Reading – On the same page

“Make You Feel My Love”

VOCABULARY

KEY: 1. D; 2. B; 3. E; 4. F; 5. A ; 6. C

KEY: 1. comforting ; 2. confident ; 3. selfless ; 4. sincere ; 5. supportive ; 6. committed

Make_You_Feel_My_Love.pdf Download

READING

Make_You_Feel_My_Love.pdf Download

KEY: 1. on your case; 2. warm embrace; 3. evening shadows; 4. dry your tears; 5. hold you for a million years; 6. made your mind up; 7. do you wrong; 8. no doubt; 9. go black and blue; 10. the storms are raging; 11. highway of regret; 12. winds of change 13. make your dreams come true; 14. go to the ends of the earth

LISTENING

The students listen to the song to check their answers.

SPEAKING

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

a. unconditional love; support and comfort; commitment and hope; relationship uncertainties

b. The singer has strong, genuine, and selfless feelings for the person he/she is addressing, with a deep commitment to making them feel loved and supported in various circumstances.

c. “I know you haven’t made your mind up yet”: this line indicates that there may be uncertainty or indecision on the part of the person the singer is addressing; the other person is still contemplating their feelings or perhaps hasn’t committed to the relationship.

d. Some natural elements are used metaphorically to convey various emotions, including love, support, comfort, and commitment:

– rain: often associated with challenges, difficult times, or a sense of melancholy; in this context, the singer offers a “warm embrace” during these challenging moments, symbolising comfort and support in times of adversity

– evening shadows and stars: they evoke a sense of calm and serenity

– storms and rolling sea: turbulent and unpredictable phases in life; the singer’s promise to be there during these storms signifies a commitment to providing stability and support during challenging times

– winds of change: transitions and transformations; the singer may be expressing a commitment to stand by the person even during periods of change and uncertainty

WRITING

Make_You_Feel_My_Love.pdf Download

Christmas Around the World

1. Cut the paper globe and worksheet. Fold the worksheet as shown below:

Christmas_Around_The_World_1.pdf Download

2. Cut the paper globe along the dotted line. Glue each half to each side of the worksheet. This will be your front cover!

3. The booklet features 11 Christmas traditions from different countries, so you can write something like “Chistmas Around the World”, or any other title you can think of, in the space provided. Feel free to decorate it!

4. Now look at this Christmas tree with 25 words. Classify them according to their last vowel sound, writing them under the correct column.

Christmas_Around_The_World_2.pdf Download

5. Use these words to complete the 25 gaps in the booklet. Bear in mind that the texts for each country follow an AABB rhyme scheme, which should help you choose the right words. TIP: start with the gaps that already have a rhyming word in one of the lines (see Italy, South Korea, Norway, Greece or India), and then work on the rest.

(NOTE TO YOUR TEACHER: you can of course make the activity easier by providing a few of these words).

6. (Oh, this is just something for busy teachers! Skip it and go to step 7).

ANSWER KEY:  
1. cheer, 2. here, 3. tow, 4. delight, 5. night, 6. stage, 7. unfold, 8. sweet, 9. meet, 10. embrace, 11. space, 12. wave, 13. brave, 14. flight, 15. past, 16. fast, 17. arrive, 18. rage, 19. flood, 20. love, 21. near, 22. dear, 23. star, 24. call, 25. enthrall

7. Look at the pictures and match them with each country by writing the name of the country in the space provided. Notice that some of them may be used for more than one country, but you need at least one for each of them! Who said life was easy?

Christmas_Around_The_World_2.pdf Download

8. Draw the pictures where they belong in the booklet!

9. Complete the last square by writing about a Christmas tradition of your choice. Can you make it rhyme? Get ready to share it with your classmates!

10. What’s your favourite Christmas tradition in the booklet, anyway?

Charting the skies: a lesson idea with Space Elevator

A few months ago, I shared Wonders of Street View: some activity ideas using Neal Agarwal’s fascinating website, neal.fun. One of the latest additions to the site, Space Elevator, allows us to simulate travelling up into space simply by scrolling up!

This interactive tool provides insights into the changes that occur in the atmosphere, including information about animals, various natural phenomena, or the types of aircraft we might expect to find.

So how about using this captivating content in an interactive lesson that allows the students to practise their reading and speaking skills?

LEAD-IN

1. Elicit the different layers of the atmosphere: Troposphere, Statosphere, Mesosphere and Thermosphere. How high does a regular passenger plane fly? And a monarch butterfly? How about the highest paper plane flight? Where would you need a spacesuit?

