do a listening comprehension exercise on the Beatles
look at some vocabulary connected to culture / music
read about the Beatles
1) Discuss
It's 50 years since the Beatles released their first album Please Please Me. They recorded the whole album in only one day.
What do you know about the Beatles?
Why were they important or special?
The first track on the album was called I Saw Her Standing There
Listen. Do you like it?
2) Before you listen
You are going to listen to someone talking about why the Beatles are "special".
Here is some vocabulary from the clip. Match the words to their definitions.
3) Listen
Listen below to an interview by Nick Ellerby with Phil Alexander, the editor-in-chief of the music magazine Mojo.
Why were the Beatles special?
Here are the Beatles in November 1963 at the Royal Command Performance attended by the Queen Mother. At 04:45 John Lennon makes a request. "For our last number I'd like to ask your help. The people in the cheaper seats clap your hands. And the rest of you, if you'd just rattle your jewellery."
What do you think of the Rolling Stones?
Who is your favourite band or singer?
Why do you like them?
Are they very popular? Why? / Why not?
6) Presentation / Speaking / Research / Writng (note taking)
Choose a band or singer you like and make a (powerpoint) presentation about them. Tell their story.
Look on the internet for some photos to illustrate your presentation.
Look for information but NEVER copy and paste. Just take notes. Select the important information.
Play some short clips of their music during your presentation.
Plan
Introduce them - Who are they?
Career - Give a short outline of their career
Conclusion - Why are they popular / important / interesting / good..?
Advice
This is a speaking activity so don't put too much written information in the presentation.
Never read text from the presentation. You should explain what your audience can already see.
You can use notes to speak but the presentation should be mostly visual.
watch a short film about a famous criminal and do some listening comprehension exercises
practise some crime vocabulary
practise modal verbs for past deduction (may / might/ could / can't / must have + participle)
write a report / a biography
1) Intro - Crime vocabulary
How many different kinds of criminals are there?
Match some criminals with the definitions in the exercise below.
2) Discuss
What famous criminals or crimes have you heard of?
How many criminals get away with their crimes?
Do you know of any criminals who have become "heroes"?
3) Video - Before you watch
Have you ever heard of DB Cooper?
He was a criminal who committed a famous crime and got away with it.
Look at the film poster below carefully
What crime do you think he could he have committed?
How coud he have got away?
Read the gap-fill exercise below quickly and find out if your guesses were right (don't worry about the gaps yet)
What was DB Cooper's crime?
How much money did he get away with?
How did he get away?
4) Video - Watch the first 2 minutes and pause
Watch the first 2 minutes of the film (0:00 - 01:53)
After you have watched fill in the gaps in the exercise above.
5) Video - Watch the rest of the film
(01:53 - End)
Why has DB Cooper become a hero to so many people?
6) After you watch
How much did you understand?
Do the quiz below.
7) Deductions
What do you think happened to DB Cooper?
Detectives make deductions to help solve crimes.
What language do we use to make deductions?
See the presentation below. Then make sentences about what you think happened to DB Cooper.
Can you make sentences / deductions about what happened to DB Cooper?
What happened after he parachuted from the plane?
Is he alive?
Where is he?
What's he doing now?
What happened to the money?
Use May / Might / Could / Must / Can't+ Be (+ing) to make sentences / deductions about the present
Use May / Might / Could / Must / Can't(have + Past Participle) to make sentences / deductions about the past
Further infomation
In the autumn of 1978 a placard containing instructions for lowering the aft stairs of a 727, later verified to be from the hijacked airliner, was found by a deer hunter about 13 miles east of Castle Rock, Washington.
In February 1980 an eight-year-old boy named Brian Ingram, vacationing with his family on the Columbia River, uncovered three packets of the ransom cash, significantly disintegrated but still bundled in rubber bands. FBI technicians confirmed that the money was part of the ransom, two packets of 100 bills each and a third packet of 90, all arranged in the same order as when given to Cooper.
To date, none of the approximately 9,700 remaining bills has turned up anywhere in the world. Their serial numbers remain available online for public search.
In 1981 a human skull was unearthed along the same riverbank during excavations in search of additional evidence. Forensic pathologists eventually decided that it belonged to a woman, possibly of Native American ancestry.
