Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Pocket Money

Children in Britain are feeling the effects of the recession. The weak economy is hitting them where it hurts most – their pockets. A new survey has shown that the weekly money that children receive from their parents is at a seven-year low. The report, from the Halifax Bank, indicates the allowance kids get from their parents is now 30 per cent lower than it was in 2003. Today, children between the ages of eight and 15 receive an average of £5.89 ($9.20). This compares unfavourably with the £8.37 ($13.07) they were getting five years ago, when pocket money levels peaked. The report also showed that girls were worse off than boys. Boys still receive more money than girls, but the gender gap in spending money has closed considerably compared with previous years.

Children seem to be coping well with their worsening economic conditions. The Halifax Bank says children are managing to put money away for a rainy day. Flavia Umana, head of savings products at Halifax, told the BBC: "It is encouraging to see that children are still saving, despite the amount of pocket money falling.” Ms Umana added: "Teaching children how to manage their own pocket money is a great first step to building good financial awareness in our youngsters." British kids said they were finding it hard to make ends meet. Alec Flynn, 14, from London spoke about how tough he found stretching his pocket money: “It’s not easy trying to budget on so little money. I only get £5 a week from my parents; it takes me three months to save up for a computer game.”

WARM-UPS

1. POCKET MONEY: Walk around the class and talk to other students about pocket money. 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.

effects of the recession / hitting your pocket / pocket money / girls worse off / gender / coping / economic conditions / put money away / encouraging / financial awareness

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

3. TOUGH: Who does the recession affect most? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Who?	How?	What they need to do to budget
Children
Parents
The aged
The homeless
Uni students
The jobless

4. PART-TIME JOBS: Students A strongly believe kids should get money from part-time jobs, not their parents; Students B strongly believe kids shouldn’t work - parents should give them money. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. 14 (AGAIN): You are 14 (again). How do you use your pocket money? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the most important at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

toys
chocolate and sweets
computer games
save

food
school stuff
presents
clothes

6. FINANCIAL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘financial’. 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.	Children in the U.K. need bigger pockets for their pocket money.	T / F
b.	British kids are the poorest they have ever been.	T / F
c.	Children in Britain are getting 30% less now than in 2003.	T / F
d.	Girls in the U.K. get more pocket money than boys.	T / F
e.	A bank said kids are managing to do well with managing their money.	T / F
f.	British kids are still saving, even though they have less money.	T / F
g.	One teen tried to stretch a banknote but it split in two.	T / F
h.	A British teen said he needed 3 months to save for a computer game.	T / F

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

1.	effects	a.	monetary
2	weak	b.	pocket money
3.	allowance	c.	survive
4.	worse off	d.	impact
5.	considerably	e.	poorer
6.	coping	f.	later
7.	a rainy day	g.	fragile
8.	financial	h.	difficult
9.	make ends meet	i.	by a long way
10.	tough	j.	managing

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

1.	The weak economy is hitting	a.	of £5.89
2	at a seven-year	b.	ends meet
3.	receive an average	c.	with previous years
4.	girls were worse	d.	well
5.	closed considerably compared	e.	low
6.	Children seem to be coping	f.	a rainy day
7.	put money away for	g.	them where it hurts
8.	first step to building good	h.	up for a computer game
9.	finding it hard to make	i.	off than boys
10.	three months to save	j.	financial awareness

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Children in Britain are feeling the ____________ of the recession. The weak economy is hitting them where it hurts most – their pockets. A new survey has ____________ that the weekly money that children receive from their parents is at a seven-year ____________. The report, from the Halifax Bank, ____________ the allowance kids get from their parents is now 30 per cent lower than it was in 2003. Today, children between the ages of eight and 15 receive an ____________ of £5.89 ($9.20). This compares unfavourably with the £8.37 ($13.07) they were getting five years ago, when pocket money levels ____________. The report also showed that girls were ____________ off than boys. Boys still receive more money than girls, but the gender ____________ in spending money has closed considerably compared with previous years.

