Teaching notes and key

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Teaching notes and key"

Rafe Shaw
5 years ago
Views:

1 Teaching notes and key Level: upper-intermediate (B2). Aims: to learn the names for different genres of fiction and non-fiction to discuss book preferences to scan a book and theatre review for specific information to work on theatre vocabulary to extend knowledge of famous European authors through a quiz. Timing: approximately one and a quarter hours, excluding follow-up ideas. Preparation The article to accompany this lesson, from The List page of The Week magazine, can be downloaded from The lesson is based around just two sections, Best books Simon Callow and The Week s guide to what s worth seeing and reading. Both are on the theme of the theatre. For the warm-up activity, you might want to gather together some books in a range of genres (see details below). On Teachitworld, there is an interactive version of task 4 (theatre vocabulary). Learners might need internet access for task 5 (the literature quiz). Task 1 Warm-up activity Take some books from a range of genres in to class. They can be in the learners own language (L1) or in English (L2), as the aim is to check that learners understand the words for the genres, not the contents of the books. The genres mentioned in the text are the following: biography autobiography (including diaries) novel play (including a comedy and a tragedy). You might also want to include the following: a collection of short stories a poetry anthology. List the genres on the board and ask learners to identify the genre of each book. Alternatively, for groups with extensive knowledge of European literature, you could do the quiz from task 5 as a warm-up activity Page 1 of 9

2 Task 2 Reading The last two columns of the first chart require detailed reading rather than just scanning, so you might want to suggest that learners save these for a second reading. Answers: Title of book Author Date Publisher Price Genre Subject matter The Path of the Actor Michael Chekhov 1927 Routledge autobiography acting Charles Dickens as I Knew Him Wilhelm Meister s Apprenticeship George Dolby 1885 Adamant biography Charles Dickens Goethe 1795 Aegypan novel the life of an acrobat An Unnatural Pursuit Simon Gray 1985 Faber autobiography (diary) account of the production of his first play All for Hecuba Micheál MacLiammóir 1946 out of print n/a autobiography personal experience as actor and theatre owner No Angel Tom Bower 2012 Faber 8.99 biography Bernie Ecclestone (Formula One manager) Page 2 of 9

3 Title of play Playwright Theatre Starring Genre When showing The Duchess of Malfi John Webster Old Vic Eve Best play (tragedy) until 9 th June Collaborators John Hodge Cottesloe, National Theatre then Olivier Simon Russell Beale and Alex Jennings play (comic drama) until 31 st March then 30 th April 23 rd June Task 3 Reading and speaking Suggested answers: 1. a. sad: The Duchess of Malfi b. funny: Collaborators c. uplifting: The Path of the Actor and An Unnatural Pursuit d. musical: The Stone Roses Task 4 Theatre vocabulary Answers: 1c, 2g, 3i, 4a, 5j, 6b, 7e, 8d, 9h, 10f. NB Jacobean refers to anything relating to the reign of James I ( ). Stream of consciousness refers to a literary style where the writer s thoughts and reactions are recorded in continuous flow, without interruption by objective description or conventional dialogue. The eponymous heroine is the main character who gives her name to a play, book or film Page 3 of 9

4 Task 5 Literary quiz If you have internet access, learners can check their answers online. Charles Dickens was a British novelist and journalist, and he wrote the novel Oliver Twist. Anton Chekov was Russian. plays and short stories, including the play The Cherry Orchard. Fyodor Dostoyevsky was Russian and wrote novels and short stories, including the novel Crime and Punishment. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was German. He was a writer, a polymath and a lawyer and he wrote the play Faust. Oscar Wilde was Irish. He was a playwright, a novelist and a poet and he wrote the play The Importance of Being Earnest. Dracula (novel) is by Bram Stoker, Jane Eyre (novel) by Charlotte Brontë, Dr Zhivago (novel) by Boris Pasternak, War and Peace (novel) by Leo Tolstoy, Sons and Lovers (novel) by D.H. Lawrence, Anna Karenina (novel) by Leo Tolstoy, Tannhäuser (opera) by Richard Wagner, The Caucasian Chalk Circle (play) by Bertolt Brecht, Arms and the Man (play) by George Bernard Shaw and Hamlet (play) by William Shakespeare. Follow-up ideas If the learners are studying in an English-speaking country, they could try the following: Go to the local library to see if any of these books are on the shelves. If so, read the back cover and the first page of the book to find out more about it. Ask a library assistant to help you. Perhaps you could even borrow one! Go to a bookshop and browse the shelves for any of the titles. Ask a shop assistant to help you. Read the back cover and the first page of the book to find out more about it. Perhaps you could even buy one! Go to your local theatre(s) and see what s on. Ask for the season s programme of plays and read about the plays to be shown. Why not have a night at the theatre with a friend? If the learners are not studying in a English-speaking country, they could try the following: Go to or and look up one or more of the books from the texts. Read the comments by left by readers or read more about the contents. Take a short passage from a novel and rewrite it as a play, or vice versa Page 4 of 9

Worksheet Task 1 Warm-up activity: book genres Your teacher will give you some books to look at. Write the names of the books next to the names of the genres below. 1. biography.

