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National Geographic Learning · Keynote 4

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Unit 6

"Giving Something Back"

When fame meets generosity

Lead-in 01

If you were a millionaire, how much of your wealth would you give to charity — and what cause would you choose? 💛

Celebrities have the power to inspire millions. When famous people give their wealth away, they don't just help those in need — they show others it's possible to change the world.

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Shakira

Pop star gives back

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Piqué

Sport meets charity

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Gates

Tech billionaire giving

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Buffett

The giving pledge

Let's meet two of the world's most generous celebrity couples and see what drives them to give.

Reading 02

Skimming Task ⏱️

Read the article quickly (90 seconds). Answer three questions:

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WHO?

Shakira & Piqué; Bill & Melinda Gates; Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg

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WHAT?

Celebrity philanthropy — donating to education, healthcare, and disaster relief

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HOW / WHY?

World Baby Showers, Barefoot Foundation, Gates Foundation, Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge

✅ WHO: Shakira & Piqué; Bill & Melinda Gates; Warren Buffett; Mark Zuckerberg  |  WHAT: Celebrity philanthropy — donations to education, healthcare, disaster relief  |  HOW/WHY: World Baby Showers → Barefoot Foundation → Gates Foundation → Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge — a chain of generosity inspiring others to give
Section One — Introduction
A Habit of Giving
Disaster relief, education, healthcare — celebrity couples making generosity a way of life.
Reading 03
HABIT OF GIVING
Whether they're donating to disaster relief funds, education, or healthcare, these celebrity couples have made a habit of giving their wealth away, and are inspiring many others to do the same.
'Made a habit of' means regular, repeated action — not a one-time event. This phrase frames philanthropy as an ongoing practice, not a PR gesture. It implies consistency and genuine commitment. Combined with the present continuous 'are inspiring,' the sentence shows that giving both IS regular and HAS ongoing effects on others.
Section Two
Shakira and Gerard Piqué
From World Cup anthem to world-changing generosity.
Reading 04
SHAKIRA'S CREDENTIALS
She's a Colombian pop star who has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. He's a Spanish soccer star with a World Cup title to his name. They met in 2010 when Piqué appeared in Shakira's music video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" — the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup — and have been together ever since. After three years together, the couple welcomed their first son, Milan, followed by their second little boy, Sasha, in 2015. The birth of both children prompted the couple to give back. They set up a World Baby Shower in the lead-up to each birth, and asked fans to send gifts to other babies around the world who were in need of help. Both of these Baby Showers were huge successes, raising more than $200,000 for food, medicines, and blankets. Shakira said she hoped her two boys would appreciate what she'd done and be inspired themselves. Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In fact, she has long been involved in promoting children's rights. When she was only 18, Shakira set up the Barefoot Foundation. This organization educates and feeds more than 6,000 children in Colombia and other countries. Her charities have received donations as high as $200 million from Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett.
Establishing fame first creates credibility and context — the reader understands the scale of Shakira's platform before learning how she uses it. The implicit argument: someone who could simply enjoy her fame CHOOSES to give back. The 70 million albums figure makes the choice to donate even more striking.
Reading 05
PIQUÉ'S CREDENTIALS
She's a Colombian pop star who has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. He's a Spanish soccer star with a World Cup title to his name. They met in 2010 when Piqué appeared in Shakira's music video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" — the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup — and have been together ever since. After three years together, the couple welcomed their first son, Milan, followed by their second little boy, Sasha, in 2015. The birth of both children prompted the couple to give back. They set up a World Baby Shower in the lead-up to each birth, and asked fans to send gifts to other babies around the world who were in need of help. Both of these Baby Showers were huge successes, raising more than $200,000 for food, medicines, and blankets. Shakira said she hoped her two boys would appreciate what she'd done and be inspired themselves. Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In fact, she has long been involved in promoting children's rights. When she was only 18, Shakira set up the Barefoot Foundation. This organization educates and feeds more than 6,000 children in Colombia and other countries. Her charities have received donations as high as $200 million from Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett.
The parallel structure introduces each partner with equivalent credentials — both are globally successful, both are defined by achievement. This creates symmetry: the couple is matched not just romantically but in terms of fame and impact. The parallel also prepares the reader for their joint charitable work.
Reading 06
HOW THEY MET
She's a Colombian pop star who has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. He's a Spanish soccer star with a World Cup title to his name. They met in 2010 when Piqué appeared in Shakira's music video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" — the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup — and have been together ever since. After three years together, the couple welcomed their first son, Milan, followed by their second little boy, Sasha, in 2015. The birth of both children prompted the couple to give back. They set up a World Baby Shower in the lead-up to each birth, and asked fans to send gifts to other babies around the world who were in need of help. Both of these Baby Showers were huge successes, raising more than $200,000 for food, medicines, and blankets. Shakira said she hoped her two boys would appreciate what she'd done and be inspired themselves. Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In fact, she has long been involved in promoting children's rights. When she was only 18, Shakira set up the Barefoot Foundation. This organization educates and feeds more than 6,000 children in Colombia and other countries. Her charities have received donations as high as $200 million from Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett.
