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ESL / EFL Lesson Plan on Fathers

WARM-UPS

1. FATHERS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about fathers. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

worrying / new reports / online surveys / weight gain / fatty foods / kitchen cupboards / favourite snacks / eating out / too tired to cook / snacking / waistline / new trousers

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. FATHERS-TO-BE: What advice would you give fathers-to-be? Complete this table with your partner(s). Talk about what you wrote to your partner. Change partners and share what you heard.

	Advice	Why?
Eating
Supporting partner
Studying fatherhood
Finances
Baby’s room
Baby’s future

4. SUPPORTING MUM: Students A strongly believe fathers-to-be should put on weight to make their partner feel better; Students B strongly believe fathers-to-be have a duty to be as slim as possible.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. PARENT WORRIES: What do parents-to-be worry about most? Rank these with your partner – biggest worry to smallest worry. Change partners and share your rankings. Decide how you can stop parents-to-be worrying about these things.

how to put on Pampers getting enough sleep baby’s health social life after birth of baby

baby’s education baby’s marriage (after baby grows up) baby’s looks will I be a good parent?

6. PREGNANCY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘pregnancy’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	A report says many men get fatter during their partner’s pregnancy.	T / F
b.	Around a quarter of men questioned put on an average of 6kg.	T / F
c.	The report says men gain weight out of sympathy for their partner.	T / F
d.	A report spokesman wasn’t surprised fathers-to-be put on weight.	T / F
e.	The report said fathers-to-be didn’t need to worry about what they ate.	T / F
f.	The report blames the pregnant woman for her partner’s beer drinking.	T / F
g.	Forty-two percent of couples stayed at home more often and cooked.	T / F
h.	The waistline of many fathers-to-be grew by up to 40cm.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1.	worry	a.	full of
2	carried out	b.	representative
3.	feel sorry for	c.	conducted
4.	brimming with	d.	eating between meals
5.	tuck in	e.	watchful
6.	careful	f.	get stressed
7.	support	g.	dined
8.	spokesperson	h.	sympathize with
9.	ate out	i.	eat
10.	snacking	j.	encourage

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one. combination is possible):

1.	It’s not just women who	a.	with snacks
2	they feel sorry	b.	pregnant partner more
3.	a craving to eat more fatty	c.	their time together
4.	kitchen cupboards are suddenly brimming	d.	worry about their weight
5.	guys are tempted to tuck	e.	to their waistline
6.	men needed to support their	f.	on unhealthier food
7.	men are choosing to snack	g.	in as well
8.	couples ate	h.	for their partner
9.	make the most of	i.	out more often
10.	men added as much as 4cm	j.	foods

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

It’s not just women who ___________ about their weight during pregnancy. Men do too. This is according to a new report ___________ out on 5,000 men by Onepoll.com in the U.K. Their online survey found that up to 25 per cent of fathers-to-be ___________ around 6kg in weight. One reason for the weight gain in men is they feel ___________ for their partner. The men said they ate more during their partner's pregnancy to make her feel better about getting ___________. Another reason is that there is usually more food in the house. Pregnant women usually have a ___________ to eat more ___________ foods and have more snacks. A spokesperson for Onepoll said: "If the kitchen cupboards are suddenly brimming with snacks and food, it's no ___________ guys are tempted to tuck in as well."		craving sorry carried wonder bigger worry fatty gained
The report suggested dads-to-be ___________ to be more careful about what they ate during pregnancy. Their favourite snacks ___________ pizza, chocolate, crisps, and beer. Onepoll.com said men needed to support their pregnant partner more by eating ___________ snacks. A spokesperson said: “The only problem seems to be that men are ___________ to snack on unhealthier [food] - and I don't think women can be ___________ for their partners drinking more beer.” Forty-two per cent of couples ate out more often at restaurants. This was to make the ___________ of their time together before the birth, and because they were too tired to cook. The result of all this ___________ was that many men added as much as 4cm to their ___________. They then had to buy new trousers.		most included choosing waistline needed blamed snacking healthier

LISTENING:  Listen and fill in the gaps.

It’s not just women ____________________ weight during pregnancy. Men do too. This is according to a new report carried out on 5,000 men by Onepoll.com in the U.K. Their online survey ____________________ 25 per cent of fathers-to-be gained around 6kg in weight. One reason for the weight gain in men ____________________ their partner. The men said they ate more during their partner's pregnancy to make ____________________ getting bigger. Another reason is that there is usually more food in the house. Pregnant women usually have a craving ____________________ and have more snacks. A spokesperson for Onepoll said: "If the kitchen cupboards are suddenly brimming with snacks and food, it's no wonder guys are ____________________ as well."

The report suggested dads-to-be ____________________ careful about what they ate during pregnancy. Their favourite snacks included pizza, chocolate, crisps, and beer. Onepoll.com said men ____________________ pregnant partner more by eating healthier snacks. A spokesperson said: “The only problem ____________________ men are choosing to snack on unhealthier [food] - and I don't think women can be blamed for their partners drinking more beer.” Forty-two per cent of couples ____________________ restaurants. This was to make the most of their time together before the birth, and because they ____________________. The result of all this snacking was that many men ____________________ 4cm to their waistline. They then had to buy new trousers.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘gain’ and ‘weight’.

gain

weight

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

just survey reason getting fatty wonder

careful included choosing couples tired added

STUDENT WEIGHT SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about weight in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘father’?
c)	Do you worry about your weight?
d)	Who worries about their weight more – men or women? Why?
e)	Do you understand why fathers-to-be want to put on weight?
f)	Who do you feel sorry for?
g)	What food do you have a craving to eat?
h)	What are your favourite snacks?
i)	Do you eat more when the food cupboard is brimming with snacks?
j)	Do you do anything about your weight?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do fathers-to-be need to be careful about during their partner’s pregnancy?
c)	How can fathers-to-be support their partner during her pregnancy?
d)	Do you need to cut back on the amount of snacks you eat?
e)	What can women be blamed for? What can men be blamed for?
f)	Do you like eating out at restaurants? Why?
g)	Do you always make the most of your time?
h)	What would you worry about if you were going to be a parent (again)?
i)	How has your waistline changed over the years?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the fathers-to-be who gain weight?

