c) equal rights campaigner d) waitress
4.	Where could Amanda Bailey take John Key?	9.	What kind of problems did Tracey Martin say John Key might have?
	a) to court b) to Australia c) to the cleaners d) to dinner		a) small ones b) health problems c) serious ones d) financial problems
5.	What kind of position was Ms Bailey in?	10.	What did the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission say was not OK?
	a) a seated one b) a strong one c) a powerless position d) a powerful position		a) equal rights b) touching people without permission c) playing with ponytails d) not apologising

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Domestic violence

You think domestic violence is the biggest problem that needs fixing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their problems aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): the gender gap in salaries, maternity leave or the lack of women CEOs.

Role B – Gender gap in salaries

You think the gender gap in salaries is the biggest problem that needs fixing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their problems aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): domestic violence, maternity leave or the lack of women CEOs.

Role C – Maternity leave

You think maternity leave is the biggest problem that needs fixing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their problems aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): the gender gap in salaries, domestic violence or the lack of women CEOs.

Role D – Lack of women CEOs

You think the lack of women CEOs is the biggest problem that needs fixing. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their problems aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): the gender gap in salaries, maternity leave or domestic violence.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

pony

tail

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:

trouble
online
last
take
legal
position

joking
enough
radio
tired
lie
touch

PONYTAILS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about ponytails 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

PONYTAILS DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'ponytail'?
3)	What do you think about what you read?
4)	What should happen to New Zealand's leader?
5)	How bad is what he did?
6)	What more could the waitress have done to stop Mr Key?
7)	Do you think an apology is enough?
8)	What do you think of the term "hostile touching"?
9)	Is what Mr Key did an abuse of power?
10)	How powerless do you think Ms Bailey was?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	How has the Internet helped Ms Bailey?
13)	Is continually pulling someone's ponytail "horsing around"?
14)	Do you think Mr Key has broken the law?
15)	How should leaders behave in public?
16)	What would you have done in Ms Martin's situation?
17)	What should the restaurant owner have done?
18)	What are personal boundaries?
19)	What advice do you have for Ms Martin?
20)	What questions would you like to ask Mr Key?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key could be (1) ____ trouble after he pulled the ponytail of a waitress in a café. Mr Key apologised (2) ____ waitress Amanda Bailey posted online that the PM had pulled her hair many times when he visited the café. Ms Bailey said Mr Key started the hair-pulling last year (3) ____ his election campaign. She said she (4) ____ told him to stop and to not do it again, but he didn't listen to her. She could now take New Zealand's leader to (5) ____. He could be investigated for the crime of "hostile touching" if Ms Bailey goes to the police. A New Zealand legal expert said: "You have to remember this is an older white male with a lot of power." He said Ms Bailey was in a (6) ____ position.

Mr Key has apologised for his actions and said he was just "horsing (7) ____ " (joking) with the waitress. However, many people in New Zealand think the apology is not (8) ____. Women's rights campaigner Marilyn Waring told Radio New Zealand that she believed Mr Key had broken the law. She said: "I'm getting (9) ____ of it being called anything (10) ____ illegal." New Zealand's deputy leader Tracey Martin said it was unacceptable behaviour for a leader of any country. She added: "If he doesn't understand where people's personal boundaries (11) ____, we've got some rather serious problems." The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, said: "It's never OK to touch someone (12) ____ their permission."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	in	(b)	on	(c)	up	(d)	at
2.	(a)	following	(b)	then	(c)	after	(d)	post
3.	(a)	then	(b)	while	(c)	between	(d)	during
4.	(a)	repeats	(b)	repeatedly	(c)	repeated	(d)	repeat
5.	(a)	police	(b)	cafe	(c)	battle	(d)	court
6.	(a)	powered	(b)	powers	(c)	powerless	(d)	powerfully
7.	(a)	up	(b)	around	(c)	on	(d)	there
8.	(a)	enough	(b)	plenty	(c)	all	(d)	suffice
9.	(a)	tired	(b)	tried	(c)	tiered	(d)	tirade
10.	(a)	without	(b)	with	(c)	but	(d)	some
11.	(a)	tie	(b)	pie	(c)	die	(d)	lie
12.	(a)	within	(b)	without	(c)	with	(d)	wither

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	a awisestr in a café
2.	during his ceeilnto
3.	He could be adtetgsviine
4.	the crime of "tioeshl touching"
5.	A New Zealand legal etpxer
6.	Ms Bailey was in a powerless oinsopit
Paragraph 2
7.	loagoipsed (UK) / apdoloigze (USA) for his actions
8.	Women's rights maipecrgan
9.	anything but glallei
10.	unacceptable vrbaheuio (UK) / raevbiho (USA)
11.	people's eprlosna boundaries
12.	without their snesmiorpi

