Tasks: to describe the ways of honouring famous people in Poland and compare them with the American ones
to improve a text about two holidays by adding articles
to complete a story about Washington’s childhood
Preparation: make copies of the worksheet (1 copy per student)
bring some maps of the US (alternatively you can use the Longman Calendar)
bring photos of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Washington Memorial and Lincoln Memorial
Skills: speaking, reading
Language: vocabulary necessary to describe the ways of honouring famous people
definite articles
subject/object pronouns
possessive determiners
Sources: Ethel and Martin Tiersky, The U.S.A. Customs and Institutions, Longman. [Task ]
■ Divide your groups into pairs. Give them 4-5 minutes to write down as many ways of honouring famous figures as they can. After that collect their ideas, helping with any linguistic problem they may have.
Key
[suggested answers:]
· we name streets/squares, schools/universities after them;
· we have the head of our kings on the banknotes;
· there are monuments and statues in many cities;
· there are festivals and competitions named after them (especially artists).
■ Explain that people in Great Britain and America honour the leaders in a very special way. Ss will learn some basic facts about them, when they read this task.
■ Ask your Ss to read the text and add the missing articles in the right places. After a few minutes, check the answers and explain why articles are needed in those places.
Presidents’ Day – a national holiday in THE US. Americans celebrate it on THE third Monday of February. In elementary schools, children often learn about the Presidents of the United States.
Queen’s Birthday is a public holiday in THE United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. THE English Queen celebrates her birthday twice a year. First, on April 21st – the exact date of Elizabeth II’s birthday. Then, in June, when THE weather is nicer.
■ First, give your Ss some time to read the information in this task. Then, ask them some questions (as suggested below) which should improve their understanding of the text, as well as provide them with some extra facts.
■ Then, ask them to think about Poland and decide whether Poles honour their leaders’ in the same ways. At this point, you can refer back to Task , as Ss have already collected some ways of honouring leaders.
QUESTION MARKS [suggested questions and answers]:
· Can you find two Washingtons on the map? à the capital of the US (east coast) and the state in the north-west.
· What’s a quarter-dollar coin? How much is it worth? à 25 cents, i.e. $0,25.
· What does Washington Monument look like? à It is a large while marble obelisk. It was built in the 1880s and at the time it was the world’s tallest building.
· Can you find Nebraska on the map? à It’s a Midwestern state.
· What’s a submarine? What can it do? Do you know a famous song about submarines? à It can stay under the water. “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles.
· Do you know a British equivalent of the word bill? à It’s a (bank)note.
· What does Lincoln Memorial look like? à It takes the shape of a Greek Doric temple. There is also a sculpture of the President. The memorial was completed in the early 20th century.
· Can you find Illinois on the map? à It’s next to Lake Michigan.
· Can you find South Dakota on the map? Do you know anything about Mount Rushmore? à It’s a state in the northern part of the Middle West. Mount Rushmore is a national monument, which presents huge (18 metres) faces of 4 American presidents, carved in the granite mountain.
Similarities between America and Poland [suggested answers]:
· We name schools and universities after famous people.
· Their heads appear on banknotes.
· There are statues and memorials in most towns and cities.
■ The text in this task is a story about Washington’s childhood. Ss have to complete this short text either with subject/object pronouns or with possessive determiners. They have to either replace the word in bold or choose a word on their own.
■ Before you ask your Ss to complete the task, explain that (a) the story isn’t true, but (b) it is symbolic and (c) very important for Americans.
When George Washington was about 6 years old, HIS father gave HIM a hatchet. The boy loved to play with IT. One day, HE hit the edge of the hatchet against HIS father’s favourite young cherry tree. HE did enough damage to kill the tree. The next morning, HIS father noticed the damage and ran into the house shouting: “George, do YOU know who killed that beautiful little cherry tree… in the garden?” George replied, “I can’t tell a lie. I cut IT with MY hatchet.” HIS father was pleased with HIS son’s courage and honesty and quickly forgave HIM.
Designed by Bartosz Michałowski for Pearson Longman
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