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Man gets world's first bionic eye (24th July, 2015)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

A man in Britain can see again because of a new bionic eye. Ray Flynn, 80, became the first patient in the world to get the new device, which is an artificial retina. Mr Flynn suffers from a condition called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is one of the most common problems with eyesight around the world. Flynn started losing his sight ten years ago. Doctors told him eight years ago that he had AMD. From that time, his sight became worse and worse. It became so bad that he could only see things out of the corners of his eyes. Everything in the centre of his eyes was blurred and he could not see shapes properly. He said that even looking at simple things made him very tired.

Mr Flynn's bionic eye cost $125,000. Britain's national health service hopes the cost of the operation will come down. This means many more people will be able to have the operation for free. Flynn had the surgery last month. Doctors spent four hours putting a microchip in the back of his eye. Doctors are very happy with the operation, which they said was a success. Flynn can now read a newspaper and admire the flowers in his garden for the first time in many years. His doctor, professor Paulo Stanga, said: "Mr Flynn's progress is truly remarkable. He is seeing the outline of people and objects very effectively." Professor Stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been blind from birth.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3169864/Eye-sight-breakthrough-thousands-UK-scientists-invent-BIONIC-EYE-save-sight-80-year-old.html#ixzz3gYzWtYRM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11753949/Bionic-eye-fitted-to-British-pensioner-in-world-first.html
http://www.itv.com/news/2015-07-21/bionic-eye-therapy-restores-sight-to-pensioner/

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. EYESIGHT: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about eyesight. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

see / bionic eye / patient / artificial / problems / eyesight / worse and worse / simple / national health service / operation / microchip / success / many years / remarkable

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

3. ABILITIES: What can we do about these things as we get older? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Problems	Things to do to help
Eyesight
Hearing
Weight
Hair loss
Memory loss
Muscles

4. EYES: Students A strongly believe eyes are the most beautiful part of the body; Students B strongly believe they are not. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. SEEING: Rank these with your partner. Put the most beautiful things to look at at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• babies

• flowers

• art

• countryside

• yourself in the mirror

• a rainbow

• TV

• cars

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

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The man who received the bionic eye was more than 70 years old.	T / F
b.	The bionic eye was an artificial retina.	T / F
c.	The man found out he had a problem called AMD last year.	T / F
d.	The problem meant he could only see out of the corners of his eyes.	T / F
e.	The eye cost $125,000.	T / F
f.	Britain's health service said the operation will never come down in price.	T / F
g.	The operation took 14 hours.	T / F
h.	A doctor said the operation could not help people who were born blind.	T / F

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

1.	device	a.	middle
2.	artificial	b.	at no cost
3.	condition	c.	price
4.	centre	d.	gadget
5.	blurred	e.	really
6.	cost	f.	out of focus
7.	for free	g.	man-made
8.	surgery	h.	things
9.	truly	i.	illness
10.	objects	j.	operation

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	the first patient in the world to	a.	problems with eyesight
2.	one of the most common	b.	remarkable
3.	see things out of the	c.	made him very tired
4.	Everything in the centre of his	d.	come down
5.	even looking at simple things	e.	get the new device
6.	the cost of the operation will	f.	from birth
7.	Flynn had the	g.	eyes was blurred
8.	for the first	h.	surgery last month
9.	Mr Flynn's progress is truly	i.	time in many years
10.	people who have been blind	j.	corners of his eyes

GAP FILL

A man in Britain can see (1) ____________ because of a new bionic eye. Ray Flynn, 80, became the first (2) ____________ in the world to get the new device, which is an artificial retina. Mr Flynn (3) ____________ from a condition called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is one of the most (4) ____________ problems with eyesight around the world. Flynn started losing his sight ten years ago. Doctors told him eight years ago that he had AMD. From that (5) ____________, his sight became worse and worse. It became so bad that he could only see things out of the (6) ____________ of his eyes. Everything in the centre of his eyes was (7) ____________ and he could not see shapes properly. He said that even looking at (8) ____________ things made him very tired.

suffers
time
patient
common
simple
again
blurred
corners

Mr Flynn's bionic eye cost $125,000. Britain's national health (9) ____________ hopes the cost of the operation will come down. This means many more people will be able to have the operation for (10) ____________. Flynn had the (11) ____________ last month. Doctors spent four hours putting a (12) ____________ in the back of his eye. Doctors are very happy with the operation, which they said was a success. Flynn can now read a newspaper and (13) ____________ the flowers in his garden for the first time in many years. His doctor, professor Paulo Stanga, said: "Mr Flynn's progress is (14) ____________ remarkable. He is seeing the outline of people and objects very (15) ____________." Professor Stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been (16) ____________ from birth.

