Step One A2
Gina D. B. Clemen
Alien Alert in Seattle! Summary-based Activities by Kenneth Brodey
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
Alien Alert in Seattle! Chapters 1-2 1 A Scrambled word cloze
Read the summary of Chapters 1-2 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. The first one has been done as an example. like
was that in watching about near interested some another went
was Karen Nielsen (0)…..............…….. fifteen years old. One morning (1)…..............…….. August, she was (2)…..............…….. the news when the newsreader began talking (3)…..............…….. an Alien Alert. He said, ‘Two tourists saw a U.F.O. (4)…..............…….. the Cascade Mountains.’ In September she (5)…..............…….. back to school with her best friend, Barbara Reynolds. They liked their new science teacher, Mr Kent. Their new English teacher, Mr Wilkinson had green eyes and his voice sounded (6)…..............…….. a robot. (7)…..............…….. day at lunch Karen, Barbara and (8)…..............…….. friend named Walter Andrè watched Mr Wilkinson. They noticed that he had a glass of green juice and (9)…..............…….. black pills. Later Karen went to Walter’s house. He was very (10)…..............…….. in space travel and aliens. Karen told him that she thought Mr Wilkinson was an Alien. They decided to follow him.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
2
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 B Scrambled word cloze with distractors (i)
Read the summary of Chapters 1-2 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. There are five words you do not need to use. The first one has been done as an example. near close was looking in went like about returned some another watching interested as that those
was Karen Nielsen (0)…..............…….. fifteen years old. One morning (1)…..............…….. August, she was (2)…..............…….. the news when the newsreader began talking (3)…..............…….. an Alien Alert. He said, ‘Two tourists saw a U.F.O. (4)…..............…….. the Cascade Mountains.’ In September she (5)…..............…….. back to school with her best friend, Barbara Reynolds. They liked their new science teacher, Mr Kent. Their new English teacher, Mr Wilkinson had green eyes and his voice sounded (6)…..............…….. a robot. (7)…..............…….. day at lunch Karen, Barbara and (8)…..............…….. friend named Walter Andrè watched Mr Wilkinson. They noticed that he had a glass of green juice and (9)…..............…….. black pills. Later Karen went to Walter’s house. He was very (10)…..............…….. in space travel and aliens. Karen told him that she thought Mr Wilkinson was an Alien. They decided to follow him.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
3
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 B Scrambled word cloze with distractors (ii)
as some
was Karen Nielsen (0)…..............…….. fifteen years old. One morning (1)…..............…….. August, she was (2)…..............…….. the news when the newsreader began talking (3)…..............…….. an Alien Alert. He said, ‘Two tourists saw a U.F.O. (4)…..............…….. the Cascade Mountains.’ In September she (5)…..............…….. back to school with her best friend, Barbara Reynolds. They liked their new science teacher, Mr Kent. Their new English teacher, Mr Wilkinson had green eyes and his voice sounded (6)…..............…….. a robot. (7)…..............…….. day at lunch Karen, Barbara and (8)…..............…….. friend named Walter Andrè watched Mr Wilkinson. They noticed that he had a glass of green juice and (9)…..............…….. black pills. Later Karen went to Walter’s house. He was very (10)…..............…….. in space travel and aliens. Karen told him that she thought Mr Wilkinson was an Alien. They decided to follow him.
Read the summary of Chapters 1-2 below. Choose the best word (A, B or C) for each space. The first one has been done as an example.
