(10-15 minutes) Warm-Up:​ Let’s Talk About Sports!

 
Hobbies and Interests: ​Playing Sport 
 
Have a conversation with your teacher using the questions below as a guideline. 
 
● Are you good at sports? 

● What sports do you enjoy playing? 

● What sports do you not like to play? 

● What are some popular sports to play in your 

country? 

● Do you prefer to play individual or team sports? 

● What sports did you play when you were a child? 

● Have you ever entered a sports competition? 

● Have you ever gotten hurt playing sports? 

● Have you ever coached a sport? 

● Would you be interested in trying extreme sports (ex. skydiving, cliff jumping)? 

   
(15-20 minutes) Listening Practice 
Instructions: Listen carefully to the audio file while answering the exercise. 
 
Group Gives Poor Children Chance to Play Sports 
Fill in the blanks. 
 
Playing  a  ___________  can  help  children  in  many  ways.  But  ___________  children  often  cannot  play  sports  because 
their families do not have the money to buy the _________________ their children need. 

Max  Levitt  wanted  to  change  that.  He  had  worked  in  college  athletics  and  youth  sports.  These  experiences  helped 
him find a ​______________ ​to the problem. 

Levitt  created  a  group  called  ​Leveling  the  Playing  Field  four  years  ago.  The  non-profit  organization  _____________ 
used  sports  equipment  and  gives  it  to  children  who  need  it.  Levitt  says  no  child  should  be  unable  to  play  a  sport 
because they cannot pay for the equipment. 

“I  played  every  sport.  I  was  lucky  enough  that  my  family  could  ​afford  ​to  give  me  that  opportunity.  But  it  ​bothers  ​me 
that  there  are  thousands  and  thousands  of  kids  every  day who are unable to play sports because of the cost. And that 
is really sad.” 

Play with it again 

Levitt  says  he  saw  a  huge  ___________  of  sporting  equipment  in  ___________________. He says every year much of the 
sporting equipment that teams used in the ________________ season is thrown away. 
So  Levitt  started  collecting  _________  equipment  and  storing  it  in  his  parents’  home.  Now,  he  keeps  it  in  a 
370-square-meter  space  in  a  storage  building.  The  boxes  and  _____________  are  filled  with  about  $1.5  million  worth 
of sports equipment -- including baseball gloves, hockey skates, golf clubs and more. 

Levitt says sports can help children lead healthier ___________________. 

“This  country’s  having  a  very  hard  time  with,  with,  with  healthy,  healthy  living  --  especially in our low-income areas. It’s 
become a major issue where a lot of kids who are struggling to stay ​fit​.” 

Jerome  Clemons  is  a  __________  coach  at  a  program  called  ​DC  SCORES​,  a  non-profit  group  that  gives  _________ 
classes after school. Clemons says playing sports is _______________ for children. 

“It  helps  you  build  ​character​.  It teaches you about ​teamwork​. It gives them the opportunity to do activities after school 

rather than get in trouble.” 

Leveling  the  Playing  Field  has  given  more  than  $1.4  million  worth  of  sporting  equipment  to  300  ____________  in  and 
near Washington, DC. It has helped more than 100,000 children. 

Levitt  says  his  organization  could not ______________ without the help of volunteers. He and one other person are the 

group’s  only  paid  workers.  He  says  more  than  500  people  volunteered  for  the  group  last  year.  He  says  “we  ​rely 
heavily  on  the  _________________.  We  have  people  come  in  here  and  ​sort  out  equipment  for  us  [and]  people  run 
collection drives​ for us.” 

Levitt says he wants to bring his organization to other cities to give every child a chance to play sports.  
I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise. 

VOA Correspondent June Soh reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 
(10 minutes) Pronunciation Practice 

Read the story aloud. 

 
Playing  a  sport  can  help  children in many ways. But poor children often cannot play sports because their families do 
not have the money to buy the equipment their children need. 

Max  Levitt  wanted  to  change  that.  He  had  worked  in  college  athletics  and  youth  sports.  These  experiences  helped 
him find a ​solution ​to the problem. 

