Discussion Starters

Cancel Culture
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. What does “cancel” mean?

What part of speech is it normally?

2. What do you think “cancel culture” refers to?

3. What social media sites do you use, and what do

you use them for?

4. Which celebrities, companies, or politicians do you

follow on social media, and why?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match up as many words and meanings as you can.

Check this exercise again after seeing the words in context on page 2.

1. boycott a)  to embarrass a person for their mistakes, weaknesses, or indecencies

2. shame b)  the credibility of a person, product, or company

3. call someone out c)  to refuse to use, buy, or support as a form of protest

4. reputation d)  to try to regain one’s honor after making bad mistakes or choices

5. hold accountable e)  the act or state of trying to be or think like everyone else

6. objectionable f)  distasteful, offensive

7. damage control g)  a very negative response

8. conformity h)  rich, famous, or powerful people

9. backlash i)  a belief that something is true (though it may not be)

10. marginalized j)  to expect a person or company to acknowledge or fix their mistakes

11. elite k)  to bring public attention to offensive behavior or actions

12. presumption l)  treated as unimportant, powerless

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 Cancel Culture
Discussion Starters

Reading
CANCEL CULTURE
How harmful is a hashtag?

1. The term “cancel culture” refers to a type of boycotting that “As writers we need
takes place over social media networks. It involves publicly
shaming or calling out an individual or company for offensive
a culture that
opinions or behavior. leaves us room for
2. If a harmful hashtag goes viral, it can destroy a public figure’s
experimentation,
reputation, get an unknown person fired, or cause a business (big risk-taking, and
or small) to fail. Social shaming can also help raise awareness about even mistakes.”
social injustices and hold people accountable for their objectionable —from “A Letter on Justice and
behavior despite their fame or power. Open Debate,“ published in
3. Do you know of any celebrities, politicians, or companies that have Harper’s Magazine (July 2020)
been “canceled” recently? The #MeToo hashtag transformed into a
movement after several celebrities were called out for alleged sexual
harassment in the workplace. Networks and executives in the TV
and film industry began to cancel contracts with accused actors and
directors. Likewise, media outlets and sponsors disassociated with
shamed journalists and athletes.

4. Many public figures, business owners, and even artists feel

threatened by cancel culture. Any wrong move (or word), past or
future, could erase their credibility or at least force them into damage
control. In an open letter published in Harper’s Magazine in July 2020,
153 authors, journalists, and other notable figures criticized cancel
culture for constricting the free exchange of ideas and debate in favor
of conformity.

5. The Harper’s letter received immediate backlash. Some of the

signatories were accused of being immune to “canceling,” including
Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling. The letter, which was published
during global racial justice protests and a pandemic, also had
questionable timing. In addition, some marginalized groups, including
the transgender community, saw the letter as an act of silencing by
society’s elite.

6. Is cancel culture a new form of activism that gives power to those who
were previously unseen and unheard? Or should it be viewed as a form
of cyberbullying that threatens the presumption of innocence and
causes society to rush to judgment?

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 Cancel Culture
Discussion Starters

Comprehension
Discuss these questions in pairs, and then write your answers below.

1. What is the reading mainly about?

a) how marginalized communities choose social media platforms

b) the long-term effects of social media on business
c) the ethics of a modern form of boycotting
d) holding celebrities accountable for their political choices

2. Which hashtag is mentioned by name, and why?

3. Who signed the open letter that was published in Harper’s Magazine? Name one specific signatory.

4. Describe the backlash that “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate” received.

5. Why would someone like J. K. Rowling be “immune” to cancel culture?

6. What specific marginalized community is mentioned, and why?

7. What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

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 Cancel Culture
Discussion Starters

Vocabulary Review
A. Complete the Sentences

Choose the word or phrase from page 2 that best completes the sentence.

1. You’re too sensitive. You think everything he tweets is              .

2. We’re              the soap company for that racist ad.

3. We made a mistake, but we weren’t expecting such severe              from our
loyal customers.

4. There is a              that we fired her. This isn’t true. She resigned on her own.

5. It’s an exclusive golf course only for the              . I could never be a member there.

B. Choose the Correct Word

Choose the word or phrase with the closest meaning to the underlined
word or phrase in the following sentences.

