The Reading / Listening - Will Smith Apology - Level 3

Actor Will Smith has apologized to comedian Chris Rock for hitting him at the Academy Awards show on Sunday. Mr Smith shocked the audience when he walked onto the stage and slapped Mr Rock around the face. Rock was presenting the Oscars ceremony. He made a "joke" about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The joke was about Ms Smith appearing in an imaginary movie in which the star has no hair. Ms Smith suffers from a hair loss condition called alopecia. This causes many women a lot of stress and a lack of confidence. In Mr Smith's apology, he said: "Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear, and I reacted emotionally."

Forty minutes after the on-stage slapping incident, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in the movie "King Richard". In the movie, he played the part of the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. In his acceptance speech, Mr Smith apologized to the Academy, the attendees at the show and everyone watching around the world, but not to Mr Rock. That apology came a day later. Smith said: "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not [a sign of] the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness." The Academy said it is "investigating" the incident.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Will Smith Apology - Level 0,  Will Smith Apology - Level 1   or  Will Smith Apology - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/28/entertainment/will-smith-apology/index.html
  • https://www.wsaw.com/2022/03/28/academy-condemns-will-smiths-actions-launches-review/
  • https://www.marketwatch.com/story/will-smith-apologizes-to-chris-rock-for-slap-i-was-out-of-line-and-i-was-wrong-01648510775


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. APOLOGIES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about apologies. 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?
       comedian / Academy Awards / audience / slapped / joke / hair loss / confidence / job
       Oscar / role / movie / tennis / superstars / apology / wrong / embarrassed / kindness
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SLAPPING: Students A strongly believe someone who slaps someone else should go to prison; Students B strongly believe this is too strong. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. OSCARS: Who should get an Oscar in these categories (anyone from movie history)? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Who

Why?

Best Movie

 

 

Best Male Actor

 

 

Best Female Actor

 

 

Best Director

 

 

Best Animation

 

 

Best Song

 

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

  • Biography
  • Horror
  • Romance
  • Action
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi
  • Historical
  • Comedy

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. comedian a. Did something in response to something else.
      2. audience b. Hit someone or something with the palm of your hand.
      3. slapped c. Being only in our thoughts and mind.
      4. appearing d. An entertainer who tells jokes and makes people laugh.
      5. imaginary e. A feeling of being sure of, happy about ourself and knowing that we can do things.
      6. confidence f. All the people or listeners at a public event such as a play, film, concert, or meeting.
      7. reacted g. Being in a film, play, etc.

    Paragraph 2

      8. incident h. Behaving in a way that was wrong.
      9. acceptance i. The action of agreeing to receive something.
      10. publicly j. Trying to find or discover the facts of something to find the truth.
      11. out of line k. An action, or happening.
      12. embarrassed l. Feeling or showing you are uncomfortable being in a social situation because you think people are looking or laughing at you
      13. violence m. So as to be seen by other people.
      14. investigating n. Behaviour involving physical force to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock at the Oscars.     T / F
  2. Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith's wife in an imaginary movie.    T / F
  3. The hair-loss condition alopecia makes many women stressed.     T / F
  4. Will Smith said the joke was too much for him.     T / F
  5. Will Smith won an Oscar for his role in the movie "King William".     T / F
  6. Will Smith apologized to everyone in the world watching the Oscars.   T / F
  7. Will Smith told Chris Rock that he was in line.     T / F
  8. The Oscars Academy will take no further action.     T / F

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

  1. apologizes
  2. shocked
  3. slapped
  4. condition
  5. bear
  6. incident
  7. role
  8. out of line
  9. violence
  10. investigating
  1. part
  2. illness
  3. stunned
  4. wrong
  5. event
  6. cope with
  7. says sorry
  8. looking into
  9. smacked
  10. brutality

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

  1. he walked onto the stage and
  2. Rock was presenting the
  3. hair
  4. a lack
  5. I reacted
  6. That apology came
  7. I would like to publicly
  8. I was out of line
  9. There is no place for violence
  10. The Academy said it is "investigating"
  1. in a world of love
  2. emotionally
  3. of confidence
  4. apologize to you
  5. the incident
  6. Oscars ceremony
  7. a day later
  8. loss
  9. and I was wrong
  10. slapped Mr Rock

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
suffers
audience
made
comedian
reacted
lack
part
appearing

