P R O J E C T

B I O G R A P H I E S

The coordinator of the school projekt: Anna Kurek School: Gimnazjum nr 77 ul. Jawy Calińskiego 12 31-988 Kraków Malopolska Poland

Subject: EnglishMiddle High School – Intermediate levelNumber of students – 18 Schedule: three lessons a weekMethodological unit: 3 lessons

General aims: To practise both the past and the present

To provide practice in scanning skills for specific information

To provide practice in controlled web browsing

To provide practice in writing simple comparative descriptions

To introduce topic-related collocations

To present and practise conjunctions for contrast

Lesson 1

Topic: M a i n c e l e b r i t i e s

Operational purposes: to clarify new vocabulary to develop student questioning skills to practise the present & past tense to gather clues for later use to recognise expressions and phrases presented in authentic materials

Didactic means: prepared cards with key words written on it short biographies taken from a magazine

incomplete questionnairies a cassette with a recording about Diana

Predominant work techniques: matching key words to appropriate people factlifes’ filling basing on mutual asking questions and replying finding differences describing a chosen celebrity individual taking notes and discussion

Pre-Task

Warmer up

Write three things about yourself to tell the group. Include one false thing.The students’ task is to guess what is false.

I have two daughters I hate dogs I like coffee...

Language Work

Matching activity

Collect eight biographies/or gossips with the names from a magazine. Put the students into groups and give them six key words for each biography. Ask the students to read the biographies and match the words with the correct people.

Key words taken from a Mary Glasgow Magazine called CLUB www.link2english.com jammy be given a break

be gutted stick to your guns scatty bbb

drop out prolong

Paired pop profiles

The Hello! Magazine website has a section called ‘Profiles’. Once you click on it you will come to a page where you can select pop stars’ or other celebrities’ profile.

Pairwork activity based on the information about Beyonce Knowles. Before starting the activity a teacher should make sure that everyone understands how to ask questions in a gramatically correct way.The students each have half of the answers so that both get a chance to ask and answer questions.

Student AWhere bornName of fatherName of motherHeightAgeBiggest disappointment Losing a talent show in 1995First group Girls TymeFirst single No, no, no with(Destiny’s Child)First solo album Dangerously in LoveFirst film GoldmemberStudent BWhere born TerasName of father MatthewName of mother TinaHeight 5 feet 6 inchesAge 21Biggest disappointmentFirst groupFirst singleFirst solo albumFirst film

Listening activityChoose a famous person and make about ten changes to the facts in their biography. Tell the students about their life, including the differences.Don’t read the biography word for word, tell it as a story.The students listen to the story twice and take their own notes. Next ask them to listen to the actual biography from the cassette. Put them in pairs and remind that you changed ten details. Ask them to find the changes. If none of the pairs finds all the changes, group the pairs into fours and get them to discuss it again.

Mieć przygotowaną kasetę z biografią Diany

Response-Writing task

HomeworkWrite sentences with key words used during the matching activity

Lesson 2

Internet lesson: www.bbc.co.uk/music/profilesTopic: Famous Singers

Operational purposes: Familiarise with the website

Provide practise in controlled web browsing Introduce topic-related collocations Provide practice in writing simple biography review

Didactic means: Internet/suitable websites cards with halfnames of celebrities handouts with words’ mixture a web questionnaire with questions to search answers

Predominant work strategies: brainstorming for ideas controlled web browsing filling information gaps matching words to form collocations directed factlife writing checking of given biography review

Pre-Task

Finding a new partnerA teacher gives each student a big card and they have to find their partner. Once they have found their partner, they stick their cards on the board. They will workwith this new partner until the end of the lesson.

BrainstormingBy looking at the words and names on the board,students guess the topic of the lesson- Famous singers. Some unknown vocabulary may be clarified at this stage.

Directed Browsing task

Web Questionnaire

A teacher hands out a quiz with a questionnaire. In pairs, students click through the website and answer the questions as fast as possible. Questionnaires are then swapped for correction.

1.Who joined the group in 1993 to make the band All Saints?

Nicole and Natalie Appleton

2.How long has Avril Lavigne been performing as a professional musician?

Since she was 17

3.Which singer has had a solo career since he left N’Sync?

Justin Timberlake

4.Which year did Appleton sisters form a new band? 20015.What group created a fusion with Aerosmith in1986? Run DMC6.When was Maddonna’s third album released? 19857.What was the name of the first single made by Elvis Presley

‘That’s all right Mama’

8.How do we call Elvis Presley? The King of rock and roll9.Where does Joss Stone come from? Great Britain10.Why did she stick to her guns while singing in front ofthe President George Bush?

She refused to put shoes on

11.Who did Kylie Minogue meet In an Australia soap operaCalled ‘Neighbours’?

Jason Donovan

Language Work

Strong PartnershipsOn the handouts previously distributed by the teacher there is also a word salad.In the word salad below students need to find words that have strong partnerships. Match them using arrows (-> <-) and form the right collocation.The key words are in bold in the questionnaire above

meet perform have in a career

sb form create a band a fusion

a musician a fusion release make

album make a single as call

stick to join his/her guns come

Response –Writing task

Writing timeStep 1A teacher hands out little cards with a name of a singer. Students search to gather information about them and write a simple biography review with six factual mistakes, using the previously learnt collocations. Don’t forget to mention date and place of birth, name of the first hit, his/her image, number of children or nominations.

for example Madonna prepared by a student

Born in : She was born in London

Born on : She was born onAugust 13 1958

Real name: People call her Madonna Louise Ciccone

Origin: She comes from Germany

Brothers: She has three brothers

Third album: True Blue album was released in 1986

Famous song: Material Girl

Role in musical : Antonio Banderas joined her in musical Evita

Children: She has a son

Step2A teacher collects the reviews, jumbles them and hands them out at random.Pairs should now use the website so as to spot the mistakes in the biography review they had been given.