Present perfect ('have been') connects past (2010 meeting) to present (still together). It emphasizes that their relationship is ongoing, not historical. The phrase 'ever since' is a time marker meaning 'from that moment to now.' Together they create a sense of continuity and commitment — which mirrors the article's theme of sustained generosity.
Reading 07
PARENTHOOD MOTIVATION
She's a Colombian pop star who has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. He's a Spanish soccer star with a World Cup title to his name. They met in 2010 when Piqué appeared in Shakira's music video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" — the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup — and have been together ever since. After three years together, the couple welcomed their first son, Milan, followed by their second little boy, Sasha, in 2015. The birth of both children prompted the couple to give back. They set up a World Baby Shower in the lead-up to each birth, and asked fans to send gifts to other babies around the world who were in need of help. Both of these Baby Showers were huge successes, raising more than $200,000 for food, medicines, and blankets. Shakira said she hoped her two boys would appreciate what she'd done and be inspired themselves. Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In fact, she has long been involved in promoting children's rights. When she was only 18, Shakira set up the Barefoot Foundation. This organization educates and feeds more than 6,000 children in Colombia and other countries. Her charities have received donations as high as $200 million from Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett.
Birth (cause) → prompted to give back (effect). 'Prompted' is a causative verb suggesting the birth triggered an impulse toward generosity. This is a specific and humanizing motivator: their philanthropy is rooted in parenthood, in wanting the world to be better for their own children — and then extending that wish to all children.
Reading 08
WORLD BABY SHOWER
She's a Colombian pop star who has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. He's a Spanish soccer star with a World Cup title to his name. They met in 2010 when Piqué appeared in Shakira's music video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" — the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup — and have been together ever since. After three years together, the couple welcomed their first son, Milan, followed by their second little boy, Sasha, in 2015. The birth of both children prompted the couple to give back. They set up a World Baby Shower in the lead-up to each birth, and asked fans to send gifts to other babies around the world who were in need of help. Both of these Baby Showers were huge successes, raising more than $200,000 for food, medicines, and blankets. Shakira said she hoped her two boys would appreciate what she'd done and be inspired themselves. Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In fact, she has long been involved in promoting children's rights. When she was only 18, Shakira set up the Barefoot Foundation. This organization educates and feeds more than 6,000 children in Colombia and other countries. Her charities have received donations as high as $200 million from Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett.
A baby shower is a celebration where guests bring gifts for an expected baby. Shakira's innovation: redirect the gifts to children in need globally. The word 'World' expands the scale from personal to global. This is creative charity: making generosity feel like participation in something familiar and joyful, not obligatory.
Reading 09
INSPIRING FUTURE GENERATIONS
She's a Colombian pop star who has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. He's a Spanish soccer star with a World Cup title to his name. They met in 2010 when Piqué appeared in Shakira's music video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" — the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup — and have been together ever since. After three years together, the couple welcomed their first son, Milan, followed by their second little boy, Sasha, in 2015. The birth of both children prompted the couple to give back. They set up a World Baby Shower in the lead-up to each birth, and asked fans to send gifts to other babies around the world who were in need of help. Both of these Baby Showers were huge successes, raising more than $200,000 for food, medicines, and blankets. Shakira said she hoped her two boys would appreciate what she'd done and be inspired themselves. Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In fact, she has long been involved in promoting children's rights. When she was only 18, Shakira set up the Barefoot Foundation. This organization educates and feeds more than 6,000 children in Colombia and other countries. Her charities have received donations as high as $200 million from Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett.
Citing children as motivation is a universally relatable appeal — every parent wants their children to grow up with good values. This makes Shakira's philanthropy feel like parenting, not performance. It also creates a narrative of legacy: her giving today will shape her children's values tomorrow. This is more persuasive than any statistics about donation amounts.
Reading 10
BAREFOOT FOUNDATION
She's a Colombian pop star who has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. He's a Spanish soccer star with a World Cup title to his name. They met in 2010 when Piqué appeared in Shakira's music video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" — the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup — and have been together ever since. After three years together, the couple welcomed their first son, Milan, followed by their second little boy, Sasha, in 2015. The birth of both children prompted the couple to give back. They set up a World Baby Shower in the lead-up to each birth, and asked fans to send gifts to other babies around the world who were in need of help. Both of these Baby Showers were huge successes, raising more than $200,000 for food, medicines, and blankets. Shakira said she hoped her two boys would appreciate what she'd done and be inspired themselves. Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In fact, she has long been involved in promoting children's rights. When she was only 18, Shakira set up the Barefoot Foundation. This organization educates and feeds more than 6,000 children in Colombia and other countries. Her charities have received donations as high as $200 million from Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett.