surgery
service
effectively
free
blind
admire
microchip
truly

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Flynn, 80, became the first patient in the world to get the new device, which ______ retina
	a. is an arty official b. is an art official c. is an arty fish all d. is an artificial
2)	This is one of the most common problems with eyesight ______
	a. around a world b. around the world c. around this world d. around that world
3)	It became so bad that he could only see things ______ of his eyes
	a. out by the corners b. out of the corners c. out off the corners d. out on the corners
4)	Everything in the centre of his eyes was blurred and he could ______ properly
	a. not see shapes b. not see sharps c. not see sheep d. not see shades
5)	He said that even looking at simple things made ______
	a. his very tired b. him very tired c. he very tired d. them very tired
6)	Britain's national health service hopes the cost of the operation ______
	a. will comes down b. will coming down c. will came down d. will come down
7)	This means many more people will be able to have the ______
	a. operation by free b. operation to free c. operation for free d. operation from free
8)	Doctors spent four hours putting a microchip in the ______
	a. pack of his eye b. back of his eye c. dark of his eye d. bark of his eye
9)	admire the flowers in his garden for the first ______ years
	a. time in many b. time in most c. time in much d. time in more
10)	Stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been ______
	a. blind from births b. blind from birth c. blind from bathe d. blind from birthday

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A man in Britain (1) ___________________ because of a new bionic eye. Ray Flynn, 80, became the first patient in the world (2) ________________ device, which is an artificial retina. Mr Flynn suffers from a condition called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This (3) ___________________ most common problems with eyesight around the world. Flynn started losing (4) ___________________ years ago. Doctors told him eight years ago that he had AMD. From that time, his sight became worse and worse. It became so bad that (5) ___________________ see things out of the corners of his eyes. Everything in the centre of his eyes was blurred and he could not see shapes properly. He said that even looking (6) ___________________ made him very tired.

Mr Flynn's bionic eye cost $125,000. Britain's national (7) ______________ the cost of the operation will come down. This (8) ___________________ people will be able to have the operation for free. Flynn had the surgery last month. Doctors (9) ___________________ putting a microchip in the back of his eye. Doctors are (10) ___________________ the operation, which they said was a success. Flynn can now read a newspaper and admire the flowers in his garden for the first time in many years. His doctor, professor Paulo Stanga, said: "Mr Flynn's progress (11) ___________________. He is seeing the outline of people and objects very effectively." Professor Stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been (12) ______________.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	How old is Ray Flynn?
2.	What part of the eye does the device replace?
3.	When did Mr Flynn start losing his sight?
4.	What could he not see properly?
5.	How did he feel when he looked at simple things?
6.	How much did the bionic eye cost?
7.	When did Mr Flynn have the operation?
8.	What can Mr Flynn now admire?
9.	What is Paolo Stanga's job?
10.	Who does Mr Stanga hope scientists can help?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	How old is Ray Flynn?	6.	How much did the bionic eye cost?
	a) 80 b) 70 c) 60 d) 50		a) $120,000 b) $152,000 c) $150,000 d) $125,000
2.	What part of the eye does the device replace?	7.	When did Mr Flynn have the operation?
	a) the eyelashes b) the iris c) the retina d) the pupil		a) last year b) last week c) last month d) yesterday
3.	When did Mr Flynn start losing his sight?	8.	What can Mr Flynn now admire?
	a) 7 years ago b) 8 years ago c) 9 years ago d) 10 years ago		a) art b) flowers c) himself d) colours
4.	What could he not see properly?	9.	What is Paolo Stanga's job?
	a) small print b) shapes c) his iPad d) cars		a) a flower arranger b) an engineer c) a doctor d) owner of a glasses shop
5.	How did he feel when he looked at simple things?	10.	Who does Mr Stanga hope scientists can help?
	a) tired b) angry c) bored d) excited		a) people who are colour blind b) people blind from birth c) people in accidents d) everyone

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Babies

You think babies are the most beautiful things to look at. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so beautiful. Also, tell the others which is the least beautiful of these (and why): flowers, art or a rainbow.

Role B – Flowers

You think flowers are the most beautiful things to look at. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so beautiful. Also, tell the others which is the least beautiful of these (and why): babies, art or a rainbow.

