English News 1 - class material intermediate level

School Bans Hugging and High-Fives (28th May, 2011)

A high school in London has banned students from all forms of physical contact with each other. The Quest Academy has warned students not to hug, shake hands, or give high-fives. The school was briefly the centre of attention a week ago when US president Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron visited it. The two leaders perhaps broke the school rules with their back-slapping and high-fives during a game of table tennis with students. The idea behind the banning is to help prevent bullying, according to school principal Andy Croft. He said: "Physical contact between students is not allowed at the academy because it is often associated with poor behaviour or bullying and can lead to fighting."

Students and parents are up in arms at the new rules. Student Dayna Chong, 15, received detention for cuddling her female friend. She said: "They're trying to turn us into robots." Her mother called the policy “extreme” and “ludicrous”. She said: "If the kids can't even hug each other at school some of them will never learn how to be socially interactive.” She added: “School is supposed to be where we start teaching our children how to be social - shaking hands, hugging, opening up. You need an embrace to comfort you when things go wrong. I've never heard of anything so crazy in my life." Mr Croft disagreed, saying his policy, “creates a disciplined environment which is essential for learning and respect”.

WARM-UPS

1. HUGGING AND HIGH-FIVES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about hugging and high-fives. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

high school / physical contact / hugging / shake hands / centre of attention / bullying / up in arms / detention / robots / ludicrous / socially interactive / comfort / respect

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SCHOOL RULES: What should they be? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Rules about…	What are they now?	What should they be?	Why?
physical contact
homework
uniform
attending class
addressing teachers
mobile phones

4. DISCIPLINE: Students A strongly believe children need more discipline; Students B strongly believe not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
5. PHYSICAL CONTACT: What are OK in school? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the most acceptable at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

high-fives shaking hands holding hands hugging

kissing on the cheek back-slapping kissing on the mouth touching someone’s arm for attention

6. HUG: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘hug’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	A London school said students cannot shake hands with each other.	T / F
b.	Barack Obama visited the school.	T / F
c.	The government put the new law in place.	T / F
d.	The school principal said physical contact led to bullying.	T / F
e.	Parents agree with the new rules.	T / F
f.	A student said the school was trying to turn students into robots.	T / F
g.	A mother said school kids shouldn’t be hugging each other at school.	T / F
h.	The principal thinks the new rules are totally crazy.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	banned	a.	momentarily
2	warned	b.	stop
3.	briefly	c.	ridiculous
4.	prevent	d.	embracing
5.	lead to	e.	angry
6.	up in arms	f.	prohibited
7.	cuddling	g.	vital
8.	ludicrous	h.	cautioned
9.	comfort	i.	result in
10.	essential	j.	support

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	banned students from all forms	a.	attention
2	briefly the centre of	b.	school rules
3.	broke the	c.	socially interactive
4.	The idea behind the banning is to	d.	of physical contact
5.	it is often associated	e.	arms at the new rules
6.	parents are up in	f.	when things go wrong
7.	They're trying to turn	g.	help prevent bullying
8.	learn how to be	h.	for learning and respect
9.	an embrace to comfort you	i.	with poor behaviour
10.	essential	j.	us into robots

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

A high school in London has (1) ____________ students from all forms of physical contact with each other. The Quest Academy has (2) ____________ students not to hug, shake hands, or           (3) ____________ high-fives. The school was briefly the centre of attention a week ago when US president Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron visited it. The two leaders perhaps (4) ____________ the school rules with their back-slapping and high-fives during a game of table tennis with students. The idea (5) ____________ the banning is to help prevent bullying, according to school principal Andy Croft. He said: "Physical contact between students is not (6) ____________ at the academy because it is often associated with                        (7) ____________ behaviour or bullying and can                      (8) ____________ to fighting."		behind lead warned give allowed banned poor broke
Students and parents are up in (9) ____________ at the new rules. Student Dayna Chong, 15, (10) ____________ detention for cuddling her female friend. She said: "They're trying to       (11) ____________ us into robots." Her mother called the policy “extreme” and “ludicrous”. She said: "If the kids can't even hug each other at school some of them will never learn how to be   (12) ____________ interactive.” She added: “School is supposed to be where we start teaching our children how to be social - shaking hands, hugging, (13) ____________ up. You need an embrace to (14) ____________ you when things go wrong. I've never heard of anything so crazy in my life." Mr Croft disagreed, saying his policy, “creates a (15) ____________ environment which is (16) ____________ for learning and respect”.		turn comfort arms essential opening disciplined received socially

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A high school in London has banned students ____________________ physical contact with each other. The Quest Academy has warned students not to hug, shake hands, or give high-fives. The school was ____________________ attention a week ago when US president Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron visited it. The two leaders perhaps ____________________ with their back-slapping and high-fives during a game of table tennis with students. The ____________________ is to help prevent bullying, according to school principal Andy Croft. He said: "Physical contact between students is not allowed at the academy because it is ____________________ poor behaviour or bullying and ____________________."
Students and parents ____________________ the new rules. Student Dayna Chong, 15, received ____________________ her female friend. She said: "They're trying to turn us into robots." Her mother called the policy “extreme” and “ludicrous”. She said: "If the kids can't even hug each other at school some of them will never learn how ____________________.” She added: “School ____________________ where we start teaching our children how to be social - shaking hands, hugging, opening up. You need an embrace to comfort you ____________________. I've never heard of anything so crazy in my life." Mr Croft disagreed, saying his policy, “creates a disciplined environment ____________________ learning and respect”.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘high’ and ‘five’.

high

five

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?
4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.
5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

forms warned give perhaps behind lead

arms turn mother start wrong crazy

STUDENT HUGGING AND HIGH-FIVES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about hugging and high-fives in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.
When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

SCHOOL RULES DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘hug’?
c)	What do you think of school rules?
d)	Which is / was your most hated school rule?
e)	What do you think of the new physical contact rules at Quest Academy?
f)	Were Barack Obama and David Cameron bad role models?
g)	Were / Are rules at your school strict?
h)	How often did / do you break school rules?
i)	Can any rules prevent bullying?
j)	Is the principal right when he said physical contact leads to bullying?