'In fact' is an intensifier and corrective: it says this is even more true than what preceded it. 'Long' = for many years. Together they prevent the Baby Shower from being seen as the beginning of Shakira's charity — it pre-dates her fame. 'In fact' signals: the Baby Shower is a recent example of a much older commitment.
Section Three
Bill and Melinda Gates
The world's wealthiest couple — and its most generous.
Reading 11
WEALTHIEST COUPLE
With a net worth of $81 billion, they're the wealthiest couple on the planet. And according to Forbes magazine, they're the world's most generous as well. Bill Gates amassed billions of dollars after Microsoft took off in 1980. Along with his wife Melinda — who was once a Microsoft employee herself — Bill now works full-time as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation was set up in 1997 and works to improve healthcare, reduce poverty, and increase access to education and information technology worldwide. One of the foundation's primary goals is to eradicate polio worldwide by 2018. The couple practice what they preach and have traveled to hospitals and remote villages all over the world to help those in need.
It is a prepositional phrase as adverbial of manner/means modifying the main clause. Opening with the wealth data creates immediate context: the reader knows the scale before hearing the generosity. $81 billion is incomprehensible — it prepares the reader to understand why their donations are historically unprecedented.
Reading 12
MOST GENEROUS TOO
With a net worth of $81 billion, they're the wealthiest couple on the planet. And according to Forbes magazine, they're the world's most generous as well. Bill Gates amassed billions of dollars after Microsoft took off in 1980. Along with his wife Melinda — who was once a Microsoft employee herself — Bill now works full-time as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation was set up in 1997 and works to improve healthcare, reduce poverty, and increase access to education and information technology worldwide. One of the foundation's primary goals is to eradicate polio worldwide by 2018. The couple practice what they preach and have traveled to hospitals and remote villages all over the world to help those in need.
'And' at sentence start creates an additive emphasis — informal but punchy. The sentence rides on the momentum of S1 (wealthiest) and adds a second superlative (most generous). 'As well' signals: they hold BOTH titles simultaneously. The pairing of 'wealthiest' and 'most generous' is the key moral point: they could keep it all, but choose not to.
Reading 13
THE GATES FOUNDATION
With a net worth of $81 billion, they're the wealthiest couple on the planet. And according to Forbes magazine, they're the world's most generous as well. Bill Gates amassed billions of dollars after Microsoft took off in 1980. Along with his wife Melinda — who was once a Microsoft employee herself — Bill now works full-time as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation was set up in 1997 and works to improve healthcare, reduce poverty, and increase access to education and information technology worldwide. One of the foundation's primary goals is to eradicate polio worldwide by 2018. The couple practice what they preach and have traveled to hospitals and remote villages all over the world to help those in need.
'Practice what you preach' = do what you advise others to do. In this context: they don't just urge others to give (through the Giving Pledge) — they themselves travel to hospitals and villages. The idiom authenticates their philanthropy: it is not merely financial but personal, hands-on, and lived. This distinguishes them from wealthy donors who give money but remain physically remote.
Reading 14
HANDS-ON PHILANTHROPY
With a net worth of $81 billion, they're the wealthiest couple on the planet. And according to Forbes magazine, they're the world's most generous as well. Bill Gates amassed billions of dollars after Microsoft took off in 1980. Along with his wife Melinda — who was once a Microsoft employee herself — Bill now works full-time as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation was set up in 1997 and works to improve healthcare, reduce poverty, and increase access to education and information technology worldwide. One of the foundation's primary goals is to eradicate polio worldwide by 2018. The couple practice what they preach and have traveled to hospitals and remote villages all over the world to help those in need.
'Remote villages' implies difficult access — these are not comfortable charity galas but physically demanding trips. This detail makes their commitment feel genuine and costly, not merely performative. It counters the criticism that billionaire philanthropy is about image. The combination of 'hospitals' (healthcare) and 'remote villages' (global reach) shows breadth.
Section Four
The Giving Pledge
A pledge to give away half a fortune.
Reading 15
LARGEST DONATION EVER
In 2006, Warren Buffett joined the cause when he pledged to give about $30 billion to the Gates Foundation — the largest donation to charity in history. And on December 9, 2010, Gates, Buffett, and Mark Zuckerberg — CEO of Facebook — signed the "Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge": a promise to donate half of their wealth to charity, and also to try to get other wealthy people to do the same.
The superlative 'largest...in history' amplifies Buffett's pledge to extraordinary scale. It also establishes a benchmark for the Giving Pledge that follows: this is not ordinary generosity. The phrase functions as historical contextualization — placing the act within the full sweep of human charitable giving.
Reading 16
THE GIVING PLEDGE
In 2006, Warren Buffett joined the cause when he pledged to give about $30 billion to the Gates Foundation — the largest donation to charity in history. And on December 9, 2010, Gates, Buffett, and Mark Zuckerberg — CEO of Facebook — signed the "Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge": a promise to donate half of their wealth to charity, and also to try to get other wealthy people to do the same.
The second part creates a multiplier effect: not just giving yourself, but inspiring others to give. The Pledge becomes a movement, not just an individual act. 'Try to get' is carefully hedged — it's an effort, not a guarantee. But the ambition is exponential: three billionaires pledging could inspire hundreds more.
Language 17

