TASK 1 - THEMATIC CONTENT 1

ENGLISH THREE
THE CITY THROUGH MY EYES, YOUR EYES, THEIR EYES
 ENGLISH THREE:
THE CITY THROUGH MY EYES,
YOUR EYES, THEIR EYES
THEMATIC UNIT: PEOPLE TO KNOW
THEMATIC CONTENT: URBANITES

TASK: You and a classmate want to nominate a candidate. You will

write a newspaper profile to send it to the organizers of the event.
The report has to include the following: a) their biodata (50 words);
b) an account of their deeds; and c) a list of arguments as to why this
person should be the winner of the award.

Context: A contest has been announced to award somebody for his/her actions in the city.
INPUT: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

GOALS:
• To identify specific information in texts such as newspaper articles, magazines, short
stories, among others.
• To write a biographical sketch about an outstanding person from your city,
neighbourhood or town.

2
LANGUAGE FOCUS
Dates: When is your birthday?. My birthday is on June 17th, Yesterday, it was
November 3rd.
Feelings and Emotions: I feel stressed, I am overwhelmed. He is great. I am so
thankful.  
Countries and Nationalities: Where are you from?. Have you visited any other country different
from Colombia?. What is your favorite country?
-ed  and –ing Ending Adjectives: I am puzzled. The class is boring. This report is amazing,
Tenses: Simple Past, Past Continuous and Present Perfect (Affirmative and Negative): I wrote
an essay. I did not finish the task. I was carrying out an interview. I was not developing the
project. I have read an academic article. I have not completed the bio-statement.  
Expressions: How long, For, Since: How long have you studied your program? I have lived in
Medellin for 15 years. I have worked since last semester.
Community Places: I was in the school for 13 years. I will visit the hospital to conduct a study, I
have been to the bank to get cash.
Shapes Vocabulary: This is a triangle. Those are pyramids.
Sizes Vocabulary: The team is big, the teacher left us a huge amount of work. The universe is
enormous.  
Materials: My pencil is made of graphite. Glass is used in labs.
Prepositions of Place (around, in front of, behind , between, on the corner) The research center
is between the coffee shop and the library.

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Currency The dollar exchange rate is 3.000 pesos. The Euro went up yesterday.
Simple Past, Past Continuous and Present Perfect Questions: What has been your greatest
achievement in college?. What was your favorite course last semester? What were you doing at
the lab?
Information Questions (How long, how far, how much, how many, how big, etc): How much
does a course cost? How long does it take to study a Masters? How far should I go to take the
metro?  
Comparatives and Superlatives: She is the greatest person of all. She is the best person in the
community. He works harder than me.
Adjective Order:  She had a small round black wooden box to keep her memories.
Time Expressions in Future: I will study a Masters. I will pursue a PhD. I will be in an exchange
program.  
Sequence, comparison and Addition Connectors: first, meanwhile, later, until, before, after, then,
later, finally, afterwards, eventually.
Future Tense: going to:  It is going to be a hard time solving the midterm exam in just one hour. I
am going to the United States next semester.
Verbal Patterns: Infinitive and Gerund:  I really love studying. I prefer writing than speaking
Invitations and Requests (Let’s... / Shall... / Would.../) Would you like to have something to
drink? Shall we start the discussion now?

Pronunciation 3

ACTION ONE: Read the sample biodata and identify the components of the text and the
qualities of the nominee that makes him or her or a suitable candidate for the award.

PRE:
? I. Think about:

• Why would someone be remembered?

• What kind of events would have to happen in somebody’s life to
turn him into an activist?

II. Read the following biographical sketch and identify the

elements a biographical sketch should have: title, person of
interest, historical context, person’s biography, introductory
anecdote, achievements, feats and/or qualities, what makes
this person unique, conclusion as to why this person should
win the award.

ENGLISH THREE
THE CITY THROUGH MY EYES, YOUR EYES, THEIR EYES
 III. Circle the identified characteristic, then write it down on the
right side box of the page. Follow the example.

WHILE:
Frederick Douglass:
A Biographical Sketch
In 1838, the primary political issue
in Baltimore, Maryland, was slavery.
Frederick Douglass was a slave in
Baltimore, but he was determined not
to stay one. It was just a matter of time
before he would escape.