1. The author has a bad 3. Their abuser was finally held 5. Do hashtags
reputation for sharing her accountable for his crimes. encourage conformity?
racist opinions on Twitter.
a) in custody a) crisis
a) career b) responsible b) group norms
b) review c) notable c) presumption
c) social standing d) by force d) damage control
d) presumption
4. Shaming celebrities for 6. Our local newspaper
2. The celebrity got called out on their fashion sense is gives marginalized
social media for crating common on Instagram. communities a voice.
his dog.
a) Criticizing a) notable
a) mistreated b) Sharing b) racist
b) exposed c) Assuming c) famous
c) threatened d) Threatening d) powerless
d) transformed

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 Cancel Culture
Discussion Starters

Grammar Review
COLLOCATIONS WITH “CAUSE”

A. Introduction to Collocations

Collocations are sets of words that naturally go together in a language.

These word combinations are used together over a long period of time
until one combination sounds “right” (e.g., cause harm) and another
combination with a similar meaning sounds “wrong” (e.g., create harm).

B. Verb Collocations

Here are some common collocations with the verb cause. In these
collocations, the verb is followed by a noun.

Verb + Noun
• cause harm • cause embarrassment
• cause damage • cause trouble
• cause distress • cause confusion
• cause pain • cause problems

C. Practice

Write five sentences on the topic of cancel culture using some of the
collocations above.

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 Cancel Culture
Discussion Starters

Discussion
1. Are celebrities ever really “canceled,” or does negative attention
actually bring famous people more fame?

2. Cancel culture is often called a political weapon. How is it used in this

way? Can you think of any real-life examples?

3. Do you know the expression “Your past can come back to haunt
you”? What does it mean? How can cancel culture affect an everyday Is It Activism?
person’s chance of being/staying employed?
“If all you’re doing is casting
4. Barack Obama criticized “call-out” culture, saying “If all you’re doing is stones, you’re probably not
judging others, that is not activism.” Do you agree? going to get that far.”
—Barack Obama
5. Why does “freedom of speech” often come up in the
cancel culture debate?

6. If you “unfollow” a cousin, aunt, or classmate because you disagree

with their opinions posted on social media, is that cancel culture? Do
you also cancel these people face to face?

7. The #MeToo movement held abusers accountable for their crimes. Is

that cancel culture or social justice?

8. Has cancel culture turned us into a society that rushes to judgment?

Research
What do you know about the “canceling” of NFL quarterback and activist
Colin Kaepernick? Do some research on his case. Answer the following questions.
Then share your research with the class.

1. Describe Colin Kaepernick’s method of activism.

2. Who called out Kaepernick for his method of activism?

3. How did cancel culture affect the quarterback?

4. What hashtags were/are used on social media in relation to Kaepernick?

5. How was the “canceling” of Kaepernick different from the

“canceling” of Bill Cosby?

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Listening
Fill in the blanks as you listen to the recording.
CANCEL CULTURE
How harmful is a hashtag?
1. The term “cancel culture” refers to a type of
             that takes place over
social media networks. It involves publicly shaming
or              an individual or
company for              opinions or
behavior.
2. If a harmful hashtag goes viral, it can destroy a
public figure’s              ,
get an unknown person fired, or cause a
business (big or small) to fail. Social shaming can
also help raise awareness about social injustices
and              people
             for their
             behavior despite
their fame or power.
3. Do you know of any celebrities, politicians, or
companies that have been “canceled” recently?
The #MeToo hashtag transformed into a
movement after several celebrities were
called out for              sexual
harassment in the workplace. Networks and
executives in the TV and film industry began to
cancel contracts with accused actors and directors.
Likewise, media outlets and sponsors
disassociated with              Or should it be viewed as a form of cyberbullying
journalists and athletes.
Copyright 2020, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( H I G H
Cancel Culture
Discussion Starters
4. Many public figures, business owners, and even
artists feel threatened by cancel culture. Any
wrong move (or word), past or future, could
erase their              or at least
force them into              . In an
open letter published in Harper’s Magazine in July
2020, 153 authors, journalists, and other notable
figures criticized cancel culture for constricting
the free exchange of ideas and debate in favor
of             .
5. The Harper’s letter received immediate
             . Some of the
signatories were accused of being immune to
“canceling,” including Harry Potter author
J. K. Rowling. The letter, which was published
during global racial justice protests and a
pandemic, also had questionable timing. In
addition, some              groups,
including the transgender community, saw
the letter as an act of silencing by
society’s              .
6. Is cancel culture a new form of
             that gives power to
those who were previously unseen and unheard?
that threatens the              of
innocence and causes society to rush to judgment?
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 Cancel Culture
Discussion Starters

