Inside Out

e-lesson Week starting: 16th June 2008

1. Teenage issues
This week’s lesson takes a look at a few of the common issues facing teenagers.

Level
Pre-intermediate and above (equivalent to CEF level A2-B1 and above)

How to use the lesson

1. Depending on the age of your students, ask them if they think it is/was good to be a
teenager, and why. What do they think are the problems faced by teenagers in their
country? What factors do they think determine whether teenagers have a good
relationship with their parents?

2. Give your students five to ten minutes to read through Worksheet A, encouraging
them to look up new vocabulary. (Note that a few of the verbs that might be new are
not in the glossary because they form part of Exercise 1.) Tell them they are going to
answer a series of questions on the text, but that they shouldn’t write anything down
at this stage.

3. Divide the students into pairs and hand out Worksheet B. Ask the students to work
together to complete Exercise 1, in which they have to find the phrasal verbs to match
the definitions. To make the exercise easier you could provide some of the missing
letters.

4. Check answers in open class, and to test the students’ understanding of these
phrasal verbs you could ask them to create statements that include them.

5. Keeping the students in their pairs, ask them to move on to Exercise 2, in which
they have to answer true/false/doesn’t say questions.

6. Check answers in open class.

7. Ask the students to move on to Exercise 3, in which they have to answer

comprehension questions. Encourage them to try to answer in complete sentences.

8. Check answers in open class.

9. Keeping students in their pairs, hand out Worksheet C and ask them to work
together to complete the crossword.

10. Check answers in open class.

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net.

It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008.
 Inside Out
Answers:

Exercise 1
1. grow up 2. get on with 3. pick on 4. get up to

Exercise 2
1. F 2. D 3. D 4. T 5. T 6. F

Exercise 3
1. They think their parents were stricter with them than they are with Jemma.
2. He thinks they treat him like a child because they don’t want him to grow up.
3. She thinks they give her some independence because they know she isn’t
completely irresponsible.
4. The examples he gives are groups of teenagers picking on other teenagers if they
dress or behave differently, or even if they like different music. He also talks about
the pressure to join gangs.

Exercise 4
1. complains 2. different 3. older 4. listening 5. same 6. rules 7. discuss
8. space 9. join 10. hairstyle

If the sentences have been completed correctly, adolescent will read from top to
bottom.

2. Related websites
Send your students to these websites, or just take a look yourself.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/chat/your_comments/newsid_3736000/3736062.st
m
A BBC Newsround forum (2006) on media attitudes to teenagers, following
numerous negative reports in the British media about teenage gangs. Accessible to
pre-intermediate level.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/videonation/category/teens/
From the BBC website, a very large collection of short videos made about various
teenagers’ lives, mostly made by teenagers themselves. Includes colloquialisms and
regional accents. Intermediate level and above.
http://www.teenissues.co.uk/
A British website that discusses various matters that form part of the lives of many
teenagers. Intermediate level and above.

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net.

It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008.