Discoveries
Type of activity: This is a speaking and reading activity surrounding the theme of discoveries
Level: Intermediate and above
Teacher's notes:
Put the students into pairs and ask them to discuss inventions and discoveries which they think are extremely important to today’s world.
When they have done this for a few minutes, ask the students to feedback in an open class discussion, possibly note some of the very important inventions etc. on the board.
Then ask the students to think of people that have heavily influenced developments in the world. To help, you could give them a list of people.
The students should then rate (1-5) the people according to who they think is the most influential/important to the least important/influential. 1 being very important and 5 not being so important.
Once the students have done this, ask them to sit back to back to complete the reading dictation. Basically, put the students into pairs, hand out one text (partner a) to one student and one text (partner b) to another student.
Do not let the students show each other their texts; tell them to read to one another in order to get the complete text. Make sure that you give the students an ample introduction to the text i.e. try to find a picture of the Curies, make sure they know what they did etc. Find out how much the students know about them.
Once they have finished, read the complete text to the class so that they can hear the full version.
Discuss the Curies and then ask the students to, for homework, write about a famous person whom they admire most. Tell the students to research the work on the Internet or via the library, they must write in English.
During the next class, ask the students to share the information that they found out.
List
Bill Gates (1955--) - founder of Microsoft
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) – First proposed the idea of daylight savings; suggested, even before Vitamin C, that people should eat fruit and coined the phrase ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ Advanced the theory of electricity and also created bifocals along with many other things.
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) – invented the telephone
Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931) – invented electric light along with the phonograph and other inventions
Wilbur and Orville Wright (Wilbur 1867-1912; Orville 1871-1948) – first recorded flight
Galileo Galilee (1564 1642 ) – stated that the world was round and not flat
Charles Babbage (1791-1871) - invented the precursor to the computer
Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) – discovered penicillin
Albert Einstein (1879- 1955) – developed the theory of relatively
Partner A
Marie and Pierre Curie
When she was ___________________, Maria Sklodowska left __________________ and
moved to Paris. While she was studying there at the Sorbonne, she met physicist Pierre
___________________. She was going to return to her country after her studies, but the
two scientists fell in love and _____________________. While they were raising their two
__________________________, they were also doing research on radioactivity.
In 1903, the Curies __________________ the _____________________ in Physics for their
discoveries. Then in ______________, a horse-drawn carriage hit and killed Pierre while he
was out walking. When ____________________ recovered from the
_________________________ of his _____________, she put her efforts into continuing
their work. In ______________________, she received her second Nobel Prize, this time for
chemistry.
Partner B
Marie and Pierre Curie
When she was 24, Maria Sklodowska left Poland and moved to ______________________.
While she was studying there at the _________________, she met __________________Pierre
Curie. She was going to return to her country after her studies, but the two scientists fell
________________ and got married. While they were ___________________ their
________________ daughters, they were also doing research on _________________.
In _________________, the Curies won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discoveries.
Then in 1906, a horse-drawn carriage hit and ________________ Pierre while he was out
walking. When Marie ___________________ from the shock of his death, she put her efforts
into continuing their work. In 1911, she _____________________ her second Nobel Prize,
this time for _________________________.
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Estee Lauder - a business diva
Type of activity: this is a reading activity in which students read and talk about beauty
Level: High Intermediate students
Teacher's notes:
Bring in some magazine photographs of models. Place them on the walls of the class or place them on the floor in front of the students’ desks. Ask the students to look at the women and men and to think about beauty and how important it is in today’s society.
Dictate the following questions and ask pairs to discuss them:
When you meet someone for the first time how important is his/her appearance to you?
In terms of your own looks, what is important to you e.g. to wear make-up, to wash your hair every day, to be thin?
How far would you go to look good e.g. cosmetic surgery, stapling your stomach etc.?
Do you think men and women are obsessed with looking young and beautiful?
When they have finished, go over any necessary corrections.
