Task 1 Complete the poem with words from the box on the right. A FULL LIFE I ve had a full life And I ve done a lot. I ve travelled round the...world... Where others have (1)... world horse seen family not again chance I ve been to China And flown a plane champagne books course I ve ridden a (2)... And drunk (3)... I ve met George Bush And had tea with the Queen I ve written three (4)... About the things I ve (5)... I ve never been married I ve never been divorced I ve never had a (6)... No children, of (7)... But I ve seen a lot of places And I ve made a lot of friends And if I had the (8)... I d do it all (9)... Photograph by Amanito http://www.flickr.com/photos/amanito/772602522/ 2008 www.teachitworld.com 9265 Page 1 of 5
Task 2 Answer the questions. 1) Why is the poem called A Full Life?... 2) How does the writer feel now about the past?... 3) Did the writer have a lot of experiences?... 4) How old do you think the writer is now?... 5) How does the writer feel now about the past?... 6) Is the writer sorry about his past?... Task 3 Practise reading the poem aloud. Task 4 Change the poem so it is true for you. Tell a partner. Speak, don t write. Grammar: present perfect simple for experiences Examples: I ve been to China. I have flown a plane. drunk champagne. I ve never been married. I haven t Here are some example sentences where the writer has changed the poem to suit what he or she has done. I ve had quite a full life and I ve done quite a lot. I haven t travelled round the world but I ve been to a few countries. I ve been to the USA, Austria, Egypt, Spain and Italy. I ve never flown a plane myself, but I ve flown IN a plane several times. 2008 www.teachitworld.com 9265 Page 2 of 5
Complete the past participles of the verbs from the poem. INFINITIVE PAST PAST PARTICIPLE have had do did travel travelled travelled go went (or) gone fly ride drink meet write see be flew rode drank met wrote saw was/were Ever Study these two questions: Have you seen the film Shrek? (Have you? = in your past life) but Have you ever been to California? (Have you ever? = in all your past life) Complete these questions with your own ideas. Take turns asking and answering the questions with a partner. Have you ever...?... been to...?... met...?... drunk...?... eaten...?... smoked...?... ridden...?... driven...?... played...?... read...?... seen...?... written...?... listened to...?... used...? Answers Yes, I have. Have you? or No, never. 2008 www.teachitworld.com 9265 Page 3 of 5
TEACHER'S NOTES & KEY Elementary Grammar introduction to present perfect simple Target language: Present perfect simple (experience) Aims: Introduce/check and practise 1 st person singular, positive, negative and Have you ever? question forms. Useful pre-work: The use of rhyme in poems and popular songs. Pre-Teaching The countable nouns experience(s) and poem(s), e.g. via challenge to students on the black/whiteboard: A(n).... is something that happens to us that changes us, a little or a lot [experience] A... is a text, like a song, but with no music [poem] Task 1 The contextual cues for guessing where the missing words should go in this poem include the use of rhyming words at the end of the second and fourth line of each verse. Suggested answers: a) not, b) horse, c) champagne, d) books, e) seen, f) family, g) course, h) chance, i) again Task 3 Suggested sequence: 1. Students repeat the poem aloud after the teacher. 2. Students read aloud the poem, line by line, around the class, with the teacher s help. 3. Students read aloud the poem with a partner, taking turns, e.g. reading alternate lines. Task 4 Here are some more examples of modified sentences from the poem: I ve never ridden a horse, but I ve ridden a bicycle and driven a lorry. I ve drunk sangria, sake and tequila! I ve never met George Bush but I ve met a famous footballer and got his autograph! I haven t had tea with the Queen, but I ve had tea with my family. I ve written a couple of stories and lots of emails. I am married. I ve never been divorced I ve got a family, a wife and two children I ve seen some interesting places and I ve made some good friends If I had the chance, I wouldn t do ALL of it again, but I d probably do MOST of it again. Task 5 Grammar For meaning, highlight the use of the present perfect to talk about completed experiences at unspecified times in the past, using the diagram and the concept questions. Optionally illustrate briefly how specifying the time/place forces us to use the past simple, e.g. 2008 www.teachitworld.com 9265 Page 4 of 5
I ve been to China. (present perfect) I ve been to China in 2004. I went to China in 2004. (past simple) INFINITIVE PAST PAST PARTICIPLE have had had do did done travel travelled travelled go went been (or) gone fly flew flown ride rode ridden drink drank drunk meet met met write wrote written see saw seen be was/were been Question practice with Have you ever? Students could prepare the questions with one partner, then change partners and ask their new partner the prepared questions. They should think of unusual, but possible, and sufficiently general experiences, e.g. probably not Have you ever met David Beckham? which is too specific, but Have you ever met a famous person?. Again, probably not Have you ever been to the cinema? (too common and mundane) but Have you ever been to a nightclub? (quite common but quite interesting too) Here are some ideas if students need help: been to (name of country) met (a famous person) drunk (an unusual drink) eaten (an unusual food) smoked (cigarettes, a cigar, a pipe) ridden (a camel, a horse, a donkey, a motorbike, etc) driven (an expensive luxury or racing car) played (a less usual sport or game) read (a famous book) seen (a popular film) written (for a newspaper or magazine, a poem, a short story, a letter in English) listened to (a popular pop group, album or song) used (a common tool, a video phone) 2008 www.teachitworld.com 9265 Page 5 of 5