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2 the ARTICLE (for teachers) David Storey of Australia purchased a private island for $26,500. The sum may sound like a ridiculously cheap price. However, the island cannot be reached by any boat or plane because it's virtual. In other words, the place doesn't exist in the real world. It's part of a computer program for players in the role-playing game, Entropia. The island was recently recognized as the priciest virtual object ever purchased with real money by Guinness World Records. You now may wonder if Storey is a little bit crazy. However, don't judge him so quickly because the twentyseven year old graduate student currently earns more than $100,000 per year from the game. He is able to mix recreation and work. He runs the island like a rare game preserve, where hunters are taxed to use the land. He then exchanges the virtual money, known as Entropian dollars, for real cash. There are similar businesses online, like an asteroid space resort and a space station. If either of these properties were sold, they could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars! People who are unfamiliar with online role-playing games may see the whole concept as ridiculous. Yet you have to give kudos to the gamers who have been able to succeed in an often competitive virtual world. David Storey and others like him don't just live from paycheck to paycheck. If they did so, then the money would suddenly dry up if they quit playing to take a vacation or deal with a personal crisis. Instead, these individuals are making a lot of money. Even the most cynical individual has to respect the money earned. Gamers like Storey are getting paid to play. Teacher's Notes: * Underlined words in red typeface are the recommended vocabulary for this lesson. Heads Up English - 1

3 WARM-UPS Select one or all of the following warm-up activities. 1: Define: What does "online" mean? Can you use it in a sentence? Can you give examples? 2: Brainstorm: Brainstorm with a partner(s) words and ideas associated with "role playing game" for 2 minutes. Spend another 5 minutes or less discussing the words and ideas together. 3: Title: Speculate and/or discuss the contents of today's article from its title: "." 4: Speculate: Write in the missing word for today's article title: "Getting ( ) to Play." Why did you choose this word for the blank? 5: Do you agree or disagree? Why? a. I want to play video games every day. b. Video games are fun, but they are also a waste of time. c. Some people make a lot of money playing video games. d. I want to make money online. e. Work is more important than fun and recreation. Heads Up English - 2

4 VOCABULARY Select one of the following vocabulary acquisition activities. 1: Vocabulary match: Individually or in pairs/groups, match the words in column A (from the article) with the best choice in column B. a. sum q. be b. exist r. praise c. priciest s. amount d. wonder t. decrease e. recreation u. ask yourself f. unfamiliar v. opposing g. kudos w. expensive h. competitive x. fun i. dry up y. disapproving j. cynical z. ignorant 2: Fill in the Blanks: Fill in the blank with the correct word. priciest dry up unfamiliar exist kudos wonder sum cynical competitive recreation a. The ( ) may sound like a ridiculously cheap price for an island. b. The place doesn't ( ) in the real world. c. The island was recognized as the ( ) virtual object ever purchased with real money. d. You now may ( ) if David Storey is a little bit crazy. e. He is able to mix ( ) and work. f. People who are ( ) with online role-playing games may see the concept as ridiculous. g. You have to give ( ) to these gamers. h. They have been able to succeed in an often ( ) virtual world. i. The money would suddenly ( ) if they quit playing to take a vacation. j. Even the most ( ) individual has to respect the money earned. 3: Define: Define each word, correctly pronounce it, explain the meaning and/or usage, and offer an example sentence to the class. a. sum c. priciest e. recreation g. kudos i. dry up b. exist d. wonder f. unfamiliar h. competitive j. cynical Heads Up English - 3

5 WORD RECOGNITION 1: Word Search: Find the target words (in bold). Time yourself, and see how many words you can find in three minutes, five minutes, or ten minutes. priciest dry up unfamiliar exist kudos wonder sum cynical competitive recreation M S C A T Z F F T R J Z U G W N O I T E A R C E R S D N Q O R G C C Y N I C A L R N F A N S A H O Y K R V T Y L T A J D C Z L Y M E W S U M Y S M S E I Y U I A P E P A U H E I P R Q B N T M Y E T P S R I L Z Z A Y I I C A S T P D A C I E L B O Z I C G F O I U R I A S U N U R X N L G N D T W R R S J D P T S I X E L U U I P R S R H U O O Z G E E S L K V Q R V Q R Y V M Z R B W U P O E W T I U A X G X A A V B O Y U Z F O F D A S D M Y L Y E O O V C 2: Target Word Pool: Find the target words (in bold) with their exact match. Time yourself, and see how many words you can find in three minutes, five minutes, or ten minutes. priciest dry up unfamiliar exist kudos wonder sum cynical competitive recreation unfamiliar kudo recreation sums summary dried out priced wonder dry up competitively wonderment cyanide unfamiliarly pricey summarization exit cynical kernel cynically uncompetitive wondered recreating cancerous recurred dry out comparative familiarity creation sum kudos priciest familiar wonderful recreated exist existence wondering unfamiliarity pricier curdle incomparable drying up kindle prices summed dried up exited cynicism competitive existed Heads Up English - 4

