task
You are going to write a letter to a friend, telling him /her about a recent event.
Student’s Book page
a Read out the five paragraph summaries. Then ask them to read the text and match the paragraphs with the summaries. Then put the students in pairs to compare answers.
b Ask the students to look at the letter again and identify what makes it informal. Tell them to read the four suggestions, and to discuss their ideas with a partner.
(10-15 mins)
Tell the students that they are going to reply to a letter.
a Ask them to think of a good story to tell their ‘friend’- it could be true or they could make it up. Ask for some ideas and then allow about five minutes for them to discuss ideas in pairs or small groups (they could make up a story together, or discuss individual ideas).
b Tell them to plan at least four paragraphs - remind them of the way the letter in their books was organised. Go round and offer suggestions where necessary. Make sure the letters have an introductory and a concluding one.
(20 mins)
a Allow about fifteen minutes for the students to write their final drafts. Remind them to use informal language, and go round while they are writing to check. Make sure the letters have an introductory paragraph and a concluding one.
b Tell the students to check their work carefully for spelling, punctuation and style.
Put the students in pairs to read each other’s letters and then ask each other a few more questions about their stories. Invite two or three volunteers to read out their letters to the class and invite comments.
Finally, collect the letters and return them corrected as soon as possible.
Lesson 9
Workbook pages 80 - 81, Writing Workbook answer key – see page 151
Objectives
Skills At the end of the lesson,
students should be able to:
Reading ●read an e-mail
Writing ●write a short story
Unit 11
Messages
Lessons 1 and 2
Objectives
Skills At the end of this pair of lessons,
students should be able to:
Reading ● read different types of messages
● read a Factfile
Listening ● listen to a radio programme
Speaking ● discuss messages
● describe a message in a bottle story
Topic ● Messages
Functions ● understand different types of messages
● express possibility ● accept / reject invitations ● visualise
Vocabulary asap (Exp), colleague (N), current (N),
impromptu (Adj), rearrange (V), starvation (N), unreliable (Adj), urgent (Adj), well-sealed (Adj)
Student’s Book pages 84 and 85
Present the active vocabulary needed for each activity.
(about 20 mins)
Ask the students to look at the four messages. Ask What kind of messages
are they? (text message, e-mail, post-it note, message in a bottle).
Ask the students to work out what the first message says (Thanks for texting me mate. I’ll get back to you soon). Tell them they will learn more about texting in English later in the unit.
a, b and c Put the students in pairs to discuss questions a-c. Go round and offer suggestions where necessary.
Put pairs together to make small groups. Tell them to compare ideas, then discuss each question with the class.
d Ask the students if they ever write messages like these, and if so how often. Who do they write messages to, and who sends them messages? What other ways do they use to send messages? (e.g. Internet message boards, answerphone messages and voicemail, notice boards…) Has anyone in the class ever sent or found a message in a bottle?
Put the students in pairs and ask them to discuss these two questions. Then invite two or three students to report back
to the class (e.g. Samia texts her friends every day. She sometimes uses e-mail. I never text people but I use message boards a lot…)
Tell the class your own answers to question d. (10 mins)
Tell the students you are going to ask them to take a message. Slowly read out the following text (as if you are someone on the phone leaving a message) ONCE ONLY while they take notes. Then invite different students to read the message back to you. (It need not be exactly the same – just the main points!)
Note: There will be more opportunities to
practise taking messages later in the unit. Hi. It’s (your name). Please could you take a message for Mohammed? Could you ask him to send me my spare glasses? I need them urgently because my others are broken. They’re in the cupboard in the sitting room, on the top shelf. Tell him to wrap them up carefully! I really need them. Thanks. Bye!
Grammar
Passive verbs (mixed tenses)
Unit 11 Messages
84
MODULE 4: Fact and fiction
Look at the messages below and discuss these questions with a partner.
a Where could you find each message?
b Who do you think wrote them and why?
c Who were they written to?
d Who do you send messages to? Who do you receive messages from?
Hussein
Thanks for letting me know in advance. I actually have the same problem as you, and was just about to contact you.
Let’s rearrange things then. How about 27th March? My schedule is pretty free that day so I will be able to travel to your office instead.