Write the name ‘Estee Lauder’ on the board and ask the students to tell you anything they know about this person; I would imagine that many have heard of Estee Lauder cosmetics. If you can, get a picture of her from the internet.
Elicit as much information as you can and then tell the students that they are going to read an article about her.
Pre-teach lexical items needed to understand the text; a list is provided below.
After pre-teaching, tell the students to read the text and to think about what kind of person Estee Lauder was.
Once they have answered this question in pairs, ask them to answer the comprehension questions in pairs.
Check the correct answers and then ask the students to again think about what kind of person Estee Lauder was. Elicit: determined, had a flair for business etc.
Then handout the worksheet below which contains more words to describe business and people. Ask the students to look at the words which have been highlighted and to try to guess the meaning of them by looking at the context of each sentence. Go over the answers.
At the end of the lesson, you could ask the students to discuss a) what they want to do in terms of their careers or b) the optional discussion question below.
Words from the text.
Please match the definitions to the correct words from the text:
A humble background / home
Determined
A flair for business
A desire
To pamper
A hardware store
Guinea pigs
Relentless
Freebies
Influential
To not stop at something; to never give up even though it may be very difficult
A store that sells household equipment and tools
To have the power to change people or things
Something given away for free, usually samples of a new product
People or things which you experiment on (the first to try something new)
A simple, not rich childhood or home
A need or a want
To decide to do something and not to be stopped easily from doing it
To have a natural ability for doing well at business
To treat with a lot of kindness
Comprehension questions
What did Estee Lauder mean by women who ‘don’t care’?
What did Estee Lauder understand about women?
How did she decide which products were successful?
What helped to advertise her products?
What is meant by the company was ‘on its way’?
Why do you think Estee Lauder was so successful?
Optional:
Discussion question: do you think she is right in saying that there are no ugly women just women who don’t care? Do you think women should care?
TEXT
Make up Monarch
• Estee Lauder started preparing and mixing creams in her own home
• Her company, at the time of her death was worth $4.74 billion
• She once said: “There are no ugly women – only women who don’t care”
Estee Lauder, who built a billion dollar worth company on face cream, died at the age of 97 on April 24th 2004. Her family’s admission of her age was unusual as she didn’t even mention it in her autobiography. She came from a humble home and worked hard to create a highly successful company. She was extremely determined and had a flair for business along with an understanding that women desire to be pampered. “I never dreamed about success I worked for it.”
She was born in 1907 to Jewish Hungarian immigrants who ran a hardware store. Lauder began by making beauty products at home with the help of her uncle who was a chemist. Her first guinea pigs were her schoolmates. She said ‘I was forever experimenting on myself and anyone who came within range.’
She then progressed into taking her products to beauty salons where she would ask customers to try her products. She was a relentless saleswoman, and progressed from beauty salons to movie celebrities. She sent samples to the most well-known woman in the US. She sent freebies through the mail and finally in 1948 persuaded a buyer at Saks, Fifth Avenue, a high class department store in New York, to place a large order. In two days, Saks sold out of her products and the company was on its way. Soon her products were sold all over New York.
Her emphasis was on exquisitely maintained skin and fine clothes. She was chic and encouraged others to dress and look like her. In 1930 she married. Later she had two children. Her company now includes Clinique, Prescriptives, MAC and Bobbi Brown is placed at number 349 in the 2003 Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies with revenue at $4.7 billion.
In 1998, Lauder was the only woman on Time magazine’s list of the 20 most influential geniuses in business of the century.
Worksheet
Consider these words which describe business and people; try to guess the meanings of the bolded words.
Jack Welsch was the CEO of General Electrics, one of the biggest companies in the world. He has been described as ingenious because he was extremely clever at designing and implementing new efficient ways of doing things.
My boss has a real head for a business; he can easily see what will make money and what won’t and almost instinctively makes good business decisions.
My sister is driven; she is very ambitious and wants to succeed. All she does is work towards her future.
I am not very shrewd when it comes to business. I make bad decisions and don’t know what makes a good business deal.