Language Point 1: 'as well as' / 'along with'

as well as along with in addition to not only...but also
A) "Along with his wife Melinda, Bill now works full-time as co-chair."
→ 'along with' adds a co-agent without making them the grammatical subject

B) "They're the world's most generous as well."
→ 'as well' = additive at sentence end

C) ❌ "Along with his wife, they work full-time." → subject must agree with Bill alone
✅ "Along with his wife, Bill IS the co-chair." → singular verb because subject = Bill

D) RULE: 'Along with X' does NOT change the subject number.
"Bill, along with Melinda, IS the co-chair." (singular — subject = Bill)
'Along with' and 'as well as' add information without giving it grammatical subject status. This is different from 'and': "Bill and Melinda are co-chairs" (plural subject). "Bill, along with Melinda, IS co-chair" (singular). Choosing between them changes which person is foregrounded.
Language 18

Language Point 2: Relative Clauses in Biographical Writing

who which that relative clauses
A) "She's a Colombian pop star WHO has sold 70 million albums." → defining — identifies which pop star
"Melinda, WHO was once a Microsoft employee, now works at the Foundation." → non-defining, adds info

B) "The Foundation WHICH was set up in 1997 works to improve healthcare."
→ 'which' for things; 'who' for people

C) ❌ "Gates that founded Microsoft" → 'that' not preferred for people in non-defining contexts

D) RULE: who for people, which for things, that for both in defining clauses.
Non-defining (commas) always uses 'who' or 'which', never 'that'.
In biographical writing, relative clauses are essential for packing credentials and context. "She's a star who sold 70 million albums" gives us the fact without a separate sentence. The key is knowing when to use defining (no commas) vs. non-defining (commas).
Language 19

Language Point 3: Participial Phrases for Action Sequences

participial phrases -ing clauses result clauses
A) "The couple practice what they preach and have traveled to hospitals and remote villages all over the world TO HELP THOSE IN NEED."
→ 'to help those in need' = infinitive of purpose (why they travel)

B) "Raising more than $200,000 for food, medicines, and blankets"
→ present participle clause showing simultaneous result

C) "The couple set up a Baby Shower, raising $200,000" → participial result clause

D) RULE: A present participial phrase after a comma expresses a simultaneous or resulting action.
It is more concise than a separate sentence.
Participial phrases allow writers to pack two ideas into one sentence. "She sang, bringing the audience to tears" = she sang AND as a result, the audience cried. In this article, "raising more than $200,000" shows the result of the Baby Shower without a new sentence. This keeps the writing flowing.
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Lesson Complete

❤️

Shakira & Piqué

Baby Shower raised $200K

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Gates Foundation

Healthcare & education worldwide

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Giving Pledge

Half of their wealth to charity

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Inspire Others

Generosity is contagious

My hope is that by the time my sons are adults, they can see how even small efforts can have a big impact.