Ahmed Original message Dear Ahmed,
I’m afraid I can’t make our meeting tomorrow afternoon. A colleague is out of the office and I have to take his place. If we could reschedule asap I would really appreciate it, as there are many things to discuss about our forthcoming project. Hussein
Nadia
Reem phoned. Can you get back to her as soon as possible – it’s urgent. She’ll be at home until 4.30.
Dalia
I am sending this message out to sea to see if anyone will find it. If you are reading
this message, wherever you are in the world ... please send it back to me at ... Thx 4 txtng me m8, will gt bac 2 u soon 1 2 3 4
Student’s Book page
MODULE 4: Fact and fiction
Unit 11 Messages can survive conditions that ships can’t, and calls bottle messages an unreliable means of communication, it does not expand on these pieces of information in the Factfile.)
Listening script 11.1 – see pages 135 - 136
(15 mins)
Put the students in pairs to complete this task. First, ask them to read questions a and b. Allow time for them to decide their answers. Repeat this procedure with questions c and d.
(visualising) (15 mins)
Put the students in pairs to read and discuss the questions. Go round and offer suggestions where necessary. Then EITHER ask different students to tell the class their ideas OR give each student a slip of paper and ask them to write a message on it! Collect them in a box or similar then ask the students to pick one out randomly. Can they guess who wrote the message?
Quote
Read the quote to the class and check they know the vocabulary (e.g. ‘impromptu’ = ‘unprepared’.) Ask students what Mark Twain meant. (He carefully prepares speeches which will seem unprepared to his audience, and which everyone else will think he is making up while he is talking.) Ask students why he might have said this. Do they ever prepare for a situation so that it seems natural? Ask them to justify their answer.
Background: Mark Twain (1835–1910) was an American humourist, satirist, writer and lecturer. His most famous novels are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He was a very popular figure, and known for his wit.
Lesson 3
Workbook pages 82 - 83, Reading Workbook answer key – see pages 151 - 152
Objectives
Skills At the end of the lesson,
students should be able to:
Reading ●read a text about carrier
pigeons
Writing ●write a Factfile about
carrier pigeons ● write a paragraph expanding on a Factfile
Topic ●Five thousand year-old postal
service
Vocabulary fasten (V), homing (Adj),
illegally (Adv), instinct (N)
(11.1)(20 mins)
Ask the students if they ever listen to radio programmes. What kind of programmes do they enjoy?
Tell them they are going to hear part of a radio programme. First, read out the three questions and then play the whole of recording 11.1.
Ask the students to discuss the answers to the three questions, then play the whole recording again for them to check. Pause and replay the recording as necessary.
Listening script 11.1 – see pages 135 - 136
(11.1)(20 mins)
Ask the students to read the Factfile. Explain any difficult words, which might include well-sealed and
current.
Put the students in pairs to discuss which of these facts are relevant to the radio programme. Then play the recording again for them to check their answers (the third fact; although the tape suggests bottles
Unit 11 Messages
85
(11.1) You are going to hear part of a radio programme called ‘Strange Stories’. Listen and answer these questions.
a How many strange stories do you hear?
b What nationalities are the people in the stories? (We do not know the nationality of one person.)
c When does each story take place?
(11.1) Which of the information in the Factfile below does the radio programme give you more details about? Read the Factfile, then listen again.
Choose the correct answer, A or B, for each question about the stories.
a How did Matsuyama and his men die?
A They drowned. B They had no food.
b What happened to the Lusitania in May 1915?
A It ended its voyage. B It started its voyage.
c The people who found the German scientists’ bottle didn’t break it. Why not?
A The glass was too strong. B They could read the message through the glass.
d Why did Paolina reply to the sailor’s message?
A As a joke. B Because she wanted to please her father. (visualising)
Imagine you are on the beach and you find an empty bottle.
◗ What message would you send in the bottle?
◗ Where could your bottle go to?
◗ Would you like the finder to contact you?
◗ Why are ‘message in a bottle’ stories so memorable? Factfile: Messages in bottles
• A well-sealed bottle can survive hurricanes that can sink ships. And glass lasts forever. • It is impossible to predict the direction a bottle will travel.