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	waitress. However, many people in New Zealand think the apology is not enough. Women's rights
( )	law. She said: "I'm getting tired of it being called anything but illegal." New Zealand's deputy
( )	country. She added: "If he doesn't understand where people's personal boundaries lie, we've got some rather serious
( )	apologised after waitress Amanda Bailey posted online that the PM had pulled her hair many
( )	times when he visited the café. Ms Bailey said Mr Key started the hair-pulling last year during his election
( )	take New Zealand's leader to court. He could be investigated for the crime of "hostile
( 1 )	New Zealand Prime Minister John Key could be in trouble after he pulled the ponytail of a waitress in a café. Mr Key
( )	leader Tracey Martin said it was unacceptable behaviour for a leader of any
( )	white male with a lot of power." He said Ms Bailey was in a powerless position.
( )	campaigner Marilyn Waring told Radio New Zealand that she believed Mr Key had broken the
( )	touching" if Ms Bailey goes to the police. A New Zealand legal expert said: "You have to remember this is an older
( )	problems." The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, said: "It's never OK to touch someone without their permission."
( )	campaign. She said she repeatedly told him to stop and to not do it again, but he didn't listen to her. She could now
( )	Mr Key has apologised for his actions and said he was just "horsing around" (joking) with the

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	of a waitress In trouble after he pulled the ponytail .
2.	times pulled her The hair PM many had .
3.	him said to she stop repeatedly told She .
4.	touching' 'hostile of crime the for Investigated .
5.	lot a with male white older an is This power of .
6.	just was He . (joking) around' 'horsing
7.	Mr law Key had She broken believed the .
8.	a leader Unacceptable of behaviour any for country .
9.	lie Understand people's boundaries where personal .
10.	their It's to without OK someone permission never touch .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key could be in / on trouble after he pulled the ponytail of a waitress in a café. Mr Key apologised after waitress Amanda Bailey posted inline / online that the PM had pulled her / the hair many times when he visited the café. Ms Bailey said Mr Key started the hair-pulling last year while / during his election campaign. She said she repeatedly told him to stop and to not do it again / repeat, but he didn't listen to her. She could now make / take New Zealand's leader to court. He could be / do investigated for the crime for / of "hostile touching" if Ms Bailey goes to the police. A New Zealand legal / legally expert said: "You have to remember this is an older white male with a lot of power." He said Ms Bailey was in a powered / powerless position.

Mr Key has apologised of / for his actions and said he was simple / just "horsing around" (joking) with / by the waitress. However, many people in New Zealand think the apologise / apology is not enough. Women's rights campaigner Marilyn Waring told Radio New Zealand that she believed Mr Key had broken / smashed the law. She said: "I'm getting tired / tried of it being called anything but illegal / legally." New Zealand's deputy leader Tracey Martin said it was unacceptable behaviour for a leader of some / any country. She added: "If he doesn't understand where people's personal boundaries be / lie, we've got some rather serious problems." The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, said: "It's never OK to touch someone without their / our permission."

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

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

N_w Z__l_nd Pr_m_ M_n_st_r J_hn K_y c__ld b_ _n tr__bl_ _ft_r h_ p_ll_d th_ p_nyt__l _f _ w__tr_ss _n _ c_fé. Mr K_y _p_l_g_s_d _ft_r w__tr_ss _m_nd_ B__l_y p_st_d _nl_n_ th_t th_ PM h_d p_ll_d h_r h__r m_ny t_m_s wh_n h_ v_s_t_d th_ c_fé. Ms B__l_y s__d Mr K_y st_rt_d th_ h__r-p_ll_ng l_st y__r d_r_ng h_s _l_ct__n c_mp__gn. Sh_ s__d sh_ r_p__t_dly t_ld h_m t_ st_p _nd t_ n_t d_ _t _g__n, b_t h_ d_dn't l_st_n t_ h_r. Sh_ c__ld n_w t_k_ N_w Z__l_nd's l__d_r t_ c__rt. H_ c__ld b_ _nv_st_g_t_d f_r th_ cr_m_ _f "h_st_l_ t__ch_ng" _f Ms B__l_y g__s t_ th_ p_l_c_. _ N_w Z__l_nd l_g_l _xp_rt s__d: "Y__ h_v_ t_ r_m_mb_r th_s _s _n _ld_r wh_t_ m_l_ w_th _ l_t _f p_w_r." H_ s__d Ms B__l_y w_s _n _ p_w_rl_ss p_s_t__n.

