Great idea!

a Ask students to read through the words in

Unit overview the box. Check any problems with meaning or
pronunciation. Go through the first item as an
TOPIC: Inventions; stories in the past example, explaining that they must write the
TEXTS relevant number in the boxes. Students complete
Reading and listening: a magazine article about the exercise. Check answers.
famous inventions Answers
Listening: a science fiction story 1 G 2 F 3 H 4 B 5 C 6 E 7 D 8 A
Reading: an article about inventors
Reading: an article about listening to music b Weaker classes: Encourage students to read the
Writing: a text about an inventor and his/her texts, trying to guess any unknown vocabulary
invention from context. If students are still having problems,
check the meaning of e.g. rubber, nipper, frozen. Go
SPEAKING AND FUNCTIONS
through the first text with students as an example,
Describing past activities encouraging them to think about the inventions
Discussing different ways of listening to music from Exercise 1a and choose the appropriate one.
LANGUAGE Students complete the exercise.
Grammar: Past continuous; Past continuous vs. Do not check answers at this point, as this will be
past simple; when and while done in Exercise 1c.
Vocabulary: Phrases with get c CD1 T5 Play the recording while students listen
and check their answers. Play the recording again,
pausing as necessary to clarify any problems.
Read and listen TAPESCRIPT
If you set the background information as a Narrator: What did they invent?
homework research task, ask students to tell the Speaker 1: In 1903, Mary Anderson and a friend were
class what they found out. driving to New York. It was raining heavily and
they had to open the windows of their car and
BACKGROUND INFORMATION put their heads out to see better. Suddenly, Mary
Mary Anderson (1866–1953) was a real estate had an idea. She invented a moving arm made
developer, rancher and inventor of the windscreen of metal with a piece of rubber on it. The driver
wiper blade. could operate it from inside the car without
opening the window. People liked her invention
Thomas Adams (1818–1905) was an American because it helped them to drive safely when it
photographer, glass maker and inventor. In February was snowing or raining. Mary Anderson invented
1871, Adams New York Gum went on sale. the windscreen wiper.
James Henry Atkinson (1849–1942) was a British Speaker 2: In 1869, Thomas Adams was trying to
ironmonger from Leeds, Yorkshire who invented produce rubber out of the juice he got from
the mousetrap. Mexican sapodilla trees. He wanted to produce
Josephine Garis Cochran (1839–1913) made the toys, rain boots and bicycle tyres. The experiment
first practical mechanical dishwasher in 1886, in didn’t work. While he was thinking about this,
Shelbyville, Illinois. he took a piece of the rubber he was working
on and put it in his mouth. He liked the taste of
it and decided to add something to the rubber
Warm up to give it a nice taste. Not long after that, he
Ask students (in L1 if appropriate) what they think opened the world’s first chewing gum factory.
people did before the following inventions, e.g. the
Speaker 1: In 1897, British inventor, James Henry
telephone, TV, computer, fridge, etc. Ask them if
Atkinson, was looking at the family’s supply of
they know when these things were invented and
potatoes, which they kept in a room under their
who they think invented them.
house. He noticed that mice had eaten some
of the potatoes, so he invented something that