• The longest bottle voyage ever was 25,000 kilometres, a journey that took six and a half years. • If wind and current conditions are good, a bottle can travel nearly 200 kilometres a day.
ords to remember
W
asap, colleague, current, impromptu, rearrange, starvation, unreliable, urgent, well-sealed
Quote “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”
Mark Twain
b Still in pairs, students read sentences 1, 2 and
3. Together they decide whether the sentences are true or false and justify their answers. Remind students to correct the false sentences. Tell them to write the correct versions in their notebooks. Go round and check their answers.
(10 mins)
Ask students to look at the first sentence and ask a volunteer to give an answer. Then ask the other students to offer suggestions until you have collected a broad range of possible answers from the class. Then give the class the correct answer and explain if necessary.
Lessons 4 and 5
Objectives
Skills At the end of this pair of lessons,
students should be able to:
Reading ● read a story
● read a text about SIM cards
Grammar ● use passive verbs (mixed tenses)
Topic ● Messages
Functions ● apologise
● give information
Vocabulary activate (V), band (N), conference call (N),
deadline (N), flash (V), frequency (N), handy (Adj), harmony (N), hassle (N), portable (Adj), slide (V), unlock (V),
upgrade (V)
Pronunciation ● use consonant clusters: /spr/, /skr/ or /str/
Student’s Book pages 86 and 87
Present the active vocabulary needed for each activity.
● Passive verbs (mixed tenses) (15 mins)
On the board, write passive and ask the class what the opposite is (active). Then write this sentence on the board: Jaber
scored a goal. Ask What’s the verb? (scored)
Is it passive or active? (active).
Then ask for the ‘passive version’. Write it on the board: A goal was scored by Jaber. Remind the students that in an active sentence, someone performs an action (does something); passive means we are interested in the result of the action, not who did it. Ask what tense the sentence is in (past simple). Remind them that the passive can be in any tense, just the same as the active.
(15 mins)
Put the students in pairs to read the story and discuss which title is most appropriate. Ask students why they think Faisal is laughing at the end of the story. Go round and offer help where necessary. Then check their answers.
(15 mins)
a Put students in pairs. One student roleplays a teacher, and the other acts as a student.
The teacher explains the difference between the active and the passive to the students, who may ask questions if they don’t understand. Then the two students exchange roles. Finally, the two students compare their ideas and reach agreement.
86
O Passive verbs (mixed tenses) Grammar reference pages 135–136
Read the story and choose the best title:
◗ Faisal and Ahmed ◗ Mixed messages ◗ Home alone
It’s the last lesson of the day and Faisal is hungry. He can’t wait for the family dinner at 3 o’clock. ‘I hope Mum makes a chicken curry, he thinks. As he leaves school, he sees his twin brother Ahmed at the entrance. ‘I have to stay an hour late for football practice this afternoon. So I’ll miss dinner,’ Ahmed tells Faisal.
5 ‘Don’t worry, I’ll ask Mum to keep a plate warm for you.’ Faisal replies.
Faisal takes a long walk home, but when he arrives the house is empty. The answer machine light is flashing red. ‘I hope it’s not bad news,’ he worries, and plays the message. ‘Hi, it’s Mum. I went to the supermarket but now I’m stuck in traffic. My phone battery is nearly dead, too. I’ll be home at 5 o’clock.’
10 In his office, Faisal’s dad is really worried. He has a project deadline tomorrow, but he doesn’t want to miss dinner. ‘Really sorry. Emergency conference call. I’ll be an hour late. Love Dad.’ he types.
‘I hope somebody reads this e-mail,’ Dad thinks.
At exactly 5 o’clock, Ahmed, Mum and Dad all arrive at the house. ‘Sorry I’m late, did you get 15 my message?’ They apologise in perfect harmony. Faisal laughs and laughs.
The first in each pair of sentences below is active and the second is passive.
◗ Dad sent an e-mail. The e-mail was sent by Dad.
◗ Mum left an answer machine message. The answer machine message was
left by Mum.
a What is the difference between the two sentences in each pair?
b Are these statements True (T) or False (F)? Justify your answer in your notebooks.
