Newspaper A Articles to get Teenagers Talking ) M a Za) e Dal ce ~] ae iTimesaver NEWSPAPER ARTICLES TO GET TEENAGERS TALKING By Peter Dainty MSCHOLASTICCONTENTS INTRODUCTION LIFESTYLE 1 How often do you touch people? “What do Puerto Ricans do 180 times an hour?” 2 You are what you drink “What your choice of coffee says about you’ 3. Things you love the most “A Valentine card for the dog...’ 4 Going bananas "Yes, we have bananas - 30,000 of them’ 5 Too much TV? ‘How to ration the time your child watches TV’ 6 Shopping with Big Brother “The shopper snapper’ 7 The computer games addict, “Gameboys and girls stay into play’ 8 Glasses for your dog “For the pet whose sight has gone to the dogs’ MORAL ISSUES 9 Helping the homeless ‘From a Consul house to an Estately home | The police have a duty to every householder’ 10 Compensation culture ‘Safeway leaflet crippled my dog / Writs a mad, mad world!” 11 Free money ‘villagers strike it rich as they discover cash machine is doubling their money’ 12 Starting again "The man who swapped lives’ 13 Money matters ‘Pizza man gives away his millions | Lonely Beckham runs up a £433,000 hotel bil” 14 Charities "RNIB: Helping you live with sight loss’ 15. Disciplining children ‘Should smacking ban get backing?’ C2 TE) 10 2 4 16 18 20 2 28 32 34 36 40WORK AND EDUCATION 16 International companies ‘Hangin’ on the Delhi Phone / Ain't life brand” 17 From teacher to plumber ‘Biologist abandons vital research to double his salary fitting boilers | Skint boffin quits to be rich plumber’ 18 Does punctuation matter? ‘Never mind the punctuation, look at our low price’s* 19 Does prison work? ‘italian crooks are helping with Inquiries’ 20 Theisland doctor “Anew life on Jura is just what the doctor ordered’ 21 Aman’s job? ‘Gondoliers sink hopes of frst woman driver’ 22 The school day “Lessons leave no time for play in Seoul” 23 Bullies at school "12 ways to beat bullies’ FOOD AND HEALTH 24 New foods ‘Sweet strawmato is pick of the crop’ 25 Too old to have children? ‘Older Mom not so bad’ 26 How deep can you go? ‘The human submarine’ 27 Better school meals “iPod lure to cut down junk food’ 28 The 12-year-old alcoholic ‘Binge drinker aged 12' WORLD ISSUES 29 Opportunities for wealth ‘Chocolate isles struggle to avert the'curse’of oll! What a difference a day makes’ 30 The old soldiers ‘Alan Hamilton joins veterans of the South Lancashire Regiment on their return to Normandy’ 31 Global warming ‘in the land where life is on hold’ 32 Chemical alert “The 75 toxic chemicals in our blood’ ANSWER KEYS 48 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 R 74 78 80 82 8a(TET INTRODUCTION For a language teacher, there are few things more exciting than a classroom discussion that really works, especially if your students get the chance to practise the vocabulary they have just learned, Everyone can make a positive ‘and equal contribution to the debate. Unfortunately, good classroom discussions like this are notoriously difficult to organise. Teachers usually give the following three main reasons for this: 1 My students weren't very interested in the topic. 2. The class didn’t know enough of the key vocabulary. 3 found it difficult to involve everyone in the discussion. There were two or three people who talked a lot, but the others didn’t contribute enough. This book has been specially designed to help you overcome these three Problems and to give you 2 format for discussions that can really work. The structure of the book Each unit begins with an authentic article, most with a strong ‘human interest’ element. Many classes find it easier to get involved in a topic if the starting point is 2 real life, human drama rather than a list of facts and figures. ‘The articles have been chosen to help ‘personalise’ the topic and make students feel the debate is about real life situations rather than something abstract, academic and theoretical. So, for example, the issue of global warming is approached through the eyes of a Zambian farmer called Julius Njame whose crops have been ruined by weeks of drought. Similarly, the starting point for a discussion on homelessness isthe real life experience of a woman called Ann Naysmith who, after a career as a pianist, fell on hard times and ended up living in a battered Ford car on a street in west London. A small clock icon at the top of each unit gives the approximate time needed to complete the tasks. Most can be completed in a 40-minute lesson, though some will require $0 minutes or longer. Getting started Each unit has the headline that accompanied the article when it was originally published, along with a relevant photograph. You may like to use these to get students to predict what the article might be about before you go on to read the text. For example, read the headiine and ask the following questions Gondoliers sink hopes of first woman driver Where was the photograph taken? Have you ever seen a woman doing this Kind of job before? Why is the collocation ‘sink the hopes of particularly suitable for a story about gondoliers?Approaching the text The second problem mentioned above is identifying and then teaching the language items your class will need to discuss an issue fluently. How you use the blackboard can be crucial in getting a discussion to work. Write up key language items from the article (these are usually highlighted in the vocabulary and comprehension exercises that follow). You can then go through (and if necessary add to) ths lst before starting the discussion. Keep these useful words and phrases on the board during the discussion. This will give students a point of reference as they try to collect their thoughts and express their opinions. Students ere more likely to try out a new verb that you have just taught them if they can look up at the board and check which preposition it goes with. You can aiso revise these language items after the discussion and highlight those words and phrases that are particularly worth learning. Being able to see 20 or 30 key language items before, during and after a conversation can make many students feel a lot more confident. Getting everyone involved How can you make sure everyone contributes to a discussion? If you find that only a few. people are taking part in the conversation, switch tack and encourage students to talk directly about their own experiences rather than asking them a question that needs some detailed knowledge of the subject. For example, in the article about the diver Tanya Streeter who can go 120 metres underwater on a single breath of air, you would need some background information to answer a question such as What happens to your body when you go this deep under the ‘ocean? However, at the end of the text, Tanye says she would be terrified to go up Mount Everest. So if you ask a question such as What is the scariest thing you have ever ddone?, you know that everyone in the group can give you an answer and, crucially, each of those answers is equally valid If you develop the discussion inthis way, there are no right or wrong answers. This can make some classes more forthcoming, However, get to know what your class like best and adjust the lesson accordingly. ‘Some groups love the cut and thrust of debate, marshalling facts and figures to prove a case. Others do not want to be confrontational and prefer a discussion in which everyone has their own point of view or anecdote to tell The follow-up exercises If you have time left at the end of the discussion, there is also a follow-up exercise involving group writing or role play. Everyone can be involved, using the language they have met in the article or articles ina realistic or personalised context Project work ‘The units in this book are designed as one-off classroom exercises, but you can aso use ‘them as source material for a more general project on newspapers and the press. For example, get students to find the differences between the language, style, presentation, format, typeface, vocabulary, content and use of photographs in the different types of papers. If you want to give your students a brief introduction to the press in the UK, you may find the comprehension and discussion exercises on the next two pages a good place to begin. ‘The next pages also include the newspaper websites, which are often updated very early in the morning, so you can read some of the articles online before the actual papers have hit the newsstands.