JIGSAW READING

2. Make groups of 6 and provide each student with a chart on one of the following categories: clouds, natural phenomena, aircraft and aviation, space, animals, and altitude-related records. Ask the students to explore Space Elevator and complete their charts with as much information about their assigned category as possible.

3. Encourage the students to use online dictionaries to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words. You may also want them to write down any new or key words, or even write a collaborative glossary between the six members of each group as they read.

Space_Elevator_1.pdf Download

(Please find a fillable PDF file version here.)

4. Ask the students to work together and share their findings within their groups. They can use this summary chart to write down the most interesting facts they have found for each category:

Space_Elevator_2.pdf Download

(You can download the fillable version here.)

5. Allow each group to share a few interesting facts or examples with the whole class.

FOLLOW-UP

6. Ask each group to choose one thing they have read that they would like to know more about. The students use the internet and other resources to research and gather information, taking notes and collecting relevant sources for future reference.

7. Each group prepares a brief presentation to share with the rest of the class, followed by any questions the rest of the students may want to ask.

CLOSURE

8. Play this quiz game as a whole group!

9. Stand and Share: have all the students in the class write down one thing they have learnt or found interesting and have them stand up. Students take turns sharing their choices. If another student has written the same thing that their partner is sharing, they can sit down. The activity goes on until everyone is sitting down. (You can also focus on vocabulary and repeat the same procedure by having the students share one word they have learnt during the lesson!)

“Fast Car”

Here’s a reading and listening activity based on Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” (1988):

Fast_Car.pdf Download

KEY:

1- 5 – 3 – 6 – 4 – 8 – 7 – 2

You got a fast car

I got a plan to get us outta here

I’ve been working at the convenience store

Managed to save just a little bit of money

Won’t have to drive too far

Just ‘cross the border and into the city

You and I can both get jobs

And finally see what it means to be living

The singer’s father: alcoholic; he doesn’t work; unhealthy

The singer’s mother: she left her husband

What the singer did: she quit school to look after her father

1. remember

2. speed

3. drunk

4. lights

5. arm

6. belonged

1. cruising

2. ourselves

3. still

4. market

5. get

6. work

7. promoted

8. move

“You’re Aging Well”

The challenges of ageing, and the societal pressures that come along with it, shape the lyrics of “You’re Aging Well” by Dar Williams (1993), encouraging the listeners to embrace their own unique journey as they age.

In this reading comprehension lesson (B2 and above), the students first read and listen to each part of the song (A, B and C), complete the signs and speech bubbles with lines from the lyrics, answer the comprehension questions for each section, and finally discuss the questions that are open to interpretation.

You’re_Aging_Well.pdf Download

KEY:
A – “You never can win”, “Watch your back”, “Where’s your husband?” / “This is your year”, “It always starts here”

B – “Don’t hold us back, we’re the story you tell” / “We’re so glad that you finally made it here,
You thought nobody cared, but we did, we could tell”
C – “With the things you know now, that only time could tell”

As a follow-up task, have the students write a letter to their future self, sharing their aspirations, fears, and advice. In my case, teenagers are typically more focused on the present and future aspects of their lives, such as school, friendships, personal development, and future goals, and ageing isn’t a primary concern for them. They can, however, reflect on other related worries such as the pressure to conform to societal expectations, body image issues, or uncertainty about their own future:

1. INTRODUCTION: Start your letter by addressing your future self. For example, you can write “Dear Future Me” or “To My Older Self.” Then, share how you feel right now about getting older. Are you excited, nervous, or curious? Explain why you feel this way.

2. ASPIRATIONS: In this part, share your dreams, goals, and hopes for the future. Be specific and describe what you want to achieve or experience as you grow older.

Example: One thing I really want to do is travel to different countries and learn about different cultures. I hope to see famous places like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Great Wall of China. I also dream of becoming a successful artist and showing my artwork in galleries.

3. FEARS AND CONCERNS: This section is for discussing any worries or fears you have about ageing. Think about how you can overcome these worries.

Example: I’m worried about losing contact with my childhood friends as we go our separate ways. But I think if we make an effort to stay in touch and talk to each other, we can keep our friendship strong, even if we’re far away from each other.

4. ADVICE AND ENCOURAGEMENT: Give yourself supportive and practical advice based on what you know and have experienced so far.

