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Dissecting a lesson: exploiting a "narrow reading" task


 This is a resource using the "narrow reading" approach for recycling language. You could use it with an intermediate class (GCSE). it's on the topic "How well do you sleep?" which offers opportunities for some useful communicative exchanges.

Here is the resource with some lesson notes for teachers.

Read what these people say about their sleeping habits. Which person would you agree with most?


Vocabulaire
un rêve – dream     un cauchemar – nightmare      je ronfle – I snore       s’endormir – to fall asleep
faire la grasse matinée – to have a lie-in                je me souviens de – I remember
préoccuper – to worry        le lendemain – the next day           empêcher – to prevent


Amélie

Je n’ai aucun problème pour m’endormir. Je dors environ huit heures par nuit. Quelquefois je fais des rêves, mais je les oublie vite le matin. Ça m’arrive parfois de faire des cauchemars, mais c’est très rare en fait et ça ne m’empêche pas de dormir. Apparemment je ronfle quand je dors !


Karim.

Je trouve difficile de m’endormir le soir. Souvent je lis des messages sur mon portable ou je joue des jeux pour essayer de m’endormir, mais de temps en temps, je m’endors bien après minuit. Du coup je ne dors pas plus de six heures par nuit, alors je suis souvent fatigué le lendemain. Je ne fais jamais la grasse matinée.


Pauline

Moi, je mets la radio pour m’aider à m’endormir. Je dors au moins huit heures par nuit, mais de temps en temps je me réveille si j’ai un problème qui me préoccupe. Je fais beaucoup de rêves, parfois des rêves bizarres, mais je ne fais jamais de cauchemars heureusement. Je dois me lever tôt, alors pas de grasse matinée pour moi.


Victor

Moi, malheureusement je dors très mal la nuit. Je trouve difficile de m’endormir, puis je me réveille souvent, surtout quand j’ai un problème qui me préoccupe. D’habitude je dors environ six heures par nuit, du coup le lendemain je me sens souvent un peu fatigué. Le weekend ça va mieux parce que je fais la grasse matinée.


Delphine

Je dors entre sept et huit heures par nuit. Je n’ai aucun problème pour m’endormir. Le matin je me souviens de mes rêves qui sont bizarres, mais jamais désagréables heureusement. Je ne fais jamais de cauchemars alors. Ma mère dit que je ronfle de temps en temps, mais je ne le crois pas !


Youssef

Je pense que je passe trop de temps sur mon portable la nuit, ce qui m’empêche de bien dormir. Du coup, le matin je suis souvent fatigué et je ne me concentre pas bien à l’école. Je dors six heures au maximum, ce qui n’est pas suffisant pour un adolescent. Je ne fais pas beaucoup de rêves d’habitude.



Comment dit-on en français ?


1.         I have no problem                              ……………………………………………..

2.         roughly eight hours                            …………………………………………….

3.         I find it difficult                                   …………………………………………….

4.         It doesn’t prevent me                         …………………………………………….

5.         occasionally                                       …………………………………………….

6.         I never sleep in                                  …………………………………………….

7.         I put on the radio                                …………………………………………….

8.         at least eight hours                             …………………………………………….

9.         weird dreams sometimes                  …………………………………………….

10.       unfortunately                                      …………………………………………….

11.       I never have nightmares                    …………………………………………….

12.       I feel a bit tired                                   …………………………………………….

13.       I sleep eight hours a night                  …………………………………………….

14.       I have nightmares                              …………………………………………….

15.       not enough                                         …………………………………………….



Put these words in the right order to make good sentences

1.         jamais     cauchemars     fais     ne    je      de     heureusement

            ……………………………………………………………………………………….

2.         matin   sens     fatigué    matin    le      je      me      souvent

            ……………………………………………………………………………………….

3.         mère   ronfle     je      dit      ma      que     dors       quand         je

            ………………………………………………………………………………………..

4.         malheureusement     jamais   grasse     je     fais     la     matinée    ne

            ………………………………………………………………………………………..

5.         mal    quand      préoccupe    dors    qui   je   problême  un   j’ai   me

            ………………………………………………………………………………………..

Write your own paragraph describing how you sleep. Recycle the language you have seen so far. Then read it to a partner. Can you do it from memory with practice?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….


Teacher notes

You could read the paragraphs aloud to the class first. You could begin with a “Who says…” task in English before asking them who they agree with.

You may like to do some choral reading aloud, or paired reading aloud before moving on to other exercises.

You could add a “Correct the false statement exercise in, e.g. Delphine dort dix heures par nuit or classic QA on the paragraphs.

You could do the Comment dit-on? exercise orally first, then have pupils write down the answers, either at the end or after each response.

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