6 pre- or post-comprehension 1: Word Association: Brainstorm words associated with today's topic for two minutes. Present to the class. 2: Brainstorm Questions: Brainstorm questions that you would like to ask about today's topic. Answer the questions without looking at the article. 3: True or False?: Guess (before the article) or answer (after the article) whether the sentence is true or false. If false, correct the sentence. a. David Storey sold an island worth $26,500, but the money wasn't real. T/F b. According to the article, David Storey is insane. T/F c. He also owns an asteroid space resort and a space station. T/F d. According to the article, online virtual worlds are very competitive places. T/F e. Storey lives from paycheck to paycheck, and must worry about losing his salary. T/F 4: Questions: Answer the questions to check comprehension. a. What did David Storey buy? How much did it cost b. Why was the purchase recognized by Guinness World Records? c. How much does Storey earn per year? d. What does "living paycheck to paycheck" mean? e. What is meant by "getting paid to play?" 5: Vocabulary: In pairs/groups, remember how the words were used in today's article. a. sum c. priciest e. recreation g. kudos i. dry up b. exist d. wonder f. unfamiliar h. competitive j. cynical 6: Fragments: Remember how the fragments were used, and complete the sentence from today's article. a. David Storey of Australia purchased... b. The island was recently recognized as the priciest virtual object ever... c. He runs the island like a rare game preserve, where... d. Yet you have to give kudos to the gamers who have been... e. Even the most cynical individual has... Heads Up English - 5

7 post-comprehension 1: Vocabulary: Circle any additional unknown words/phrases in the article. In pairs/groups, use your dictionaries to understand the meanings. Present to the class. 2: Class Questions: Read through the article once more, and write down any questions that you would like to discuss in pairs/groups or as a class. Discuss. 3: Summarize: Work with a partner to summarize the article in your own words. 4: Discuss: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers! a. Did you like this article? b. What was your general impression after reading this article? c. Would you want to get paid for playing a video game? Why/not? d. Would you want to get paid for doing something you really love? Why/not? e. Do you think it's a little ridiculous that someone would pay so much for a virtual object? Why/not? f. How is buying a virtual object different from buying luxury goods you don't really need? g. Are people like Storey just very lucky, or do they have some special quality? h. What do you hate most about your current job? Why? i. What realistic change would you like to make to your current job to enjoy it more? j. If someone you knew wanted to make money online, what sort of advice would you give? 5: Discuss: What do you think about these possible dream jobs? Provide any pluses and/or minuses you might experience. Be sure to support your answers. property owner in a virtual world: school owner in a virtual world: professional gambler:???: 6: Google Search: Type "online role-playing games" into Google news and read additional articles on this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings. Heads Up English - 6

8 STUDENT HANDOUT (the article) David Storey of Australia purchased a private island for $26,500. The sum may sound like a ridiculously cheap price. However, the island cannot be reached by any boat or plane because it's virtual. In other words, the place doesn't exist in the real world. It's part of a computer program for players in the role-playing game, Entropia. The island was recently recognized as the priciest virtual object ever purchased with real money by Guinness World Records. You now may wonder if Storey is a little bit crazy. However, don't judge him so quickly because the twentyseven year old graduate student currently earns more than $100,000 per year from the game. He is able to mix recreation and work. He runs the island like a rare game preserve, where hunters are taxed to use the land. He then exchanges the virtual money, known as Entropian dollars, for real cash. There are similar businesses online, like an asteroid space resort and a space station. If either of these properties were sold, they could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars! People who are unfamiliar with online role-playing games may see the whole concept as ridiculous. Yet you have to give kudos to the gamers who have been able to succeed in an often competitive virtual world. David Storey and others like him don't just live from paycheck to paycheck. If they did so, then the money would suddenly dry up if they quit playing to take a vacation or deal with a personal crisis. Instead, these individuals are making a lot of money. Even the most cynical individual has to respect the money earned. Gamers like Storey are getting paid to play. Notes: Heads Up English - 7