Actor Will Smith has apologized to (1) _____________________ Chris Rock for hitting him at the Academy Awards show on Sunday. Mr Smith shocked the (2) _____________________ when he walked onto the stage and slapped Mr Rock around the face. Rock was presenting the Oscars ceremony. He (3) _____________________ a "joke" about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The joke was about Ms Smith (4) _____________________ in an imaginary movie in which the star has no hair. Ms Smith (5) _____________________ from a hair loss condition called alopecia. This causes many women a lot of stress and a (6) _____________________ of confidence. In Mr Smith's apology, he said: "Jokes at my expense are a (7) _____________________ of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear, and I (8) _____________________ emotionally."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
attendees
role
embarrassed
line
incident
violence
speech
publicly

Forty minutes after the on-stage slapping (9) _____________________, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his (10) _____________________ in the movie "King Richard". In the movie, he played the part of the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. In his acceptance (11) _____________________, Mr Smith apologized to the Academy, the (12) _____________________ at the show and everyone watching around the world, but not to Mr Rock. That apology came a day later. Smith said: "I would like to (13) _____________________ apologize to you, Chris. I was out of (14) _____________________ and I was wrong. I am (15) _____________________ and my actions were not [a sign of] the man I want to be. There is no place for (16) _____________________ in a world of love and kindness." The Academy said it is "investigating" the incident.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Actor Will Smith has apologized to comedian Chris Rock ______
     a.  from hitting him
     b.  far hitting him
     c.  for hitting him
     d.  fore hitting him
2) Smith shocked the audience when he walked onto the stage and slapped Mr Rock ______
     a.  abound the face
     b.  aground the face
     c.  around the face
     d.  a rounds the face
3)  The joke was about Ms Smith appearing in an imaginary movie in which the star ______
     a.  has not hair
     b.  has non hair
     c.  have no hair
     d.  has no hair
4)  This causes many women a lot of stress and a ______
     a.  lacks of confidence
     b.  slack of confidence
     c.  lacked of confidence
     d.  lack of confidence
5)  a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for ______
     a.  me to bore
     b.  me to bear
     c.  me to boar
     d.  me to bare

6)  Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his ______ movie
     a.  roll in the
     b.  reel in the
     c.  role in the
     d.  rule in the
7)  Mr Smith apologized to the Academy, the attendees ______
     a.  at the show
     b.  at the showed
     c.  at the shows
     d.  at the shown
8)  I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was ______
     a.  out of align
     b.  out of a line
     c.  out of lint
     d.  out of line
9)  There is no place for violence in a world of ______
     a.  love end kindness
     b.  lovely and kindness
     c.  love and kindness
     d.  loves and kindness
10)  The Academy said it is ______
     a.  investigate in the incident
     b.  investigate tin the incident
     c.  investigating the incident
     d.  investigate thing the incident

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Actor Will Smith has (1) ____________________ Chris Rock for hitting him at the Academy Awards show on Sunday. Mr Smith shocked the audience when he walked onto the (2) ____________________ Mr Rock around the face. Rock was presenting the Oscars ceremony. He made a "joke" about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The joke was about Ms Smith (3) ____________________ imaginary movie in which the star has no hair. Ms Smith suffers from a hair loss condition called alopecia. This causes many women a lot of stress and a (4) ____________________. In Mr Smith's apology, he said: "Jokes (5) ____________________ are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear, and (6) ____________________."

Forty minutes after the on-stage slapping incident, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for (7) ____________________ the movie "King Richard". In the movie, he played the part of the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. In (8) ____________________, Mr Smith apologized to the Academy, the attendees at the show and everyone watching around the world, but not to Mr Rock. That apology (9) ____________________ later. Smith said: "I would (10) ____________________ apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not [a sign of] the man I want to be. There is no (11) ____________________ in a world of love and kindness." The Academy said it (12) ____________________ incident.

Comprehension questions

  1. What does the article say Mr Smith did to the audience?
  2. What kind of movie did Mr Rock make part of his joke?
  3. How does alopecia cause women to feel besides lacking confidence?
  4. What did Mr Smith say was a part of his job?
  5. How did Mr Smith say he reacted?
  6. How long after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock did he win an Oscar?
  7. When did Mr Smith apologize to Mr Rock?
  8. How did Mr Smith tell Mr Rock he felt?
  9. What did Mr Smith say there is no place for in this world?
  10. Who is investigating the incident?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say Mr Smith did to the audience?
a) entertained them
b) made them laugh
c) made them sleep
d) shocked them
2) What kind of movie did Mr Rock make part of his joke?
a) a sci-fi movie
b) an imaginary movie
c) an action movie
d) a tearjerker
3) How does alopecia cause women to feel besides lacking confidence?
a) bad
b) worried
c) sad
d) stressed
4) What did Mr Smith say was a part of his job?
a) stunts
b) acting
c) jokes at his expense
d) press interviews
5) How did Mr Smith say he reacted?
a) unforgivably
b) well
c) badly
d) emotionally