B Karen Nielsen (0)…..............…….. fifteen years old. One morning (1)…..............…….. August, she was (2)…..............…….. the news when the newsreader began talking (3)…..............…….. an Alien Alert. He said, ‘Two tourists saw a U.F.O. (4)…..............…….. the Cascade Mountains.’ In September she (5)…..............…….. back to school with her best friend, Barbara Reynolds. They liked their new science teacher, Mr Kent. Their new English teacher, Mr Wilkinson had green eyes and his voice sounded (6)…..............…….. a robot. (7)…..............…….. day at lunch Karen, Barbara and (8)…..............…….. friend named Walter Andrè watched Mr Wilkinson. They noticed that he had a glass of green juice and (9)…..............…….. black pills. Later Karen went to Walter’s house. He was very (10)…..............…….. in space travel and aliens. Karen told him that she thought Mr Wilkinson was an Alien. They decided to follow him. 0 A got
B was
C had
1
B to
C in
2 A looking
B watching
C seeing
3 A about
B of
C on
4 A close
B next
C near
5 A returned
B went
C came
6 A as
B similar
C like
7 A That
B This
C Same
8 A other
B different
C another
9 A any
B some
C the
B liked
C fascinated
A at
10 A interested
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
4
A C T I V I T I E S
1 C Multiple choice cloze
Read the summary of Chapters 1-2 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. There are ten words you do not need to use. The first one has been done as an example. liked watching interested in at of like about looking near that close same went was returned those another other
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
5
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 D Open cloze
Complete the summary of Chapters 1-2 below. Write ONE word for each space. The first one has been done as an example.
was Karen Nielsen (0)…..............…….. fifteen years old. One morning (1)…..............…….. August, she was (2)…..............…….. the news when the newsreader began talking (3)…..............…….. an Alien Alert. He said, ‘Two tourists saw a U.F.O. (4)…..............…….. the Cascade Mountains.’ In September she (5)…..............…….. back to school with her best friend, Barbara Reynolds. They liked their new science teacher, Mr Kent. Their new English teacher, Mr Wilkinson had green eyes and his voice sounded (6)…..............…….. a robot. (7)…..............…….. day at lunch Karen, Barbara and (8)…..............…….. friend named Walter Andrè watched Mr Wilkinson. They noticed that he had a glass of green juice and (9)…..............…….. black pills. Later Karen went to Walter’s house. He was very (10)…..............…….. in space travel and aliens. Karen told him that she thought Mr Wilkinson was an Alien. They decided to follow him. 2 Put the sentences in order
The sentences A-J of the summary of Chapters 1-2 are in the wrong order. Put them in the right order and number them 1-10. A B C D E F
Karen told him that she thought Mr Wilkinson was an Alien. They noticed that he had a glass of green juice and some black pills. Their new English teacher, Mr Wilkinson had green eyes and his voice sounded like a robot. He said, ‘Two tourists saw a U.F.O. near the Cascade Mountains.’ Later Karen went to Walter’s house. He was very interested in space travel and aliens. Karen Nielsen was fifteen years old. One morning in August she was watching the news when the newsreader began talking about an Alien Alert.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
6
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
G H I J
A C T I V I T I E S
That day at lunch Karen, Barbara and another friend named Walter Andrè watched Mr Wilkinson. In September she went back to school with her best friend, Barbara Reynolds. They decided to follow him. They liked their new science teacher, Mr Kent.
3 Correct the mistakes!
This is an oral activity, so do not give the students any photocopies. Tell them you are going to read a summary, but with some mistakes. When they hear a mistake they should correct it. In the summary below there are 10 mistakes to read out, all written in italics. As a quick reminder to you, the correct version is given in brackets. Karen Nielsen was nineteen (fifteen) years old. One morning in December (August) she was watching the news when the newsreader began talking about an Dog (Alien) Alert. He said, ‘Two doctors (tourists) saw a U.F.O. near the Cascade Mountains.’ In September she went back to school with her best friend, Barbara Reynolds. They liked their new music (science) teacher, Mr Kent. Their new English teacher, Mr Wilkinson had green eyes and his voice sounded like a cat (robot). That day at breakfast (lunch) Karen, Barbara and another friend named Walter Andrè watched Mr. Wilkinson. They noticed that he had a bottle (glass) of green juice and some black pills. Later Karen went to Walter’s house. He was very interested in space travel and horses (aliens). Karen told him that she thought Mr. Wilkinson was an Alien. They decided to write to (follow) him. 4 Rub out
On the board / the interactive whiteboard, copy a short paragraph from the summary. Gradually, rub out individual words and even twoand three-word phrases. Begin by rubbing out some of the important content words. After each time you rub out some words get the whole class to read out the text, supplying the missing words from their memory. Eventually, when all the words on the board have been rubbed out, the class will – amazingly! – remember all the text. © 2009 Black Cat Publishing
7
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
5 Dictogloss
Sit the students in groups of two to five. Tell them that you are going to read out a summary of Chapters 1-2 of Alien Alert in Seattle! twice, and that they may note down key words or short phrases. Read the text once at normal speed, pause for a minute, then read it again. Tell the students to work together in their groups and use their notes to write a text which is grammatically and lexically correct but which doesn’t have to be the same as the original: the aim of their writing is to produce a correct text, not to show they have perfect memories! Then students compare their written texts. Groups should try to point out any errors in the texts of other groups.