In 1988 a portion of a parachute was raised from the bottom of the Columbia River, but FBI experts determined that it could not have been Cooper's.In 2008, children found another parachute near Amboy, Washington, which proved to be of World War II-era military origin.
8) Write
A) Write a report about the DB Cooper case (100 words)
You are a detective. Write a report about the case.
Give a summary of the main points of the case
Give your opinion of what might have happened to DB Cooper. Give reasons. Use your powers of deduction!
B) Write an article about a famous criminal in your country.
Introduce the criminal - what crime did they commit? When? Where? How?
Give some biography information about the criminal - Where were they born? What kind of family did they come from? What kind of area did they come from?
Describe the crime they committed
Say why the crime became famous
Disuss the motives. Why did they commit the crime? (Can you use any past modals of deduction here?)
Conclusion - What happened to the criminal? Where is he or she now? Were they caught by the police? Was the sentence they received fair?
Who inspires you?
Write about someone who inspires you.
Plan
1. Introduce the person. Who are they? Why are they important to you?
2.
Describe the the person in more detail. Describe their character /
personality. Why / How do they inspire you? Do they inspire you because
of their beliefs / their actions? What exactly have you learnt from
them?
3. Are you a better person because of them? How have they changed you? Give an example of something you do that they inspired.
4. Conclude. How would your life be different without them? Restate why they are important to you in a few words.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. Her awards include two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards in her lifetime. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston
News 11th February 2012
American singer and actress Whitney Houston has died in Los Angeles at the age of 48.
The mother of one died in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she had been staying as a guest.
The singer had battled substance abuse in recent years.
Discuss
They have talent, money, looks, fame... everything.
Why do some stars lose it all?
Can you think of any other stars who have come to a tragic end?
listen to a video about the Beatles and do a matching exercise
read a text about the Beatles and do a gap-fill exercise
do a quiz based on the information in the lesson
1) Discuss
2012 is the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first hit single.
Who were the Beatles?
What were their names?
What did they do?
Watch the video to find out.
2) Do the matching exercise
Look at the exercise below. The information in the boxes on the right is in a different order to the film. Use your mouse to drag the information in the boxes on the right to the correct heading on the left.
Watch the film again if you need to.
Listen to this Beatles concert from 1964 while you do the gap fill exercise below.
3) Gap-fill
Read the text and fill in the gaps.
You can choose the correct answer from the drop-down menu.
Sgt Pepper
Abbey Road
4) Beatles Quiz
How much can you remember?
Do this quiz. There are 12 questions.
5) Writing
Choose someone famous that you like. Write about them.
Read and listen for information about two celebrities
Compare and contrast them
Write a biography of someone famous
Note; This post was updated 30/12/2011 due to the Shakira biography clip being removed from Youtube. I replaced it with another clip and altered the comprehension questions.
1) Discuss
Look at these people.
Do you know who they are?
What are they famous for?
Have you ever dreamed of being famous?
Would you like to be famous?
What do you think it takes to achieve fame or success?
Do you think any of them have changed the world we live in or made our lives better?
Highlight here for answers;
Leo Di Caprio, Bob Marley, Martin Luther king, The Beatles, David Beckham
Che Guevara, Mother Teresa, Shakira, Elvis Presley, Beyonce
2) Read and watch Clip 1
You are going to watch a clip about Shakira
What do you know about Shakira?
Where is she from?
How old is she?
What does she do?
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known professionally as Shakira is a Colombian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, and philanthropist who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s. Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira revealed many of her talents in school as a live performer, demonstrating her vocal ability with rock and roll, Latin and Middle Eastern influences with her own original twist on belly dancing. Shakira is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English and Portuguese as well as some Italian, French and Arabic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakira
Answer these questions;
What was her dream when she was growing up?
What did she know at 18 months old?
What could she do at 3?
How old was she when she started writing songs?
When did she get a record deal?
What does her foundation do?
What awards has she won?
How succesful is she now?
Highlight below for answers
To become a famous performer
She knew the entire alphabet
Read
8
13
It provides high quality school facilities, nutritious meals and homework assistance and counselling
Various Grammy music awards
She sells millions of records and is one of the top earning women in music
How old was she when she entered her first talent competition?
How old was she when she was chosen for "Girls Time"?
Why did her father give up his job?
When did she make her 1st solo album?
What was the name of her first film?
What kind of charities does she support?
Highlight below for answers
Her father was record manager and her mother was a costume designer
They had a star on their hands
7
11
To represent her group
2003
Dream Girls
Childrens charities
Add the information below with what you know from the texts and clips
Shakira
Beyonce
1) Date of Birth
February 2nd 1977
September 4th 1981
2) Nationality
Colombian
American
3) Early life
Started performing at an early age
Entered singing and dancing competitions as a child
4) Career
Has won several Grammy awards and has sold millions of discs
Rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Now has a solo career and makes films
5) Other interests outside performing
Philanthropist; her foundation provides high quality school facilities, nutritious meals and homework assistance and counselling
Fashion designer, supports childrens' charities.
Highlight the spaces above for the answers
3) Compare and contrast
Look at the information
What do Shakira and Beyonce have in common?
What differences are there?
Can you compare and contrast them (say what the similarities and differences are)?
useboth, also, as well, too to express similarities
use but, however, whereas, on the other hand to express differences.
eg Both of them are singers. Beyonce is from the USA whereas Shakira is from Colombia.
Write 5 more sentences
Highlight below for suggested answers
Beyonce was born in 1981 but Shakira was born in 1977
Beyonce started performing as a child and Shakira did as well / too
Shakira has always been a solo artist, on the other hand Beyonce started in a group
Beyonce has made films however Shakira has remained a singer
Beyonce and Shakira both help children
Look at the people in the photos (above or below)
Can you make similar sentences to compare or contrast them?
Now listen to both of them in this clip. What do you think of the song?
4) Writing
A) Watch this clip and discuss the questions below
How many of these people do you know?
Why are they famous?
Did they change the world?
How did they think differently?
Text
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify and vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as crazy, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
Look at the words from the text in the left column below.
Can you match the words from the text on the left to the definitions on the right. Drag and drop the words to the correct place.
B) Write about someone famous.
Think of a famous person. Take a few minutes to find any information on the internet about him / her. Only look for important information.
Use this plan to help you. Write your biography with 4 paragraphs. If you are writing about someone who is dead. Talk about why you think they are important today in paragraph 3
If anyone wants to write about someone and post it in the comments below please go ahead :)
Armando created a Sliderocket presentation of this post which is here
2) Find some more worksheets about famous people here
Famous People Lessons.com http://www.famouspeoplelessons.com/index.html
EFL / ESL Lesson Plans Using Biographies And Profiles - From Sean Banville
3) Choose some people from the website and make sentences to compare and contrast them.
or
choose some people you know and compare and contrast them.
Ketevan "Katie" Melua (born 16 September 1984) is a singer, songwriter and musician. Katie made her musical debut in 2003. In 2006, she was the United Kingdom's bestselling female artist and Europe's highest selling European female artist.
You are going to watch a video in which Katie Melua talks about coming to live in the UK, migration, integration and being British.
There are some questions to answer and discuss, and a writing activity (IELTS)
Before you watch Check you know what these words mean here http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/
a) perception
b) fortunate
c) whinge
d) asylum
e) take advantage of something
f) "under one umbrella"
g) positive impact
h) integration
i) politically correct
j) immigrant
Look at the questions
Where did Katie come from?
How old was she when she came to Britain?
Where did she and her family first move to?
Why did they feel fortunate to move to the west?
If she had stayed in Georgia, what did she think she would be doing now?
What are the three different types of immigrants she mentions who come to the UK?
Why does she say immigration should be celebrated?
What does she say older immigrants should do to help integration?
What does she say the government should do to help integration?
How did she and her family feel when they got their British passports?
Why does she get angry with her English mates?
Now watch
Answer the questions
Discussion
Why do you think the media puts all the different kinds of immigrants "under one umbrella"?
What are the positive contributions that immigrants make to the economy and society?
What are the effects of migration on both the migrants and the natives?
What can be done to avoid problems in the future?
Writing
To what extent will migration from the developing world to the developed world become a social and political issue in the 21st century? (250 words) (IELTS)
Think about population, work, housing, education, health... What can be done to avoid problems in the future? Also think about culture - what are the effects of migration on both the migrants and the natives?
Reading
You might find these pages helpful for ideas, reading and vocabulary.
Discuss 