6) How long after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock did he win an Oscar?
a) an hour
b) a day
c) forty minutes
d) 15 minutes
7) When did Mr Smith apologize to Mr Rock?
a) a day later
b) an hour later
c) 3 hours later
d) 7 hours later
8) How did Mr Smith tell Mr Rock he felt?
a) sad
b) bad
c) embarrassed
d) terrible
9) What did Mr Smith say there is no place for in this world?
a) apologies
b) violence
c) war
d) fighting

10) Who is investigating the incident?
a) the Academy
b) the LA Police Department
c) the actors union
d) the Hollywood Gazette newspaper

Role play

Role  A – Science Fiction
You think science fiction is the best movie genre. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their genre. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): horror, romance or comedy.

Role  B – Horror
You think horror is the best movie genre. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their genre. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): science fiction, romance or comedy.

Role  C – Romance
You think romance is the best movie genre. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their genre. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): horror, science fiction or comedy.

Role  D – Comedy
You think comedy is the best movie genre. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their genre. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): horror, romance or science fiction.

After reading / listening

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

'apology'

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

    • and 'comedian'.

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

    • • 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:

    • shocked
    • wife
    • imaginary
    • lack
    • expense
    • reacted
    • role
    • part
    • speech
    • world
    • actions
    • kindness

    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 - Will Smith Apology

    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 'apology'?
    3. What do you know about Will Smith?
    4. What do you think of the Oscars?
    5. What do you think of Mr Smith slapping Mr Rock?
    6. What do you think of Mr Rock's bad joke?
    7. How would you feel if you lost your hair?
    8. Should people make jokes about hair loss?
    9. Would you be happy if your partner slapped someone who hurt you?
    10. What advice do you have for Will Smith?

    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 'comedian'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you know about Chris Rock?
    5. Would you like to see the movie 'King Richard'?
    6. What's your favorite movie?
    7. What do you think of Will Smith as an actor?
    8. Is the world a place of love and kindness?
    9. Do you think the Academy will take away Will Smith's Oscar?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Will Smith?

    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)

    Actor Will Smith has apologized to comedian Chris Rock (1) ____ hitting him at the Academy Awards show on Sunday. Mr Smith shocked the audience when he walked (2) ____ the stage and slapped Mr Rock around the face. Rock was (3) ____ the Oscars ceremony. He made a "joke" about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The joke was about Ms Smith (4) ____ in an imaginary movie in which the star has no hair. Ms Smith suffers from a hair loss condition called alopecia. This causes many women a lot of stress and a (5) ____ of confidence. In Mr Smith's apology, he said: "Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to (6) ____, and I reacted emotionally."

    Forty minutes after the (7) ____ slapping incident, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in the movie "King Richard". In the movie, he (8) ____ the part of the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. In his acceptance speech, Mr Smith apologized to the Academy, the (9) ____ at the show and everyone watching around the world, but not to Mr Rock. That apology (10) ____ a day later. Smith said: I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of (11) ____ and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not [a sign of] the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and (12) ____." The Academy said it is "investigating" the incident.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    (a)     at     (b)     by     (c)     for     (d)     as    
    (a)     onto     (b)     into     (c)     unto      (d)     as to    
    (a)     preventing     (b)     pretending     (c)     pressing     (d)     presenting    
    (a)     appears     (b)     appearing     (c)     appeared     (d)     appearance    
    (a)     slack     (b)     flack     (c)     lack     (d)     black    
    (a)     boar     (b)     bore     (c)     bare     (d)     bear    
    (a)     upstage     (b)     on-stage     (c)     offstage     (d)     postage    
    (a)     relaxed     (b)     participated     (c)     competed     (d)     played    
    (a)     attendees     (b)     attendance     (c)     attends     (d)     attend    
    (a)     had     (b)     did     (c)     went     (d)     came    
    (a)     line     (b)     string     (c)     thread     (d)     queue    
    (a)     kind     (b)     kindly     (c)     kindness     (d)     kinds

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. presenting the Oscars eymocrne
    2. appearing in an ainmygiar movie
    3. a lack of ccinonedef
    4. Jokes at my espneex
    5. a joke about Jada's cilmeda condition
    6. I eadrcte emotionally

    Paragraph 2

    1. the on-stage slapping ncnideti
    2. In his cpatancece speech
    3. That opaglyo came a day later
    4. I am sdasremearb
    5. There is no place for ivlnecoe
    6. The Academy said it is tsgnviigantie

