News English Lessons
FREE Handout, Listening & Quizzes on Sleep Lessons
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Students Have Lessons in How to Sleep (15th March, 2010)

A new BBC report says students at schools in Scotland are having lessons in how to sleep. The lessons started because many pupils did not have a proper sleep routine. Teachers taught the children how good sleeping patterns can help them study better. One of the important points in the lessons was not to watch TV late at night. Other advice was to sleep for nine hours or more every night. One 15-year-old said he had tried going to bed early. He told the BBC: "I went to my bed at 10-ish rather than 11, and I do feel a little bit more awake.”

This is amazing news. It is difficult to understand why a school needs to give sleep lessons. That should be what parents do. I suppose that is life today. Children are staying up later and later. They don’t go to bed because they want to watch TV, play games or chat online. This is bad news for their school work. Many children try to finish their homework in a hurry because they want to use their computer. Kids who go to bed late fall asleep in class. If all children do this, maybe we’ll have fewer doctors and scientists because no one will pass exams.

PHRASE MATCH

Match the following phrases from the article.

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

LISTENING GAP FILL

A new BBC report says students at schools in Scotland are having _________________ sleep. The lessons started because many pupils did _________________ sleep routine. Teachers taught the children how good sleeping patterns ___________________ better. One of the important points in the lessons was not to watch TV late at night. Other _________________ for nine hours or more every night. One 15-year-old said he had tried going to bed early. He told the BBC: "I went to _________________ rather than 11, and I do _________________ more awake.”

This is amazing news. It is _________________ why a school needs to give sleep lessons. That should be what parents do. I _________________ life today. Children are staying up later and later. They don’t go to bed because they want to watch TV, play games _________________. This is bad news for their school work. Many children try to finish their homework _________________ they want to use their computer. Kids who _________________ asleep in class. If all children do this, maybe we’ll have fewer doctors and scientists because _________________ exams.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

A new BBC report says students at schools in Scotland are (1) ____ lessons in how to sleep. The lessons started because many pupils did not have a   (2) ____ sleep routine. Teachers taught the children how good sleeping patterns can help them study better. One of the important (3) ____ in the lessons was not to watch TV late at night. Other (4) ____ was to sleep for nine hours or more every night. One 15-year-old said he had tried going to bed early. He told the BBC: "I went to my bed at 10-ish rather than 11, and I do feel a little bit more (5) ____.”

This is (6) ____ news. It is difficult to understand why a school needs to give sleep lessons. That should be what parents do. I suppose that is life today. Children are staying up (7) ____ and later. They don’t go to bed because they want to watch TV, play games or chat online. This is bad news for their school work. Many children try to finish their homework (8) ____ a hurry because they want to use their computer. Kids who go to bed late (9) ____ asleep in class. If all children do this, maybe we’ll have fewer doctors and scientists (10) ____ no one will pass exams.

Put the correct words from this table into the article.

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

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WRITING

Write about sleep for 10 minutes. Show your partner your paper. Correct each other’s work.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. SLEEP: Search the Internet and find more information about sleep. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about sleep. Include imaginary an interview with a sleep expert. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

4. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to a sleep expert. Ask him/her three questions about sleep. Give him/her three of your opinions on sleep and children. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Your partner will answer the questions you asked.