16 UNIT 1
 he called ‘Little Nipper’ to stop them. He sold Weaker classes: Books closed. Elicit a present
his mouse trap idea to a big company. They still continuous singular and plural example from
produce mouse traps called ‘Little Nippers’, and students and write them on the board. Remind
they even have a mouse trap museum. them of the form of the present continuous
Speaker 2: In 1886, Josephine Cochran was standing (present tense of be + –ing form of main verb).
in her kitchen in Illinois, USA. The family lunch Now ask students what the past tense of be is and
was finished, there was a mountain of dishes in elicit was/were. In your example sentence, write
front of Mrs Cochran and she got quite angry, Yesterday at six o’clock at the beginning of the
thinking that she had to do this job every day. ‘If sentence and replace is/are with was/were. Explain
nobody else is going to invent a machine for this, to students that they have just formed the past
I’ll do it myself,’ she thought. And then suddenly continuous. Students now open their books at
she had an idea. Josephine Cochran invented page 13 and look at the example sentences from
the first dishwasher. First, only hotels and large the text.
restaurants bought her invention. It was not until b Read the instructions with the class. Go through the
the 1950s that dishwashers also became popular first text with them as an example and underline the
with families. first past continuous verb they come across. Give
Speaker 1: In the early years of the eighteenth them a few minutes to re-read the texts and find
century, in the middle of the summer, an further examples of the past continuous. Students can
unknown Dutchman was looking at one of the compare answers in pairs before a whole class check.
many canals in Holland. He was thinking that he
often travelled along the frozen canals on ice Answers
skates in the winter. He got a little impatient. Text 1: was raining
‘I don’t want to wait for winter!’ he thought. Text 2: was trying; was thinking; was working
The unknown inventor made wooden wheels Text 3: Atkinson was looking at
and fixed them to his shoes. He invented the Text 5: was looking at; was thinking
first roller skates.
Students now complete the table with the correct
Answers form of the past continuous. Do the first item with
Text 1: windscreen wipers them as an example, if necessary. Check answers
Text 2: chewing gum and then read through the rule as a class. Make
Text 3: mouse trap sure students understand when to use the past
Text 4: dishwasher continuous. It may be useful to remind students
Text 5: roller skates when we use the present continuous (an action
happening now / at the moment of speaking).
d CD1 T5 Ask students to read through questions Answers
1 to 4. Check any problems. If necessary, go through Positive: was; were
the first item as an example, pausing the recording Negative: wasn’t
after text 1. Play the recording again while students Question: Was; Were
complete the exercise. Remind students to listen Short answer: was; wasn’t; were; weren’t
for the key words they will need to answer each
question. Students can compare answers in pairs To check understanding of the form at this point,
before a whole class check. call out a few verbs in the present continuous and
ask students to put them into the past continuous.
Answers
1 He liked the taste and added something to c Read the instructions and the verbs in the box with
it to make it even nicer. students and go through the example as a class,
2 He sold it to a big company. focusing on the picture. Make sure students can
3 Hotels and large restaurants bought it. explain why was is used. Students complete the
4 Because the canals weren’t frozen and he exercise. Remind them to look at the picture and
couldn’t travel along them on ice skates. each sentence carefully and remind them to think
about the spelling rules for –ing forms. Students can
compare answers in pairs before a whole class check.
2 Grammar If students are still having problems with the spelling
of –ing forms, you may want to revise this area.
Past continuous
a Stronger classes: Students read through the Answers
2 were playing 3 was sitting 4 was writing
example sentences. Ask them what they notice
about how the past continuous tense is formed 5 was dreaming
(was/were + –ing form of main verb).

UNIT 1 17
 d This exercise can be set for homework. Students XR017. Lots of people were living on the planet and
read through dialogues 1 to 7. Go through the there wasn’t enough space for everyone, so the
example with them, eliciting the verbs for B’s President of XR017 sent five spaceships to find out
part. Remind students of the question form. more about the Earth. As they were getting near
Students complete the exercise. In pairs, students the Earth, four of the spaceships caught fire. Only
compare answers. Ask a few pairs to read out their one of them got to the Earth and landed safely. In it
completed dialogues to the class to check answers. was Commander Q5. He was a tall alien with a dark
green face, and red eyes that shone like volcanoes.
Answers Q5 was a creature who almost never smiled. But
1 B: was waiting; was buying
when he opened the door of the spaceship, and
2 A: were you talking
saw how beautiful the Earth was, he smiled.
B: was telling
Commander Q5: This is the right place for my
3 A: Were his parents living
B: were living; was working people, but there’s not enough space. First I must
4 A: Were you watching fight the humans. Hahahahahahaha!
B: was reading Narrator: Q5 knew that he had to be careful. For
5 A: were you having days, he sat in one of the trees near a little village
B: were talking and watched the humans. With the help of his
6 A: Were you playing brain reader, he was quickly learning to move, to
B: wasn’t playing; was doing think and to talk like a human. And he knew he
7 A: were they wearing also had to change his looks. That was easy. One
B: weren’t wearing; were wearing of his special look-alike pills was enough.
Three months later Q5 was living in a small town
Grammar notebook in England, and nobody knew who he was. Every
Encourage students to note down the completed night, while all the humans were sleeping, he
table and the rule from Exercise 2b. worked in his garage, building a very powerful
brain machine.
Commander Q5: I’ll hypnotise all the humans.
4 Speak Hahahahahaha! And nobody, nobody will know
Divide the class into small groups. Each student who I am!
thinks of a famous personality and spends some Narrator: Q5 knew that he was safe. While he
time thinking about how they spend their days. was working on his plan, his brain machine was
Each student should choose a different personality. checking people’s brains to find out what they
Read through the example dialogue as a class. Pay were thinking. Every now and then, Q5 looked at
attention to intonation in the questions. In groups, the huge screen. Everything was going well. All
students ask and answer questions using the past the human brains were thinking of other things,
continuous. Give students a few minutes to ask and and none of them knew about his terrible plans.
answer. Then ask for some groups to feed back to None of them. Once again, Q5 smiled, but while
the rest of the class. If anyone was doing anything he was smiling, he got a shock.
interesting, discuss this further as a class. Commander Q5: What’s that? Oh, noooooooo!
Narrator: Olivia was writing the last sentence of
5 Listen her story, when suddenly she heard a noise
behind her. She turned round, and saw their new
Warm up neighbour. He was usually a very friendly man,
Ask students to look at the picture and to predict but tonight his face was cold.
what happened. Commander Q5: Listen. I know what you were
a Ask students to read the questions and the thinking a minute ago.
beginning of the story to check their predictions. Narrator: Olivia was shocked.
Ask for some ideas about what happened next. Do Commander Q5: You know who I am!
not give answers at this point. Narrator: When Olivia looked at her neighbour, she
CD1 T8 Play the recording while students listen saw that he was holding something in his hand. It
b
looked like a mobile phone. He started to laugh
to see if any of their ideas from Exercise 5a were
out loud, and pressed a button on the phone.
correct. Check answers.
There was a strange noise, and Olivia started to
TAPESCRIPT feel very tired. She looked at her neighbour again.
Narrator: Olivia was sitting at her desk, writing one of Olivia: His eyes. They were burning like volcanoes!
her stories. It was a story about a faraway planet,
Narrator: Then Olivia fell to the floor.