Example: I think it’s important to be around positive and supportive people who encourage you to grow and improve.

5. CONCLUSION.

Wouldn’t it be cool if a few of them kept their letters and revisited them in the future?

“Killing Me Softly”

This lesson idea is based on the song “Killing Me Softly” (1971), by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel.

The students are first introduced to the content of the song, rewritten as a recipe. They first read the recipe, look for 7 synonyms in the text, and choose 5 words that summarise it.

ANSWER KEY: 2. a. unique; b. captivated; c. gather; d. moved; e. evoke; f. strum; g. talented

Using words from the recipe, the students fill in the gaps in 4. If the students find more than one option, encourage them to write them down and explain why they would be possible answers.

Then have the students listen to the first part of the song and check their answers, confirming or discarding any answers they have chosen.

ANSWER KEY: 4. 1. style; 2. listen; 3. young; 4. pain; 5. fingers; 6. life; 7. words; 8. life; 9. words

The students read the rest of the song and fill in the blanks with words from the guitar (there are three words they won’t need!)

ANSWER KEY: 5. 1. flushed; 2. crowd; 3. letters; 4. prayed; 5. finish; 6. right; 7. despair; 8. through; 9. on; 10. clear

Finally, the students choose one of these short writing tasks:

Killing_Me_Softly.pdf Download

Enjoy!

Dancing Teens

1. Ask the students to think of any films from the 1980s featuring teenagers dancing. Elicit a few titles.

2. Tell them that they are going to watch a video which explains why dancing in films was popular in the 1980s. The video is available on the BBC website and on BBC’s Facebook page (it’s a public post, so you don’t have to log in.) You can also find it on Twitter here.

3. Explain that for each time period (early 80s, mid 80s and late 80s) they will first have to answer one or two questions, they will look for a series of synonyms, and finally they will be writing the film titles mentioned in the video.

Dancing_Teens.pdf Download

4. Play till 2:39, corresponding to the early 80s. Allow some time to answer the different sections. Play again.

5. Repeat the same procedure for the mid 80s (from 2:40 to 3:54) and late 80s (from 3:55 to 5:08).

6. Check the answers with the whole group.
VOCABULARY: Early 80s: 1. polished, 2. supported, 3. fad, 4. tanked, 5. mirrored, 6. blend or mash-up; Mid 80s: 1. ruled, 2. archetypal, 3. grown-up, 4. taking over, 5. defiance, 6. deemed; Late 80s: 1. diluted, 2. standstill, 3. heralding.

7. Have the students complete a summary using words from the vocabulary section (the synonyms they had found in the video) in the correct form.

You may also want to provide the words and have the students use the correct form:

Dancing_Teens.pdf Download

KEY: 1. archetypal, 2. defiance, 3. backed, 4. ruled, 5. heralded, 6. blended, 7. fad, 8. had tanked, 9. were diluted, 10. standstill

8. Go over the film title sections and discuss any movies the students may have watched. Assign each film to pairs of students, and ask them to do some research about them. Provide the following as a guide:

– Film title:

– Genre:

– Release year:

– Director:

– Lead actors/actresses:

– Dance styles featured:

– Soundtrack:

– Plot summary:

– Notable Quotes (if any):

– Fun facts:

– Sample clips:

– Sources Used:

9. Have the students share their findings!

If I hadn’t…

Here’s a mini-lesson I’ve planned to revise third conditional clauses with my students. The unit revolves around different types of music.

1. Display the lyrics of Adele’s “Someone Like You” and play the beginning of the song. The fact that some students will be familiar with the song lyrics is in fact an advantage, since we want them to focus first on meaning and then on form to rephrase the lyrics.

2. Ask the students to complete the conditional sentences provided at the end of the first lines. Elicit the structure, or use these sentences to model the activity. Discuss the uses of this type of conditional sentences (to express the past consequence of an unrealistic action or situation in the past, or to express regret about something we wish we could have changed but we couldn’t.)

If_I_Had_Not_1.pdf Download

3. Have the students work on the next few lines and complete the three sentences provided.

4. You may also want to have the students listen to the rest of the song and write a conditional sentence as a summary using their own words!

If_I_Had_Not_1.pdf Download

5. The students read a number of choices that Adele has made in her career and then work in pairs to complete the sentences. Do the first one with the whole group to model the procedure.