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
be words, phrases or even sentences. Tell them they shouldn’t write fewer than five words, and that there is no upper limit, but they probably won’t need more than about 25 words. When they have finished, they should compare their versions. They should decide which are the most interesting added details, and why.
8 Rewrite it
Tell the students to rewrite the summary changing some of the information. They should use their imagination to add details – which can be words, phrases or sentences – and change some of the words and phrases that are already there.
Finally, show or give the students the original text; ask them to identify any differences with their own texts, and ask them if they think the differences are important. SUMMARY 6 Cut it down
Put the students in groups of two to five. Make sure that each group has a copy of the summary and a red pen/highlighter or access to computer. Tell them that they must cut 15 words from the summary: their shortened version must still be grammatically correct. They can change punctuation, but they mustn’t add any words. When they have finished, they should compare their shortened versions. It is better if the texts are stuck on a wall or passed around (or compared in electronic form). They should decide which are the best cuts, and why. Next, ask students to cut another 15 words of the summary, and proceed as above.
7 Build it up
Put the students in groups of two to five. Make sure that each group has a copy of the summary and a red pen or access to computer. Tell them that they must add two details, which they must choose themselves, to the summary. Tell them that the details they add can
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
8
Karen Nielsen was fifteen years old. One morning in August, she was watching the news when the newsreader began talking about an Alien Alert. He said, ‘Two tourists saw a U.F.O. near the Cascade Mountains.’ In September she went back to school with her best friend, Barbara Reynolds. They liked their new science teacher, Mr Kent. Their new English teacher, Mr Wilkinson had green eyes and his voice sounded like a robot. That day at lunch Karen, Barbara and another friend named Walter Andrè watched Mr Wilkinson. They noticed that he had a glass of green juice and some black pills. Later Karen went to Walter’s house. He was very interested in space travel and aliens. Karen told him that she thought Mr Wilkinson was an Alien. They decided to follow him. KEY 1A, 1B (i & ii), 1D: 1 in; 2 watching; 3 about; 4 near; 5 went; 6 like; 7 that; 8 another; 9 some; 10 interested 1C: 1 C; 2 B; 3 A; 4 C; 5 B; 6 C; 7 A; 8 C; 9 B; 10 A 2: 1 F; 2 D; 3 H; 4 J; 5 C; 6 G; 7 B; 8 E; 9 A; 10 I
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
9
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
Alien Alert in Seattle! Chapters 3-4 Read the summary of Chapters 3-4 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. The first one, has been done as an example. artificial saw left everything could
really one was on
off
The next science class, when Mr Kent touched Karen, she got (0)…..............…….. a shock. “I got an (1)…..............…….. arm after a car accident,” he said. After school, Walter and Karen followed Mr. Wilkinson to his house. Karen watched him. He took (2)…..............…….. his hair. But he (3)…..............…….. her. She went to talk to him. “I have cancer,” he told them. This explained (4)…..............…….. Later Karen (5)…..............…….. not find her watch. “I (6)…..............…….. it at school,’ she said. She went up to the computer room first. She saw Mr. Kent there. His face was (7)…..............…….. a mask. He was an Alien. He (8)…..............…….. talking to his leader. “After the next parentteachers’ meeting (9)…..............…….. Friday evening,” he said, “I will take (10)…..............…….. of the students to the old airfield and take him to Mitrax, out planet. I will use my X-5 spray on the student.”