1 Active and passive sentences give different information.
2 Active and passive sentences use different verb forms.
3 Active and passive sentences have different subjects or focuses.
How is the passive formed? Rewrite each sentence using the word in brackets.
a Last year, I painted my room. (had)
b My father is upgrading his phone tomorrow. (having)
c We’ve just installed an AC unit. (had)
d Nader will finish the construction project. (have)
e Mum had cooked a large meal for the family. (been)
f By the end of this year, I will have read ten books. (been)
Unit 11 Messages
/spr/, /skr/ or /str/
(11.2)(10 mins)
Play the first word of recording 11.2 (secret) and ask One syllable or two? (two). Then play the rest of recording 11.2 while the students note down 1 or 2 for each word. Play the recording again to check.
Listening script 11.2 – see page 136
(11.3)(10 mins)
Play recording 11.3, pausing for the students to repeat each one.
Listening script 11.3 – see page 136
(11.4)(10 mins)
Play recording 11.4, pausing after each sentence for the students to repeat it.
Listening script 11.4 – see page 136
Lesson 6
Workbook pages 84 - 85, Language practice
Workbook answer key – see page 152
Objectives
Skills At the end of the lesson,
students should be able to:
Grammar ●passive verbs(mixed tenses)
Functions ●use expressions on the
telephone Verbs with more than one meaning:
take, make
Tell the students that a lot of verbs in English have more than one meaning, but that it is usually easy to work out the correct meaning from context.
(5-10 mins)
a Read out the first sentence (He takes…) and ask the class to choose the best meaning for take from the verbs in the box (steal). Then put the students in pairs to complete the task.
b Ask the students to read and complete the exercise alone then compare their answers with a partner.
(10 mins)
Tell the students that they are going to read a text about the SIM card and complete it with the appropriate verbs.
Read out the text. Then put the students in pairs to complete the task. Go round and offer help if necessary.
Unit 11 Messages
87
Verbs with more than one meaning: take, make
We often need to read words in a sentence to understand the right meaning.
a What does the verb take mean in sentences 1–4? Choose meanings from this list. carry steal (remove without permission) swallow travel by
1 He takes his father’s car without asking.
2 I’m too tired to walk – let’s take a taxi.
3 You’d better take your coat. It might be cold later.
4 I’ve got a bad headache so I’m going to take some tablets.
b What does the verb make mean in sentences 1–4? attend earn force someone to produce
1 My parents made me tidy my room before I went to bed.
2 They make Volvo cars in Sweden.
3 How much does he make a year?
4 I’m sorry, but I can’t make the meeting tomorrow.
Read the text. Fill the gaps with the correct form of the verbs below. One verb is used twice.
upgrade hold slide activate run out unlock switch
Text me
A SIM card or Subscriber Identity Module is a portable memory chip. The SIM card makes it easy to (1) to a new phone by simply (2) the SIM out of one phone and into another. The SIM (3) personal identity information, your phone book, text messages, photos and other data. It can be thought of as a mini hard disk that automatically (4) the phone into which it is inserted. A SIM card can come in very handy. For example, when your phone (5) of battery power at a friend’s house. Also, if you (6) your phone there’s no hassle involved. Just
(7) it into the new phone and you’re good to go. You must (8) the phone first, however, and operate on the carrier’s frequency or band. This is great for international travellers.
/spr/, /skr/ or /str/
(11.2) Listen to six words. How many syllables do they have?
Example: strong has one syllable surprise has two
syllables
(11.3) Repeat these one-syllable words. (11.4) Now listen and repeat the sentences.
ords to remember
W
activate, band, conference call, deadline, flash, frequency, handy, harmony, hassle, portable, slide, unlock, upgrade(30 mins)
Tell the students they are going to practise leaving answerphone messages.
a First, ask all the students to read the instructions for student A and prepare their messages, using the Useful Language box to help them. Then ask them all to read each situation and prepare suitable messages, again using the Useful Language box. Go round and offer suggestions where necessary.
b Put the students in pairs, A and B. Student B reads each situation, then ‘phones’ student A. Student A reads out his / her prepared message, student B then leaves a message.
c Tell the students to change roles. Finally, invite two or three pairs (not necessarily students who have been working together) to ‘perform’ for the class.
Lessons 7 and 8
Objectives
Skills At the end of this pair of lessons,
students should be able to:
Reading ● read role-play cards
● read e-mails
Listening ● listen to answerphone messages
Speaking ● roleplay answerphone messages
Writing ● write notes and messages