18 UNIT 1
c In open class, students discuss how they think the f Refer back to the rule in Exercise 6d. Students write
story ended. Help with difficult vocabulary and sentences with while and when. Circulate and help
write any interesting new words on the board. with any difficulties. Check answers.

Grammar notebook
6 Grammar Encourage students to note down the rules from
Past continuous vs. past simple Exercise 6 and some example sentences. They may
find it useful to translate some of the sentences.
a Write the sentence on the board and ask a stronger
student to come out and underline the past
continuous and circle the past simple verb in it. 7 Read
Leave it on the board for Exercise 6b.
a In open class, ask students to guess the answers to
b Copy the diagram onto the board above the the two questions. Ask students to read the text
sentence you wrote up in Exercise 6a. Explain how quickly and check their answers. Remind them that
the first action is going on and the other action they should only be looking for the information
interrupts it. Ask them the questions and elicit the to answer the questions and they don’t need to
answers (past continuous tells us the background understand every word in the text.
action and past simple tells us what happened at
one moment). Students now read through the rule Answers
box and complete it. Check answers. 1 A flying machine.
2 No, young people invent things too.
Answers
past continuous; past simple b Students read through items 1 to 4 and a to d.
Check any problems. Students continue reading
c CD1 T8 Students read through sentences 1 the text silently, or you can read it aloud to the
to 3. Go through the first item as an example, if class yourself. Go through the example, making sure
necessary. Students complete the exercise. At this students understand what they have to do.
point, you could play the recording in Exercise 5b Students complete the exercise and compare
again for students to listen and check their answers. answers in pairs before a whole class check.
Check answers as a class.
Answers
Answers 2 d 3 a 4 b
1 was working; was checking; were thinking
2 looked; was going; were thinking; knew c Students discuss the questions as a whole class
3 looked; saw; was holding or in small groups. Ask for feedback. Find out if
anyone has an idea for an invention of their own.
when and while
d Ask students to read through the two examples. 8 Vocabulary
Ask them which actions are the background action get
(writing/smiling) and which actions interrupt the
background actions at one particular moment
a Read the instructions with the class. Go through
(heard a noise / got a shock). Now ask them to the example, making sure students understand why
read through the rule box and complete it using the became is the answer. Students write the meaning
examples to help them. Check answers. of got in the other sentences. Check answers.

Answers Answers
2 received 3 arrived 4 received
simple; continuous

e Ask students to read through sentences 1 to 4.

Check any problems. Go through the example with Read through the examples in the Look! box.
students and ask them to explain why each tense is Make it clear that we use get to when we arrive
used. Students complete the exercise and compare somewhere, except in certain situations such as
answers in pairs before a whole class check. when we get home. You could introduce other
Answers phrases such as get back, get in and get there.
2 was running; fell b This exercise can be set for homework. Ask
3 were playing; arrived students to read the phrases in the box and make
4 was having; had sure they understand them all. Go through the
example, eliciting why this is the only possibility.

UNIT 1 19
 Students complete the exercise. Remind them to Weaker classes: Ask them to read the text again
look carefully at the tenses they need to use and and find words to fit the definitions.
to choose the past simple or the past continuous. Stronger classes: Let them try the exercise without
Check answers. looking back and then read the text again quickly to
Answers check answers.
2 got to school 3 was getting wet
Answers
4 got angry
1 popular 2 disappear 3 a few times
4 similar 5 a disc jockey
Vocabulary notebook
Encourage students to note down the various
meanings of get from Exercise 8 and to write some
example sentences of their own.
0 Speak
Stronger classes: In pairs or small groups, students
go though the questions and discuss them.
Weaker classes: They can choose one question
Culture in mind only to discuss. If necessary, elicit a few prompts
for the question they have chosen to help them.
Monitor and help as necessary, encouraging
9 Read and listen students to express themselves in English.

