the ARTICLE (for teachers)

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Jeremy Simon
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2 the ARTICLE (for teachers) It's very difficult to quit smoking. Anyone who has tried to quit understands the challenges it took to succeed. There is a lot of advice about how to quit smoking, from nicotine gum and nicotine patches to counseling sessions and hypnotherapy. Only 50% of people who try to quit will succeed. This means that most smokers must try more than once to give up the habit. At General Electric, a more successful program will begin next year. The program plans to give $750 to smokers who successfully quit. Furthermore, the company expects to save as much as $50 million per year because of reduced health costs. In other words, fewer smokers will mean healthier smokers at GE. The program first began as an experiment several years ago. Participants of the experiment received payments for each month they didn't smoke. After one year, 15% of this group had successfully kicked the habit. This may sound like a small figure, but it was three times the success rate of the group which used traditional methods. Those usual methods included counseling and anti-smoking drugs. The program does have some controversy, though. People wondered if it was ethical to pay people to quit. Teacher's Notes: * Underlined words in red typeface are the recommended vocabulary for this lesson. Heads Up English - 1

3 WARM-UPS Select one or all of the following warm-up activities. 1: Define: What does "addiction" mean? Can you use it in a sentence? Can you give examples? 2: Brainstorm: Brainstorm with a partner words and ideas for "addiction" for two minutes. Next, talk about the words and ideas for five minutes. 3: Title: Today's article is: "." What will you read about? 4: Do you agree or disagree? Why? a. Smoking is a disgusting and dirty habit. b. People shouldn't smoke inside buildings. All smokers should smoke outside. c. Only weak people can't quit smoking. d. Because tobacco is a drug, it should be made illegal. e. I want to smoke a cigarette now! Heads Up English - 2

4 VOCABULARY Select one of the following vocabulary acquisition activities. 1: Vocabulary match: Individually or in pairs/groups, match the words in column A (from the article) with the best choice in column B. a. advice u. number b. reduce v. suggestion c. figure w. think about d. traditional x. disagreement e. controversy y. lower f. wonder z. usual 2: Fill in the Blanks: Fill in the blank with the correct word. wondered reduced figure advice traditional controversy a. There is a lot of ( ) about how to quit smoking. b. The company expects to save money because of ( ) health costs c. This may sound like a small ( ). d. It was more successful than the group which used ( ) methods. e. The program does have some ( ), though. f. People ( ) if it was ethical to pay people to quit. 3: Define: Look in your dictionary for each word. Write the definition, correctly pronounce the word, and give an example sentence to the class. a. advice: b. reduce: c. figure: d. traditional: e. controversy: f. wonder: Heads Up English - 3

5 WORD RECOGNITION These activities are optional. They reinforce vocabulary and increase reading speed. 1: Word Search: Find only the target words (in bold). Time yourself, and see how long it takes to find all the words. wondered reduced figure advice traditional controversy K I R W L U C E E Q A J V D D S E E O A E J C V R I I H R D M A Y N N E N I S U U G U V G D V O D O H R V N W Y G I S V R T E E I S O D Y S I L I M T C E T R T C R A R F D R O F P P O I E I M U E K B E E F U H S I N D D R V H Y D Z V V M C T M L T A O Q V U D A W T V R R C Z T R A D I T O I N A L G I E M T T O C D E C U D E R Q P I N M I E V Q G D T R M P C R O O M D K F R Y K Q U N T K C F G V Q I Y E S O W N C B V J N D V Y C Q W S Y N H D H C 2: Target Word Pool: Find only the target words (in bold) with their exact match. Time yourself, and see how long it takes to find all the words. wondered reduced figure advice traditional controversy wondering figurine advices traditions controversies recluse reducing advice wonders conversely wanders trades disfigure conversational figures controversy wondered traditionally reduction ill-advised tradition advise wandered traditional reduced figuring reduces figure advising controversial Heads Up English - 4

6 pre- or post-comprehension Select one or more activity to direct students before the article is read, or to check understanding after the article is read. 1: Brainstorm Questions: Brainstorm questions that you would like to ask about today's topic. Answer a partner the questions. He shouldn't look at the article when he answers. 2: True or False?: Guess (before the article) or answer (after the article) if the sentence is true or false. If false, correct the sentence. a. More than 50% of people who try to quit smoking succeed. T/F b. GE will pay $750 to employees who smoke if they successfully quit. T/F c. GE will lose $50 million each year because of the program. T/F d. 15% of the people at GE who used traditional methods quit smoking. T/F e. Some people believe the program isn't fair. T/F 3: Questions: Answer the questions to check comprehension. a. What does the article say about the difficulties of quitting smoking? b. How many people on average can quit smoking? c. How much will participants at GE get paid if they successfully quit smoking? d. How much money does GE plan to save each year because of the program? Why? e. What do some people think about the program? 4: Fragments: Remember how the fragments were used, and complete the sentence. a. Anyone who has tried to quit understands... b. This means that most smokers must... c. Participants of the experiment received... d. People wondered if... Heads Up English - 5