Note: At the end of the lesson a teacher collects work done and does an error correction feedback if necessary.

Lesson 3/4 Internet lesson: Biographies www.biography.com

Topic: What do they have in common?

Operational aims: To present and practice conjunctions for contrast To practice past simple and present simple To provide practice in scanning skills for specific information To practice in controlled web browsing To provide practice in writing simple comparative descriptions

Didactic means: internet website pairs of famous names on different cards a questionnaire grid

Predominant work techniques: controlled web browsing finding out about similarities of famous people questionnaire filling introducing celebrities and getting other students to guess the common fact in

their description writing a comparison of two characters with linkers’ application

Pre-Task

PreparationPrepare pairs of names on different cards

Pre-teach: ‘to have something in common’Put the following two names on the board

Sylvester Stallone Mohammed Ali

Elicit that these two people have one thing in common: boxing- but their interest in boxing is different. S. Stallone acted as a boxer in the Rocky movies whereas Mohammed Ali was a true boxer.

Building up this model to introduce linkers

Both Sylvester Stallone and Mohammed Ali are from the US. In addition, theyare both involved in boxing. However, MA was a real boxer whereas/whilst SSonly acted as one. Another difference is that MA is a committed Muslim. In contrast SS never speaks about religion.

Language-work

Task one1. Divide the class into teams of four. Make sure each team has access to

computer. Get students to name their teams if appropriate.2. Put the following two names on the board.:

Yuri Gagarin Buddy Holly

3. Find out if students know anything about them/tell them that Y Gagarin was afamous astronaut, Russian and B Holly was a famous American singer in the1950s. Tell the ss that these two have something in common. They are going to find this out on the WWW.

Important indications: SS don’t need to read every word They have to focus on content words The words at the beginning of each sentence give a clue about the whole

sentence so they can accept or reject sentences quickly and move on to the next one.

Conduct feedback: Both were killed in air crashes

The game

1. Tell the class they will now play a game in their teams. Put on the board the first pair of names of other famous people. Each team must find the biographies of the two people and what they have in common. The first tea to produce the correct answer will get two points. Then put the second pair of names on the board

2. Here are the famous pairs for the competition. However, their names should be written out on card.

The Pair AnswersAntonio Gaudi Johan Cruyff Both lived in Barcelona, Gaudi as an

architect, Cruyff as a football manager.George Harrison Ravi Shankar They met each other in India where RS

taught GH about Indian music.Mohandas Gandhi John Lennon Both were assassinated. MG for political

motives,reasons for JL’s assassination unclear.

Peter Sutcliff Anthony Hopkins Serial killers. PS was a real one, AH played one in the Silence of Lambs

Task 2

Step1Tell the ss they will now in pairs research two other people and find out what they have in common. Person A of the pair should be given one of each of the pairs below. Person B, the other.

A B Nelson Mandela Vaclav Havel

Michael Faraday John Logie Baird

Adolph Hitler Marilyn Monroe

Charlie Chaplin Ingrid Bergman

Janis Joplin Jimi Hendrix

Amelia Earhart Frank Whittle

Wildred Owen Rupert Brooke

Shirley Temple Glenda Jackson

Salvador Dali Andy Warhol

Step 2

When ss have done this. Tell them about two people you have researched (the information is in the table below). Ask them to listen and find the fact that they have in common:

Step 3

Show them the grid which you used to help you talk about your famous people.

ExamplePerson One Person Two

Name Emmeline Pankhurst Lech WałęsaWhen born? 1857 1943Where born? Manchester, UK PolandOccupation Wife of a lawyer interested

in women’s rightsTrade union leader/PolishWorker

Achievement? Founded Women’s SocialAnd Political Union

Nobel Peace prize 1983

Date of death? 1928 Still aliveInteresting information? Went on hunger strike Formed the trade union

SolidarityCommon fact Arrested when working

for women’s rightsArrested when workingfor human rights

Step 3

Ask the ss to make brief notes on both their two famous people, using the grid above.

Person One Person TwoName Michael Faraday John Logie BairdWhen born? 1791 1888

Step 4

Ask the ss to ‘mumble practice’ how they are going to talk about the lives of their famous people. They should try to hide the common fact in their description.

Task threeStudents move around the room recounting their biographies to different partners. Partners listen and guess the common fact.

HomeworkAsk the students to write a comparison of their two characters using linkers applied in pre-teach section.

F O U R D I M E N S I O N S

P O L I T I C A L- stimulating for active citizenship and assuming a friendly attitude

towards different points of view- openness and sensitivity to various events, inventions and entertainment- finding your own lifepath in surrounding reality- influence of history and famous celebrities’lives on our social action and

behaviour

S O C I A L- feelings’communication and expression of thoughts- talking about other ways of lives- listening and taking different possibilities into consideration- openness to history, culture and lifestyles- encouraging to discussion and dialogue

P E D A G O G I C A L- investigation and finding new solutions- application and taking advantage of experiences- application of Internet in education- respect for the past

V A L U E S- tolerance and openness- sensibility- healthy competitiveness and democratic participation- democracy- creative thinking