The salesperson was very pushy. She kept calling my home and trying to sell me things even when I made it clear that I wasn’t interested.
The new company is breaking new ground by creating faster methods of working etc. in order to increase productivity. They are thinking outside of the box.
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Famous women
Type of activity: This is a speaking and reading activity in which students read and discuss famous, influential women
Level: Intermediate and above
Teacher's notes:
Put the students into pairs and ask them to discuss famous women from their countries. Ask them to discuss what the women did and why they were or are famous.
Ask for feedback. Note that you may want to set this as a homework task prior to the lesson i.e. ask the students to research a famous woman from their countries to present in class during the next lesson.
Once you have listened to the students, tell them that they are going to read about two extremely influential women, one from the US and one from the UK. At this point you could write the famous women’s names on the board and ask the students to tell you what they know about the women.
Pre-teach the following words which appear in the text that the students may not know. The words below are useful; try the matching activity with the students before they read the text.
Once you have gone over the lexical items and checked that the students are sure of the meaning of the words, hand out the texts. Note that there is a part a) and a part b). Hand half of the class a part a) and half the class a part b).
Ask the students to read the texts. One is about Princess Diana and the other is about Eleanor Roosevelt.
Once the students have finished reading, ask them to explain what they read to their partners. Note that they should not show each other their texts; they should try to explain using their own language.
Monitor and correct as you see fit.
After this, ask the students to decide whether these women were similar or not. Ask them to re-read the texts, looking for similarities. They can work on this in pairs again.
At the end of task, ask the students to work in groups discussing women who have most influenced them or who they feel are very important women. You may want them to also discuss men. These people do not necessarily have to be famous people; they may be family members etc.
Note: you may want to set the last task as a homework task.
Answers: 1. h 2. d. 3. i. 4. c. 5. e. 6. b. 7. j. 8. g. 9. a. 10. g
Vocabulary:
The underdog
To be awkward
To be distinguished
To be trusted
To become aware
To be vulnerable
To be ahead of her/his time
To be struck down
To be envied
To be cut down Other people want what you have
To be open to trouble or problems, not to be protected
You can tell secrets to this person because they will keep them secret.
To be uncomfortable
To realize
To become suddenly very sick
To be killed either very young or at the most productive time in your life
A person who is in the worst situation; usually this person is not expected to win any competitions
A person who is well-known and elite
To be progressive and very modern his/her prime
Similarities:
Both born into privileged families
Both were shy and awkward (initially)
Both married to very famous men
Both helped the underdog
Both questioned their expected roles
Both vulnerable to criticism
Both felt the need to help the poor and needy
Both lived in the public arena
Both were very active in the public arena
Both continued to work even after personal tragedies
Part A - Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11th 1884. She was a shy, awkward child who grew up in a very famous, privileged household. Her uncle was the President of the United States. At 15, she went to a distinguished finishing school in England. Here she grew in confidence and soon realized her need to champion the underdog.
In 1903, she became engaged to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They married in 1905. Within the first eleven years of their marriage, she bore six children and she became her husband’s most trusted political aide. She continually helped him and soon became very aware of and accustomed to political dealings. She also became active in the women’s division of the State Democratic Committee. When her husband was struck down with polio, she devoted herself to his work and quickly became his eyes and ears in terms of political events. In 1933 F.D. Roosevelt was elected the President of the United States.
Whilst in the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt changed the role of the First Lady. She began by giving press conferences which had never been done by a First Lady before. She gave speeches, traveled extensively and expressed her own opinions in a newspaper column entitled ‘My Day.’ She was definitely a woman ahead of her time. This did leave her vulnerable to criticism and disapproval but her gracious, gentle character meant that most people admired and respected her and her opinions. She once said, “no matter how plain a woman may be if truth and loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her.”
After her husband’s death in 1945, she told reporters “the story is over” but in actual fact she had a lot more left to do in the public arena. She went onto represent North America at the United Nations; she helped to found UNICEF. She also helped to establish the Declaration of Human rights. Her humanitarian work on behalf of children and the oppressed earned her the love of millions. She said “You get more joy out of giving to others and should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” She died in November 1962 and was buried next to her husband.
