Classroom Activities Coco Chanel

Amazing Entrepreneurs and Business People (Level 4)
English Readers
Coco Chanel
Classroom Activities
Where you see this symbol
with any story in this book.
, the activity type is reusable
Before reading
1 Guess
Give out copies of the handout About Coco Chanel
to the class. Tell students to look at the pictures and tick
those that they associate with Coco Chanel. Then they can
compare their ideas in pairs or groups.
Then ask students to skim read the timeline on pages 86–88
of the story and amend their answers if necessary. Set a time
limit of two minutes. Check the answers as a class, and ask
students to explain why they selected each image.
Ask students what other images they would include to tell
the story of Coco’s life.
2 Speaking
Ask students to put the pictures from the handout in the
most appropriate order. They should also annotate the
handout with dates and any other information, such as
locations and names, from the timeline on pages 86–88.
Challenge students to talk for one minute about Coco
Chanel, using only the information on their handout.
Students can practise in pairs. Give students enough time to
try the exercise twice. Ask one or two students to speak for a
minute in front of the class.
While reading
3 Comprehension
Give out a copy of the handout Coco Chanel –
Comprehension Wordsearch to each student. Tell students
to scan the story and find the answers to the 20 questions.
They can then find the answers in the grid. Remind students
to be careful, as there are some false answers in the grid too.
4 Comprehension and speaking
Write the following sentences on the board. Tell students to
read the story and make notes about whether they agree or
disagree with the statements.
When they have completed this, put students into small
groups to discuss their opinions.
1 Coco’s early life influenced her work and success.
2 Coco’s success was due to the people she met.
3 Coco’s designs were ‘the right thing at the right time’.
4 The World Wars didn’t affect Coco’s work and success.
5 Coco changed the way women dress.
5 Language
Ask students to note down the underlined words in the
story, and then put these words into categories. They can
choose the categories for these words, but if students find
this difficult, suggest the following categories:
Historical events / Fashion / Business / Locations
Tell students to look through the story and find other words
which fit into their categories. These can be new words or
ones that are known already. Students can then compare
their lists with a partner.
After reading
6 Video
Use the video to do a dictogloss. Do not allow students to
look at the story. Choose part of the story, no longer than
half a page in length, and play the video. Tell students to
make notes about the content. After you have played it, allow
students to compare their notes in pairs.You can play the
section a second time if you like. Then tell students to write
up their notes in accurate English. Explain that the words
need not be identical to the original text, but the content
must be correct. Students can work alone or in pairs.
Monitor students’ work, checking for content and
grammatical accuracy. When they have finished, allow
students to compare their writing with the original text in
the story.
7 Research and writing
Tell students to choose one of the following periods of
Coco’s life:
1910–13:
Coco opens her shop Chanel Modes and her
hat designs become famous.
1913–15:
Coco’s dresses and sportswear revolutionize
women’s clothing.
1921:
Coco launches a perfume, Chanel No 5.
1931:
Coco designs clothes for Samuel Goldwyn in
Hollywood.
1954:
Coco’s new designs are unpopular in France.
Ask students to research these events. They can look for
information about:
• the people involved
• the styles
• the opinions of the people and media
• business and sales information
Tell students that they will use this information to write an
article in either the fashion section or the business section
of a newspaper or magazine. Examples of newspaper reports
about Coco and her collections can be found in the ‘Further
Research’ document.
© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable.
1
Amazing Entrepreneurs and Business People (Level 4)
English Readers
Coco Chanel
Answer Key (Classroom Activities)
1 Guess
At the guessing stage, answers will vary. Do
not give away the answers until students have
referred to the timeline.
The correct pictures are:
a – Coco first became famous for designing hats.
b – Chanel N o 5 is Coco’s most famous perfume.
c – Coco grew up in a convent with nuns.
f – Coco worked as a singer from 1905–1908.
g – Coco designed clothes for Hollywood movies.
j – Coco made the little black dress famous.
E
D
S
J
V
D
S
C
S
T
P
L
A
I
N
E
R
E
E
E
K
F
N
W
M
F
M
C
A
H
P
E
N
A
A
A
W
Z
I
B
H
O
F
E
E
E
E
F
E
U
M
N
M
T
L
A
U
I
W
B
L
B
R
X
S
V
S
N
Z
N
G
L
V
S
I
K
A
A
F
I
T
I
T
E
D
I
I
E
P
A
Coco did not design menswear (d). She did not work
as a nurse (e) or a pilot (i). Coco’s designs did not
incorporate the corset, which was worn by women in
earlier years (h).