Write the names of the genres in the circles below. fiction non-fiction In pairs or small groups, discuss the following questions: 1.

5 Worksheet Task 1 Warm-up activity: book genres Your teacher will give you some books to look at. Write the names of the books next to the names of the genres below. 1. biography autobiography novel play... a. tragedy... b. comedy... Which genres are in the fiction category and which are non-fiction? Write the names of the genres in the circles below. fiction non-fiction In pairs or small groups, discuss the following questions: 1. Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? Why? 2. Are there any genres of book that you particularly like or dislike? Which? 3. What is your favourite book? Why do you like it? Page 5 of 9

6 Task 2 Reading Look at the texts and fill in the charts below. Title of book Author Date Publisher Price Genre Subject matter The Path of the Actor 1927 Routledge autobiography George Dolby Charles Dickens 1795 novel the life of an acrobat An Unnatural Pursuit Faber Micheál MacLiammóir personal experience as actor and theatre owner No Angel Page 6 of 9

7 Title of play Playwright Theatre Starring Genre When showing The Duchess of Malfi John Hodge Task 3 Reading and speaking Discuss the following questions about the text: 1. What could you read / go to if you wanted something a. sad b. funny c. uplifting d. musical? 2. Which recommendations would you like to read / go to? Which wouldn t you like to read / go to? Why? Page 7 of 9

8 Task 4 Theatre vocabulary Find the words on the left in the texts and underline/highlight them. Then, with the help of the context, match the meaning to the word. Write your answers below. Words from texts Meanings 1. acrobat a. a serious play for the theatre, television, radio or film 2. acting b. a sad play from early 17 th century England, where the main characters, typically kings and queens, often die 3. clown c. an entertainer who does impressive gymnastics 4. drama d. a play with only one actor 5. dresser e. the process of making a film or play 6. Jacobean tragedy f. the person who organises the performances of a travelling theatre company or music group 7. production g. being a fictional character in a play or film 8. solo performance h. a group of actors 9. theatre troupe i. a comic entertainer with a red nose and funny clothes, often in a circus 10. touring manager j. the person who helps an actor put his/her clothes on Page 8 of 9

Task 5 Literary quiz Getting to know some of the great names in European literature enriches your understanding of the cultural heritage and helps you understand texts which refer to them.

a journalist. a. Dracula b. Oliver Twist c. Jane Eyre. Anton Chekov was a. Russian b. Polish c. Yugoslavian. a. newspaper articles b. plays and short stories c. poetry.

9 Task 5 Literary quiz Getting to know some of the great names in European literature enriches your understanding of the cultural heritage and helps you understand texts which refer to them. You can do this by yourself or with a partner. In some cases you can tick more than one category. Charles Dickens was a. American b. British c. Canadian. He was a. a novelist b. a poet c. a journalist. a. Dracula b. Oliver Twist c. Jane Eyre. Anton Chekov was a. Russian b. Polish c. Yugoslavian. a. newspaper articles b. plays and short stories c. poetry. The name of one of his most famous works is a. Dr Zhivago b. War and Peace c. The Cherry Orchard. Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a. Czech b. Russian c. Polish. He was a. a poet b. a journalist c. a writer of novels and short stories. a. Sons and Lovers b. Anna Karenina c. Crime and Punishment. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a. Austrian b. Danish c. German He was a. a writer b. a polymath c. a lawyer. a. Faust b. Tannhäuser c. The Caucasian Chalk Circle Oscar Wilde was a. Scottish b. English c. Irish. He was a. a playwright b. a novelist c. a poet. a. Arms and the Man b. The Importance of Being Earnest c. Hamlet Page 9 of 9

ARTS AND MEDIA. Teacher s notes 1 FREE YOUR BOOKS TALKING BOOKS

ARTS AND MEDIA. Teacher s notes 1 FREE YOUR BOOKS TALKING BOOKS Level: Pre-intermediate intermediate (A2 B1) Age: Teenagers Time: 90 minutes full lesson plan; 60 minutes if students do the favourite book activity for homework; 45 minutes if you omit the Top 21 activity