לומדים אנגלית / קוראים ספרי ילדים

We are now moving to a more advanced level.

In the next posts we will focus on a certain subject and design various activities around that subject in order to enrich the students' Vocabulary and enhance Reading Comprehension and Writing Proficiency.

So what's new about it?

Haven't we been doing that all along (about 30 posts)?

Yes, but this time, we are moving up. The texts will be longer. Multiple choice questions will have 4 options, not 3. More variety of exercises, some of them requiring Higher Order Reading Skills.

The general subject of the unit that we will be focusing on over a few weeks is The Generation Gap.

Today, we will talk about one of the aspects of the Generation Gap.

Our subject today is: Home Sweet Home.

Let's talk about it.

• How old are your parents?
• Are there any advantages in having younger/older parents?
• Are there disadvantages? What are they?
• What do you and your parents mostly disagree about? Explain!
• Are parents who give their children complete freedom good parents?
• What do you think about the words: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son"? How would you say this in modern English?

Helpful Vocabulary

experience   –   ניסיון, חוויה

share experiences   –   לחלוק חוויות

identify with   –   להזדהות עם

spoil   –   לפנק

set proper limits   –   לקבוע גבולות נאותים

Getting Ready to Read

First Step

The following is the first sentence of the next reading passage. Read it carefully and try to predict what the passage will be about.

Thousands of books have been written on the conflict between parents and teenagers.

Questions

• Can you suggest a suitable title for the passage?
• The first sentence, as well as the whole passage, deals with a certain problem. What word  in this sentence refers to the problem?
• Now, let's be more specific about the problem. Whom does it concern?
• According to the sentence, is it an easy problem to solve? How do you know?

Second Step

Before you read the whole passage, make sure you know the meaning of the following words. (Look them up in the dictionary.)

trivial

tidy up 

resent

flexible

guidance

support

approval

firm authority

Reading Passage

Read the following passage and then answer the questions that follow.

1. Thousands of books have been written on the conflict between parents and teenagers. Psychologists and sociologists have spent years trying to understand the reasons for the tension and endless arguments between these two groups.

2. A close look at theses arguments often reveals that the reasons are so trivial that we may wonder what the tears and shouts have all been about. Most arguments are not about major issues like the nuclear bomb or the ecological problems of the universe. The fights are usually about prosaic matters such as food, clothes, the weekly allowance or the telephone.

3. Let's take an ordinary day and examine what happens. Problems start around 7 a.m. It is then that parents expect their children to get up, get dressed, eat and go off to school. Parents and alarm clocks seem like the enemies of mankind at that early hour. Some parents even expect the "poor" youngsters to tidy up their room and put everything in its place before leaving for school – a ridiculous demand – in the eyes of the "victims". In the afternoon, they want them to do homework and study and they resent their endless conversations on the phone. In the evening, they complain about the clothes and jewelry the teenagers wear and preach for hours about the dangers on the road and the need to be home by midnight at the latest, like Cinderella.

4. Youngsters expect parents to be more flexible; not to preach and lecture but to advise and explain. They would like them to be tolerant of different views, listen to their problems and respect their privacy. However, even if they don't admit it, youngsters need the guidance and support of their parents, their approval or disapproval and even their firm opposition on crucial subjects such as drugs or alcohol.  They need limits. They need loving but firm authority. In short, youngsters should be more patient and sensitive to their parents' feelings and parents must understand that they cannot prevent their children from making mistakes. Trial and error is, after all, a very important part of the process of growing up.

Questions

1. Complete the following sentence according to paragraph 1.

Experts have studied ……………………..between …………………………and ……………………….. for many years.

2. Give three examples of issues that parents and teenagers often argue about (paragraph 2).

a. …………………………………………………………….

b.…………………………………………………………….

c. …………………………………………………………….

3. Ecology is mentioned (paragraph 2) as an example of the subject that

a. concerns many people.

b. parents and teenagers often argue about.

c. parents and youngsters rarely argue about.

d. parents and youngsters are concerned about.

4. When the author writes about the poor youngsters (paragraph 3), does he really feel sorry for them? What is the tone of this sentence?

…………………………………………………………………………

5. a. What is a ridiculous demand (paragraph 3)?

…………………………………………………………………………

    b. Who thinks so?

………………………………………………………………………….

6. The word victims in paragraph 3 refers to:

a. all the patents.

b. all the youngsters.

c. youngsters suffering from severe abuse.

d. youngsters required to clean up their room.

7. In what connection is Cinderella mentioned in paragraph 3?

………………………………………………………………………..

8. Give two examples of the limits (paragraph 4) that youngsters need:

a. ……………………………………………………………………….

b. ……………………………………………………………………….

9. What is the meaning of the last sentence in the passage?

Trial and error is, after all, a very important part of the process of growing up.

…………………………………………………………………………………

10. Rearrange the following sentences according to the sequence of ideas in the passage.

• Reducing gaps by changing attitudes
• Youngsters' expectations and needs
• Examples of conflicts
• Researching the generation gap

And that's all for today. More texts and suggestions in my next post.