    Put the text back together

    (...)  watching around the world, but not to Mr Rock. That apology came a day later. Smith said: "I would like to publicly
    (...)  world of love and kindness." The Academy said it is "investigating" the incident.
    (...)  and my actions were not [a sign of] the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a
    (...)  around the face. Rock was presenting the Oscars ceremony. He made a "joke" about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The joke
    (  1  ) Actor Will Smith has apologized to comedian Chris Rock for hitting him at the Academy Awards
    (...)  in the movie "King Richard". In the movie, he played the part of the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. In his acceptance
    (...)  Forty minutes after the on-stage slapping incident, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role
    (...)  job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear, and I reacted emotionally."
    (...)  apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed
    (...)  show on Sunday. Mr Smith shocked the audience when he walked onto the stage and slapped Mr Rock
    (...)  from a hair loss condition called alopecia. This causes many women a lot of stress and a lack
    (...)  of confidence. In Mr Smith's apology, he said: "Jokes at my expense are a part of the
    (...)  was about Ms Smith appearing in an imaginary movie in which the star has no hair. Ms Smith suffers
    (...)  speech, Mr Smith apologized to the Academy, the attendees at the show and everyone

    Put the words in the right order

    1. Chris   Will   to   apologized   Rock   .   Smith   has   comedian
    2. walked   and   slapped   Rock   .   the   stage   onto   He
    3. made   Smith's   about   a   "joke"   He   wife   .
    4. a   many   causes   lot   women   of   This   stress   .
    5. for   medical   much   too   condition   was   Jada's   me   .
    6. after   the   incident   .   Forty   minutes   slapping   on-stage
    7. of   He   the   played   father   .   the   part
    8. apologize   to   would   to   publicly   like   I   you   .
    9. violence   place   No   in   for   world   .   the
    10. The   is   incident   .   it   investigating   Academy   said   the

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Actor Will Smith has apologies / apologized to comedian Chris Rock for hitting him at the Academy Awards show on Sunday. Mr Smith shocked the audience that / when he walked onto the stage and slapped Mr Rock abound / around the face. Rock was presenting / preventing the Oscars ceremony. He made a "joke" about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The joke was about Ms Smith appearing / appealing in an imaginary movie in which / what the star has no hair. Ms Smith suffers from a hair loss / lost condition called alopecia. This causes many women a lot / lots of stress and a lack of confidence. In Mr Smith's apology, he said: "Jokes at mine / my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear, and I reacted emotionally / emotion."

    Forty minutes after the on-stage slapping incident / incidence, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his roll / role in the movie "King Richard". In the movie, he played a / the part of the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. In his accept / acceptance speech, Mr Smith apologized to the Academy, the attendees / attendance at the show and everyone watching around the world, but not to Mr Rock. That apology came / went a day later. Smith said: "I would like to publicly / public apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrongly / wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not [a sign of] the man I want to me / be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kind / kindness." The Academy said it is "investigating" the incident.

    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)

    _ct_r  W_ll  Sm_th  h_s  _p_l_g_z_d  t_  c_m_d__n  Chr_s  R_ck  f_r  h_tt_ng  h_m  _t  th_  _c_d_my  _w_rds  sh_w  _n  S_nd_y.  Mr  Sm_th  sh_ck_d  th_  __d__nc_  wh_n  h_  w_lk_d  _nt_  th_  st_g_  _nd  sl_pp_d  Mr  R_ck  _r__nd  th_  f_c_.  R_ck  w_s  pr_s_nt_ng  th_  _sc_rs  c_r_m_ny.  H_  m_d_  _  "j_k_"  _b__t  Sm_th's  w_f_,  J_d_  P_nk_tt  Sm_th.  Th_  j_k_  w_s  _b__t  Ms  Sm_th  _pp__r_ng  _n  _n  _m_g_n_ry  m_v__  _n  wh_ch  th_  st_r  h_s  n_  h__r.  Ms  Sm_th  s_ff_rs  fr_m  _  h__r  l_ss  c_nd_t__n  c_ll_d  _l_p_c__.  Th_s  c__s_s  m_ny  w_m_n  _  l_t  _f  str_ss  _nd  _  l_ck  _f  c_nf_d_nc_.  _n  Mr  Sm_th's  _p_l_gy,  h_  s__d:  "J_k_s  _t  my  _xp_ns_  _r_  _  p_rt  _f  th_  j_b,  b_t  _  j_k_  _b__t  J_d_'s  m_d_c_l  c_nd_t__n  w_s  t__  m_ch  f_r  m_  t_  b__r,  _nd  _  r__ct_d  _m_t__n_lly."

