9 In my life - Macmillan

12 Sumeo’s story
Optional materials
• a CD with music
LESSON 12a
Introduction
Write the word island on the board. Divide students into
groups of four and ask them to brainstorm all the words they
associate with the topic. Set a time limit of two minutes and
elicit all the groups’ words onto the board. Students open
their books, look at the pictures in Activity 1a and check how
many of their words appear there.
1 Reading
a) [1.43] Focus attention on the first picture and introduce
the boy named Sumeo. Then point to the map and
explain that he lives on the island of Funafala which is in
Tuvalu, a small country in the South Pacific. Ask students
to listen and read about Funafala and say why they think
people living there are afraid for the island’s future. Play
the CD.
Check if students know/can guess the meaning of the
following words and phrases: tiny, low, floods, net, share,
main, one of these, so far away. Provide explanation if
necessary. Point out that fish is uncountable in English.
Elicit that people are afraid for Funafala’s future because
the sea sometimes floods the island and families leave.
Tapescript
see Student’s Book Activity 1a
b) Students read the text in Activity 1a again and decide if
the sentences are true or false about Funafala. Encourage
them to mark with pencil the relevant parts of the
text which contain the answers. Set a time limit of five
minutes. If your students like it, you can play music in the
background for the duration of the activity.
Students compare the answers in pairs. Check the
answers with the whole class and elicit which parts of the
text prove that the sentences are true or false.
Mixed ability classes
Fast fi nishers correct the false statements in writing.
Photocopiable activity
• Interesting stories, p175
Extra activity
Divide students into pairs. Ask Student A to study pictures 1 and
2 in Activity 1a for thirty seconds. Then they should close their
books and describe the pictures from memory to Student B.
Student B checks if the description is correct and asks Student A
at least one question about each picture, e.g. How many people
are standing in the water Then students repeat the procedure
with Student B studying, describing and answering questions
about pictures 3 and 4.
Teaching tip: Music in the classroom
Music in the classroom can enhance concentration; it
stimulates the brain, relaxes students and makes learning
more enjoyable. You can find music related to the story
in the textbook, e.g. Polynesian music (in the case of the
reading activity above), and play it to help students make
associations with a given place or topic. You can play music
in the background for the duration of the activity, so when
you pause it, students know that the time is up. To help
students concentrate on grammar tasks use harmonic music
with repeated patters, e.g. Mozart, and to stimulate ideas in
brainstorming activities use music with irregular patterns.
Answer key
1 true 2 false (It is very low) 3 false (All the men are fi shermen)
4 true 5 false (There are fi ve families) 6 false (They are happy)
Cultural information
Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world. It is located
between Hawaii and Australia in the Pacifi c Ocean. Tuvalu’s
Independence Day is on October 1st. Tuvalu comprises islands
and atolls. Funafala is one of Tuvalu’s islets. The land on the
islands is very low, the highest elevation is 5 metres above sea
level. Because of the climate change and the resulting rise of the
sea level, Tuvaluan islands can be partially or completely fl ooded
and food crops may be destroyed by salt water in the future.
Tuvaluan people are Polynesian people who settled on the islands
2000 years ago. Due to the environmental threats they have now
begun moving away to New Zealand.
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