Role C – Art

You think art is the most beautiful thing to look at. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so beautiful. Also, tell the others which is the least beautiful of these (and why): flowers, babies or a rainbow.

Role D – A rainbow

You think a rainbow is the most beautiful thing to look at. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't so beautiful. Also, tell the others which is the least beautiful of these (and why): flowers, art or babies.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'eye' and 'sight'.

eye

sight

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:

again
new
most
ten
bad
simple

cost
down
last
success
flowers
birth

EYESIGHT SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about eyesight 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.

EYESIGHT DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'eyesight'?
3)	How has your eyesight changed over the years?
4)	How important is eyesight?
5)	What do you think of having a bionic eye?
6)	What are the most beautiful things in the world to look at?
7)	What bodily functions are you worried will disappear when you get older?
8)	How often do you get tired eyes?
9)	What is the maximum number of bionic parts on someone's body?
10)	What do we need to do to look after our eyes?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	What is the most beautiful eye colour?
13)	How would you feel if you needed eye surgery?
14)	What are the ugliest things in the world to look at?
15)	How long would it take a sighted person to adjust to being blind?
16)	What can you tell from looking at someone's eyes?
17)	Are eyes the most beautiful part of the body?
18)	What would you like to change about your eyes?
19)	What does the expression 'seeing is believing' mean?
20)	What questions would you like to ask the professor?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

A man in Britain can see again (1) ____ of a new bionic eye. Ray Flynn, 80, became the first (2) ____ in the world to get the new device, which is an artificial retina. Mr Flynn suffers from a (3) ____ called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is one of the most common problems with eyesight around the world. Flynn started losing his sight ten years ago. Doctors told him eight years ago that he had AMD. From (4) ____ time, his sight became worse and (5) ____. It became so bad that he could only see things out of the corners of his eyes. Everything in the centre of his eyes was blurred and he could not see shapes properly. He said that even looking at (6) ____ things made him very tired.

Mr Flynn's bionic eye cost $125,000. Britain's national health service hopes the cost of the operation will (7) ____ down. This means many more people will be able to have the operation for (8) ____. Flynn had the surgery last month. Doctors spent four hours (9) ____ a microchip in the back of his eye. Doctors are very happy with the operation, which they said was a success. Flynn can now read a newspaper and admire the flowers in his garden (10) ____ the first time in many years. His doctor, professor Paulo Stanga, said: "Mr Flynn's progress is (11) ____ remarkable. He is seeing the outline of people and objects very effectively." Professor Stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been blind (12) ____ birth.

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

1.	(a)	because	(b)	due to	(c)	thanks	(d)	from
2.	(a)	patent	(b)	patience	(c)	patient	(d)	parent
3.	(a)	illness	(b)	eyesight	(c)	condition	(d)	term
4.	(a)	after	(b)	before	(c)	then	(d)	that
5.	(a)	worse	(b)	bad	(c)	well	(d)	more
6.	(a)	sample	(b)	simple	(c)	stamp	(d)	sump
7.	(a)	have	(b)	take	(c)	do	(d)	come
8.	(a)	freely	(b)	free	(c)	freed	(d)	frees
9.	(a)	put	(b)	puts	(c)	putting	(d)	putted
10.	(a)	as	(b)	on	(c)	by	(d)	for
11.	(a)	truth	(b)	reality	(c)	real	(d)	truly
12.	(a)	as	(b)	from	(c)	via	(d)	through

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	the first nttpeia in the world
2.	get the new ievdce
3.	an iiaratifcl retina
4.	problems with tisehgye
5.	Everything in the centre…was dbrurle
6.	he could not see shapes poerlrpy
Paragraph 2
7.	the cost of the oeitnopar
8.	Flynn had the uegryrs last month
9.	aedrmi the flowers
10.	Mr Flynn's sgrpseor
11.	truly arlmbareke
12.	the outline of people and tjbosce

