Listening / reading
(taken from http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1001/100120-punishment.html)
Misbehaving students punished with Mozart
Task 17. Walk around the class and talk to other students about school punishments. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.
Task 18. Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you heard.
Are these good deterrents to stop students misbehaving?
|
Deterrent |
Reason why “YES” |
Reason why “NO” |
|
2 hours of Mozart Being hit No mobile for a week Standing in the corner Writing 1,000 lines No break for a week |
|
|
Task 19. What are the worst things about school? Rate these and share your ratings with your partner: 10 = Hate! Hate! Hate!; 1 = No problem. Change partners and share your ratings again.
Noisy students in class
Homework
Boring teachers
School uniform
Canteen food
Rules
English lessons
Starting time
Task 20. Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you
associate with the word ‘students’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
BEFORE READING / LISTENING
Task 21. Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
a. Mozart was a bad student at school and was punished a lot. T / F
b. A teacher forced students to write poetry and listen to classical music. T / F
c. Students received detention for smoking and skipping class. T / F
d. A head teacher was worried good students were losing studying time. T / F
e. The head teacher believes his method helps students value education. T / F
f. The teacher said he wanted students to open their ears and eyes. T / F
g. Music on London’s subway system cut crime by a quarter in 2004. T / F
h. One student said he really liked the music by the band The Killers. T / F
Task 22. Match the following synonyms from the article.
1. cut down on a. students
2 forces b. usually
3. pupils c. detained
4. spoiling d. chances
5. robbing e. reduce
6. enhance f. in other places
7. opportunities g. stealing from
8. kept behind h. makes
9. normally i. improve
10. elsewhere j. ruining
Task 23. Match the words to make the phrases (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)
1. cut down a. sessions after school
2 two-hour detention b. deterrent
3. stop noisy pupils spoiling lessons c. the learning process
4. those who have slowed d. of something bigger
5. it is robbing the rest e. on students’ bad behaviour
6. education is something f. after school
7. they are part g. of opportunities
8. being kept behind h. misbehaving
9. acts as a i. for well-behaved students
10. it helped stop elephants j. to value
WHILE READING / LISTENING
Task 24. Put the words into the gaps in the text.
A school in England is using classical music to cut ____________ on students’ bad behaviour. The head teacher Brian Walker at the West Park School in Derby ____________ two-hour detention sessions after school on Fridays. He ____________ his students to listen to Mozart and other classical music. He also makes them copy his favourite ____________ and they have to watch educational videos. Mr. Walker says his main ____________ is to stop noisy pupils spoiling lessons for well-behaved students who want to study. He said the students staying ____________ are “not the smokers, the truants or the people who are late… It's those who have ____________ the learning process in class for everyone”. Mr. Walker explained this was unacceptable “because it is robbing the ____________ of opportunities”.
behind
poems
runs
rest
down
slowed
forces
aim
Brian Walker believes the detention ____________ students that education is something to value. "It helps them see they are part of something bigger that will ____________ their life chances,” he said. The head teacher thinks students actually learn from being ____________ behind after school: "Hopefully, I open their ears to an experience they don't ____________ have and…don't want to have again, so it's both educational and ____________ as a deterrent." Music has had success elsewhere in reducing bad behaviour. In 2004, it reduced ____________ on London’s subway by 25 per cent. Researchers from a Belfast university found it ____________ stop elephants misbehaving. However, one West Park student called Kieran said: “An hour of Mr. Walker's music is a real ____________.”
helped
kept
killer
reminds
acts
enhance
crime
normally
AFTER READING / LISTENING
Task 25. Look back at the article and write down 5 questions you would like to ask your partner about the text.
Task 26. Test each other. Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:
cut
forces
copy
noisy
late
rest
reminds
bigger
ears
success
crime
killer
Task 27. Ask and answer the questions.
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
a) What did you think when you read the headline?
b) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘punishment’?
c) What do you remember about punishment at school?
d) How often were you punished by teachers?
e) Do you think the 2-hour Mozart sessions are a good idea?
f) What’s the most effective punishment for badly behaved students?
g) Were / Are students in your class well behaved?
h) What do you think of noisy students spoiling it for the rest of the class?
i) What was the worst punishment you received?
j) What would be the worst music for you to listen to for two hours?
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
a) Did you like reading this article?
b) Do you think kids believe education is something to value?
c) How can we get kids to value education more?
d) What do kids learn from being kept behind after school?
e) Do you believe in corporal punishment (hitting people)?
f) Do you think music can stop people behaving badly?
g) How do elephants behave badly?
h) How might you punish an elephant for misbehaving?
i) What punishments wouldn’t you allow teachers to give your children?
j) What questions would you like to ask Brian Walker?
Stop and check: Teacher’s book Task 2
Task 28. Fill in the gaps in the model below using linking words or expressions from the list. For each item there may be more than one answer.
Tо sum up Firstly In my opinion What is more Contrary to what most/many people believe In addition
To begin with In conclusion Some people argue that In my view Finally
Sending one's children to boarding school used to be the most acceptable way of educating them, but over the past few years people's opinions have begun to change.(1)___________, however, sending one's children away to school can be extremely beneficial for them in later life.
(2)____________, children who go to boarding school learn at a young age to become independent and to live without their parents. This means that they are better prepared to live on their own when the time comes for them to go to university or start work after leaving school.
(3)_________, boarding school teaches young people how to get along better with others, since they live with their classmates twenty four hours a day. This can help them later on in life to cooperate with colleagues at work and with people around them in general.
(4)___________, boarding schools are bad for children because children need to be able to spend time with their parents on a daily basis. It is said that this is especially true for younger children, who may feel that their parents have abandoned them by sending them away.
(5)__________, I feel that boarding schools have a lot to offer. This is shown by the fact that children who have been to boarding school are often far better equipped for life than those who have not.
(taken from Virginia Evans and Jenny Dooley Enterprise 4 Intermediate Workbook, p. 69)
Writing
Description of the education system in your country
Task 29. 1. Read a short description of school system in America.
SCHOOLS IN AMERICA
American kids go to school from the age of 5 to 18, but many children attend preschool first. Children attend elementary school from kindergarten up to the 6th grade. Then they attend junior high school from grades 7 to 8, and high school from grades 9 to 12.
The school year in the US runs from early to mid September until late June. Students go to school on weekdays (from Monday to Friday). School starts at 8:30 am and finishes at 3:30 pm. Public school students don't wear uniforms, but private and Catholic school students do.
Students in the US can go to summer school during the summer vacation break to catch up with their classes or to take an extra course. Most schools have clubs students can join and extracurricular activities such as sports, drama, and music. After students graduate from high school, they join the workforce or continue on to college.
(adapted from Virginia Evans and Neil O’Sullivan Click on 3 Culture Corner)