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To
see the materials used in the plan
Preliminary information
Time: 60-75 minutes??
Level: Upper Intermediate/Advanced
Aims:
To give extensive & intensive reading
To give freer speaking practice
See each stage for possibilities of language practice aims.
Assumptions:
That the stds will be interested in the theme of 'inventions
That the language in the text will not be too difficult.
Anticipated Problems and Solutions:
Some of the vocabulary may be challenging >> pre-teach
essential items when setting up the prediction task in stage
2.
Some of the 'inventions' may be unknown >> check them
out & be prepared to give a very general explanation of
them.
Aids:
TV dinner served up as key invention
by Tania Branigan Wednesday July 17, 2002 The Guardian
Brainwaves that rocked the world
Wednesday July 17, 2002 The Guardian
Procedure
Stage 1 - Intro/Sinking in
to theme of inventions
10 mins tch<>stds, std<>std,
tch<>stds
1. Elicit the word family of
inventions - inventor, inventive, to invent - you could extend
this & brainstorm all words connected etc..
21. In pairs ask stds to think of five
important inventions
3. Task
4. Ask stds to put them in order of importance & think
of when they happened
5. Feedback - elicit inventions for the past 50 years &
most important in the last 50 years - class discussion.
6. Give out list of 10 inventions & ask them to match
up with their dates.
| 1952 |
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Barcodes on supermarket products |
| 1954 |
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Compact discs on sale |
| 1955 |
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Home kidney dialysis |
| 1961 |
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The Pill goes on the market in the UK |
| 1964 |
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Pocket calculator |
| 1969 |
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Moon landing |
| 1972 |
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First fare paying passengers in a jet airliner
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| 1973 |
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TV dinner |
| 1974 |
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Non-stick saucepan |
| 1981 |
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Cars with airbags |
7. Stds in pairs match.
8. Feedback - give answers - see full list for answers - &
discuss whether consider them all 'inventions' & whether
they think they are important or not.
Stage 2 - Intro to the reading task &
extensive read
10-15 mins tch<>stds,
std<>std, tch<>stds
1. Put the title of the article on the board:
'TV dinner served up as key invention'
2. Elicit possible content of the article - collate the ideas
on the board.
Instructions for quick overview reading - read quickly to
see which of their ideas approximates the article.
3. Handout & stds read - give time limit - 1 minute -
encourage general gist reading & not to worry about unknown
words - stds read.
4. Stds compare ideas in pairs.
5. Feedback - elicit which idea the article is nearest to,
if any & anything else they gleaned about the article.
Stage 3 - More intensive reading
10 mins tch<>stds, std<>std,
tch<>stds
1. Stds answer following comprehension questions
- handout questions, instructions:
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Comprehension check
1. How many different inventions are mentioned in the
article?
2. Where & when is the exhibition taking place?
3. Why are the inventions of the last 50 years considered
to be so important?
4. Which inventions are a surprise to be included in
the list?
5. Which inventions mentioned never made a commercial
success?
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2. Stds answer questions individually.
3. Stds check answers in pairs.
4. General feedback
5. Response to the text - would they like to go to the exhibition?
Was there anything surprising in the article?
Have a look at the text & see if there
is any language area you could focus on here.
Stage 4 - Discussion -
'Brainwaves that rocked the world' text
20 mins
tch<>stds, stds<>stds, tch<>stds
1. Instructions - stds look at list - discuss
any inventions they are not clear about with their partners
- handout texts.
2. Read & discuss - get around helping out & explaining.
Could relate this activity to the language of supposition
or that language of explanation.
3. When all OK on the inventions - ask them to choose the
top 5 inventions & the bottom 5 inventions - ones they
think shouldn't be in the list. Also ask them to think &
discuss any other inventions they think should be included.
4. Stds discuss - get around helping out. This could be done
in groups of four.
5. If in groups - ask a member from each group to visit each
of the other groups & then report back to the original
group the findings of the others - & then reassess their
top & bottom 5.
5. General feedback - discuss lists & see if any inventions
in common - ask for justification of choices.
Follow up activities :
• stds are given on of the fifty inventions
& they have to justify why they should be in the list.
Maybe use the bottom 5 inventions they have decided on above.
• stds 'invent' a labour-saving device
aka Inspector Gadget/Wallace & Grumit (if you have it,
you could show the scene when Wallace wakes up in 'The Wrong
Trousers')
• future inventions - stds discuss what
might happen in the next 50 years - poss. practice for future
supposition, future perfect/continuous.
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the previous Newsletter index
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