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	time, his sight became worse and worse. It became so bad that he could only see things out of the corners
( )	month. Doctors spent four hours putting a microchip in the back of his eye. Doctors are very happy
( )	properly. He said that even looking at simple things made him very tired.
( )	of his eyes. Everything in the centre of his eyes was blurred and he could not see shapes
( )	with the operation, which they said was a success. Flynn can now read a newspaper and admire
( )	patient in the world to get the new device, which is an artificial retina. Mr Flynn suffers from a condition called age-
( )	Mr Flynn's bionic eye cost $125,000. Britain's national health service hopes the cost of the operation will come
( )	effectively." Professor Stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been blind from birth.
( )	progress is truly remarkable. He is seeing the outline of people and objects very
( )	the world. Flynn started losing his sight ten years ago. Doctors told him eight years ago that he had AMD. From that
( )	the flowers in his garden for the first time in many years. His doctor, professor Paulo Stanga, said: "Mr Flynn's
( )	down. This means many more people will be able to have the operation for free. Flynn had the surgery last
( )	related macular degeneration (AMD). This is one of the most common problems with eyesight around
( 1 )	A man in Britain can see again because of a new bionic eye. Ray Flynn, 80, became the first

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	A a can of Britain eye because in bionic again man new see .
2.	of the most common problems with eyesight This is one .
3.	only of of see He his the things could eyes corners out .
4.	eyes the his blurred in of was Everything centre .
5.	simple him at made tired looking things very Even .
6.	operation the have to able be will people more Many .
7.	microchip back eye a the his Putting in of .
8.	the first time Admire the flowers in his garden for .
9.	effectively the people very Seeing of objects outline and .
10.	been have who people help also can Scientists birth from blind .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

A man in Britain can see / sight again because of a new bionic eye. Ray Flynn, 80, became the first patience / patient in the world to get the new device, which is an artificially / artificial retina. Mr Flynn suffers from a condition / conditional called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is one of the most common problems with eyesight around the world. Flynn started / starts losing his sight ten years ago. Doctors tell / told him eight years ago that he had AMD. From then / that time, his sight became worse and worse. It became / becomes so bad that he could only see things out / up of the corners of his eyes. Everything in the centre of his eyes was blurred and he could not see shapes properly / proper. He said that even looking at simple things made him very tired.

Mr Flynn's bionic eye costed / cost $125,000. Britain's national health service hopes the cost of the operation will come up / down. This means many more people will be ability / able to have the operation for free / freely. Flynn had the surgery last month. Doctors spent four hours put / putting a microchip in the back of his eye. Doctors are very happily / happy with the operation, which they said was the / a success. Flynn can now read a newspaper and admire / admiration the flowers in his garden for the first time in many years. His doctor, professor Paulo Stanga, said: "Mr Flynn's progress is truly / truth remarkable. He is seeing the outline of people and objects very effectively." Professor Stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been blind / blindness from birth.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

_ m_n _n Br_t__n c_n s__ _g__n b_c__s_ _f _ n_w b__n_c _y_. R_y Flynn, 80, b_c_m_ th_ f_rst p_t__nt _n th_ w_rld t_ g_t th_ n_w d_v_c_, wh_ch _s _n _rt_f_c__l r_t_n_. Mr Flynn s_ff_rs fr_m _ c_nd_t__n c_ll_d _g_-r_l_t_d m_c_l_r d_g_n_r_t__n (_MD). Th_s _s _n_ _f th_ m_st c_mm_n pr_bl_ms w_th _y_s_ght _r__nd th_ w_rld. Flynn st_rt_d l_s_ng h_s s_ght t_n y__rs _g_. D_ct_rs t_ld h_m __ght y__rs _g_ th_t h_ h_d _MD. Fr_m th_t t_m_, h_s s_ght b_c_m_ w_rs_ _nd w_rs_. _t b_c_m_ s_ b_d th_t h_ c__ld _nly s__ th_ngs __t _f th_ c_rn_rs _f h_s _y_s. _v_ryth_ng _n th_ c_ntr_ _f h_s _y_s w_s bl_rr_d _nd h_ c__ld n_t s__ sh_p_s pr_p_rly. H_ s__d th_t _v_n l__k_ng _t s_mpl_ th_ngs m_d_ h_m v_ry t_r_d.