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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Are parents right to be up in arms?
c)	Should parents have a vote to get the rules changed?
d)	Do you think Dayna is right when she said the school is turning students into robots?
e)	Is Dayna’s mother right when she said kids need to hug, give high fives, etc. to learn about social interaction?
f)	Is it very “un-British” to be told not to shake hands?
g)	What would your parents say if these rules were imposed at your school?
h)	What school rule was / is missing at your school?
i)	Will the new rules create a “disciplined environment”?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the school principal?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

A high school in London has banned students from all (1) ____ of physical contact with each other. The Quest Academy has warned students not to hug, shake hands, or give high-fives. The school was (2) ____ the centre of attention a week ago when US president Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron visited it. The two leaders perhaps (3) ____ the school rules with their back-slapping and high-fives during a game of table tennis with students. The idea (4) ____ the banning is to help prevent bullying, according to school principal Andy Croft. He said: "Physical contact between students is not allowed at the academy because it is often associated (5) ____ poor behaviour or bullying and can (6) ____ to fighting."
Students and parents are up in (7) ____ at the new rules. Student Dayna Chong, 15, received detention for cuddling her female friend. She said: "They're trying to (8) ____ us into robots." Her mother called the policy “extreme” and “ludicrous”. She said: "If the kids can't even hug each other at school some of them will never learn how to be socially (9) ____.” She added: “School is supposed to be where we start teaching our children how to be social - shaking hands, hugging, opening (10) ____. You need an embrace to comfort (11) ____ when things go wrong. I've never heard of anything so crazy in my life." Mr Croft disagreed, saying his policy, “creates a disciplined environment which is essential (12) ____ learning and respect”.
Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	frames	(b)	firms	(c)	farms	(d)	forms
2.	(a)	briefs	(b)	briefly	(c)	brief	(d)	briefed
3.	(a)	broke	(b)	adhered	(c)	stuck	(d)	snapped
4.	(a)	rear	(b)	in front of	(c)	behind	(d)	opposite
5.	(a)	by	(b)	for	(c)	with	(d)	into
6.	(a)	need	(b)	lead	(c)	feed	(d)	bead
7.	(a)	arms	(b)	fingers	(c)	legs	(d)	toes
8.	(a)	engineer	(b)	give	(c)	lever	(d)	turn
9.	(a)	ineffective	(b)	interactive	(c)	inoperable	(d)	incapacitated
10.	(a)	down	(b)	on	(c)	in	(d)	up
11.	(a)	one	(b)	us	(c)	you	(d)	all
12.	(a)	for	(b)	while	(c)	by	(d)	on

WRITING

Write about hugging and high-fives for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about school rules. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. HUGGING AND HIGH-FIVES: Make a poster about hugging and high-fives. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. RULES: Write a magazine article about the school rules at Quest Academy. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against them.
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
5. LETTER: Write a letter to an education expert. Ask him/her three questions about banning hugging and high-fives. Give him/her three of your opinions. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

T

c.

F

d.

T

e.

F

f.

T

g.

F

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	banned	a.	prohibited
2	warned	b.	cautioned
3.	briefly	c.	momentarily
4.	prevent	d.	stop
5.	lead to	e.	result in
6.	up in arms	f.	angry
7.	cuddling	g.	embracing
8.	ludicrous	h.	ridiculous
9.	comfort	i.	support
10.	essential	j.	vital

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	banned students from all forms	a.	of physical contact
2	briefly the centre of	b.	attention
3.	broke the	c.	school rules
4.	The idea behind the banning is to	d.	help prevent bullying
5.	it is often associated	e.	with poor behaviour
6.	parents are up in	f.	arms at the new rules
7.	They're trying to turn	g.	us into robots
8.	learn how to be	h.	socially interactive
9.	an embrace to comfort you	i.	when things go wrong
10.	essential	j.	for learning and respect

GAP FILL:

School bans hugging and high-fives

A high school in London has (1) banned students from all forms of physical contact with each other. The Quest Academy has (2) warned students not to hug, shake hands, or (3) give high-fives. The school was briefly the centre of attention a week ago when US president Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron visited it. The two leaders perhaps (4) broke the school rules with their back-slapping and high-fives during a game of table tennis with students. The idea (5) behind the banning is to help prevent bullying, according to school principal Andy Croft. He said: "Physical contact between students is not (6) allowed at the academy because it is often associated with (7) poor behaviour or bullying and can (8) lead to fighting."
Students and parents are up in (9) arms at the new rules. Student Dayna Chong, 15, (10) received detention for cuddling her female friend. She said: "They're trying to (11) turn us into robots." Her mother called the policy “extreme” and “ludicrous”. She said: "If the kids can't even hug each other at school some of them will never learn how to be (12) socially interactive.” She added: “School is supposed to be where we start teaching our children how to be social - shaking hands, hugging, (13) opening up. You need an embrace to (14) comfort you when things go wrong. I've never heard of anything so crazy in my life." Mr Croft disagreed, saying his policy, “creates a (15) disciplined environment which is (16) essential for learning and respect”.
LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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