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
10
A C T I V I T I E S
1 B Scrambled word cloze with distractors (i)
1 A Scrambled word cloze
got
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
Read the summary of Chapters 3-4 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. There are five words you do not need to use. The first one, has been done as an example. one did single off looked very was artificial everything got could on wrong saw really left The next science class, when Mr Kent touched Karen, she got (0)…..............…….. a shock. “I got an (1)…..............…….. arm after a car accident,” he said. After school, Walter and Karen followed Mr. Wilkinson to his house. Karen watched him. He took (2)…..............…….. his hair. But he (3)…..............…….. her. She went to talk to him. “I have cancer,” he told them. This explained (4)…..............…….. Later Karen (5)…..............…….. not find her watch. “I (6)…..............…….. it at school,’ she said. She went up to the computer room first. She saw Mr. Kent there. His face was (7)…..............…….. a mask. He was an Alien. He (8)…..............…….. talking to his leader. “After the next parentteachers’ meeting (9)…..............…….. Friday evening,” he said, “I will take (10)…..............…….. of the students to the old airfield and take him to Mitrax, out planet. I will use my X-5 spray on the student.”
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
11
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 B Scrambled word cloze with distractors (ii)
Read the summary of Chapters 3-4 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. There are ten words you do not need to use. The first one, 0, has been done as an example. got off everything out all wrong have false was saw really could did on at very one single looked left forgot The next science class, when Mr Kent touched Karen, she got (0)…..............…….. a shock. “I got an (1)…..............…….. arm after a car accident,” he said. After school, Walter and Karen followed Mr. Wilkinson to his house. Karen watched him. He took (2)…..............…….. his hair. But he (3)…..............…….. her. She went to talk to him. “I have cancer,” he told them. This explained (4)…..............…….. Later Karen (5)…..............…….. not find her watch. “I (6)…..............…….. it at school,’ she said. She went up to the computer room first. She saw Mr. Kent there. His face was (7)…..............…….. a mask. He was an Alien. He (8)…..............…….. talking to his leader. “After the next parentteachers’ meeting (9)…..............…….. Friday evening,” he said, “I will take (10)…..............…….. of the students to the old airfield and take him to Mitrax, out planet. I will use my X-5 spray on the student.”
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
12
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 C Multiple choice cloze
Read the summary of Chapters 3-4 below. Choose the best word (A, B or C) for each space. The first one, has been done as an example. The next science class, when Mr Kent touched Karen, she A (0)…..............…….. a shock. “I got an (1)…..............…….. arm after a car accident,” he said. After school, Walter and Karen followed Mr. Wilkinson to his house. Karen watched him. He took (2)…..............…….. his hair. But he (3)…..............…….. her. She went to talk to him. “I have cancer,” he told them. This explained (4)…..............…….. Later Karen (5)…..............…….. not find her watch. “I (6)…..............…….. it at school,’ she said. She went up to the computer room first. She saw Mr. Kent there. His face was (7)…..............…….. a mask. He was an Alien. He (8)…..............…….. talking to his leader. “After the next parentteachers’ meeting (9)…..............…….. Friday evening,” he said, “I will take (10)…..............…….. of the students to the old airfield and take him to Mitrax, out planet. I will use my X-5 spray on the student.” 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A got A artificial A out A looked A all A could A left A very A was A at A one
B took B incorrect B down B watched B everything B did B forgot B much B did B on B single
C brought C wrong C off C saw C anything C was C put C really C could C in C particular
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
13
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 D Open cloze
Complete the summary of Chapters 3-4 below. Write ONE word for each space. The first one has been done as an example. The next science class, when Mr Kent touched Karen, she (0)…..............…….. a shock. “I got an (1)…..............…….. arm after a car accident,” he said. After school, Walter and Karen followed Mr. Wilkinson to his house. Karen watched him. He took (2)…..............…….. his hair. But he (3)…..............…….. her. She went to talk to him. “I have cancer,” he told them. This explained (4)…..............…….. Later Karen (5)…..............…….. not find her watch. “I (6)…..............…….. it at school,’ she said. She went up to the computer room first. She saw Mr. Kent there. His face was (7)…..............…….. a mask. He was an Alien. He (8)…..............…….. talking to his leader. “After the next parentteachers’ meeting (9)…..............…….. Friday evening,” he said, “I will take (10)…..............…….. of the students to the old airfield and take him to Mitrax, out planet. I will use my X-5 spray on the student.” 2 Put the sentences in order
The sentences A-J of the summary of Chapters 3-4 are in the wrong order. Put them in the right order and number them 1-10. A B C D E F
G
She went up to the computer room first. The next science class, when Mr Kent touched Karen she got a shock. Karen watched him. He took off his hair. But he saw her. She went to talk to him. After school, Walter and Karen followed Mr. Wilkinson to his house. She saw Mr. Kent there. He was talking to his leader. “After the next parent-teachers’ meeting on Friday evening,” he said. “I will take one of the students to the old airfield and take him to Mitrax, out planet. I will use my X-5 spray on the student.” “I have cancer,” he told them. This explained everything.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
14
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
H I J
A C T I V I T I E S
Later Karen could not find her watch. “I left it at school,’ she said. He took off a mask. He really was an Alien. “I got an artificial arm after a car accident,” he said.