If_I_Had_Not_2.pdf Download

SUGGESTED ANSWERS:
1-2. If Adele hadn’t been inspired by the music of Ella James and Ella Fitzgerald, she might not have pursued a career in music.
2-3. If she hadn’t pursued a career in music, she wouldn’t have been discovered by a talent scout.
3-4. If she hadn’t been discovered by a talent scout, she wouldn’t have signed a record deal.
4-5. If she hadn’t signed a record deal, she wouldn’t have released her breakthrough album “19”.
5-6. If she hadn’t released her breakthrough album, she wouldn’t have won her first Grammy.
6-7. If she hadn’t won her first Grammy, she wouldn’t have gained worldwide fame and success.
1-8. But, on the other hand, if she hadn’t been inspired by the music of Ella James and Ella Fitzgerald, she might have had success in a different field or had a different passion.
8-9. If she had been successful in a different field, she might not have been able to share her talent with the world.

6. Ask the students to complete the circles with information about them, starting with a family member, a friend, a classmate, or a hobby/sport, for instance, and then thinking of consequences for having met them or started that hobby or sport. In 8 and 9, they should think of consequences for not having met or lived with those people or started those hobbies/sports.

7. The students write 8 sentences using conditional sentences, following the model in activity 1.

8. The students finally share their texts with the rest of the group!

The seed vault

1. Ask the students to draw the scene you’re about to describe. Play this sound effect of a snow blizzard from BBC Sound Effects to help set the scene. Read the following:

I’ve been lost in the middle of this blizzard for almost half an hour. It’s difficult to see where I am, but I’ve just noticed a strange light square in the distance and I’m walking towards it. Could it be a house? Perhaps one of the houses in the town where I’m staying? I shouldn’t be too far away, after all.

As I get closer, I can see something similar to a tower made of concrete with a steel door and a tiny bridge in front of it. It seems to be carved into the side of the mountain! And then there’s the strange blueish light on a big square above the door.

I can’t help but feel a sense of mystery and intrigue. I’m now certain this is not a fancy hotel or someone’s house. I approach the door. It’s clear that it leads to something special. I take a deep breath, reach for the handle and turn it. The door creaks open, and I step inside.

2. Have the students share their pictures.

3. Display a picture of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and discuss any similarities and differences.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

(Source: TIME)

4. Tell the students that they are going to watch a short video about this facility. As they watch it, the students first explain why the numbers in activity 1 are mentioned in the video.

The_Seed_Vault.pdf Download

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

1300 – the number of kilometres from Svalbard to the North Pole
200 – the number of years the seed vault has been planned to last
3 – the number of vault rooms
120 – the number of metres from the front door to the vault room that is in use
3,000,000 – the number of seeds that will be stored in the three vault rooms
500 – the number of seeds per sample there will be in the future
1700 – the number of gene banks around the world
9,000,000 – the amount of dollars it cost to build the Svalbard Global Seed Vault

5. The students work together to complete a short gapped text about the Global Seed Vault with one suitable word for each blank.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS: 1. seeds; 2. preserve; 3. tunnel; 4. bags; 5. boxes; 6. shelves

In their own words, the students explain why the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is important, and how it can help us in the future, using the information from the video. Share and discuss the students’ answers. You may even want to explore any possible problems or disadvantages this type of facility may have.

6. Ask the students to read the beginning of a story that takes place at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. As they read, have them identify the setting, the characters and the plot of the story.

The_Seed_Vault.pdf Download

7. Finally, ask the students to finish the story! Why not invite them to visit BBC Sound Effects, look for the sound effects that best suit their story endings (you can even mix different effects by clicking “Mixer Mode”) and create the perfect atmosphere for an intriguing story sharing session?

“Romeo and Juliet”: a post-reading mini-project

To check comprehension of a B1 graded reader based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, I asked my younger students to choose four key scenes or snapshots from the play and plan a short oral presentation explaining their choices, including:
– a description of each “snapshot”, including the setting, the characters and the action;
– which part of the plot they belong to;
– why they think they are important, providing at least three reasons.

Working in pairs, the students created a paper diorama for each scene which helped them both with the planning process and as a visual aid in the presentation. To make these dioramas, we simply used regular DIN-A4 white paper:

1. Fold the paper to make a square.

2. Fold the paper again so that it is folded on both diagonals.

3. Cut on one of the folds to the centre.

And there you go!

We even tried some stage curtains on each diorama!

stage_curtains.pdf Download

This type of diorama makes it easy for students to take home before assembling and gluing them together, and for pairs to distribute the amount of work to be done.