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: 
High Int – Adv

In this lesson, students read about cancel culture and discuss the TIME: 1.5–2 hours
ethics of this modern form of boycotting. Students discuss several
TAGS:  discussion, cancel culture, social media, #MeToo
related topics including freedom of speech and social justice. This
movement, Colin Kaepernick, ethics, cyberbullying,
lesson includes a grammar review task on verb collocations.
freedom of speech, collocations

Pre-Reading Comprehension

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS 1. c
2. The #MeToo movement is mentioned by name because it
Have students work in small groups or discuss as a class.
caused many people to be “canceled.”

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW 3. 153 authors, journalists, and other notable figures signed the
open letter. J. K. Rowling was one of them.
1. c 3. k 5. j 7. d 9. g 11. h 4. The letter was criticized for its bad timing since it was released
2. a 4. b 6. f 8. e 10. l 12. i during a global racial justice protest and a pandemic. Some
people also felt the elite were trying to silence marginalized

Reading (and/or Listening) members of society.

5. Answers will vary. Someone like J. K. Rowling would be immune

Read individually, in small groups, or as a class. Discuss the subtitle to cancel culture because the Harry Potter series is too popular

and quote. You can also play the listening as your students read and she has too many fans. (Ask students to think of others

along. A gap-fill version of the reading is available on page 7. Help who might be immune.)

your students with vocabulary and expressions that they are 6. The transgender community is mentioned because some in

unfamiliar with. this community felt that the open letter was an effort by the
elite (i.e., J. K. Rowling) to silence them.
7. The purpose of the last paragraph is to get the reader to
continue thinking about both negative and positive impacts of
cancel culture.

(continued on the next page...)

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 Cancel Culture
Discussion Starters

Answer Key cont.

Vocabulary Review Listening

A. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES 1. boycotting, calling out, offensive

1. objectionable
2. boycotting
3. backlash
B. CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD
2. reputation, hold, accountable, objectionable
4. presumption
3. alleged, shamed
5. elite
4. credibility, damage control, conformity
5. backlash, marginalized, elite
6. activism, presumption

1. c 2. b 3. b 4. a 5. b 6. d
SPELLING NOTE:

This lesson shows the American spelling of the words

Grammar Review Honor, Behavior, Canceled, Canceling, and Favor. Most other
English‑speaking countries spell these words this way: Honour,
Review collocations with your students. If this is a new target
Behaviour, Cancelled, Cancelling, and Favour. Make it a challenge
for your students, you may want to try our Grammar Practice
for your students to find these words in the lesson and see if they
Worksheets lesson: https://esllibrary.com/courses/88/
know the alternate spellings.
lessons/2800. Answers will vary.

Discussion

Answers will vary. Can be done in small groups or as a class. For

more context, you may want to have your students read “A Letter
on Justice and Open Debate” from Harper’s Magazine (and possibly
some of the critiques of it).

Research

Put students in pairs and have them research this related topic. If
possible, once the research is finished, have students share their
findings. You could also follow up with ESL Library’s Mini-Debates
lesson on Taking a Knee: https://esllibrary.com/courses/73/
lessons/2743

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