LANGUAGE

It’s not just women who worry (1) ____ their weight during pregnancy. Men do too. This is according to a new report carried (2) ____ on 5,000 men by Onepoll.com in the U.K. Their online survey found that up to 25 per cent of fathers-to-be gained around 6kg in weight. One reason for the weight gain in men is they (3) ____ sorry for their partner. The men said they ate more during their partner's pregnancy to (4) ____ her feel better about getting bigger. Another reason is that there is usually more food in the house. Pregnant women usually have a craving to eat more (5) ____ foods and have more snacks. A spokesperson for Onepoll said: "If the kitchen cupboards are suddenly brimming with snacks and food, it's no (6) ____ guys are tempted to tuck in as well."

The report suggested dads-to-be needed to be more careful about what they (7) ____ during pregnancy. Their favourite snacks included pizza, chocolate, crisps, and beer. Onepoll.com said men needed to support their pregnant partner (8) ____ by eating healthier snacks. A spokesperson said: “The only problem seems to be that men are choosing to (9) ____ on unhealthier [food] - and I don't think women can be blamed (10) ____ their partners drinking more beer.” Forty-two per cent of couples ate out more often at restaurants. This was to make the (11) ____ of their time together before the birth, and because they were too tired to cook. The result of all this (12) ____ was that many men added as much as 4cm to their waistline. They then had to buy new trousers.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	of	(b)	with	(c)	for	(d)	about
2.	(a)	in	(b)	out	(c)	on	(d)	up
3.	(a)	feel	(b)	feeling	(c)	feels	(d)	feeler
4.	(a)	take	(b)	do	(c)	make	(d)	be
5.	(a)	fat	(b)	fatter	(c)	fatty	(d)	fattest
6.	(a)	wonderful	(b)	wonder	(c)	wander	(d)	wandering
7.	(a)	ate	(b)	eats	(c)	eaten	(d)	eating
8.	(a)	much	(b)	many	(c)	any	(d)	more
9.	(a)	snacks	(b)	snack	(c)	snacking	(d)	snacked
10.	(a)	at	(b)	to	(c)	of	(d)	for
11.	(a)	many	(b)	more	(c)	most	(d)	much
12.	(a)	snacking	(b)	snacks	(c)	snack	(d)	snacked

WRITING: 

Write about parenting for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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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. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about fathers-to-be. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. MY WEIGHT: Make a poster about the ups and downs of your weight. Include what happened to make your weight go up and down. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. GETTING BIGGER: Write a magazine article about a father-to-be who is putting on the same amount of weight as his pregnant partner. Include imaginary interviews with him and a health expert.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to a father-to-be. Ask him three questions about what he thinks of becoming a father. Give them three ideas on how to be a good father. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

T

c.

T

d.

T

e.

F

f.

F

g.

F

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	worry	a.	get stressed
2	carried out	b.	conducted
3.	feel sorry for	c.	sympathize with
4.	brimming with	d.	full of
5.	tuck in	e.	eat
6.	careful	f.	watchful
7.	support	g.	encourage
8.	spokesperson	h.	representative
9.	ate out	i.	dined
10.	snacking	j.	eating between meals

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	It’s not just women who	a.	worry about their weight
2	they feel sorry	b.	for their partner
3.	a craving to eat more fatty	c.	foods
4.	kitchen cupboards are suddenly brimming	d.	with snacks
5.	guys are tempted to tuck	e.	in as well
6.	men needed to support their	f.	pregnant partner more
7.	men are choosing to snack	g.	on unhealthier food
8.	couples ate	h.	out more often
9.	make the most of	i.	their time together
10.	men added as much as 4cm	j.	to their waistline

GAP FILL:

Fathers-to-be gain weight during pregnancy

It’s not just women who worry about their weight during pregnancy. Men do too. This is according to a new report carried out on 5,000 men by Onepoll.com in the U.K. Their online survey found that up to 25 per cent of fathers-to-be gained around 6kg in weight. One reason for the weight gain in men is they feel sorry for their partner. The men said they ate more during their partner's pregnancy to make her feel better about getting bigger. Another reason is that there is usually more food in the house. Pregnant women usually have a craving to eat more fatty foods and have more snacks. A spokesperson for Onepoll said: "If the kitchen cupboards are suddenly brimming with snacks and food, it's no wonder guys are tempted to tuck in as well."

The report suggested dads-to-be needed to be more careful about what they ate during pregnancy. Their favourite snacks included pizza, chocolate, crisps, and beer. Onepoll.com said men needed to support their pregnant partner more by eating healthier snacks. A spokesperson said: “The only problem seems to be that men are choosing to snack on unhealthier [food] - and I don't think women can be blamed for their partners drinking more beer.” Forty-two per cent of couples ate out more often at restaurants. This was to make the most of their time together before the birth, and because they were too tired to cook. The result of all this snacking was that many men added as much as 4cm to their waistline. They then had to buy new trousers.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

 

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