a Divide the class into pairs and ask them to discuss Ask pairs or groups to feed back to the class and
the questions. Also ask them to talk about the discuss any interesting points further.
types of music they listen to and whether they
prefer different types of music in different
situations. Listen to some of their opinions in open
Write
class and encourage discussion. The preparation for this can be done in class and
the story written for homework.
b Students look at the question. Ask them to read
the text quickly to decide on the best title. Remind a Ask students to read through questions 1 to 3.
them they don’t need to understand every word. Check any problems. Pre-teach any vocabulary
(burrs, tape). Go through the first item as an
Answer example, if necessary. Students then read through
2 The history of listening to music the story and answer the questions. Check answers.

c CD1 T9 Ask students to read through Answers

questions 1 to 4. Check any problems. If necessary, 1 Velcro, George de Mestral
go through the first item as an example, locating 2 Because it helps fasten clothes, shoes, etc.
the point in the text. Students listen, read and and it’s quick and easy to use.
complete the exercise. Students can compare 3 He was walking in the woods and he got lots
answer in pairs before a whole class check. of burrs stuck on his clothes.

Answers b Students now match the questions with the

1 In the mid 1920s because the radio became paragraphs in the text. If necessary, do the first one
more popular. with them as an example. Check answers.
2 They were made of aluminium foil and
Answers
people could listen to them only a few times
1 A 2 C 3 B
before the foil broke.
3 Gramophones used flat vinyl disks to hold c Students underline the expressions in the text.
music, phonographs used cylinders. Check understanding and explain to students that
4 They could listen to music while they were these expressions will form the core of their story
travelling, doing sports or going for walks. in Exercise 12d.
d Read through the definitions with students. Tell d Students now choose an invention from this unit or
students that they may be looking for more than they could think of one of their own. If they can’t
one word (numbers 3 and 5). think of a real invention, they can make one up.
Remind students of the structure of Alex’s story.

20 UNIT 1
Memo from Mario
Great idea! RATIONALE
This warmer, that comes from the work of the late
Five four-minute warmers for lessons nineteenth century Maria Montessori, is more a calmer
1 Month tennis than a warmer. It is useful on windy days or when the
3 Demonstrate the activity with a student: students have just been doing sport or have just come
from a long break. Measuring a minute with eyes closed
You: July + 1 slows down breathing and calms down over-excitement.
Student: August … December minus 2
You: October … March plus 11 4 Counting by twos
3 Tell the students to work in pairs and play month tennis. 3 Demonstrate with a student:
3 Play for three minutes. You: zero
Student: one hundred
RATIONALE You: two
If the students have come from home, from Maths, Student: ninety eight
from lunch, from History, etc. they need a buffer zone You: four
in which they can adjust to your weird demand: Please
Student: ninety six…….
speak English!
A brief, undemanding game like the one above offers 3 Tell the students to work in pairs and count towards each
such an adjustment zone. other by two. Tell them to stop when they reach 50.

2 Counting backwards and forwards RATIONALE

3 Demonstrate with a student: The counting allows students who are deft with
numbers to shine.
You: one two three four five
Student: five four three two one
5 Remembering words from last time
You: two three four five six
3 Write up on the board six to eight words from the last
Student: six five four three two class that you suspect some people may have forgotten.
You: three four five six seven 3 Suppose you are teaching in Slovenia and suppose one
3 Tell the students to work in pairs and stop when they get of the words to be revised is butterfly, have a dialogue
to twelve. with a volunteer student using only the words metul
and butterfly (metul is the Slovene equivalent of
3 Play for three minutes. butterfly).

You: Metul … metul … butterfly?

RATIONALE
Student: Butterfly! Butterfly! Butterfly!
Maybe some of your weaker students do not like
working in a foreign language. You: Butterfly … butterfly, metul! etc
Some may find it really hard to get their heads around 3 Tell the students to stand up and have energized
it all. However some will be really good at arithmetical dialogues using the English words to be revised and their
things. Why not offer them four minutes happiness out mother tongue equivalents. They only have one pair of
of the 45 or so minutes the lesson lasts? words in play at any one time.
3 If you have an international class, pair people of the
3 Measure a minute same mother tongue. Pair any language isolates: they
3 Tell the students you want them to measure a minute in use the English word and the equivalent word in one of
any way they want, apart from looking at a timepiece. their languages.
3 Explain that you will tell them when to start measuring
their minute and that they must shout out END when RATIONALE
they finish.
This is a useful exercise in contrastive phonology and
3 Ask them to close their eyes and give them the signal START! fixes the meaning of the words being revised once and
3 Round off the activity by asking half a dozen students for all. It is particularly effective with very auditorily
how exactly they measured their minute. gifted learners.

UNIT 1 21