Text 2 High Schools in the United States

a) Vacations -

b) Lockers -

c) Dances -

d) Schedules -

e) Subjects -

f) Sports -

g) Buses -

h) Grades -

High schools in the United States include students who are in 9^th through 12^th grade (ages 14-18). Ninth grade students are called freshmen, tenth grade students are called sophomores, eleventh grade students are called juniors and twelfth grade students are called seniors. Before high school, students attend middle school, which is 5^th through 8^th grade (ages 10-14). Before middle school, students attend elementary school, which is kindergarten through 4^th grade (ages 5-10).

1 ) _____________: If you were a high school student in the United States, you would finish classes everyday by 3 pm. You would never have school on Saturday mornings, but you would always have school on Wednesday afternoons. You would have 6 classes everyday at the same time. And you would only have about 30 minutes to eat lunch, followed by a very short recess.

2) _______________: You would not have many choices of the classes that you could take. Every student must take English, math, science, and history. You could also have a music or art class, gym or band, or computer or language (usually Spanish or French.)

3) _______________: Students receive letter marks for their academic success. The highest point is A+ followed by A and A-. B is still good, while C is average. D is failing and E or F mean complete failure.

4) _______________: The school year in the United States begins at the end of August and finishes in the middle of June. Students have nearly 3 months of rest during the summer. During the school year, students also have 2 days off for Thanksgiving in November, 2 weeks off for Christmas in December, one day off in January for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, one week off in April for Easter, and one day off at the end of May for Memorial Day.

5) _________________: American students have many choices of activities to play. Most schools have teams for basketball, football, baseball, and track and field, but not always soccer or hockey. Students practise these activities after school during the week, and they also participate in official games against other schools. Football is the most popular sport, followed by basketball. Cheerleaders attend all of the football and basketball games to make the audience cheer for their team.

6) _________________: School dances are very common in the United States. Homecoming refers to the football game, parade, and dance that take place at the beginning of the school year. Snowcoming is another dance in the winter. Prom is the major dance at the end of the school year for seniors, and students vote for each other to be Prom Queen and King.

7) _________________: American students usually ride yellow vehicles to and from school. Few students can walk to school or have their parents drive them. Students over 16 can drive to school but younger students have to take the school bus. You must wait at the end of your driveway for transport to pick you up. After school, you must get on the same bus and the bus driver will drop you off at your house. You do not have to pay for this bus; it is free.

8) ________________: In almost every hallway, there are places for students to put their backpacks and coats in during classes. Students are usually not allowed to bring their backpacks and coats into the classrooms. Students must remember the number to the combination on their box, and they usually share it with another student.

(based on http://www.docstoc.com/docs/101107068/Middle-Schools-in-the-United-States)

Task 7. Look through the text 2. Find the words having similar meaning:

1. An educational institution for small children –

2. A pause from doing something (as work) –

3. A number or letter indicating quality (especially of a student's performance) –

4. An event that does not accomplish its intended purpose, lack of success –

5. Leisure time away from work; devoted to rest or pleasure –

6. Someone who leads the cheers by spectators at a sporting event –

7. A formal dance held for a school class toward the end of the academic year –

8. A road leading up to a private house –

9. Give a passenger or a hitchhiker a lift –

10. A storage compartment for clothes and valuables -

Task 8. A) Work in pairs. Complete the following table about the high school system in your country based on the example of the Text 2.

B) Use the information in the table to make up and act out a dialogue about senior’s school life in your country.

Schedules	Subjects	Vacations	Grades	Getting to school	Extra curricula activities	Leisure time

Listening / reading

School Leaving Age Set to Rise to 18

(based on http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/0701/070118-school.html)

Task 9. Talk to your partner, find out at what age everybody left school and/or university?

Task 10. Spend one minute writing down all of the different adjectives describing pupils character formed at their school leaving age, you may use both positive and negative ones.

Positive	Negative
e. g. mature	stubborn

Task 11. Choose six of these adjectives. Write three sentences using two of them in each. Try to associate them with the school leaving age. Compare your sentences with the work of your partner.

e.g. When pupils reach their school leaving age they are usually mature enough to work individually, but quite stubborn assuming they are rather old to make their own choice.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Task 12. Sentence starter. With your partner(s), finish these sentence starters. Change partner(s) and talk about the sentences you made.

