Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor passed away on March 23, 2011. She was an icon in American pop culture, and she will be missed by many people. There are several news articles you can have students read to learn more about her life. ESL Voices Activities for this article

*Elizabeth Taylor

The following excerpt is from an article in the New York Times.

Looking Back…

“Elizabeth Taylor was a stunning beauty whose name was synonymous with Hollywood glamour. Ms. Taylor died on March 23, 2011, in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure. ..Given her lack of professional training, the range of her acting was surprisingly wide. She played predatory vixens and wounded victims. …Her melodramatic heroines would have been at home on soap operas…People watched and counted, with vicarious pleasure, as she became Elizabeth Taylor Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner Fortensky — enough marriages to certify her career as a serial wife.”

*photo:Google image

 

ESL Voices Activities for this article.

Activities: grammar task: adjectives,  True or False questions, vocabulary practice.

Language Skill(s) - reading, speaking, vocabulary, and grammar practice.

Level: Lower-intermediate

Time: approximately 1 hour.

Materials: article excerpt, dictionary.

Goals: Learners will be able to identify adjectives; practice reading and speaking skills, along with vocabulary meanings.

Procedure:

I. Pre-reading questions:

As a class, stimulate background knowledge by having learners answer the following questions.

1. Who was Elizabeth Taylor?

2. Ask learners to make a list of words they associate with the term: Icon

II. While Reading

A. Place your students in groups, then have them read the excerpt and answer the True or False questions.

1. Elizabeth Taylor was a stunning beauty…
2. Ms. Taylor died on March 23, 2011, in New York…
3. Ms. Taylor was trained professionally in acting.
4. She played predatory vixens and wounded victims.
5. She was only married once.

B. Next, have them locate the *adjectives from the reading, and see if they can infer the meanings of the words,  if they can’t they can use a dictionary.

*you might want to review  ESL Voices Adjectives and ESL Voices Vocabulary Strategies.

III. Post Reading

1. Review answers with students.

2. Have them answer Wh-questions for article: Who or what is the article about?  When did the event occur?  Why or  how did the event occur?

ANSWERS:

I. Pre-reading questions

1. Who was Elizabeth Taylor?  (A famous American actress.)

2. Ask learners to make a list of words they associate with the term: Icon

Suggestions: idol, image, picture, symbol, star.

II. While Reading

A. True or False Questions

1.  Elizabeth Taylor was a stunning beauty…T

2.  Ms. Taylor died on March 23, 2011, in New York… F (Los Angeles)

3.  Ms. Taylor was trained professionally in acting. F

Given her lack of professional training…

4. She played predatory vixens and wounded victims. T

5. She was only married once. F …[she had] enough marriages to certify her career as a serial wife.

B. Adjectives and Meanings:

1. stunning adj. (extremely impressive or attractive.)
2. synonymous adj. (having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase in the same language.)
3. congestive -adj. (congestion- n. excessive accumulation of blood or other fluid in a body part.)
4. professional-adj. (having or showing the skill appropriate to a professional person; competent.)
5. predatory adj. (relating to or denoting an animal or animals preying naturally on others.)
6. melodramatic-adj. (characteristic of melodrama, esp. in being exaggerated, sensationalized, or overemotional.)
7. vicarious-adj. (experienced in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person.)
8. serial-adj. (serial n. serials in television and radio are series that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds… episode by episode.)

III. Post Reading

Have students share their responses with the class.

Additional Activities:

For a Lesson plan on  Teaching Adjectives

For Lesson Plan on Teaching Words in Context

For another exercise see NYT Learning Network

Share your ideas with us here!

Editorial,  New York Times, March 20, 2011

Hello!

This new ESL Voices blog will be a *conglomeration of topics for ESL teachers, students, and everyone else in between.

*conglomerate n. a number of different things or parts that are put or grouped together to form a whole but remain distinct entities: the Earth is a specialized conglomerate of organisms. -New Oxford American Dictionary

We’ll begin on a positive note!

Robin photo: by Ed Guthro

With all of the focus on natural disasters, wars, celebrities gone mad, and other negative news, it’s refreshing to have gentle reminders that all is not lost, nor is the world coming to it’s end (not yet anyway). Reconsidering the Robin is that reminder. A wonderful little article everyone needs to read.

In the meantime, enjoy these beautiful You tube video clips featuring Robins

To see more beautiful photos of Robins from the Smithsonian National Park.

Make this an UP day!

ESL Voices

Tags: NYT, Robins