Mr K_y h_s _p_l_g_s_d f_r h_s _ct__ns _nd s__d h_ w_s j_st "h_rs_ng _r__nd" (j_k_ng) w_th th_ w__tr_ss. H_w_v_r, m_ny p__pl_ _n N_w Z__l_nd th_nk th_ _p_l_gy _s n_t _n__gh. W_m_n's r_ghts c_mp__gn_r M_r_lyn W_r_ng t_ld R_d__ N_w Z__l_nd th_t sh_ b_l__v_d Mr K_y h_d br_k_n th_ l_w. Sh_ s__d: "_'m g_tt_ng t_r_d _f _t b__ng c_ll_d _nyth_ng b_t _ll_g_l." N_w Z__l_nd's d_p_ty l__d_r Tr_c_y M_rt_n s__d _t w_s _n_cc_pt_bl_ b_h_v___r f_r _ l__d_r _f _ny c__ntry. Sh_ _dd_d: "_f h_ d__sn't _nd_rst_nd wh_r_ p__pl_'s p_rs_n_l b__nd_r__s l__, w_'v_ g_t s_m_ r_th_r s_r___s pr_bl_ms." Th_ _q__l _mpl_ym_nt _pp_rt_n_t__s C_mm_ss__n, s__d: "_t's n_v_r _K t_ t__ch s_m__n_ w_th__t th__r p_rm_ss__n."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

new zealand prime minister john key could be in trouble after he pulled the ponytail of a waitress in a café mr key apologised after waitress amanda bailey posted online that the pm had pulled her hair many times when he visited the café ms bailey said mr key started the hair-pulling last year during his election campaign she said she repeatedly told him to stop and to not do it again but he didn't listen to her she could now take new zealand's leader to court he could be investigated for the crime of "hostile touching" if ms bailey goes to the police a new zealand legal expert said "you have to remember this is an older white male with a lot of power" he said ms bailey was in a powerless position

mr key has apologised for his actions and said he was just "horsing around" (joking) with the waitress however many people in new zealand think the apology is not enough women's rights campaigner marilyn waring told radio new zealand that she believed mr key had broken the law she said "i'm getting tired of it being called anything but illegal" new zealand's deputy leader tracey martin said it was unacceptable behaviour for a leader of any country she added "if he doesn't understand where people's personal boundaries lie we've got some rather serious problems" the equal employment opportunities commission said "it's never ok to touch someone without their permission"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

NewZealandPrimeMinisterJohnKeycouldbeintroubleafterhepulledth
eponytailofawaitressinacafé.MrKeyapologisedafterwaitressAmanda
BaileypostedonlinethatthePMhadpulledherhairmanytimeswhenhevi
sitedthecafé.MsBaileysaidMrKeystartedthehair-pullinglas
tyearduringhiselectioncampaign.Shesaidsherepeatedlytoldhimtost
opandtonotdoitagain,buthedidn'tlistentoher.ShecouldnowtakeNew
Zealand'sleadertocourt.Hecouldbeinvestigatedforthecrimeof"hostil
etouching"ifMsBaileygoestothepolice.ANewZealandlegalexpertsaid
:"Youhavetorememberthisisanolderwhitemalewithalotofpower."He
saidMsBaileywasinapowerlessposition.MrKeyhasapologisedforhisac
tionsandsaidhewasjust"horsingaround"(joking)withthewaitress.Ho
wever,manypeopleinNewZealandthinktheapologyisnotenough.Wo
men'srightscampaignerMarilynWaringtoldRadioNewZealandthatsh
ebelievedMrKeyhadbrokenthelaw.Shesaid:"I'mgettingtiredofitbein
gcalledanythingbutillegal."NewZealand'sdeputyleaderTraceyMartin
saiditwasunacceptablebehaviourforaleaderofanycountry.Sheadded
:"Ifhedoesn'tunderstandwherepeople'spersonalboundarieslie,we'v
egotsomeratherseriousproblems."TheEqualEmploymentOpportunit
iesCommission,said:"It'sneverOKtotouchsomeonewithouttheirper
mission."

FREE WRITING

Write about ponytails for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

New Zealand's Prime Minister should resign. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 ponytails. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. PONYTAILS: Make a poster about ponytails. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. RESIGN: Write a magazine article about New Zealand's PM pulling the waitress' ponytail. Include imaginary interviews with people who think he should resign, and with people who think he shouldn't.

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 ponytails. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on the best hairstyles. 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

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

T

c

T

d

T

e

F

f

F

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	pulled	a.	tugged
2	apologised	b.	said sorry
3.	repeatedly	c.	constantly
4.	investigated	d.	looked into
5.	expert	e.	specialist
6.	horsing around	f.	joking
7.	believed	g.	thought
8.	called	h.	named
9.	rather	i.	quite
10.	permission	j.	consent

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	In a cafe
2.	An election campaign
3.	Repeatedly
4.	To court
5.	A powerless position
6.	Horsing around
7.	The law
8.	Deputy leader
9.	Serious problems
10.	To touch someone without their permission

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

d

2.

b

3.

c

4.

a

5.

c

6.

b

7.

d

8.

a

9.

c

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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NZ PM in ponytail-pulling problem (25th April, 2015)

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