How a book changed my life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11OvHcgh-E4

О. Г Ноздрачова,

вчитель англійської мови, вчитель-методист

ЗОШ 11

м. Чернівці

How a book changed my life.

1 LISTENING

Watch the video WITHOUT the sound and decide if the following statements about the girl in the video, Storm, are true or false.

1 She grew up in a poor family.

2 She owned a lot of books. 

3 She found volcanoes really exciting.

4. She didn’t really enjoy reading.

5. When she was 15 she left the migrant camps.

2 Watch again, this time WITH the sound, and check your ideas.

Video Activities

Here's the story of Storm Reyes, a woman of Native American origin whose life changed when a bookmobile came to the camps where she lived. 

Complete the first part of her interview with weak forms (remember: pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliary verbs in the affirmative, determiners), then watch and listen to the video, and check. Some gaps contain one word, some contain two words.

Storm Reyes (SM)

SM: The conditions _____ pretty terrible. I once told someone _____ I learned _____ fight_____ knife long before _____  learned how _____ ride _____ bicycle. _____ when _____  grinding day after day after day, _____ no room _____ you _____ hope. There _____ isn’t. _____ don’t even know _____ exists. _____ nothing _____ aspire to except filling _____ hungry belly. That’s how _____  raised. But when _____  12, _____ bookmobile came _____  fields. _____  have _____ understand _____  wasn’t allowed _____ have books, _____ books _____ heavy, _____ when _____ moving _____ lot _____ have _____ keep things _____  minimal _____ possible. So when I saw _____ big vehicle _____  side _____  road, and I_____  filled _____ books, _____  immediately stepped back. Fortunately when _____ staff member saw me, _____  waved me in, _____ said, “These _____ books, and _____  take one home. _____ have _____ bring _____ back _____ two weeks, but _____  take _____ home _____ read _____ .” _____  like, “What’s _____ catch?” _____ explained _____ me _____  no catch.

3 DISCUSSION 

Discuss the following questions with a partner. If necessary watch the video again.

1 In what ways was Storm’s childhood difficult?

2 How did Storm react at first when she saw the book mobile? 3 How did reading change Storm’s life?

4a PRONUNCIATION FOR LISTENING

Read the extract and try to predict what words are missing. Then listen and check your ideas (from 1.10 on the video)

When I ¹____ 12, a bookmobile came ²____ the fields. ³____ you ⁴____ to understand ⁵____I wasn’t allowed ⁶____ have books, ⁷______ books ⁸_____ heavy, ⁹______when ¹⁰_______moving ¹¹ a _____ you have to keep things just ¹²_______minimal ¹³ _______possible.

4b What do all the missing words in exercise 4a have in common?

4c Practice reading the extract aloud, using weak forms, E.g. /wɘz/ rather than ‘was’

5a VOCABULARY

Read the extract from the video. What does the underlined word tell you about Storm’s opinion?

‘So when I saw this big vehicle on the side of the road, and it was filled with books, I immediately stepped back. Fortunately when the staff member saw me, kind of waved me in, and said, “These are books, and you can take one home.’

5b Match the opinion adverbs on the left with their meaning on the right.

5c Choose the best option to complete each sentence.

1.The people next door are moving away. Apparently/Naturally she has a new job in a different city.

2 .Josie is so clever. Luckily/Naturally she got very good results in her exams.

3 .Malcolm just got a promotion and a pay rise. Foolishly/Clearly he is good at his job.

4 .I left my purse in the back of a taxi. Luckily/Honestly the driver found it and rang me.

5 .Foolishly/Undoubtedly I agreed to see the film. What a mistake, it was terrible!

6.Honestly/Apparently, I have no idea where he is.

6.SPEAKING

Discuss the questions in small groups.

1 Who is your favourite author and why?

2 What is the funniest/saddest book you have ever read?

3 Do you prefer to read a book or watch a film? Why?

4 Are there any books that you have read two or three times or more?

 5 Are there any books that you just couldn’t finish? Why?

6 How do you decide what books to read?

7 Do you agree that the more you know about something the less you will fear it?

Transcript, Key and Notes.

The listening comes from www.storycorps.com, which is a fantastic resource of true stories.

Transcript

                                                                              Storm Reyes (SM)

SM: The conditions were pretty terrible. I once told someone that I learned to fight with a knife long before I learned how to ride a bicycle. And when you are grinding day after day after day, there is no room in you for hope. There just isn’t. You don’t even know it exists. There’s nothing to aspire to except filling your hungry belly. That’s how I was raised. But when I was 12, a bookmobile came to the fields. And you have to understand that I wasn’t allowed to have books, because books are heavy, and when you’re moving a lot you have to keep things just as minimal as possible. So when I saw this big vehicle on the side of the road, and it was filled with books, I immediately stepped back. Fortunately when the staff member saw me, kind of waved me in, and said, “These are books, and you can take one home. You have to bring it back in two weeks, but you can take them home and read them.” I’m like, “What’s the catch?” And he explained to me there was no catch. Then he asked me what I was interested in. And the night before the bookmobile had come, in the camps, there was an elder who was telling us about the day that Mount Rainier blew up, and the devastation from the volcano. So I told the bookmobile person that I was a little nervous about the mountain blowing up. And he said, “You know, the more you know about something, the less you will fear it.” And then he gave me a book about volcanos. And then I saw a book about dinosaurs. I said “Oh, that looks neat.” So he gave me a book about dinosaurs. And I took them home, and I devoured them. I didn’t just read them, I devoured them. And I came back in two weeks and had more questions. And he gave me more books and that started it. That taught me that hope was not just a word. And it gave me the courage to leave the camps. That’s where the books made the difference. By the time I was 15, I knew there was a world outside of the camps. I believed I could find a place in it. And I did.

Key and notes

1 The first time you play the video (without sound), don’t tell the students if their guesses are right or not. Let them watch again to check.

2

1 She grew up in a poor family- True. Storm says that she was often hungry.

2 She owned a lot of books- false. Storm says that she wasn’t allowed to have books because they weren’t portable enough. 3 She found volcanoes really exciting.- false- she was anxious about them.

4 She didn’t really enjoy reading.- false- she says she ‘devoured’ the books, meaning that she read them so fast it was like eating them.

5 When she was 15 she left the migrant camps.- true.

3

1 In what ways was Storm’s childhood difficult?- she says she learnt to fight with a knife before she learnt to ride a bike, she had to work hard every day and was often hungry.

2 How did Storm react at first when she saw the book mobile?- She assumed that it was not something she could use.

3 How did reading change Storm’s life?- It taught her to hope and showed her that there was a world out there, which gave her the courage to leave and eventually get a good job in a library.

4a

1 was  2 to 3 And  4 have  5 that  6 to 7 because 8 are 9 and 10 you’re 11 lot 12 as 13 as

4b What do all the missing words in exercise 4a have in common?

- They are all pronounced ‘weakly’.

5a

Using ‘Fortunately’ tells us that she thought what happened was lucky.

5b

5c

1 The people next door are moving away. Apparently she has a new job in a different city.

 2 Josie is so clever. Naturally she got very good results in her exams.

3 Malcolm just got a promotion and a pay rise. Clearly he is good at his job.

4 I left my purse in the back of a taxi. Luckily the driver found it and rang me.

 5 Foolishly I agreed to see the film. What a mistake, it was terrible!

6 Honestly, I have no idea where he is.

Resources:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/61914949@N00/23755361233/%E2%80%9D%3ESean

http://compfight.xn--com%3Ecompfight%3C-ps9j/a&gt

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/%E2%80%9D%3Ecc%3C/a&gt