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.

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 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.

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 Inside Out
Teenage issues WORKSHEET A

Daniel (14)
The reason I get into lots of arguments with my parents is that they always think they
know what’s best for me, and never listen to my point of view. We argue about things
like what time I can stay out until in the evenings, how much homework I should do,
what clothes I wear, even my hairstyle. I wish they would give me more space to do
what I want to do. I think they don’t want me to grow up, so that’s why they still treat
me like a child.

Michael (16)
I think the biggest problem most teenagers face is peer pressure. There are people at
school who will pick on you if you dress or behave differently from them. Some of
them will even laugh at you if you don’t like the music they like.
In Britain you often read in the papers about the bad behaviour of gangs of teenagers,
but I think half the time these kids don’t really want to be in a gang, and they only
join because they’re too scared of being different.

Jemma (15)
Most of my friends complain about their parents, but I get on fine with mine. They do
make some rules, for example about where I can and can’t go on Friday and Saturday
nights, but at least we can discuss things – they have the final say, but they always
listen to my opinion first. I guess all parents worry about what their teenage kids get
up to when they’re not around, but my parents know I’m not completely irresponsible,
so they give some independence.
Maybe it helps that I’m the youngest in the family. My brothers and sisters say Mum
and Dad were stricter with them when they were my age, but they’ve become more
relaxed since then!

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 Inside Out
Teenage Issues WORKSHEET B

Exercise 1
Here are some simple definitions for phrasal verbs that appear in the text on
Worksheet A. Find the words they refer to and fill in the gaps.

1. _ _ _ _ _ _ – to change from being a child to being an adult

2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ someone – to have a good relationship with someone

3. _ _ _ _ _ _ someone – to often and unfairly criticise or be unkind to someone,

4. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ something – to do something, especially something that you

should not do

Exercise 2
Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F), or if the text doesn’t
say (D).

1. Daniel gets on well with his parents.

2. Michael doesn’t often have arguments with his parents.

3. Jemma’s parents have some rules about what clothes she can wear.

4. Michael thinks that some teenagers join gangs because of peer pressure.

5. Daniel thinks his parents should give him more independence.

6. Jemma’s parents let her do anything she wants to do.

Exercise 3
Answer the questions below.

1. In what way do Jemma’s brothers and sisters think their parents treat her differently
from the way they treated them?

2. Why does Daniel think his parents still treat him like a child?

3. Why does Jemma think her parents give her some independence?

4. What examples of ‘peer pressure’ does Michael give?

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 Inside Out
Teenage Issues WORKSHEET C

Exercise 4
Complete the crossword below. If all the words are correct, another word for
‘teenager’ will read from top to bottom.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

1. Daniel certainly ___________ about his parents.

2. Michael thinks that often teenagers don’t like to be ___________.
3. Jemma’s brothers and sisters are ___________ than she is.
4. It seems Jemma’s parents are better at ___________ than Daniel’s parents.
5. Michael talks about groups of teenagers at his school who pick on other teenagers
who don’t dress in the ___________ way.
6. Jemma’s parents have ___________ about where she can go on Friday and
Saturday nights.
7. Jemma says she is able to ___________ things with her parents.
8. Daniel says he wants more ‘___________’ from his parents.
9. Michael talks about the reasons why teenagers ___________ gangs.
10. It seems Daniel’s parents don’t like his ___________.

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

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