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WARM-UPS

1. ANGER: Walk around the class and talk to other students about anger. 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.

angry / suffering / disorders / serious problems / sidewalks / pedestrians / behavior / tourists / slow walkers / change course / smokers / being shocked / no patience

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

3. SIDEWALK ANGER: Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Sources of anger	Why?	How? (What do you do?)
Other people
Rubbish
Uneven pavement
Sidewalk size
Obstacles
Traffic

4. ANGRY: Students A strongly believe we are getting angrier; Students B strongly believe we are becoming more mellow.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. RAGE: What sends you in a rage? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the one that gets you angriest at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

Your own mistakes English Politicians The news

Traffic Money Shopping Other people

6. PEDESTRIAN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘pedestrian’. 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.	People are getting angry walking on the streets in big cities.	T / F
b.	A professor said this rarely happens in Hawaii.	T / F
c.	Pedestrians who walk as slow as a snail make other people angry.	T / F
d.	Signs of IED include staring at others.	T / F
e.	People with bags are those with cellphones are the slowest walkers.	T / F
f.	People who listen to music walk faster than those who smoke and walk.	T / F
g.	A New York resident said he got sidewalk rage on a daily basis.	T / F
h.	The resident said he also gets angry with slow walkers in his home.	T / F

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

1.	in front of	a.	trip
2	discovered	b.	obstructs
3.	pace	c.	see
4.	impedes	d.	probable
5.	glaring	e.	speed
6.	likely	f.	direction
7.	spot	g.	ahead of
8.	course	h.	admitted
9.	confessed	i.	staring
10.	journey	j.	found

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

1.	people walking slowly	a.	stand it
2	walking at a	b.	purpose
3.	different behaviors that indicate	c.	to cause IED
4.	bumping into other pedestrians on	d.	with them
5.	walking too closely	e.	in front of you
6.	tourists are those most likely	f.	tourists
7.	easily be able to spot	g.	in his home
8.	I can’t	h.	to other people
9.	I have no patience	i.	snail’s pace
10.	he also showed signs of IED	j.	sidewalk rage

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Do you (1) ____________ get angry at people walking slowly in front of you? If you do, you might be (2) ____________ from Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). A University of Hawaii professor, Leon James, has studied people’s emotions (3) ____________ they walk along busy streets in New York City. He discovered that many people have “serious problems” when someone walking at a snail’s (4) ____________ in front of them impedes their progress. Dr James, a psychology professor, called the (5) ____________ “sidewalk rage”. James is developing a Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome Scale (PASS) to measure the different (6) ____________ of sidewalk rage. It measures 15 different behaviors that indicate sidewalk rage. These (7) ____________ muttering to yourself, bumping into other pedestrians on purpose, glaring, and walking too (8) ____________ to other people.		condition closely suffering pace include ever levels as
Dr James’ research found that tourists are those most (9) ____________ to cause IED. They are the slowest walkers, at an (10) ____________ of 1.16 metres per second. IED sufferers should easily be able to (11) ____________ tourists and change course to avoid any chances of getting angry. Next slowest are smokers, cellphone (12) ____________, and people with bags. These walk (13) ____________ 1.27 and 1.3 metres per second. The fastest walkers, at 1.4 metres per second, are those who listen to music. New York resident Jim Redman said he was (14) ____________ when he found out about the research. “That’s me!” he said. “I get sidewalk rage every day. I can’t stand it when people walk so slow in the city. I have no (15) ____________ with them,” he added. Mr Redman confessed that he also showed (16) ____________ of IED in his home when his children slow down his journey to the bathroom.		patience users average signs between likely shocked spot

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Do you ___________________ people walking slowly in front of you? If you do, you might be suffering from Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). A University of Hawaii professor, Leon James, has studied people’s emotions ___________________ busy streets in New York City. He discovered that many people have “serious problems” when someone ___________________ pace in front of them impedes their progress. Dr James, a psychology professor ___________________ “sidewalk rage”. James is developing a Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome Scale (PASS) to measure ___________________ of sidewalk rage. It measures 15 different behaviors that indicate sidewalk rage. These include ___________________, bumping into other pedestrians on purpose, glaring, and walking too closely to other people.

Dr James’ research found that tourists _____________________ to cause IED. They are the slowest walkers, ___________________ 1.16 metres per second. IED sufferers should easily be able to spot tourists and change course _____________________ of getting angry. Next slowest are smokers, cellphone users, and people with bags. These walk between 1.27 and 1.3 metres per second. The fastest walkers, at 1.4 metres per second, ___________________ to music. New York resident Jim Redman said he was shocked when he found out about the research. “That’s me!” he said. “I get sidewalk rage every day. ___________________ when people walk so slow in the city. I have no patience with them,” he added. Mr Redman confessed that he also showed signs of IED in his home when his children _____________________ to the bathroom.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

side

walk

• 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:

ever as condition pace measures purpose

most average course fastest stand slow

STUDENT ANGER SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about anger 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.