Frederick’s master, Hugh Auld, hired

him out as a ship caulker. One day
at lunch, Frederick met Benny — a
black sailor whose ship had sailed
without him. Benny decided to stay in
Baltimore. Frederick helped him get a
4
job in the shipyard, and the two young
men became friends. Benny introduced
Frederick to fellow members of the
East Baltimore Mental Improvement
Society. Most of these young men and
women were free blacks who could
read and write. Although his master’s
wife, Mrs. Sophia Auld, had taught
Frederick to read and write when he
was very young, he felt self-conscious
because he was a slave. But his new
friends didn’t seem to mind that he
was a slave — especially Anna Murray.

Frederick and Anna fell in love. But he

wouldn’t marry her until he was free.
On September 2, 1838, Frederick put his
escape plan into action. He dressed in
Benny’s sailor suit. Then, using Benny’s
sailor’s protection papers, Frederick
boarded the train and bought a ticket.
If the conductor had examined the
papers closer, he would have realized
that the person it described looked
nothing like Frederick.

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The train sped through Maryland, then
crossed into Delaware, which was still
a slave state. Frederick had to be very
careful. He kept telling himself to stay
calm and not look worried or frightened.
In Wilmington, Delaware, Frederick
took a steamship up the Delaware River
to Philadelphia. Again, the borrowed
papers were not closely inspected! From
Philadelphia, Frederick took another
train and arrived in New York on
Tuesday, September 4, 1838. Freedom!
The first thing Frederick did was send
an important message to Anna Murray.
Just as she had promised, she rushed
to New York, where she and Frederick
were married immediately.

Frederick Douglass could have lived

a quiet, peaceful life in freedom, but
instead he chose to take a stand against
slavery. Pro-slavery supporters accused
Douglass of being a fraud because he
was too literate,” and “too articulate.”
To prove that he had been a slave,
Douglass wrote his autobiography, The 5
Life and Times of Frederick Douglass,
giving names, dates, and places. He also
started an abolitionist newspaper, The
North Star, which was a symbol for all
runaways. Frederick Douglass died in
1895 after spending a lifetime fighting
for the complete abolition of slavery,
equal rights for women, and justice for
all.

Frederick Douglass should be the winner

of the award because his activism
against slavery helped the citizens, not
only in Baltimore and New York but
also all around the United States and
the world, realize their right to be free
and respected regardless of their colour
of their skin. We should be more like
him and fight for social justice when
necessary.

Taken from used for educational purposes only:

http://goo.gl/AwvIoH
Text modified by:
Juan Carlos Vásquez García, March 2016

ENGLISH THREE
THE CITY THROUGH MY EYES, YOUR EYES, THEIR EYES
 POST:
IV. Go back to the text Frederick Douglass: A Biographical Sketch and
look up for the underlined words and write their meaning in the lines
below.
Caulker:

Shipyard:

Frightened:

Borrow:

Runaway:

Regardless:

ACTION TWO: Write a draft of your own or a person´s biodata.

I. Before writing the biographical sketch answer the following questions with a partner:

• Has anybody done impressive things for your neighbourhood,

town or city? Who?
• What kind of things has this person done for your
6 neighbourhood, town or city?
• What should people know about his or her life?

II. Write a biographical sketch about a person from your neighbourhood, town or city. The
chart below will give some tools to write it. Complete the chart with the necessary information.

Topic Information

Nam e

Birth pl ace

Birth day

Studies/Inte rests/
Occupatio n

Service(s) t o the
community

Experience that change

his/her life

Achievements/Feats/ Programa Institucional de Inglés

Qualitie s
 Experience that change
his/her life

Achievements/Feats/
Qualitie s

What makes this person

unique

Reasons for this

person to b e
acknowledged

Reasons for this person to

be important to th e
communi ty

III. Based on the information you have read, write a draft of your own or someone else’s biodata.

ENGLISH THREE
THE CITY THROUGH MY EYES, YOUR EYES, THEIR EYES
 LANGUAGE FOCUS
Unscramble the following ideas. Write the sentences in the correct order on
the lines below:

8
a / stand / to / against / he / slavery / take / chose

look / himself / worried / kept / not / stay / telling / and / to / he / calm

his / wrote / his / to / wrong / own / prove / he / enemies / autobiography

he / fought / for / people’s / right / to / equal / treatment / and / job / opportunities

who / those / to / and / free / our / should / human / follow / for / of / right / fight / feel /
example / we / the

you / want / ? / for / do / justice / what / to / fight / kind / of

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