Me and my gadgets – Teacher’s Notes

Vocabulary
The aim of this activity is to introduce the topic of the lesson and to make sure the students know all
of the gadgets. Before handing out the materials, tell the students that you are aware that many
gadgets now have multiple functions but you want them to match the gadgets to their main function
e.g. a phone is really to talk on.

Answers: 1d 2c 3g 4a 5e 6b 7f

Follow up by asking students who has got which things and how often they use them. Now put them
in pairs and tell them that they are going on holiday for two weeks and can only take three of the
gadgets with them. They have to work together to decide which three to take and why. Tell students
that they should discuss the merits of all seven items, not just agree immediately on three to take.
Elicit answers and reasons for them

Other gadgets and ideas

Put the students into pairs and hand out the materials. Tell them to ignore the gapped sentences to
start with and to look at the list of gadgets and programmes on the left hand side. They should
discuss which they use, know about or don’t know at all. Give them one or two minutes to discuss
these and then ask them to try to complete the sentences with the products in the gaps. If they can’t
think of any that fit for them e.g. if there is nothing they have to have the latest version of, they can
leave it blank. Elicit ideas and allow those who know the things to explain them to those who don’t.

Grammar
1. Either hand out the materials or write the example sentences on the board. Tell the students or
elicit from them that the pairs of sentences have the same meaning but that the second gives more
details. If you think the students need more help with the structure, write the adverbs of frequency
and other expressions on the board:
always – usually – often – sometimes – not often / rarely – never
all the time - every (day/year etc) – once a (day / week etc) – twice a (day / week etc) – three times
a (day / week etc)

The students now complete the sentences alone and then add a second sentence for each giving
more exact information. Elicit ideas and check that the students have used the correct verb forms
(especially the 3rd person –s).

Discussion
Put the students into groups of three or four and set a time limit for them to discuss the questions.
When finished elicit answers from different groups and ask them alternative questions such as ‘Who
downloads music the most often in your group?’

Project work
This can be done in groups in class or be set as homework. Discuss with the students what they
think are the most useful gadgets and programmes and what they think we might have in the future
or what they would like someone to invent. When the students have shared a few ideas as a class,
tell them that their job is to design either a gadget or a useful piece of software. They should explain
exactly what it does and why this would be useful.

The students then present their ideas to the class in the role of sales people trying to encourage
others to buy them.

© Pearson Central Europe, November 2011 -1-

Me and my gadgets – Teacher’s Notes

© Pearson Central Europe, November 2011 -2-