C
L
N
M
U
S
B
L
R
J
R
N
M
O
R
O
S
C
P
I
M
M
E
L
E
E
S
L
R
R
2 Speaking
L
A
E
L
J
O
E
C
A
E
S
R
S
T
I
O
N
K
L
D
B
O
Y
N
U
Q
S
S
S
T
U
A
M
E
R
I
C
A
D
R
X
X
A
E
Z
R
X
B
R
O
N
C
H
I
T
I
S
U
E
Y
S
Q
C
O
N
G
A
B
R
I
E
L
L
E
S
C
A
R
C
R
A
S
H
C
A
M
B
O
N
X
H
C
W
J
A
C
K
E
T
N
O
P
N
O
L
Answers will vary.
3 Comprehension
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Gabrielle
five
bronchitis
seamstress
Moulins
Balsan
Boy
Cambon
Deauville
jersey
sportswear
Biarritz
car crash
Ernest Beaux
colours
plain
Switzerland
America
jacket
perfume
4 Comprehension and speaking
5 Language
Answers will vary. Suggested answers are:
1 Coco’s training as a seamstress was
fundamental in her becoming a designer.
2 Coco was able to open shops due to
investment from Arthur Capel. Her perfume
was also created by someone else.
3 Coco’s loose, comfortable clothes suited
the period where women’s roles were
changing. She was able to take advantage of
the growth in the movie industry. Increase
in disposable income meant that more and
more people could afford luxury clothing
and perfume.
4 The World Wars affected business, but not
permanently.
5 Coco influenced the way women dress
by making comfortable clothing
acceptable, making dresses and skirts shorter,
and making black clothing acceptable.
Answers will vary. Suggested answers:
Historical events: The Stock Market Crash, First
World War, Second World War
Fashion: catwalk, luxury
Business: demand
Locations: convent, boarding house
© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable.
6 Video
Answers will vary.
7 Research and writing
Answers will vary.
2
About Coco Chanel
Which of the following pictures do you associate with Coco Chanel?
Tick the pictures. Then read the timeline on pages 86–88 of the story and check.
a
c
b
d
e
g
f
Coco Chanel
h
i
j
© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. All images from Shutterstock. This page is photocopiable.
Coco Chanel – Comprehension Wordsearch
Find the answers to the following questions in the puzzle.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
What is Coco’s real first name?
How many brothers and sisters did Coco have?
How did Coco’s mother die?
What trade did Coco learn at the convent?
Where did Coco get a job designing hats?
Étienne ____ introduced Coco to the life of luxury.
What was Arthur Capel’s nickname?
On which street was Coco’s first shop?
Where was Coco’s second shop?
What type of fabric did Coco use to make her dresses?
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
What type of clothes did Coco sell in her second shop?
Where was Coco’s third shop?
How did Arthur Capel die?
Who created Chanel No 5?
What did Coco dislike about the dresses at the opera?
Coco’s designs were too ___ for Hollywood.
Where did Coco go in 1945?
Where was Coco’s 1954 collection most popular?
Coco designed a simple, straight ___ which was very popular.
What did Coco launch at the age of 87?
E
D
S
J
V
D
S
C
S
T
P
L
A
I
N
E
R
E
E
E
K
F
N
W
M
F
M
C
A
H
P
E
N
A
A
A
W
Z
I
B
H
O
F
E
E
E
E
F
E
U
M
N
M
T
L
A
U
I
W
B
L
B
R
X
S
V
S
N
Z
N
G
L
V
S
I
K
A
A
F
I
T
I
T
E
D
I
I
E
P
A
C
L
N
M
U
S
B
L
R
J
R
N
M
O
R
O
S
C
P
I
M
M
E
L
E
E
S
L
R
R
L
A
E
L
J
O
E
C
A
E
S
R
S
T
I
O
N
K
L
D
B
O
Y
N
U
Q
S
S
S
T
U
A
M
E
R
I
C
A
D
R
X
X
A
E
Z
R
X
B
R
O
N
C
H
I
T
I
S
U
E
Y
S
Q
C
O
N
G
A
B
R
I
E
L
L
E
S
C
A
R
C
R
A
S
H
C
A
M
B
O
N
X
H
C
W
J
A
C
K
E
T
N
O
P
N
O
L
© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable.