What is beauty?

You are going to

• discuss fashion, beauty and health
• practise words to describe people
• listen to someone talking about ideas of fashion, beauty and health

1) Discuss in pairs / write a list
In 60 seconds how many words can you think of which describe a person's appearance?
Make a note / write a list of them
eg tall, short...










2) Match
A) Choose the right category for each of the words below. Is it Build, Hair, Height or Opinion?







B) Now make a table and put all the words from the exercise and your list in the right column

Build	Hair	Height	Opinion
		tall

3) Discuss

• What is beauty?
• What makes someone beautiful or attractive?
• Where do we get our ideas of beauty from?
• Do ideas of beauty vary around the world?

4) Watch
Watch the clip "Food for Thought" below.
You are going to watch a woman called Mable talk about the first time she came to the UK.
A) Listen and answer

• Where does Mabel get her idea of beauty from?
• Why is she scared of coming to England?
• What does she learn about the British?

B) Watch again and fill in the gaps in the sentences

5) Discuss

• Why does Mabel think that beauty is what she sees in the magazines?
• What do you think “junk in the trunk” means? Junk = rubbish. Trunk (American) = the place where you put the bags in a car (boot in UK English). Can you guess what she means when describing people?
• Why do you think it is easier for an African to eat well and be healthy than for the British?
• Is it easy to eat healthily in your country? 
• Do you eat healthily?
• She says "the magazines show what the British want to look like."  Do you think this is true for all nationalities?
• Why do we want to look like the people in the magazines?
• Why does Mabel think she is lucky at the end?

6) Do the crossword

Click on a number and type in your answer. Click check to see the answers.

All the words are used to describe people.

Crossword printable version here

Printable exercises here






7) Play a game
20 questions.
Someone in the class thinks of a famous person. The others ask Yes / No questions to guess the name of the person.
- Is it a man? Yes it is
- Is he tall? - Yes he is.
- Has he got long hair? Yes he has

Continue until you guess. If you can't guess in 20 questions you lose!








8) Discuss / Write

A) In Pairs. Describe someone. Talk about their appearance and their personality. Don't say their name. Read your description to your partner or to the class. Can they guess who you are describing?


B) - IELTS

• The Fashion and clothing industry is becoming increasingly important in modern society. Is this a good or bad thing?

• Eating a balanced diet is the most important factor for a healthy life. To what extent do you agree?

More

• What Britain Loves Advertising, Beginners, Gerunds, Life in the UK, Present Simple, Travel and Tourism

• What's cooking? - 1. "Bubble and Squeak" Crossword, Elementary, Food, Imperatives, Instructions, Listening, Recipes

• Life in the UK; The British and how to understand them Discussion Activities, Elementary, Intermediate, Life in the UK, Present Simple, Reading, Webquest, Writing a report

• What is the weight of the human race? Advice, Crossword, FCE, Food, Health, IELTS, Jamie Oliver, Listening, Obesity, Obligation, Writing, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate 

 

What's so special about the Beatles?

You are going to

• 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?

listen to ‘50 year anniversary of The Beatles' Please Please Me with MOJO magazine’ on Audioboo

Now answer the questions below.

4) Read / Webquest
Click on this link and then do the question / answer matching exercise below
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/9946799/The-Beatles-Please-Please-Me-50-years-on-10-facts-about-the-debut-album.html

Printable worksheets are here




More
The Beatles  Listening, Music, Past Simple, Quizzes, Reading 

The Beatles official web page http://www.thebeatles.com/






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."

Why are jeans so popular?

You are going to

• discuss fashion and jeans
• watch a video clip and do some listening activities on the history of denim (Int)
• do a reading activity about the history of denim (Int) 
• do a listening activity about the popularity of jeans (U.Int)
• write about the influence of fashion on people

1) Discuss

• Are you wearing jeans now?
• How often do you wear jeans? 
• What are jeans made of?
• Do you like jeans? Why? / Why not?
• Why do you wear jeans?
• If you are in class now, how many people are wearing jeans?
• Why do you think they are so popular? 
• What do you know about the history of jeans?

2) Watch
What do you know about the history of jeans?
Look at the sentences in the exercise below.
A) Watch the video below and decide if they are true or false.

B) Watch again and do the gap-fill exercise

3) Read
Read the text below and put the sentences in the correct spaces

4) Listen
Listen to the clip below
You are going to listen to Anthropologist Daniel Miller talking about the popularity of  jeans on the BBC World service programme The Forum.
Why does he think jeans are so popular?

listen to ‘Why are jeans so popular?’ on Audioboo

From The Forum http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00np2s1#p00p8k7m

Now read the summary below and fill in the gaps.

Vocabulary - to plug = to promote / market / advertise

5) Write
Fashion trends are difficult to follow these days and it's widely believed that they primarily exist just to sell clothes. Some people believe that we shouldn't follow them and that we should dress in that we like and feel comfortable in.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
(IELTS)




Printable worksheets here




More
Giving Up Marilyn Manson  Fashion, Listening, Phrasal Verbs / Idioms and Slang, Writing

Read
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17101768

The history of jeans
http://www.jeans-and-accessories.com/history-of-blue-jeans.html

The Beatles

You are going to

• revise the past simple
• 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.

• When was he / she born?
• Where was he / she from?
• What did he / she do?
• How did he / she become famous?
• Did he / she make films?
• Did he / she get married?
• Why do you like him / her?

6) More

Printable worksheet here

More Beatles http://efllecturer.blogspot.com.es/2013/03/whats-so-special-about-beatles.html

More past simple practice

http://efllecturer.blogspot.com/2011/04/past-simple-forms.html 

More practice with the Beatles  http://www.esllistening.org/beatles/home.html

More Beatles info and music  http://www.beatles.com/

And in the end...

Giving Up Marilyn Manson

You are going to 

• Discuss fashion
• Look at some slang expressions
• Look at some phrasal verbs and do a matching exercise
• Watch a short video clip about a rock music fan and do a true / false comprehension activity
• Write about fashion

1) Discuss

• Do you like listening to music?
• Where do you listen to music?
• Do you have any musical idols?
• Where do you find out about them?
• Do you like or copy the clothes they wear?
• Do you you like to be fashionable?
• Why do people follow fashion?
• Could you stop listening to music or using the internet for a week? How would you feel?

2) Before you watch - Vocabulary.

2a) Vocabulary 1 - Slang
What is slang?
Do you use slang expressions?
Do you know these slang words?

• metalhead = A metalhead is a fan of metal music
• cool = good
• mate = friend
• goth = fan of Goth music and fashion
• chav = young person usually wearing tracksuits and baseball caps
• townie = someone who lives in a town
• nerd = someone who is good at technical things but may not have many friends

Double click on the word for a definition.
Highlight next to the word for the answers



2b) Vocabulary 2  - Phrasal Verbs
What is a phrasal verb?
Click here to find out http://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/phrasaldictionary.html
Answer - highlight here = A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition or adverb which creates a meaning different from the original verb.

Look at the list of expressions in the column on the left below.

1) Match the expressions with the correct definition. One is done for you. You can drag and drop the phrases on the right

2) Write some sentences using the phrasal verbs. eg I'm looking forward to my holidays.


You can find more phrasal verb definitions here
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/
or here
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/






3) Watch

Marilyn Manson is an American singer and musician. Ewan is 15 and is a Goth. He is the biggest Marilyn Manson fan in Welwyn Garden City where he lives and perhaps even in the UK. Marilyn Manson is his idol but Ewan is going to give him up for one week. No music, no clothes, no make up and no internet.

• How do you think Ewan will manage?
• What will his friends and family think?
• How will he feel?
• Will he complete the week or give up after a few days and go back to being a Goth?

Watch and find out.

 

Do the True / False exercise

Why do you think it says "You shall make no graven images" at the start of the film?


Answer - highlight here = "You shall make no graven images" is a reference to false gods 






4) Write
Fashion trends are difficult to follow these days and it’s widely believed that they primarily exist just to sell clothes. Some people believe that we shouldn’t follow them and that we should dress in what we like and feel comfortable in.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?.
(IELTS)