3 Correct the mistakes!
This is an oral activity, so do not give the students any photocopies. Tell them you are going to read a summary, but with some mistakes. When they hear a mistake they should correct it. In the summary below there are 10 mistakes to read out, all written in italics. As a quick reminder to you, the correct version is given in brackets. The next science class, when Mr Kent touched Karen she got a shock. “I got an artificial leg (arm) after a car accident,” he said. After school, Walter and Karen followed Mr. Wilkinson to his car (house). Karen watched him. He took off his hat (hair). But he saw her. She went to talk to him. “I have cancer,” he told them. This explained everything. Later Karen could not find her bicycle (watch). “I left it at school,’ she said. She went up to the lunch (computer) room first. She saw Mr. Kent there. He took off a shoe (mask). He really was an Astronaut (Alien). He was talking to his wife (leader). “After the next parentteachers’ meeting on Friday evening,” he said, “I will take one of the students to the old pool (airfield) and take him to Mitrax, out planet. I will use my hair (X-5) spray on the student.”
4 Rub out
On the board / the interactive whiteboard, copy a short paragraph from the summary. Gradually, rub out individual words and even two- and three-word phrases. Begin by rubbing out some of the important content words. After each time you rub out some words get the whole class to read out the text, supplying the missing words from their memory. Eventually, when all the words on the board have been rubbed out, the class will – amazingly! – remember all the text. © 2009 Black Cat Publishing
15
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
5 Dictogloss
Sit the students in groups of two to five. Tell them that you are going to read out a summary of Chapters 3-4 of Alien Alert in Seattle! twice, and that they may note down key words or short phrases. Read the text once at normal speed, pause for a minute, then read it again. Tell the students to work together in their groups and use their notes to write a text which is grammatically and lexically correct but which doesn’t have to be the same as the original: the aim of their writing is to produce a correct text, not to show they have perfect memories!
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
fewer than five words, and that there is no upper limit, but they probably won’t need more than about 25 words. When they have finished, they should compare their versions. They should decide which are the most interesting added details, and why. 8 Rewrite it
Tell the students to rewrite the summary changing some of the information. They should use their imagination to add details – which can be words, phrases or sentences – and change some of the words and phrases that are already there.
Then students compare their written texts. Groups should try to point out any errors in the texts of other groups. Finally, show or give the students the original text; ask them to identify any differences with their own texts, and ask them if they think the differences are important.
6 Cut it down
Put the students in groups of two to five. Make sure that each group has a copy of the summary and a red pen/highlighter or access to computer. Tell them that they must cut 15 words from the summary: their shortened version must still be grammatically correct. They can change punctuation, but they mustn’t add any words. When they have finished, they should compare their shortened versions. It is better if the texts are stuck on a wall or passed around (or compared in electronic form). They should decide which are the best cuts, and why. Next, ask students to cut another 15 words of the summary, and proceed as above.