9 STUDENT HANDOUT (fill in the blank) Fill in the blank with the correct word. competitive wonder reached personal exist purchased kudos dry up sum graduate priciest hundreds recreation cynical unfamiliar David Storey of Australia (a. ) a private island for $26,500. The (b. ) may sound like a ridiculously cheap price. However, the island cannot be (c. ) by any boat or plane because it's virtual. In other words, the place doesn't (d. ) in the real world. It's part of a computer program for players in the role-playing game, Entropia. The island was recently recognized as the (e. ) virtual object ever purchased with real money by Guinness World Records. You now may (f. ) if Storey is a little bit crazy. However, don't judge him so quickly because the twenty-seven year old (g. ) student currently earns more than $100,000 per year from the game. He is able to mix (h. ) and work. He runs the island like a rare game preserve, where hunters are taxed to use the land. He then exchanges the virtual money, known as Entropian dollars, for real cash. There are similar businesses online, like an asteroid space resort and a space station. If either of these properties were sold, they could earn (i. ) of thousands of dollars! People who are (j. ) with online role-playing games may see the whole concept as ridiculous. Yet you have to give (k. ) to the gamers who have been able to succeed in an often (l. ) virtual world. David Storey and others like him don't just live from paycheck to paycheck. If they did so, then the money would suddenly (m. ) if they quit playing to take a vacation or deal with a (n. ) crisis. Instead, these individuals are making a lot of money. Even the most (o. ) individual has to respect the money earned. Gamers like Storey are getting paid to play. Heads Up English - 8

10 STUDENT HANDOUT (extended listening) Listen and fill in the missing sentences. Compare your answers with a partner, and then listen once more. David Storey of Australia purchased a private island for $26,500. The sum may sound like a ridiculously cheap price. However, a). In other words, the place doesn't exist in the real world. It's part of a computer program for players in the roleplaying game, Entropia. The island was recently recognized as the priciest virtual object ever purchased with real money by Guinness World Records. You now may wonder if Storey is a little bit crazy. However, don't judge him so quickly because b). He is able to mix recreation and work. He runs the island like a rare game preserve, where hunters are taxed to use the land. He then exchanges the virtual money, known as Entropian dollars, for real cash. There are similar businesses online, like an asteroid space resort and a space station. If either of these properties were sold, c)! d). Yet you have to give kudos to the gamers who have been able to succeed in an often competitive virtual world. David Storey and others like him don't just live from paycheck to paycheck. If they did so, then the money would suddenly dry up if they quit playing to take a vacation or deal with a personal crisis. Instead, these individuals are making a lot of money. Even the most cynical individual has to respect the money earned. e). Heads Up English - 9

11 STUDENT HANDOUT (notes) Heads Up English - 10

12 ANSWER KEY Vocabulary 1. Vocabulary Match: 2. Fill in the Blanks: a. s f. z b. q g. r c. w h. v d. u i. t e. x j. y a. sum f. unfamiliar b. exist g. kudos c. priciest h. competitive d. wonder i. dry up e. recreation j. cynical pre- or post-comprehension 1. True or False: 2. Fragments: a. F b. F c. F d. T e. F a. a private island for $26,500. b. purchased with real money by Guinness World Records. c. hunters are taxed to use the land. d. able to succeed in an often competitive virtual world e. to respect the money earned. Student Handout 1. Fill in the Blanks a. purchased i. hundreds b. sum j. unfamiliar c. reached k. kudos d. exist l. competitive e. priciest m. dry up f. wonder n. personal g. graduate o. cynical h. recreation 2. Extended Listening a. the island cannot be reached by any boat or plane because it's virtual b. the twenty-seven year old graduate student currently earns more than $100,000 per year from the game c. they could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars d. People who are unfamiliar with online role-playing games may see the whole concept as ridiculous e. Gamers like Storey are getting paid to play Heads Up English - 11

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www.breaking News English.com Ready-to-use ESL / EFL Lessons Google delays book scanning URL: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/0508/050814-books-e.html Today s contents The Article 2 Warm-ups 3 Before