Student's Book 4: A and B

Units 1 - 3 | Units 4 - 6 | Units 7 - 9 | Units 10 - 12

Unit 1 – Relationships & Communication
http://myria.com/relationships/parenting/teens/teenconnect.htm
A brief article concerning parents building good relationships with their teenage children. The article contains 7 steps. You could start by asking your students to predict what the 7 points might be, elicit their ideas and put them on the board. Then, put up the actual points from the article. Next, give them the 7 pieces of advice and get them to match each one to the correct heading. Check by getting them to read through the article (at this stage you might want some comprehension, or true/false, questions). Finally, have a discussion about the advice given.

http://www.cyberteens.com/ne/ad/
As most people know, the "teenage years" are supposed to be a "problem" time, particularly with regard to the relationship between parents and their teenage kids. This site might be very interesting but will depend on the age of your students. If they are teenagers then talk about "problems" with parents, if they are parents with teenagers then discuss "problems" with teenagers, otherwise ask them to try and remember when they were teenagers – what "problems" occurred? Click on this site and ask your students to read some of the letters. Discuss the problems and try and think of suitable solutions. You could turn this into a writing activity getting your students to write letters of advice.

http://www.friendship.com.au/index.html#index
Lesson 3 asks the question: "What is the most important quality in a friend?" and gives a selection of "qualities" to choose from. Once the students have answered this question you might want them to check out this site and the results of the "friendship survey." There are also some interesting writing activities and information on International Friendship Day – August 1. Alternatively you could take some of the quotes from this site and find out which ones your students agree with.

Unit 2 – Work & Money
http://stats.bls.gov/k12/html/edu_over.htm
Extend the topic introduced in Lesson 1 by taking a look at what people do in certain jobs and what characteristics people probably have if they like the job. Although the site is aimed at schoolchildren in the U.S.A., and the language level may not be too challenging, this is a useful site to start with and develop a class discussion. If your students are still at school find out what subject they like and what jobs they want, then check out the relevant pages to see if they would be suited to the job. If your students are already working, discuss what qualities they need for the job and again use the site to see if their ideas match.

http://www.businesscommunications.fr/autre%20jeux.htm
A simple matching activity that looks at eight ‘money idioms’.

http://www.clta.on.ca/EAOnline/CrazyEnglish/idiom-money.html
A few more interesting idioms connected to money. See if your students can use these during a speaking activity.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6720/Money.html
If your students are really interested in the subject then try out this comprehensive site. Start off with a similar activity to the one suggested above – try to limit the selection of idioms to around 6 (you could put your students into small groups and give each group 3 or 4 different idioms and then jigsaw the groups so they could explain their idioms to each other). Finally, pair up your students and get them to try out the online idiom quiz.

Unit 3 – Technological Advancements
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
Unit 3 talks about "Keeping up with technology." Most of us have lots of modern gadgets and inventions in our homes and we know how to switch them on, etc. but do we know how they actually work? Choose some of the appliances mentioned in the first 3 lessons of this unit and ask your students to find out how they actually work. Divide your class into groups of 3 or 4 and give each group a different object. Ask them to check out this site and then put one member from each group in a new group and ask them to explain to each other how the gadget they researched operates.

Extend the theme from Lesson 1 by looking at the consequences of car pollution. Here are two sites that might be of interest.

news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/sci_tech/2000/climate_change/greenhouse/default.stm
A clear, easy-to-use site which will give you all you need to know about the greenhouse effect. Includes a quiz as well as links to up-to-date news on the current situation.

http://www.science-active.co.uk/
An interesting site brought to us by learn.co.uk and The Guardian. It contains suggested online lessons focusing on the topic of "global warming." Select a suitable lesson for your students and use the materials provided through this site. It also contains some useful weblinks as well as news and quizzes connected to the topic.