7 Build it up
Put the students in groups of two to five. Make sure that each group has a copy of the summary and a red pen or access to computer. Tell them that they must add two details, which they must choose themselves, to the summary. Tell them that the details they add can be words, phrases or even sentences. Tell them they shouldn’t write © 2009 Black Cat Publishing
16
SUMMARY
The next science class, when Mr Kent touched Karen, she got a shock. “I got an artificial arm after a car accident,” he said. After school, Walter and Karen followed Mr. Wilkinson to his house. Karen watched him. He took off his hair. But he saw her. She went to talk to him. “I have cancer,” he told them. This explained everything. Later Karen could not find her watch. “I left it at school,’ she said. She went up to the computer room first. She saw Mr. Kent there. His face was really a mask. He was an Alien. He was talking to his leader. “After the next parent-teachers’ meeting on Friday evening,” he said, “I will take one of the students to the old airfield and take him to Mitrax, out planet. I will use my X-5 spray on the student.” KEY 1A, 1B (i & ii), 1D: 1 artificial; 2 off; 3 saw; 4 everything; 5 could; 6 left; 7 really; 8 was; 9 on; 10 one 1C: 1 A; 2 C; 3 C; 4 B; 5 A; 6 A; 7 C; 8 A; 9 B; 10 A 2: 1 B; 2 J; 3 D; 4 C; 5 G; 6 H; 7 A; 8 E; 9 I; 10 F
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
17
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
Alien Alert in Seattle! Chapters 5-7 Read the summary of Chapters 5-7 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. The first one, has been done as an example. then the
told Karen (0)…..............…….. her two friends about Mr Kent. They (1)…..............…….. to take Mr Kent’s X-5 spray. They went into the school (2)…..............…….. found it. Walter took it with him. Later that evening Walter called Karen. He said, “You must come to my house.” (3)…..............…….. Karen arrived, Walter said, “I want to go to Mitrax.” On Friday evening (4)…..............…….. the parent-teacher meeting, Mr Kent went and talked to Barbara. They went to the lab, (5)…..............…….. he could not find the spray. Walter and Karen were there too. “We (6)…..............…….. everything,” they said. (7)…..............…….. Walter said, “I want to come with you to Mitrax.” They (8)…..............…….. went quickly to the old airfield. Walter and Mr Kent went inside the spaceship, and then it went up into (9)…..............…….. sky. Karen’s life got back to normal, but sometimes she thought of her friend (10)…..............…….. another planet.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
18
A C T I V I T I E S
1 B Scrambled word cloze with distractors (i)
1 A Scrambled word cloze
when told but all on know at decided and
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
Read the summary of Chapters 5-7 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. There are five words you do not need to use. The first one, has been done as an example. and so when at but all on everyone then the decided understand thought told know after
told Karen (0)…..............…….. her two friends about Mr Kent. They (1)…..............…….. to take Mr Kent’s X-5 spray. They went into the school (2)…..............…….. found it. Walter took it with him. Later that evening Walter called Karen. He said, “You must come to my house.” (3)…..............…….. Karen arrived, Walter said, “I want to go to Mitrax.” On Friday evening (4)…..............…….. the parent-teacher meeting, Mr Kent went and talked to Barbara. They went to the lab, (5)…..............…….. he could not find the spray. Walter and Karen were there too. “We (6)…..............…….. everything,” they said. (7)…..............…….. Walter said, “I want to come with you to Mitrax.” They (8)…..............…….. went quickly to the old airfield. Walter and Mr Kent went inside the spaceship, and then it went up into (9)…..............…….. sky. Karen’s life got back to normal, but sometimes she thought of her friend (10)…..............…….. another planet.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
19
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 B Scrambled word cloze with distractors (ii)
Read the summary of Chapters 5-7 below. Choose one of the words from the box to write in each space. There are ten words you do not need to use. The first one, 0, has been done as an example. all understand so at to on at know but when then after and told decided everyone as when thought the in
