Hi everyone!

Some of my students will know that I have been developing my own new material for use in my most popular lesson, Reading the News. I wanted to give all of my students a chance to look over an example of the material and I will include a brief outline of the new (optional!) lesson plan. 

Here is an example of a Level 3 article from my material, all of the material is free for you to look at whenever you like. Articles also come in Level 1 and 2 options. https://learnwithnews.com/2018/01/14/could-oprah-be-president-level-3/

First, let's talk about the structure of the lesson. As you are probably aware, my Reading the News lessons come in two options 50 minutes and 30 minutes. I'm going to give a brief outline of what to expect in each.

Reading the News 50 Minutes

In the 50 minute lesson we follow this structure:

10-15 Minutes: For the first 10 to 15 minutes we will read the story together, going over any words or phrases you don't know. I will also correct any pronunication mistakes that you make. 

5 Minutes: True/False questions. Next we move on to the True/False questions, in this activity we will check your understanding of the story by answering the questions. 

5 Minutes: Unscramble the sentences. The next activity is great for practising sentence structure. Most students have problems with the word order in sentences and this activity helps you to practise that directly. 

Final 20-25 Minutes: Conversation questions. Finally, we have a discussion about the story. The conversation questions on the page are there to give you ideas and we ask each other the questions. It's excellent for practising your speaking skills as you get to talk about lots of different topics.

Reading the News 30 Minutes

In the 30 minute lesson we follow a similar but smaller structure:

10-15 Minutes: For the first 10 to 15 minutes we will read the story together, going over any words or phrases you don't know. I will also correct any pronunication mistakes that you make. 

Final 15-20 Minutes: Conversation questions. Secondly, we have a discussion about the story. The conversation questions on the page are there to give you ideas and we ask each other the questions. It's excellent for practising your speaking skills as you get to talk about lots of different topics. 

This is my recommended structure that, in my experience, is great for most students. However, I am completely open to your suggestions and opinions! I have altered this structure slightly for many students who prefer different activities or, for example, more conversation. If there's anything you would like to do just let me know! 

The material is always there for you to use outside of lessons too. I have included audio of myself reading the articles for listening practise and, for students who want extra time to study, there are more activities. 

If you have any questions feel free to send me a message!

Matt