“What other single human being has touched the existence of so many? She walked into the slums and ghettos of the world not on a tour of inspection, but as one who could not feel contentment when others were hungry.” Adlai Stevenson about Eleanor Roosevelt.
Part B - Princess Diana
Princess Diana once said, “I understand people’s suffering and people’s pain, more than you will ever know yourself.” She has been described by many as the world’s most loved woman. She was caring, loving and warm. She was also one of the most socially powerful women of all time. When she died, millions mourned her death.
She was born on July 1st 1961 near Sandringham, England into a wealthy, privileged and very distinguished family. She had two sisters and one brother. She worked as a kindergarten teacher in London. Diana was shy and when she first entered into the public arena appeared extremely awkward and uncomfortable. This discomfort persisted even when she married one of the most important men in England, Prince Charles the next in line to the thrown. The wedding was one of the most celebrated events in the whole world. The whole of England stopped to watch the wedding. She was a beautiful bride and one whom many envied however this was not to be a happy ever after story.
As soon as Princess Diana joined the royal family, she challenged the old royal protocol. She took over helping many charities and devoted herself to supporting the underdog. She helped thousands, visiting children in hospital, shaking hands with Aids patients and also campaigning to stop the use of landmines. She literally turned the role of the royal family around. Some hated her for it, thinking that she was more like a pop star or a movie star than a member of the royal family, others loved her for what she did and how she made the royal family seem more like real people.
She was a mixture of vulnerability and strength. She was vulnerable because the media and the public’s fascination with her left no stone of her life unturned. She didn’t have any privacy and was constantly followed by photographers and journalists. She was the most photographed women in history. She was strong in the sense that she worked hard and never stopped helping others. She tried to use the media because she was aware of its power but this was not always easy to do. Many times her life was distorted in the press. When it became clear that her marriage was breaking down the press hounded her and her husband. They revealed stories that both her and her husband had had affairs. They had photographs and tapes as evidence. This did a lot to harm the royal family but Diana survived and went on to continue her charity work as a single mum; she was as popular as ever. Tragically Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris, cut down in her prime.
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Fill in the gaps story
Activity type: this is a dictation activity in which the teacher dictates part of a story and the students have to work in groups filling in the missing parts of the story.
Level: Intermediate and above
Teacher's notes:
Tell the students that you are going to read them a story but that you will stop at certain points. When you stop you are going to ask them to work in groups to create part of the story by using the prompts that you provide. Actually that basically means answering questions which will act as prompts.
The prompts are in bold below.
Put the students into groups of three. Nominate one person in each group to be the ‘scribe’ (writer) and tell the others in the group that they are going to work together in teams creatively to make up parts of the story.
Begin by telling the students the first part of the story i.e. that Laura and Mark live in a house. Once you have got to the end of the sentence, tell the students to describe the house. Give the students a few minutes to do this; monitor and correct the written work if you feel comfortable doing so.
Once they have done this, continue by reading part two. Again ask the students the prompts and allow them time to work together.
When you have gone through all of the prompts i.e. all seven ask the students to either read out their stories or for one student to move from each group and to go to a new group with the story. Then ask the new person in the group to tell the others in the new group, his/her story. Listen, monitor and correct as much as possible.
Variation: to make this activity more fun, replace ‘Mark and Laura with to of the students’ names.
For easy printing, the worksheet is on the following page
Part one:
Laura and Mark live in a lovely house.
(Describe the house)
Part two:
Usually they are very happy but yesterday they had an argument.
(What was it about?)
Part three:
Mark got really angry and ……
(what did he do?)
Part four:
Laura got even angrier and said….
(What did she say?)
Part five:
Mark shouted…..
(What did he shout?)
Part six:
Finally they laughed and agreed to…
(What did they agree to do?)
Part seven:
Now they live happily in their house which is near a large town.
(Describe the town) |
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ICQ 497460000
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