1. Children in Great Britain finish their ______________________________

2. Two public academic examinations are traditionally __________________

3. American students usually stay _________________________________

4. Pupils who don’t want to have professional training __________________

5. Seniors are _________________________________________________

6. The school year in the United States begins _______________________

7. Young people in my country leave_______________________________

8. Education is ________________________________________________

9. Qualifications _______________________________________________

10. If you were a high student______________________________________

Task 13. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	The school leaving age for Europe’s kids is set to rise to 18.
b.	The new plans come into effect in 2030.
c.	Kids will have a choice of two years at school or workplace training.
d.	The additional two years should have positive effects on crime.
e.	A British politician regretted not continuing his education.
f.	In the past, it was easy to get a job without having qualifications.
g.	A teaching union leader said Britain could not afford education.
h.	A 16-year-old said he wanted to stay at school, like his big brother.

Task 14. Synonym match. Match the following synonyms from the article. Use dictionaries if necessary:

a.	pass	1. strengthen
b.	legislation	2. unavoidable
c.	revision	3. laws
d.	bolster	4. government interference
e.	bound to	5. sickening
f.	repellent	6. approve
g.	lamented	7. ignore
h.	inevitable	8. rued
i.	neglect	9. change
j.	Big Brother	10. sure to

TASK 15 Replace the underlined words in the sentences with their synonyms from the Task 14.

1. The government hopes the additional two years of training will strengthen the quality of young Britons.

2. The Prime Minister passed this law concerning educational reforms two days ago.

3. These changes in educational system are unavoidable.

4. You shouldn’t ignore the disruptive behavior of some seniors in this school.

5. A friend of mine regrets not staying on in education.

Task 16. Phrase match. Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	government is soon to pass	1. training
b.	The new plans will come	2. you could walk into
c.	vocational	3. Big Brother
d.	major revision of the compulsory	4. mistakes of the past
e.	bound to	5. legislation
f.	He lamented on his	6. have positive knock-on effects
g.	there were loads of jobs	7. and demands of life
h.	We cannot afford to	8. into effect by 2013
i.	unprepared for the rigors	9. neglect those young people
j.	politicians trying to be	10. education age limit

While reading / listening

Task 17. Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps.

School leaving age set to rise to 18

The British government is soon to pass 1)___________ that would raise the school leaving age to 18. The new plans will come into 2) ______ by 2013. Pupils will have the choice of staying in formal classroom 3) ________ that covers academic lessons, or of receiving vocational training. It is the first major 4) ________ of the 5) __________ education age limit since 1972, when it went up to the present 16 years old. The government hopes the additional two years of 6) _________ or training will bolster the quality of young Britons and 7) _____ more British youth have qualifications or workplace skills. If successful, Britain may be able to boast the best educated and most highly trained school leavers in the world, which is bound to have positive 8) ________ effects for industry and the economy. It should also bring down levels of crime.		revision knock-on education effect ensure schooling compulsory legislation
Britain’s Minister for Education Alan Johnson told The Times newspaper that it was " 9) _________ that a youngster of 16 is not getting any training". He lamented on his mistakes of the past, saying: "I regret not staying on in education... when I left school there were loads of jobs you could walk into without 10) ______________. That's not going to be the case in the future." The leader of Britain’s teaching 11) _____ Steve Sinnott concurred. He described the upcoming legislation as 12) "__________". He warned: "We cannot afford to neglect those young people who currently leave school at 16 13) __________ for the rigors and 14) ________ of life in the 21st Century." Toby Ashford, a 16-year-old student from London wasn’t as 15) ____________. He complained that: “It is another example of politicians trying to be 16) ___________ with young people.”		qualifications Big Brother demands inevitable enthusiastic unprepared repellent union

Task 18. Questions. Look back at the article and write down 5 questions you would like to ask your partner about the text.

e.g. When will the new plans come into force according to the article?

Task 19. Test each other. Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

pass formal bolster boast bound to crime

repellent lamented loads inevitable rigors Big Brother

Task 20. Have a discussion using the following questions:

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. Did the headline make you want to read the article?

2. Did anything in the article surprise you?

3. What advice would you give to Britain’s problem 15 year olds?

4. Do you think it’s a good idea to raise Britain’s school leaving age to 18?

5. Should the new legislation have been introduced sooner?

6. As a student what do you think of this issue?

7. Do you think British school leavers, or those from your country, are among the best educated in the world?

8. What age can you leave school in your country?

9. In today’s world should young people study more languages?

10. What things would you do differently if you were sixteen again?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?

2. What do you think about what you read?

3. What is your image of the British education system?

4. How does the education system differ between Britain and your country?

5. What mistakes have you made in your life that you regret?

6. Should every student in Britain be required to pass a leaving certificate?

7. Should people be able to stay at school for as long as they want?

8. Do you think the new legislation will make weaker pupils study harder?

9. Does school in your country prepare young people for the rigors and demands of 21^st-Century life?

10. Did you like this discussion?

Task 21. Role play