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WARM-UPS

1. DOGS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about dogs. 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.

pet grooming / competitions / cats and dogs / prestigious / dyed hair / Elvis Presley / critics / animal rights / activists / pieces of art / dog owners / being pampered

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

3. DOG STUFF: Are the following OK? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and talk about your ideas. Change and share again.

	Yes / No	Why (not)
Dying dogs’ fur
Having a dog for a pet
Using dogs in hunting
For search and rescue
For the blind
For racing

4. MAN’S BEST FRIEND: Students A strongly believe dogs are man’s best friend; Students B strongly believe they are not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. SHOWS: Which of these dog shows would you like to see? Rank them and share your rankings with your partner. Change partners and share your rankings again.

dyed / redesigned dogs search and rescue dogs police dogs pedigree champion dogs

fashion for dogs the history of dogs dogs in movies man’s best friend

6. CREATIVE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘creative’. 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.	There was a show in America where dogs were dyed different colours.	T / F
b.	Hundreds of thousands of people attended the show.	T / F
c.	The winning dog had a guitar design on one of its sides.	T / F
d.	The winning dog owner spends a year to design her dogs’ fur.	T / F
e.	Animal rights groups said they were happy with the event.	T / F
f.	A dog owner believes no one like being pampered.	T / F
g.	Clipping and dying dogs’ fur is becoming more popular in the USA.	T / F
h.	The prize money looks set to increase in future years.	T / F

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

1.	annual	a.	important
2	attended	b.	MC
3.	prestigious	c.	recoloured
4.	dyed	d.	certain
5.	fashioned after	e.	yearly
6.	activists	f.	stupid
7.	ridiculous	g.	went to
8.	host	h.	spreading
9.	catching on	i.	made to look like
10.	sure	j.	campaigners

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

1.	A three-day annual pet-	a.	attended the show
2	Thousands of people	b.	attention to them
3.	its fur resembled a multi-	c.	unhappy
4.	a dog that was supposed to	d.	on her doggie designs
5.	she spends up to six months	e.	for six months
6.	Animal rights activists are	f.	future years
7.	dogs enjoy the constant	g.	coloured guitar
8.	pampered and shampooed	h.	look like a seahorse
9.	people are paying	i.	grooming competition
10.	this is sure to increase in	j.	care and attention

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

A three-day annual pet-____________ competition has just finished in the USA. The Intergroom event is a ____________ show where cat and dog owners cut and colour their pet’s fur into different ____________. Thousands of people attended the show to look at how other pet owners redesigned their animals. This year’s ____________ was a lady called Angela Kumpe. She won the prestigious “creative ____________” with her pet poodle. Ms Kumpe clipped and dyed her pooch so its fur resembled a multi-coloured guitar on one side and Elvis Presley on the ____________. Second place went to a dog that was ____________ to look like a seahorse. Other dogs were fashioned after Lady Gaga and the Mad Hatter in the movie Alice in Wonderland. Ms Kumpe says she ____________ up to six months on her doggie designs.		other designs spends winner grooming supposed trade challenge
The Intergroom event has its ____________. Animal rights activists are unhappy at the way pet owners use their dogs as ____________ of art. They say people should not dye dogs’ hair and make them look ____________. Dog owners at the show dispute this is the case. They believe the dogs enjoy the constant care and ____________. One owner asked: “Wouldn’t you like to be ____________ and shampooed for six months?” The host at this weekend’s event told the audience: “People sometimes say, ‘Oh, ____________ dog,’ but really, all they know is that people are ____________ attention to them. They love it.” Dog topiary - the art of clipping fur into artistic shapes - is catching on in the USA. The first prize at the Intergroom show this year was just $1,500 but this is ____________ to increase in future years.		paying ridiculous pampered sure critics poor pieces attention

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A three-day ______________________ competition has just finished in the USA. The Intergroom event is a trade show where cat and dog owners cut and colour their pet’s ______________________. Thousands of people attended the show to look at how other pet owners redesigned their animals. This year’s winner was a lady called Angela Kumpe. She ______________________ “creative challenge” with her pet poodle. Ms Kumpe clipped and dyed her pooch ______________________ a multi-coloured guitar on one side and Elvis Presley on the other. Second place went to a dog that ______________________ like a seahorse. Other dogs ______________________ Lady Gaga and the Mad Hatter in the movie Alice in Wonderland. Ms Kumpe says she spends up to six months on her doggie designs.

The Intergroom ______________________. Animal rights activists are unhappy at the way pet owners use their dogs ______________________. They say people should not dye dogs’ hair and make them look ridiculous. Dog owners at the show ______________________. They believe the dogs enjoy the constant care and attention. One owner asked: “Wouldn’t you like ______________________ shampooed for six months?” The host at this weekend’s event told the audience: “People sometimes say, ‘Oh, poor dog,’ but really, all they know is that people ______________________ them. They love it.” Dog topiary - the art of clipping fur into artistic shapes - is catching on in the USA. The first prize at the Intergroom show this year was just $1,500 ______________________ increase in future years.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

dog

show

• 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:

annual thousands winner resembled fashioned six

unhappy ridiculous enjoy six love catching

STUDENT DOGS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about dogs 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.

DOGS 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 ‘dog’?
c)	What three adjectives would you use to describe what you read in the article?
d)	What do you think of the idea of dying dogs’ hair?
e)	Would you like to see this show? Why (not)??
f)	Why do you think dog owners want to dye their pet’s fur?
g)	What do you think of the design of the winning dog?
h)	Do you think a dog is psychologically affected by having bright, multi-coloured fur?
i)	Would the world be better if we were all multi-coloured?
j)	Are dog’s really a ‘man’s best friend’?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do you agree with the animal rights activists?
c)	What do you think of dogs being used as pieces of art?
d)	Do you like being pampered and shampooed? Is it the same for dogs?
e)	Do you think dogs lead a good life?
f)	Should we keep dogs as pets? Isn’t this against animal rights?
g)	Do you think dog topiary will catch on in your country?
h)	Billions are starving and pet owners are dying their dogs. What do you think?
i)	How sexist is the term ‘man’s best friend’ when used with dogs?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the Intergroom show organizer?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

A three-day annual pet-(1) ____ competition has just finished in the USA. The Intergroom event is a trade show where cat and dog owners cut and colour their pet’s fur (2) ____ different designs. Thousands of people attended the show to look at how other pet owners redesigned their animals. This year’s winner was a lady called Angela Kumpe. She won the (3) ____ “creative challenge” with her pet poodle. Ms Kumpe clipped and dyed her pooch so its fur (4) ____ a multi-coloured guitar on one side and Elvis Presley on the (5) ____. Second place went to a dog that was supposed to look like a seahorse. Other dogs were fashioned after Lady Gaga and the Mad Hatter in the movie Alice in Wonderland. Ms Kumpe says she spends (6) ____ to six months on her doggie designs.

The Intergroom event has its (7) ____. Animal rights activists are unhappy at the way pet owners use their dogs as pieces of art. They say people should not dye   (8) ____  hair and make them look ridiculous. Dog owners at the show dispute this is the case. They believe the dogs enjoy the (9) ____ care and attention. One owner asked: “Wouldn’t you like to be pampered and shampooed for six months?” The host at this weekend’s event told the audience: “People sometimes say, ‘Oh, poor dog,’ but really, all they know is that people are (10) ____ attention to them. They love it.” Dog topiary - the art (11) ____ clipping fur into artistic shapes - is catching on in the USA. The first prize at the Intergroom show this year was just $1,500 but this is sure (12) ____ increase in future years.

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

1.	(a)	grouping	(b)	gaming	(c)	grooving	(d)	grooming
2.	(a)	into	(b)	of	(c)	at	(d)	from
3.	(a)	prestigiously	(b)	prestigious	(c)	presumably	(d)	prestige
4.	(a)	remastered	(b)	reminded	(c)	resembled	(d)	remembered
5.	(a)	others	(b)	another	(c)	other	(d)	over
6.	(a)	on	(b)	up	(c)	in	(d)	down
7.	(a)	critical	(b)	critically	(c)	criticize	(d)	critics
8.	(a)	dogs’	(b)	dog	(c)	dog’s	(d)	dogs
9.	(a)	constantly	(b)	constant	(c)	constants	(d)	constancy
10.	(a)	buying	(b)	selling	(c)	trading	(d)	paying
11.	(a)	by	(b)	to	(c)	of	(d)	at
12.	(a)	to	(b)	of	(c)	for	(d)	from

WRITING

Write about dogs 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 the Intergroom show. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. DYED: Write a magazine article about dog owners dying their dogs. Include imaginary interviews with a dog owner who dyes his/her dog and a dyed dog.

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 the head of the Intergroom show. Ask him/her three questions about the show. Give him/her three of your opinions on it. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

F

c.

T

d.

F

e.

F

f.

F

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	annual	a.	yearly
2	attended	b.	went to
3.	prestigious	c.	important
4.	dyed	d.	recoloured
5.	fashioned after	e.	made to look like
6.	activists	f.	campaigners
7.	ridiculous	g.	stupid
8.	host	h.	MC
9.	catching on	i.	spreading
10.	sure	j.	certain

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	A three-day annual pet-	a.	grooming competition
2	Thousands of people	b.	attended the show
3.	its fur resembled a multi-	c.	coloured guitar
4.	a dog that was supposed to	d.	look like a seahorse
5.	she spends up to six months	e.	on her doggie designs
6.	Animal rights activists are	f.	unhappy
7.	dogs enjoy the constant	g.	care and attention
8.	pampered and shampooed	h.	for six months
9.	people are paying	i.	attention to them
10.	this is sure to increase in	j.	future years

GAP FILL:

Dog dyed to resemble Elvis wins contest

A three-day annual pet-grooming competition has just finished in the USA. The Intergroom event is a trade show where cat and dog owners cut and colour their pet’s fur into different designs. Thousands of people attended the show to look at how other pet owners redesigned their animals. This year’s winner was a lady called Angela Kumpe. She won the prestigious “creative challenge” with her pet poodle. Ms Kumpe clipped and dyed her pooch so its fur resembled a multi-coloured guitar on one side and Elvis Presley on the other. Second place went to a dog that was supposed to look like a seahorse. Other dogs were fashioned after Lady Gaga and the Mad Hatter in the movie Alice in Wonderland. Ms Kumpe says she spends up to six months on her doggie designs.

The Intergroom event has its critics. Animal rights activists are unhappy at the way pet owners use their dogs as pieces of art. They say people should not dye dogs’ hair and make them look ridiculous. Dog owners at the show dispute this is the case. They believe the dogs enjoy the constant care and attention. One owner asked: “Wouldn’t you like to be pampered and shampooed for six months?” The host at this weekend’s event told the audience: “People sometimes say, ‘Oh, poor dog,’ but really, all they know is that people are paying attention to them. They love it.” Dog topiary - the art of clipping fur into artistic shapes - is catching on in the USA. The first prize at the Intergroom show this year was just $1,500 but this is sure to increase in future years.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

 

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