ANGER 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 ‘rage’?
c)	How often do you get in a rage?
d)	What makes you get really angry?
e)	Do you get angry walking along the street?
f)	What do you think of IED?
g)	What emotions do you have when you walk through the streets?
h)	When do you mutter to yourself?
i)	When do you glare at people?
j)	What can city planners do to make sidewalks less stressful?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Why are tourists the slowest walkers?
c)	Should guidebooks now include information about IED so tourists know they should walk faster?
d)	Should sidewalks have a special overtaking lane for fast walkers?
e)	Do you suffer from IED when you walk in the streets?
f)	Do you get angry every day?
g)	What do you think of Mr Redman for getting angry because his kids slow him down when he goes to the bathroom?
h)	What can’t you stand about sidewalks?
i)	Do you have a lot of patience? Why do you think so?
j)	What questions would you like to ask professor Leon James?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Do you ever get angry at people walking (1) ____ in front of you? If you do, you might be suffering from Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). A University of Hawaii professor, Leon James, has studied people’s emotions (2) ____ they walk along busy streets in New York City. He discovered that many people have “serious problems” when someone walking (3) ____ a snail’s pace in front of them impedes their progress. Dr James, a psychology professor, called the (4) ____ “sidewalk rage”. James is developing a Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome Scale (PASS) to measure the different levels of sidewalk rage. It (5) ____ 15 different behaviors that indicate sidewalk rage. These include muttering to yourself, bumping into other pedestrians (6) ____ purpose, glaring, and walking too closely to other people.

Dr James’ research found that tourists are those most (7) ____ to cause IED. They are the slowest walkers, at an average (8) ____ 1.16 metres per second. IED sufferers should easily be able to spot tourists and change course to avoid any chances (9) ____ getting angry. Next slowest are smokers, cellphone users, and people with bags. These walk between 1.27 and 1.3 metres per second. The fastest walkers, at 1.4 metres per second, are those who listen to music. New York (10) ____ Jim Redman said he was shocked when he found out about the research. “That’s me!” he said. “I get sidewalk rage every day. I can’t (11) ____ it when people walk so slow in the city. I have no patience with them,” he added. Mr Redman (12) ____ that he also showed signs of IED in his home when his children slow down his journey to the bathroom.

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

1.	(a)	slow	(b)	slow down	(c)	slows	(d)	slowly
2.	(a)	because	(b)	as	(c)	though	(d)	during
3.	(a)	at	(b)	by	(c)	for	(d)	to
4.	(a)	condition	(b)	ill	(c)	medical	(d)	name
5.	(a)	measurement	(b)	measuring	(c)	measure	(d)	measures
6.	(a)	in	(b)	on	(c)	by	(d)	at
7.	(a)	likely	(b)	liked	(c)	liking	(d)	likelihood
8.	(a)	at	(b)	to	(c)	by	(d)	of
9.	(a)	by	(b)	of	(c)	to	(d)	at
10.	(a)	residence	(b)	residency	(c)	resides	(d)	resident
11.	(a)	sit	(b)	lie	(c)	stand	(d)	kneel
12.	(a)	confessed	(b)	confession	(c)	confess	(d)	confessing

 
 

WRITING

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

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

4. SIDEWALKS: Write a magazine article about sidewalks. Include imaginary interviews with people who design them.

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 sidewalk psychologist. Ask him/her three questions about sidewalks and anger. Give him/her three ideas about how to make sidewalks nicer. 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.

T

e.

F

f.

T

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	in front of	a.	ahead of
2	discovered	b.	found
3.	pace	c.	speed
4.	impedes	d.	obstructs
5.	glaring	e.	staring
6.	likely	f.	probable
7.	spot	g.	see
8.	course	h.	direction
9.	confessed	i.	admitted
10.	journey	j.	trip

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	people walking slowly	a.	in front of you
2	walking at a	b.	snail’s pace
3.	different behaviors that indicate	c.	sidewalk rage
4.	bumping into other pedestrians on	d.	purpose
5.	walking too closely	e.	to other people
6.	tourists are those most likely	f.	to cause IED
7.	easily be able to spot	g.	tourists
8.	I can’t	h.	stand it
9.	I have no patience	i.	with them
10.	he also showed signs of IED	j.	in his home

GAP FILL:

Sidewalk rage common in big cities

Do you (1) ever get angry at people walking slowly in front of you? If you do, you might be (2) suffering from Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). A University of Hawaii professor, Leon James, has studied people’s emotions (3) as they walk along busy streets in New York City. He discovered that many people have “serious problems” when someone walking at a snail’s (4) pace in front of them impedes their progress. Dr James, a psychology professor, called the (5) condition “sidewalk rage”. James is developing a Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome Scale (PASS) to measure the different (6) levels of sidewalk rage. It measures 15 different behaviors that indicate sidewalk rage. These (7) include muttering to yourself, bumping into other pedestrians on purpose, glaring, and walking too (8) closely to other people.

Dr James’ research found that tourists are those most (9) likely to cause IED. They are the slowest walkers, at an (10) average of 1.16 metres per second. IED sufferers should easily be able to (11) spot tourists and change course to avoid any chances of getting angry. Next slowest are smokers, cellphone (12) users and, people with bags. These walk (13) between 1.27 and 1.3 metres per second. The fastest walkers, at 1.4 metres per second, are those who listen to music. New York resident Jim Redman said he was (14) shocked when he found out about the research. “That’s me!” he said. “I get sidewalk rage every day. I can’t stand it when people walk so slow in the city. I have no (15) patience with them,” he added. Mr Redman confessed that he also showed (16) signs of IED in his home when his children slow down his journey to the bathroom.

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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