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Unit 4 – House & Home
http://www.fengshuisociety.org.uk/
At the end of Lesson 1 there is a task focusing on ‘interiors’ and what belongs in the setting. Unit 2 then continues the theme of ‘interiors’ by focusing on decorations. The latest fad in Britain, featured in books, TV programmes and even adverts, is Feng Shui. Start off by asking your students what they know about Feng Shui and then use the site to answer questions such as: Is it only about how you decorate your home? Where does it come from?

http://www.ustoa.com/personalityquiz.cfm
Lesson 4 looks at Vacation choices, but how do you know what’s right for you? Why not take this online quiz to see what kind of vacation would best suit you. Afterwards, why not take a look at the type of options that most travel companies cater for by looking at: http://www.ustoa.com/choosethetour.cfm

Unit 5 – Crime & Law
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/australasia/australia/history.htm
http://www.tourism.nsw.gov.au/media/fact015.html
Lesson two takes a look at Crime & Punishment and begins with a look back at ‘The beginnings of modern Australia’. To find out more, use one of the two sites above. If you have time before class, write up 10 comprehension questions and then conduct a reading race. Alternatively, ask your students to write five comprehension questions that they can give to another group.

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002921/page12.html
An interesting site with crime words and definitions. Write up the words and definitions and ask your students to try to match them. The site also contains the quiz "Do you have what it takes to be a policeman?" click on http://library.thinkquest.org/J002921/page21.html to try out the quiz.

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/crime/0,2759,339240,00.html
Try this site in order to find out the latest about crime in the U.K. (or other newspaper sites by typing the name of the newspaper, e.g. New York Times for the U.S., in the Search box). Brainstorm what types of crime you think are most common in the U.K. then use the information on these sites to check the predictions. Another activity is to look at the way in which a crime is reported and then ask the students to write their own newspaper report using a recent crime that they know about.

For more crime sites try:
http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Crime/News_and_Media/

Unit 6 – Mass Media
http://www.cnn.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
The topic of Unit 6 is mass media and the news. It’s nice to keep this fresh and up-to-date, something that can now be done with the Internet. There are a number of different activities that you can do using these, or other related, sites. Firstly, ask your students what’s in the news now, brainstorm both the headlines and some details, then check out these sites to see what’s said. Alternatively, pick a story and see how the two broadcasters, one American and one British, deal with the same piece of news (you have the added bonus that both links also have sound).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.express.co.uk/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/
Unit 6 also takes a look at the world of the tabloid press. Do your students really understand the differences between the so-called "quality" press and the tabloids? Why not use the sites above to compare both the content and the style of reporting. Give the students a selection of "real" headlines from the day’s papers and get them to predict the story and then check their predictions.

http://www.usatoday.com/
http://www.nypost.com/
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/
Alternatively, use the 3 sites above to do similar activities with the focus on the U.S. and American English.

Unit 7 – Trends
http://www.time.com/time/europe/generatione/
Lesson 1 is called "My generation." Here is a site that is devoted to finding out what today’s generation really think. Take the online questionnaire and review the results as you go along. If your students are not European some questions may not be relevant – just ask them to change the question to suit them (e.g. Do you think of yourself as South American or National?) you may even want to get them to predict the results as they go along. Maybe they could design their own questionnaire based on the one they find here.

http://www.fashionclub.com/
An e-zine designed for teenagers. Ask your students what is/was fashionable for teenagers and then compare their answers with the features here. The e-zine provides news about trends, styles, music releases, hot stars and movie reviews, as well as giving opportunities to share original stories with other teen members through e-mail and live chat. Carry out a survey to compare the information on this site with what your students think.

http://www.azlyrics.com/
Lesson 4 takes a look at music trends and taste in music. It concludes with a look at two sets of lyrics. Why not use lyrics from songs that your students like or have heard? This site has thousands of song lyrics listed by artist; see what you can find here.