told Karen (0)…..............…….. her two friends about Mr Kent. They (1)…..............…….. to take Mr Kent’s X-5 spray. They went into the school (2)…..............…….. found it. Walter took it with him. Later that evening Walter called Karen. He said, “You must come to my house.” (3)…..............…….. Karen arrived, Walter said, “I want to go to Mitrax.” On Friday evening (4)…..............…….. the parent-teacher meeting, Mr Kent went and talked to Barbara. They went to the lab, (5)…..............…….. he could not find the spray. Walter and Karen were there too. “We (6)…..............…….. everything,” they said. (7)…..............…….. Walter said, “I want to come with you to Mitrax.” They (8)…..............…….. went quickly to the old airfield. Walter and Mr Kent went inside the spaceship, and then it went up into (9)…..............…….. sky. Karen’s life got back to normal, but sometimes she thought of her friend (10)…..............…….. another planet.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
20
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 C Multiple choice cloze
Read the summary of Chapters 5-7 below. Choose the best word (A, B or C) for each space. The first one, has been done as an example. Karen (0)…..............…….. her two friends about Mr Kent. They (1)…..............…….. to take Mr Kent’s X-5 spray. They went into the school (2)…..............…….. found it. Walter took it with him. Later that evening Walter called Karen. He said, “You must come to my house.” (3)…..............…….. Karen arrived, Walter said, “I want to go to Mitrax.” On Friday evening (4)…..............…….. the parent-teacher meeting, Mr Kent went and talked to Barbara. They went to the lab, (5)…..............…….. he could not find the spray. Walter and Karen were there too. “We (6)…..............…….. everything,” they said. (7)…..............…….. Walter said, “I want to come with you to Mitrax.” They (8)…..............…….. went quickly to the old airfield. Walter and Mr Kent went inside the spaceship, and then it went up into (9)…..............…….. sky. Karen’s life got back to normal, but sometimes she thought of her friend (10)…..............…….. another planet. 0 A said
B told
C talked
1
B thought
C chose
2 A so
B but
C and
3 A Then
B Because
C When
4 A at
B in
C with
5 A so
B but
C when
6 A know
B understand
C see
7 A After
B Next
C Then
8 A all
B everyone
C every
9 A that
B this
C the
10 A at
B on
C by
A decided
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
21
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
1 D Open cloze
Complete the summary of Chapters 5-7 below. Write ONE word for each space. The first one has been done as an example.
told Karen (0)…..............…….. her two friends about Mr Kent. They (1)…..............…….. to take Mr Kent’s X-5 spray. They went into the school (2)…..............…….. found it. Walter took it with him. Later that evening Walter called Karen. He said, “You must come to my house.” (3)…..............…….. Karen arrived, Walter said, “I want to go to Mitrax.” On Friday evening (4)…..............…….. the parent-teacher meeting, Mr Kent went and talked to Barbara. They went to the lab, (5)…..............…….. he could not find the spray. Walter and Karen were there too. “We (6)…..............…….. everything,” they said. (7)…..............…….. Walter said, “I want to come with you to Mitrax.” They (8)…..............…….. went quickly to the old airfield. Walter and Mr Kent went inside the spaceship, and then it went up into (9)…..............…….. sky. Karen’s life got back to normal, but sometimes she thought of her friend (10)…..............…….. another planet. 2 Put the sentences in order
The sentences A-J of the summary of Chapters 5-7 are in the wrong order. Put them in the right order and number them 1-10. A
Friday evening at the parent-teacher meeting, Mr Kent went and talked to Barbara.
B
They all went quickly to the old airfield. Walter and Mr Kent went inside the spaceship, and then it went up into the sky.
C
They went into the school and found it. Walter took it with him.
D
Karen’s life got back to normal, but sometimes she thought of her friend on another planet.
E
Walter and Karen were there too. “We know everything,” they said to him.
F
Then Walter said, “I want to come with you to Mitrax.”
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
22
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
G H I J
A C T I V I T I E S
Later that evening Walter called Karen. He said, “You must come to my house.” They went to the lab, but he could not find the spray. Karen told her two friends about Mr Kent. They decided to take Mr Kent’s X-5 spray. When Karen arrived, Walter said, “I want to go to Mitrax.”