Levitt  created  a  group  called  ​Leveling  the  Playing  Field  four  years  ago.  The  non-profit  organization  collects  ​used 
sports  equipment  and  gives  it  to  children  who  need  it.  Levitt  says  no child should be unable to play a sport because 
they cannot pay for the equipment. 

“I  played  every  sport.  I  was  lucky  enough  that  my  family  could  ​afford  to  give  me  that  opportunity. But it ​bothers me 
that  there  are  thousands  and  thousands  of  kids  every  day  who  are  unable  to  play  sports  because  of  the  cost.  And 
that is really sad.” 

Play with it again 

Levitt  says  he  saw  a  huge  waste  of  sporting  equipment  in  America.  He  says  every  year  much  of  the  sporting 
equipment that teams used in the previous season is thrown away. 

So  Levitt  started  collecting  used  equipment  and  storing  it  in  his  parents’  home.  Now,  he  keeps  it  in  a 
370-square-meter  space  in  a  storage  building.  The  boxes  and  shelves  are  filled  with  about  $1.5  million  worth  of 
sports equipment -- including baseball gloves, hockey skates, golf clubs and more. 
Levitt says sports can help children lead healthier lifestyles. 

“This  country’s  having  a  very  hard  time  with,  with,  with  healthy,  healthy  living  --  especially  in  our  low-income  areas. 
It’s become a major issue where a lot of kids who are struggling to stay f​ it​.” 

Jerome  Clemons  is  a  soccer  coach  at  a  program  called  ​DC SCORES​, a non-profit group that gives free classes after 

school. Clemons says playing sports is important for children. 

“It  helps  you  build  ​character​.  It  teaches  you  about  ​teamwork​.  It  gives  them  the  opportunity  to  do  activities  after 
school rather than get in trouble.” 

Leveling  the  Playing  Field  has  given  more  than  $1.4  million  worth  of  sporting  equipment  to  300  programs  in  and 
near Washington, DC. It has helped more than 100,000 children. 

Levitt  says  his  organization  could  not  succeed  without  the  help  of  volunteers.  He  and  one  other  person  are  the 
group’s  only  paid  workers.  He  says  more  than  500  people  volunteered  for  the  group  last  year.  He  says  “we  ​rely 
heavily  on  the  community.  We  have  people  come  in  here  and  ​sort  out  equipment  for  us  [and]  people  run  ​collection 
drives​ for us.” 

Levitt says he wants to bring his organization to other cities to give every child a chance to play sports. 

(5-10 minutes) V
​ ocabulary Building 

1. solution ​– n. s ​ omething that is used or done to deal with and end a problem; something that solves a problem 
2. used –​ adj. ​having been used before; having had a previous owner; not new 
3. afford ​– v. t​ o be able to pay for (something) 
4. bother –​ v. ​to cause (someone) to feel troubled, worried or concerned 
5. fit –
​ adj. ​physically healthy and strong 
6. character  ​–  n.  ​the  good  qualities  of  a  person  that  usually  include  moral  or  emotional  strength,  honesty  and 
fairness 
7. teamwork ​– n. ​the work done by people who work together as a team to do something 
8. rely –​ v. t​ o need (someone or something) for support, help, etc.; to depend on (someone or something) 
9. sort  out  ​–  phrasal  verb  to  look  at  things  and  put  them  in  a  particular  order  especially  while you are searching for 
something 
10. collection drive – ​ n.​ expression an effort made by a group of people to achieve a goal, to collect money, etc. 
 
(5-10 minutes) Discussion Questions: 
 
1. Why do poor children often cannot play sports? 
2. What did Max Levitt do to solve this problem? 
3. What does his group/organization do to help the poor children? 
4. Why is playing sports important for children? 
5. How did Max Levitt’s organization succeed? 
6. Would you also do what Max Levitt did? Why or why not? 
7. In what way/s would you like to help the poor children in your country? 
 

(5 minutes) Wrap Up & Quick Review 

Share what you have learned in today’s lesson. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments. 
 
Thank you for attending today’s lesson! See you next time! :)