Unit 8 – Big Moments
http://www.bluemountain.com/
Lesson 3 features cards and invitations for different occasions. Why not get your students to create their own online cards? Either devise a situation for them to write invitations and cards for (e.g. 21^st birthday, wedding, etc.) or find out if they have a "real life" occasion of their own that they would like to make a card for.

http://www.alec.co.uk
http://www.haybrook.co.uk/content_static/home.asp
Lesson 4 takes a look at job hunting. Here are two sites containing lots of useful and interesting tips and information for job applications and interviews (on the second site click on the ‘Job Hunting Tips’ icon at the top of the page). Start off by brainstorming what people need to do if they are applying for a job, ask your students what type of job they might want and then take a look at the tips. Once you have this information you could set up a role play with some students being employers and others looking for a job. The job hunters write up their CVs and think about the interview while the employers put together an advert and interview questions. Use either site to help both ‘roles’ before trying out the activity.

http://www.careersoft.co.uk
Another site you could try with a wider range of resources connected to jobs is "Careersoft." The main feature is a virtual careers fair, where you can visit the stands of different employers and find out about a range of different jobs. There are also online career libraries and advice services, and an online questionnaire designed to help young people find out what sort of job they are best suited to.

Get your students to fill out the questionnaires as well as write applications for jobs they find online.

Unit 9 – Men & Women
http://www.weddingtips.com/annv.html
The unit takes a look at various aspects of gender with Lesson 3 focusing on "gifts of love." In Lesson 3 there is a poem connected to Christmas. Why not take a look at the other traditional time for gifts of love – wedding anniversaries. In English-speaking countries each anniversary has a particular type of gift associated with it. Ask your students what kinds of gifts they would give on a 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 10^th and 50^th wedding anniversary and then check out their answers on this site. Are there any differences? What gift would they give?

http://www.tymson.com.au/
Lesson 1 looks at gender-related traditions while Lesson 4 focuses on business and social customs from different cultures. Why not combine the two topics and look at issues related to doing business with the opposite sex? Try out the online survey that contains similar questions to those on page 85 but with a bias toward gender issues. It also contains an interesting feature in "She say, He say" with "typical" conversations on the same topic – your students could act these ones out or write their own after reading some of the ones here.

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Unit 10 – Life’s a journey
http://www.claykeck.com/patty/main.htm
Unit 10 starts off with the Patricia Hearst story. Use this site to enable your students to find out more about what happened. To extend the activities in Lesson 1, split your class into 2 groups: journalists and Patricia. Ask both groups to read the information on the site before setting up a role-play with the journalists interviewing the students playing Patricia.

http://www.mounteverest.net/
http://www.adventure-video.com/everest//index.html
Lesson 2 looks at a "near tragedy" that took place on a climbing expedition. Ask your students if they have heard about Mallory (probably the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest)? When asked why he climbed mountains he said, "because they are there." Two sites about Everest that include memories and accounts of climbs as well as a look at the history of Everest expeditions. You might want to give your students some simple comprehension questions.

Unit 11 – Stages of life
http://home.online.no/~bjarte-a/7ages.html
According to Shakespeare there are seven "ages" of man. Ask your class to divide "life" into 7 different stages and define the characteristics, then check them out on this website. Do they agree? You could also ask your students to rewrite what Shakespeare wrote and use more contemporary language – maybe they could have a look at some examples at the following site:

http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/lakes/pupils/English/CE.html

http://www.arose4ever.com/roses/when_im_64.htm
Lesson 3 takes its name from the famous Beatles song "When I’m 64." Here are the words to the song as well as links to other versions.

If you want your students to listen to the song then try http://www.beatles.com/ or go to a server such a yahoo.com and type in "The Beatles" in the search box to find more than 200 links!

Unit 12 – The future
http://www.filmsite.org/twot.html
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/old_movies/space_odyssey.html
Here are two sites devoted to the Kubrick classic "2001 – A Space Odyssey." Read reviews and a plot synopsis, or see posters. Find out if your students have seen the movie and if they agree with the comments. If they haven’t seen the movie, would they watch it after they’ve looked at these sites?

http://www.time.com/time/reports/v21/home.html
The 21^st century, what will it bring? Ask your students to write down a prediction under 4 of the following headings: How we will live, Science, Technology, Health & the environment and America (you may wish to give them prompts by focusing on one or two interesting questions posted under each site). Pair the students up and get them to compare their predictions. Next, ask them to read the brief articles that relate to their predictions (you don’t need to click on the in-depth articles, especially since they may be a little too challenging) and finally lead a class discussion on whether they agree with what they have read.

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