3 Correct the mistakes!
This is an oral activity, so do not give the students any photocopies. Tell them you are going to read a summary, but with some mistakes. When they hear a mistake they should correct it. In the summary below there are 10 mistakes to read out, all written in italics. As a quick reminder to you, the correct version is given in brackets. Karen told her two teachers (friends) about Mr. Kent. They decided to take Mr. Kent’s X-5 spray. They went into the train (school) and found it. Walter took it with him. Later that evening Mr Kent (Walter) called Karen. He said, “You must come to my spaceship (house).” When Karen arrived, Walter said, “I want to go to Spain (Mitrax).” On Friday evening at the parent-teacher game (meeting), Mr. Kent went and talked to Barbara. They went to the cafeteria (lab), but he could not find the spray. Walter and Karen were there too. “We know everything,” they said to him. Then Walter said, “I want to come with you to Mitrax.” They all went quickly to the old station (airfield). Walter and Mr. Kent went inside the box (spaceship), and then it went up into the sky. Karen’s life got back to normal, but sometimes she thought of her friend on another tree (planet). 4 Rub out
On the board / the interactive whiteboard, copy a short paragraph from the summary. Gradually, rub out individual words and even twoand three-word phrases. Begin by rubbing out some of the important content words. After each time you rub out some words get the whole class to read out the text, supplying the missing words from their memory. Eventually, when all the words on the board have been rubbed out, the class will – amazingly! – remember all the text. © 2009 Black Cat Publishing
23
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
5 Dictogloss
Sit the students in groups of two to five. Tell them that you are going to read out a summary of Chapters 5-7 of Alien Alert in Seattle! twice, and that they may note down key words or short phrases. Read the text once at normal speed, pause for a minute, then read it again. Tell the students to work together in their groups and use their notes to write a text which is grammatically and lexically correct but which doesn’t have to be the same as the original: the aim of their writing is to produce a correct text, not to show they have perfect memories! Then students compare their texts. Groups should try to point out any errors in the texts of other groups. Finally, show or give the students the original text; ask them to identify any differences with their own texts, and ask them if they think the differences are important.
6 Cut it down
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
7 Build it up
Put the students in groups of two to five. Make sure that each group has a copy of the summary and a red pen or access to computer. Tell them that they must add two details, which they must choose themselves, to the summary. Tell them that the details they add can be words, phrases or even sentences. Tell them they shouldn’t write fewer than five words, and that there is no upper limit, but they probably won’t need more than about 25 words. When they have finished, they should compare their versions. They should decide which are the most interesting added details, and why.
8 Rewrite it
Tell the students to rewrite the summary changing some of the information. They should use their imagination to add details – which can be words, phrases or sentences – and change some of the words and phrases that are already there.
Put the students in groups of two to five. Make sure that each group has a copy of the summary and a red pen/highlighter or access to computer. Tell them that they must cut 15 words from the summary: their shortened version must still be grammatically correct. They can change punctuation, but they mustn’t add any words. When they have finished, they should compare their shortened versions. It is better if the texts are stuck on a wall or passed around (or compared in electronic form). They should decide which are the best cuts, and why. Next, ask students to cut another 15 words of the summary, and proceed as above.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
24
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
25
S U M M A R Y- B A S E D
A C T I V I T I E S
SUMMARY
Karen told her two friends about Mr Kent. They decided to take Mr Kent’s X-5 spray. They went into the school and found it. Walter took it with him. Later that evening Walter called Karen. He said, “You must come to my house.” When Karen arrived, Walter said, “I want to go to Mitrax.” On Friday evening at the parent-teacher meeting, Mr Kent went and talked to Barbara. They went to the lab, but he could not find the spray. Walter and Karen were there too. “We know everything,” they said. Then Walter said, “I want to come with you to Mitrax.” They all went quickly to the old airfield. Walter and Mr Kent went inside the spaceship, and then it went up into the sky. Karen’s life got back to normal, but sometimes she thought of her friend on another planet. KEY 1A, 1B (i & ii), 1D: 1 decided; 2 and; 3; when; 4 at; 5 but; 6 know; 7 Then; 8 all; 9 the; 10 on 1C: 1 A; 2 C; 3 C; 4 A; 5 B; 6 A; 7 C; 8 A; 9 C; 10 B 2: 1 I; 2 C; 3 G; 4 J; 5 A; 6 H; 7 E; 8 F; 9 B; 10 D
The Publisher is certified by
in compliance with the UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 standards for the activities of ‘Design, production, distribution and sale of publishing products.’ (certificate no. 04.953)
Editors: Michela Bruzzo, Victoria Bradshaw © 2009 Black Cat Publishing, an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury
We would be happy to receive your comments and suggestions, and give you any other information concerning our material. Internet: www.blackcat-cideb.com - email:
[email protected] All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the previous written permission of the publisher. The reproduction of this material is only permitted for teaching purposes within the requirements of the syllabus in force and any other use, either commercial or not, is strictly forbidden. Offenders will be prosecuted.
© 2009 Black Cat Publishing
26