Mr Flynn's b__n_c _y_ c_st $125,000. Br_t__n's n_t__n_l h__lth s_rv_c_ h_p_s th_ c_st _f th_ _p_r_t__n w_ll c_m_ d_wn. Th_s m__ns m_ny m_r_ p__pl_ w_ll b_ _bl_ t_ h_v_ th_ _p_r_t__n f_r fr__. Flynn h_d th_ s_rg_ry l_st m_nth. D_ct_rs sp_nt f__r h__rs p_tt_ng _ m_cr_ch_p _n th_ b_ck _f h_s _y_. D_ct_rs _r_ v_ry h_ppy w_th th_ _p_r_t__n, wh_ch th_y s__d w_s _ s_cc_ss. Flynn c_n n_w r__d _ n_wsp_p_r _nd _dm_r_ th_ fl_w_rs _n h_s g_rd_n f_r th_ f_rst t_m_ _n m_ny y__rs. H_s d_ct_r, pr_f_ss_r P__l_ St_ng_, s__d: "Mr Flynn's pr_gr_ss _s tr_ly r_m_rk_bl_. H_ _s s___ng th_ __tl_n_ _f p__pl_ _nd _bj_cts v_ry _ff_ct_v_ly." Pr_f_ss_r St_ng_ h_p_s sc__nt_sts c_n _ls_ h_lp p__pl_ wh_ h_v_ b__n bl_nd fr_m b_rth.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

a man in britain can see again because of a new bionic eye ray flynn 80 became the first patient in the world to get the new device which is an artificial retina mr flynn suffers from a condition called age-related macular degeneration (amd) this is one of the most common problems with eyesight around the world flynn started losing his sight ten years ago doctors told him eight years ago that he had amd from that time his sight became worse and worse it became so bad that he could only see things out of the corners of his eyes everything in the centre of his eyes was blurred and he could not see shapes properly he said that even looking at simple things made him very tired

mr flynn's bionic eye cost $125000 britain's national health service hopes the cost of the operation will come down this means many more people will be able to have the operation for free flynn had the surgery last month doctors spent four hours putting a microchip in the back of his eye doctors are very happy with the operation which they said was a success flynn can now read a newspaper and admire the flowers in his garden for the first time in many years his doctor professor paulo stanga said "mr flynn's progress is truly remarkable he is seeing the outline of people and objects very effectively" professor stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been blind from birth

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

AmaninBritaincanseeagainbecauseofanewbioniceye.RayFlynn,80,b
ecamethefirstpatientintheworldtogetthenewdevice,whichisanartific
ialretina.MrFlynnsuffersfromaconditioncalledage-relatedmac
ulardegeneration(AMD).Thisisoneofthemostcommonproblemswith
eyesightaroundtheworld.Flynnstartedlosinghissighttenyearsago.D
octorstoldhimeightyearsagothathehadAMD.Fromthattime,hissightb
ecameworseandworse.Itbecamesobadthathecouldonlyseethingsou
tofthecornersofhiseyes.Everythinginthecentreofhiseyeswasblurred
andhecouldnotseeshapesproperly.Hesaidthatevenlookingatsimplet
hingsmadehimverytired.MrFlynn'sbioniceyecost$125,000.Britain's
nationalhealthservicehopesthecostoftheoperationwillcomedown.Th
ismeansmanymorepeoplewillbeabletohavetheoperationforfree.Flyn
nhadthesurgerylastmonth.Doctorsspentfourhoursputtingamicrochi
pinthebackofhiseye.Doctorsareveryhappywiththeoperation,whicht
heysaidwasasuccess.Flynncannowreadanewspaperandadmirethefl
owersinhisgardenforthefirsttimeinmanyyears.Hisdoctor,professor
auloStanga,said:"MrFlynn'sprogressistrulyremarkable.Heisseeingt
heoutlineofpeopleandobjectsveryeffectively."ProfessorStangahope
sscientistscanalsohelppeoplewhohavebeenblindfrombirth.

FREE WRITING

Write about eyesight for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

How important are each of the five senses (sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste)? Put them in order and explain your reasons.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 eyesight problems. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. EYESIGHT: Make a poster about eyesight. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. SIGHT RECOVERED: Write a magazine article about someone who got their sight back. Include an imaginary interview with that person.

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. 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.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on eyesight. Ask him/her three questions about eyesight. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to protect our eyesight. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

Buy my book

$US 9.99

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

T

c

F

d

T

e

T

f

F

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	device	a.	gadget
2	artificial	b.	man-made
3.	condition	c.	illness
4.	centre	d.	middle
5.	blurred	e.	out of focus
6.	cost	f.	price
7.	for free	g.	at no cost
8.	surgery	h.	operation
9.	truly	i.	really
10.	objects	j.	things

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	80
2.	The retina
3.	10 years ago
4.	Shapes
5.	Tired
6.	$125,000
7.	Last month
8.	Flowers
9.	A doctor (and professor)
10.	People blind from birth

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

a

2.

c

3.

d

4.

b

5.

a

6.

d

7.

c

8.

b

9.

c

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Man gets world's first bionic eye (24th July, 2015)

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