Урок "Fame. A Biography of a Famous Person"

РОЗРОБКА УРОКУ З ТЕМИ «FAME».

Topic: Fame (A Biography of a Famous Person)                                                                         

 Form: 7

 Level: Elementary A1

Time: 45 min

Learning outcomes:

• to arrange and practice lexical materials related to professions;
• activate Ss’ background knowledge on the topic;
• to understand reading texts about famous persons;
• to be able to talk about a famous person.

Aids: MM Publications New Destinations Elementary SB, CD, laptop, monitor, photos of famous persons, blackboard .

 

 

Lead in

Aim: to introduce the topic of the lesson

• Ask Ss to look at the words and find the odd one.

 

dancer  writer  scientist  fame  artist  athlete  director

 

• Can the rest words be united under the word “fame”? Which way?

         The pictures of the famous people can help.

• Ask the Ss students to tell you what they think the lesson is about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Vocabulary

Aim: to present vocabulary related to professions

 

• Ask Ss to read through the list of professions again. Explain to Ss that a profession requires special training or a particular skill.
• Ask Ss to read through the sentences a-f.

1. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone,
2. Mikhail Baryshnikov joined the New York City Bailet in 1978.
3. Henri Matisse painted The Dance in 1909.
4. Steven Spielberg directed Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
5. George Orwell wrote Animal Farm in 1945.
6. Usain Bolt broke his own 100m Olympic record in 2009.

 

• Draw Ss’ attention to the picture in order to help them deduce the meaning of unknown words in sentences a-f.
• Ask Ss if they have heard of the famous people mentioned in the sentences.
• Have Ss do the activity.
• Point out to Ss that they should look out for key words which will help them decide on the famous people’s professions (e.g. dancer – Ballet)
• Play the CD and have Ss follow in their books in order to check their answers.

 

Key: 1.b  2.e  3.a  4.c  5.f  6.d

 

2. Reading

1. Aim: to introduce the topic of the text and activate Ss’ background knowledge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Ask Ss to look at the pictures and the names of the people on the books.
• Ask Ss the question: Do you know anything about these people

(Bruce Willis is an actor, Ray Charles was a musician, Paula Radcliffe is an athlete, Albert Einstein was a scientist, Agatha Christie was a writer).

• Elicit answers but do not correct Ss at this stage.

 

They made it!

1 __ He was born in 1879. He couldn’t talk until the age of four. He couldn't read until he was nine. He failed the entrance exam to the Swiss Federal Institut of Technology, but he became a very important 20th century scientist.

2 __ He became famous in the late 1980s and he now stars in Hollywood films. When he was young, he couldn’t speak clearly, but he got over his problem and became a very successful actor.

3 __ She was dyslexic, but she could write amazing stories. She wrote many mystery novels and they became best sellers. She died in 1976 but her books still sell four million copies a year.

4 __ He was one of America’s famous musicians. When he was five, he couldn’t see very well and at the age of seven he was completely blind. Luckily, he never gave up. He went to school, he learnt how to write music and started working as a musician.

5 __ She has asthma, but she took up running at the age of seven. Today, she’s a famous marathon runner. In 2003, she broke the world record and she won the New York City Marathon in 2004 and 2007.

 

2. aim: to give Ss practice in indentifying the main ideas of the textthrough a matching activity

 

• Draw Ss’ attention to the title They made it! (= they managed to succeed). Point out to Ss that these people became famous and achieved significant things despite their physical disabilities or various difficulties they faced during their lives.
• Ask Ss to read through the texts and match them with the pictures.
• Point out to Ss that they should look out for key words which will help them match the people with the paragraphs 1-5.
• Play the CD and have Ss follow in their books in order to check their answers.

 

Key: 1.d  2.a  3.e  4.b  5.c

 

• Ask Ss some comprehension questions.

When was Albert Einstein born? In 1879.

What was the problem with him until the age of four? He couldn’t talk.

What was the problem with him until the age of nine? He couldn’t read.

What did he become? A very important 20^th century scientist.

When did Bruce Willis become famous? In the late 1980

What does he do now? He stars in Hollywood films.

What did he become? A very successful actor.

What was Agatha Christie’s problem? She was dyslexic.

What kind of novels did she write? Mystery novels.

What did her novels become? Best sellers.

When did she die? In 1976.

Do people still buy her books? Yes, they do.

How many copies do her books sell a year? Four million.

What was the problem with Ray Charles when he was five? He couldn’t see very well.

What happened to him at the age of seven? He became completely blind.

What did he do before he started working as a musician? He went to school and learnt how to write music.

What is Paula Radcliffe’s problem? She has asthma.

How old was she when she took up running? Seven.

What kind of runner is she? She’s a marathon runner.

What did she do in 2003? She broke the world record.

What did she do in 2004 and 2007? She won the New York City Marathon.

3. Aim: to give Ss practice in identifying specific information in the text

• Have Ss do the activity.
• Check the answers with the class. If necessary ask Ss to provide justification for their answers.

 

Read again and write T for True, F for False or NM for Not Mentioned.     Albert Einstein’s teachers helped him get over his reading problems. Bruce Willis had problems speaking when he was young. All of Agatha Christie s books became best sellers. Ray Charles was born blind. Paula Radcliffe was a good athlete from a very young age.

 

Key: 1.NM  2.T  3.NM  4.F  5.NM

 

3. Post-Reading

Aim: to give Ss the opportunity to elaborate on the topic of the text

• Ask Ss some questions:

Would you be interested in reading any of the books presented here?

Do you know of any other autobiographies/biographies that you would be interested in reading?

Have you heard of any other people who became famous and successful despite their physical disabilities?

What do the actions of these people teach us?

 

 

4. Speaking

Aim: to give Ss practice in talking about a famous person through an information-gap activity

 

Table 1	Table 2

 

• Ask SA to turn to Table 1 and SB to turn to Table 2.
• Ask Ss to look at the table containing information about Anthony Quinn.
• Ask Ss to read through the prompts.
• In pairs, Ss take turns to ask and answer questions about Anthony Quinn in order to complete the missing information in their tables.
• Go round the class helping Ss when necessary.
• Choose Ss to act out the dialogue.

5. Writing

Aim: to give Ss practice In writing a short biography about a famous person by elaborating on the speaking activity

• Allow Ss some time to write a short biography about Anthony Quinn using the information from the previous activity.
•    Choose Ss to read out their biographies.

 

6. Home Task

Write a short biography about a famous Ukrainian person

 

7. Assessment