    F_rty  m_n_t_s  _ft_r  th_  _n-st_g_  sl_pp_ng  _nc_d_nt,  W_ll  Sm_th  w_n  th_  _sc_r  f_r  B_st  _ct_r  f_r  h_s  r_l_  _n  th_  m_v__  "K_ng  R_ch_rd".  _n  th_  m_v__,  h_  pl_y_d  th_  p_rt  _f  th_  f_th_r  _f  t_nn_s  s_p_rst_rs  S_r_n_  _nd  V_n_s  W_ll__ms.  _n  h_s  _cc_pt_nc_  sp__ch,  Mr  Sm_th  _p_l_g_z_d  t_  th_  _c_d_my,  th_  _tt_nd__s  _t  th_  sh_w  _nd  _v_ry_n_  w_tch_ng  _r__nd  th_  w_rld,  b_t  n_t  t_  Mr  R_ck.  Th_t  _p_l_gy  c_m_  _  d_y  l_t_r.  Sm_th  s__d:  "_  w__ld  l_k_  t_  p_bl_cly  _p_l_g_z_  t_  y__,  Chr_s.  _  w_s  __t  _f  l_n_  _nd  _  w_s  wr_ng.  _  _m  _mb_rr_ss_d  _nd  my  _ct__ns  w_r_  n_t  [_  s_gn  _f]  th_  m_n  _  w_nt  t_  b_.  Th_r_  _s  n_  pl_c_  f_r  v__l_nc_  _n  _  w_rld  _f  l_v_  _nd  k_ndn_ss."  Th_  _c_d_my  s__d  _t  _s  "_nv_st_g_t_ng"  th_  _nc_d_nt.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    actor will smith has apologized to comedian chris rock for hitting him at the academy awards show on sunday mr smith shocked the audience when he walked onto the stage and slapped mr rock around the face rock was presenting the oscars ceremony he made a joke about smiths wife jada pinkett smith the joke was about ms smith appearing in an imaginary movie in which the star has no hair ms smith suffers from a hair loss condition called alopecia this causes many women a lot of stress and a lack of confidence in mr smiths apology he said jokes at my expense are a part of the job but a joke about jadas medical condition was too much for me to bear and i reacted emotionally

    forty minutes after the onstage slapping incident will smith won the oscar for best actor for his role in the movie king richard in the movie he played the part of the father of tennis superstars serena and venus williams in his acceptance speech mr smith apologized to the academy the attendees at the show and everyone watching around the world but not to mr rock that apology came a day later smith said i would like to publicly apologize to you chris i was out of line and i was wrong i am embarrassed and my actions were not a sign of the man i want to be there is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness the academy said it is investigating the incident

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    ActorWillSmithhasapologizedtocomedianChrisRockforhittinghimatt
    heAcademyAwardsshowonSunday.MrSmithshockedtheaudiencewh
    enhewalkedontothestageandslappedMrRockaroundtheface.Rockwa
    spresentingtheOscarsceremony.Hemadea"joke"aboutSmith'swife,J
    adaPinkettSmith.ThejokewasaboutMsSmithappearinginanimaginar
    ymovieinwhichthestarhasnohair.MsSmithsuffersfromahairlosscond
    itioncalledalopecia.Thiscausesmanywomenalotofstressandalackofc
    onfidence.InMrSmith'sapology,hesaid:"Jokesatmyexpenseareapar
    tofthejob,butajokeaboutJada'smedicalconditionwastoomuchformet
    obear,andIreactedemotionally."Fortyminutesaftertheon-stagesl
    appingincident,WillSmithwontheOscarforBestActorforhisroleinthe
    movie"KingRichard".Inthemovie,heplayedthepartofthefatheroftenn
    issuperstarsSerenaandVenusWilliams.Inhisacceptancespeech,MrS
    mithapologizedtotheAcademy,theattendeesattheshowandeveryon
    ewatchingaroundtheworld,butnottoMrRock.Thatapologycameadayl
    ater.Smithsaid:"Iwouldliketopubliclyapologizetoyou,Chris.Iwasout
    oflineandIwaswrong.Iamembarrassedandmyactionswerenot[asign
    of]themanIwanttobe.Thereisnoplaceforviolenceinaworldofloveandk
    indness."TheAcademysaiditis"investigating"theincident.

    Free writing

    Write about Will Smith apology for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    There is no reason for one person to hit another person. 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. APOLOGIES: Make a poster about apologies. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. HITTING: Write a magazine article about banning anyone in the world from ever hitting another person. 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 apologies. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on apologies. 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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