7 post-comprehension Select one or more activity to discuss the contents of the article. 1: Vocabulary: Circle any other unknown words/phrases in the article. In pairs/groups, use your dictionaries to understand these words. Write an example sentence for each one. 2: Class Questions: Read through the article once more, and write down any questions that you would like to talk about in pairs/groups or as a class. Answer the questions. 3: Summarize: Work with a partner to summarize the article in your own words. 4: Discuss: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers and ask more questions with your partner. a. Did you like this article? Why/not? b. What do you think about smoking and smokers? Please explain. c. What is the general opinion about smoking and smokers in your country? d. Do you think it's fair that smokers at GE will be paid to quit? Why/not? e. Would a similar program be successful in your company or in your country? f. How does this program differ from companies paying bonuses to employees? 5: Discuss: What problems do smokers and smoking cause? Brainstorm four problems smoking causes. Consider not only health problems, but problems for society as a whole too. Share your answers with another pair of students., Problem #1: Problem #2: Problem #3: Problem #4: 6: Google Search: Type "smoking" into Google news and read additional articles on this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings. Heads Up English - 6

8 STUDENT HANDOUT (the article) It's very difficult to quit smoking. Anyone who has tried to quit understands the challenges it took to succeed. There is a lot of advice about how to quit smoking, from nicotine gum and nicotine patches to counseling sessions and hypnotherapy. Only 50% of people who try to quit will succeed. This means that most smokers must try more than once to give up the habit. At General Electric, a more successful program will begin next year. The program plans to give $750 to smokers who successfully quit. Furthermore, the company expects to save as much as $50 million per year because of reduced health costs. In other words, fewer smokers will mean healthier smokers at GE. The program first began as an experiment several years ago. Participants of the experiment received payments for each month they didn't smoke. After one year, 15% of this group had successfully kicked the habit. This may sound like a small figure, but it was three times the success rate of the group which used traditional methods. Those usual methods included counseling and anti-smoking drugs. The program does have some controversy, though. People wondered if it was ethical to pay people to quit. Notes: Heads Up English - 7

9 STUDENT HANDOUT (fill in the blank) Fill in the blank with the correct word. figure experiment controversy advice successfully kicked reduced habit traditional wondered It's very difficult to quit smoking. Anyone who has tried to quit understands the challenges it took to succeed. There is a lot of (a ) about how to quit smoking, from nicotine gum and nicotine patches to counseling sessions and hypnotherapy. Only 50% of people who try to quit will succeed. This means that most smokers must try more than once to give up the (b ). At General Electric, a more successful program will begin next year. The program plans to give $750 to smokers who (c ) quit. Furthermore, the company expects to save as much as $50 million per year because of (d ) health costs. In other words, fewer smokers will mean healthier smokers at GE. The program first began as an (e ) several years ago. Participants of the experiment received payments for each month they didn't smoke. After one year, 15% of this group had successfully (f ) the habit. This may sound like a small (g ), but it was three times the success rate of the group which used (h ) methods. Those usual methods included counseling and anti-smoking drugs. The program does have some (i ), though. People (j. ) if it was ethical to pay people to quit. Heads Up English - 8

10 STUDENT HANDOUT (extended listening) Listen and fill in the missing sentences. Compare your answers with a partner, and then listen once more. It's very difficult to quit smoking. a. There is a lot of advice about how to quit smoking, from nicotine gum and nicotine patches to counseling sessions and hypnotherapy. Only 50% of people who try to quit will succeed. This means that most smokers must try more than once to give up the habit. At General Electric, a more successful program will begin next year. The program plans to give$750 to smokers who successfully quit. Furthermore, b. In other words, fewer smokers will mean healthier smokers at GE. The program first began as an experiment several years ago. Participants of the experiment received payments for each month they didn't smoke. After one year, 15% of this group had successfully kicked the habit. c), but it was three times the success rate of the group which used traditional methods. Those usual methods included counseling and anti-smoking drugs. The program does have some controversy, though. People wondered if it was ethical to pay people to quit. Sentence #1: Sentence #2: Sentence #3: Heads Up English - 9

11 ANSWER KEY Vocabulary 1: Vocabulary Match: 2: Fill in the Blanks: a. v a. advice b. y b. reduced c. u c. figure d. z d. traditional e. x e. controversy f. w f. wondered pre- or post-comprehension 1. True or False: 2. Fragments: a. F b. T c. F d. F e. T a. the challenges it took to succeed. b. try more than once to give up the habit. c. payments for each month they didn't smoke. d. it was ethical to pay people to quit. Student Handout 1: Fill in the Blanks: a. advice f. kicked b. habit g. figure c. successfully h. traditional d. reduced i. controversy e. experiment j. wondered 2: Extended Listening: a. Anyone who has tried to quit understands the challenges it took to succeed b. the company expects to save as much as $50 million per year because of reduced health costs c. This may sound like a small figure Heads Up English - 10

the ARTICLE (for teachers)

the ARTICLE (for teachers) About seventy countries around the world use daylight savings time. Each spring, clocks get moved forward one hour because the daytime hours are longer in the summer. Each fall,