peaked
indicates
gap
shown
worse
effects
average
low

Children seem to be ____________ well with their worsening economic conditions. The Halifax Bank says children are managing to put money away for a ____________ day. Flavia Umana, head of savings products at Halifax, told the BBC: "It is encouraging to see that children are still saving, ____________ the amount of pocket money falling.” Ms Umana added: "Teaching children how to ____________ their own pocket money is a great first ____________ to building good financial awareness in our youngsters." British kids said they were finding it hard to make ends ____________. Alec Flynn, 14, from London spoke about how tough he found stretching his pocket money: “It’s not easy trying to ____________ on so little money. I only get £5 a week from my parents; it takes me three months to save ____________ for a computer game.”

meet
despite
up
step
rainy
coping
budget
manage

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Children in Britain are _______________________ the recession. The weak economy is _______________________ it hurts most – their pockets. A new survey has shown that the weekly money that children receive from their parents is _______________________. The report, from the Halifax Bank, indicates the allowance kids get from their parents is now 30 per cent lower than it was in 2003. Today, children between the ages of eight and 15 receive an average of £5.89 ($9.20). This _______________________ with the £8.37 ($13.07) they were getting five years ago, when pocket money levels peaked. The report also showed that girls _______________________ boys. Boys still receive more money than girls, but the gender gap in spending money has closed considerably _______________________ years.

Children seem to _______________________ their worsening economic conditions. The Halifax Bank says children are managing to put money _______________________. Flavia Umana, head of savings products at Halifax, told the BBC: "It is encouraging to see that children are still saving, _______________________ pocket money falling.” Ms Umana added: "Teaching children how to manage their own pocket money is a great first step to building _______________________ in our youngsters." British kids said they were finding it hard to make ends meet. Alec Flynn, 14, from London spoke about _______________________ stretching his pocket money: “It’s not easy trying to _______________________ money. I only get £5 a week from my parents; it takes me three months to save up for a computer game.”

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

pocket

money

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:

feeling
weekly
low
ages
worse
previous

seem
head
despite
meet
tough
three

STUDENT POCKET MONEY SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about pocket money 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.

POCKET MONEY 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 ‘pocket money’?
c)	Did you have enough when you were a young teen?
d)	Should kids have to do something in return for getting pocket money?
e)	Is the recession affecting you?
f)	When was the last time you felt your pocket was hit?
g)	From what age do you think children should start receiving pocket money?
h)	Do you think kids complain about their pocket money?
i)	What do you think of the amount of weekly pocket money quoted in the article?
j)	When do you think the idea of pocket money first came along?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Does pocket money teach children to be good at managing finances?
c)	Should kids put something away for a rainy day or spend everything?
d)	Are you good at managing money?
e)	Are you good at putting money away for a rainy day?
f)	Do you find it hard to make ends meet?
g)	Is it OK to stop giving pocket money to kids if times are tough?
h)	What would you do with more pocket money?
i)	Are you saving up for anything at the moment?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Flavia Umana?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Children in Britain are feeling the (1) ____ of the recession. The weak economy is hitting them where it hurts most – their pockets. A new survey has shown that the (2) ____ money that children receive from their parents is at a seven-year (3) ____. The report, from the Halifax Bank, indicates the allowance kids get from their parents is now 30 per cent lower than it was in 2003. Today, children between the ages of eight and 15 receive an average of £5.89 ($9.20). This (4) ____ unfavourably with the £8.37 ($13.07) they were getting five years ago, when pocket money levels (5) ____. The report also showed that girls were worse off than boys. Boys still receive more money than girls, but the gender gap (6) ____ spending money has closed considerably compared with previous years.

Children seem to be coping well with their worsening economic conditions. The Halifax Bank says children are managing to put money away for a (7) ____ day. Flavia Umana, (8) ____ of savings products at Halifax, told the BBC: "It is encouraging to see that children are still (9) ____, despite the amount of pocket money falling.” Ms Umana added: "Teaching children how to manage their own pocket money is a great first step (10) ____ building good financial awareness in our youngsters." British kids said they were finding (11) ____ hard to make ends meet. Alec Flynn, 14, from London spoke about how tough he found stretching his pocket money: “It’s not easy trying to budget on (12) ____ little money. I only get £5 a week from my parents; it takes me three months to save up for a computer game.”

