teacher’s notes & keys

Lead-in activities
Introduce the topic with some questions about horoscopes. Try to find out how much the learners know about them (if
they know their sign, for example) and what their attitude towards horoscopes is, though it is important to avoid conflict
here if some learners believe horoscopes and others have a more sceptical attitude. Move the discussion on to Chinese
horoscopes and elicit the animals used for signs - you could elicit the names in the learners’ first language to use as a
translation task if their level is better suited to this.
The matching task should be quite straightforward, though there may be some differences in the names used here and
those the learners use in L1, for example (sheep or ram instead of goat, pig instead of boar etc.).
The discussion questions may best be done in small groups as there is some chance of the discussion extending into
personal anecdotes about zoos or pets, for example; if this happens (and time allows) you might consider getting the
learners to share some of them in whole class feedback.

Vocabulary 1
The items will almost certainly be a mixture of known and unknown here and so the sequence of activities is designed to
slowly provide the answers, allowing the learners to identify (and demonstrate) what they already know and practice
deducing/guessing meaning of unknown or poorly-known items. The first task, grouping positive and negative, should
allow them to do this and could be handled as a pyramid activity: first individuals do the task, then pairs compare, then
fours, before whole class feedback. Key:
Positive loyal, strong, brave, sensitive, eloquent, helpful, artistic, talented, gentle, wise, curious, calm,
clever, hard-working
Negative emotional, quick-tempered, selfish, fond of gossip, stubborn, impatient, pessimistic

The second task requires more of the learners, but uses only seven of the items (the negative ones). Key:
1. stubborn 3. impatient 5. emotional 7. selfish
2. quick-tempered 4. fond of gossip 6. pessimistic

The third task is the most challenging and you may take the opportunity here to provide some dictionary practice.
Key:
8. calm 12. eloquent 16. gentle 20. helpful
9. strong 13. brave 17. loyal 21. clever
10. artistic 14. talented 18. hard-working
11. wise 15. curious 19. sensitive

Vocabulary 2
The goal here is to reinforce the meaning and to clear up any confusion between similar items. Key:
1. strong 3. selfish 5. curious 7. helpful
2. impatient 4. eloquent 6. clever 8. talented

Before you read/First reading/Second reading

The first two reading tasks are based on the predictions which the learners make here so it is vital that they do the task.
Make sure they select their adjectives and write them down to provide a clear focus for the reading. The first reading task
is only for question 1 - the learners will not yet know their sign, of course, and so can check their answers for question 2
after checking which is their animal.
Of course, in any given class around 90% of the learners are likely to have the same sign, being born in the same year
(February - December). If their descriptions of their characters are not similar then they make draw some conclusions
about how convincing Chinese astrology is….§

© Pearson Education Polska 2007

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 teacher’s notes & keys

Vocabulary 3
This may prove a very difficult task for the learners, especially if they are not used to thinking about vocabulary in
this way. Do as many examples as you need and consider adapting the task to a dictation-type activity if the
learners need to hear you saying the items. Key:

O Oo Ooo oOo oOoo ooOo

brave selfish talented artistic emotional pessimistic
strong loyal sensitive quick-tempered fond of gossip
wise helpful eloquent artistic
calm gentle curious impatient
stubborn hard-working
clever

Speaking and writing

This is an opportunity for the learners to be creative with the items. Encourage them to choose people or characters
which will be familiar to the other learners! Key: James Bond

Discussion
The discussion will work best in small groups. The questions focus on two different areas (horoscopes and character) -
allow the learners to concentrate on the questions which interest them most.

Extension
The adjectives could be applied to different jobs or activities in the form of job advertisements or interviews, or short
emails from the learners introducing themselves to pen pals.

Contact
The author can be contacted at the address below. All comments, suggestions and requests welcome.
petersmaterials@gmail.com

© Pearson Education Polska 2007

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