Great beginning of the year lesson about Italy. It includes an overview of the language, geography, currency, flags, major cities for tourism including the Vatican, important Italians, alphabet and foriegn letters, an intro to cognates, Italian food specialties, and musical terms. There are some exercises at the end including a link to an online game. About 3-5 days of lessons and activities. I used to have an article that I would read with the students. I'm sure you can find one for your reade