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

1.	(a)	affects	(b)	defects	(c)	artifacts	(d)	effects
2.	(a)	week	(b)	weeks	(c)	weekly	(d)	weakly
3.	(a)	bow	(b)	low	(c)	mow	(d)	tow
4.	(a)	compares	(b)	comparable	(c)	comparison	(d)	comparative
5.	(a)	poked	(b)	packed	(c)	peaked	(d)	peeked
6.	(a)	at	(b)	on	(c)	to	(d)	in
7.	(a)	windy	(b)	rainy	(c)	snowy	(d)	sunny
8.	(a)	head	(b)	back	(c)	hand	(d)	foot
9.	(a)	saves	(b)	saving	(c)	saved	(d)	save
10.	(a)	by	(b)	at	(c)	to	(d)	an
11.	(a)	it	(b)	them	(c)	thing	(d)	very
12.	(a)	as	(b)	by	(c)	to	(d)	so

WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 pocket money. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. POCKET MONEY: Make a poster about pocket money. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. TOUGH: Write a magazine article about children who can’t make ends meet with their pocket money. Include imaginary interviews with these kids.

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 leader of your country. Ask him/her three questions about pocket money. Give him/her three ways he/she can help with kids’ finances. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	effects	a.	impact
2	weak	b.	fragile
3.	allowance	c.	pocket money
4.	worse off	d.	poorer
5.	considerably	e.	by a long way
6.	coping	f.	managing
7.	a rainy day	g.	later
8.	financial	h.	monetary
9.	make ends meet	i.	survive
10.	tough	j.	difficult

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	The weak economy is hitting	a.	them where it hurts
2	at a seven-year	b.	low
3.	receive an average	c.	of £5.89
4.	girls were worse	d.	off than boys
5.	closed considerably compared	e.	with previous years
6.	Children seem to be coping	f.	well
7.	put money away for	g.	a rainy day
8.	first step to building good	h.	financial awareness
9.	finding it hard to make	i.	ends meet
10.	three months to save	j.	up for a computer game

GAP FILL:

Weak economy hits kids’ pocket money

Children in Britain are feeling the effects of the recession. The weak economy is hitting them where it hurts most – their pockets. A new survey has shown that the weekly money that children receive from their parents is at a seven-year low. The report, from the Halifax Bank, indicates the allowance kids get from their parents is now 30 per cent lower than it was in 2003. Today, children between the ages of eight and 15 receive an average of £5.89 ($9.20). This compares unfavourably with the £8.37 ($13.07) they were getting five years ago, when pocket money levels peaked. The report also showed that girls were worse off than boys. Boys still receive more money than girls, but the gender gap in spending money has closed considerably compared with previous years.

Children seem to be coping well with their worsening economic conditions. The Halifax Bank says children are managing to put money away for a rainy day. Flavia Umana, head of savings products at Halifax, told the BBC: "It is encouraging to see that children are still saving, despite the amount of pocket money falling.” Ms Umana added: "Teaching children how to manage their own pocket money is a great first step to building good financial awareness in our youngsters." British kids said they were finding it hard to make ends meet. Alec Flynn, 14, from London spoke about how tough he found stretching his pocket money: “It’s not easy trying to budget on so little money. I only get £5 a week from my parents; it takes me three months to save up for a computer game.”

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - c

3 - b

4 - a

5 - c

6 - d

7 - b

8 - a

9 - b

10 - c

11 - a

12 - d

Breaking News English

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Weak Economy Hits Kids’ Pocket Money (20th September, 2010)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT POCKET MONEY SURVEY

POCKET MONEY DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Weak economy hits kids’ pocket money

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

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My 1,000 Ideas e-Book	Breaking News English HOME \| HELP MY SITE \| 000s MORE FREE LESSONS	My 1,000 Ideas e-Book

Breaking News English

PRINT

13-Page PDF Handout - with all-skills activities

LISTEN

MP3 (2:08 - 1,023KB)

Weak Economy Hits Kids’ Pocket Money (20th September, 2010)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT POCKET MONEY SURVEY

POCKET MONEY DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Weak economy hits kids’ pocket money

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities