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Web full of energy but also has dark side (26th October, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

The founder of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about his creation 25 years after he helped to conceive it. He said it has been a force for good, but it also has a negative side. Mr Berners-Lee was speaking to the BBC at London's Science Museum. He said: "Everywhere I look I see a mass of energy, a huge amount of energy, and also in some places, they are using the web for organised protests against oppressive regimes." He also lamented the growing use of the Internet for trolling and negativity. He said: "It's staggering to me that people who must have been brought up like anybody else will suddenly become very polarised in their opinions and will suddenly become very hateful instead of very loving."

Berners-Lee was at the Science Museum to view an important part of Internet history. The museum will house the server that hosted the first ever website. It is part of a new exhibition called the Information Age. The machine still has a reminder on it written by Berners-Lee that warns: "This machine is a server. Do not power it down." Berners-Lee is currently the director of an organisation called the World Wide Web Consortium, which oversees the Web's continued development. Talking about the future of the Internet, he said: "Maybe we will be able to build web-based tools that help us keep people on the path of collaborating rather than fighting." He hopes the Web will remain "a medium for positive change".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/10/24/web-polarises-people-making-them-hateful-says-tim-berners-lee
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/24/tim-berners-lee-hateful-people-on-the-web-are-staggering
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee

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. THE INTERNET: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about the Internet. 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?

founder / creation / force for good / museum / energy / protests / trolling / negativity / history / server / website / reminder / currently / future / collaborating / change

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

3. GOOD & BAD: What good and bad can / does the Internet do? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

The Internet and…	Good	Bad
friendships
news
photos
music
collaborating
money

4. POSITIVE: Students A strongly believe the Internet will bring lots of positive change in the future; Students B strongly believe otherwise. 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. WEBSITES: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• sports

• weather

• fashion

• English studying

• games

• news

• hobbies

• search

6. CREATION: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "creation". 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.	Tim Berners-Lee conceived of the Internet 50 years ago.	T / F
b.	Mr Berners Lee spoke to the BBC at London's Museum of the Internet.	T / F
c.	Berners-Lee was a little sad that there were so many trolls online.	T / F
d.	Berners-Lee was surprised that people chose to hate instead of love.	T / F
e.	A museum is showing the server that hosted the very first website.	T / F
f.	Berners-Lee was at a new museum exhibition called the 'Internet Age'.	T / F
g.	Berners-Lee left his post at a World Wide Web organization last year.	T / F
h.	Berners-Lee hopes web-based tools will help us work together more.	T / F

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

1.	founder	a.	accommodate
2.	conceive	b.	originator
3.	huge	c.	divided
4.	oppressive	d.	presently
5.	polarised	e.	enormous
6.	view	f.	joining forces
7.	house	g.	come up with
8.	currently	h.	means
9.	collaborating	i.	dictatorial
10.	medium	j.	look at

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

1.	The founder	a.	of very loving
2.	I see a mass	b.	the first ever website
3.	organised protests against	c.	development
4.	become very polarised	d.	of energy
5.	become very hateful instead	e.	for positive change
6.	house the server that hosted	f.	path of collaborating
7.	a new exhibition called the	g.	in their opinions
8.	oversees the Web's continued	h.	Information Age
9.	keep people on the	i.	oppressive regimes
10.	a medium	j.	of the Internet

GAP FILL

The (1) ____________ of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about his (2) ____________ 25 years after he helped to conceive it. He said it has been a force for good, but it also has a (3) ____________ side. Mr Berners-Lee was speaking to the BBC at London's Science Museum. He said: "Everywhere I look I see a (4) ____________ of energy, a huge amount of energy, and also in some places, they are using the web for organised protests against oppressive (5) ____________." He also lamented the growing use of the Internet for trolling and negativity. He said: "It's (6) ____________ to me that people who must have been brought up like anybody else will suddenly become very (7) ____________ in their opinions and will suddenly become very (8) ____________ instead of very loving."

regimes
negative
mass
founder
hateful
staggering
creation
polarised

Berners-Lee was at the Science Museum to (9) ____________ an important part of Internet history. The museum will house the (10) ____________ that hosted the first ever website. It is part of a new exhibition called the Information Age. The machine still has a (11) ____________ on it written by Berners-Lee that warns: "This machine is a server. Do not (12) ____________ it down." Berners-Lee is currently the director of an organisation called the World Wide Web Consortium, which (13) ____________ the Web's continued development. Talking about the future of the Internet, he said: "Maybe we will be able to build web-based (14) ____________ that help us keep people on the path of (15) ____________ rather than fighting." He hopes the Web will remain "a (16) ____________ for positive change".

power
server
collaborating
reminder
view
medium
tools
oversees

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about his creation 25 years after he helped ______
	a. to concept it b. to conceit it c. to concierge it d. to conceive it
2)	He said: "Everywhere I look I see a mass of energy, a huge ______
	a. amounts of energy b. a mount of energy c. amount of energy d. a mountain of energy
3)	they are using the web for organised protests against ______
	a. oppressively regimes b. oppressive regimes c. impressive regimes d. progressive regimes
4)	He also lamented the growing use of the Internet for ______
	a. trolling and negativity b. trailing and negativity c. trawling and negativity d. trilling and negativity
5)	very polarised in their opinions and will suddenly become very hateful ______ loving
	a. instead of very b. rather of very c. instead than very d. rather of very
6)	The museum will house the server that ______ ever website
	a. hasted the first b. hoisted the first c. hosted the first d. holstered the first
7)	The machine still has a reminder ______ Berners-Lee
	a. on it writing by b. on it wrote by c. on it writ and by d. on it written by
8)	the World Wide Web Consortium, which oversees the Web's _______
	a. continued development b. continual development c. continuance development d. continued developments
9)	help us keep people on the path of collaborating ______
	a. rather of fighting b. instead than fighting c. prefer than fighting d. rather than fighting
10)	He hopes the Web will remain "a medium ______".
	a. for positive change b. for positive changed c. for positive changes d. for positive changing

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The founder of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about his creation 25 years after he (1) ___________________. He said it has been a force for good, but it also (2) ___________________. Mr Berners-Lee was speaking to the BBC at London's Science Museum. He said: "Everywhere I look I see (3) ___________________, a huge amount of energy, and also in some places, they are using the web for organised protests against (4) ___________________." He also lamented the growing use of the Internet for trolling and negativity. He said: "It's (5) ___________________ people who must have been brought up like anybody else will suddenly become very polarised in their opinions and will suddenly become very hateful (6) ___________________."

Berners-Lee was at the Science Museum (7) ___________________ part of Internet history. The museum will (8) ___________________ hosted the first ever website. It is part of a new exhibition called the Information Age. The machine (9) ___________________ on it written by Berners-Lee that warns: "This machine is a server. Do not power it down." Berners-Lee is currently the director of an organisation called the World Wide Web Consortium, which oversees the Web's (10) ___________________. Talking about the future of the Internet, he said: "Maybe we will be able to (11) ___________________ that help us keep people on the path of collaborating rather than fighting." He hopes the Web will remain "(12) ___________________ change".

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What is the connection between Tim Berners-Lee and the Internet?
2.	What kind of force did Berners-Lee say the Internet was / is?
3.	What does Berners-Lee see wherever he looks?
4.	Besides negativity, what was Berners-Lee sad about regarding the Web?
5.	What did Berners-Lee say people had become in their opinions?
6.	What important exhibit was mentioned at the start of paragraph two?
7.	What is the name of the exhibition at London's Science Museum?
8.	What is Berners-Lee's position at the World Wide Web Consortium?
9.	What does Berners-Lee hope web-based tools will help us do?
10.	What does Berners-Lee hope the Internet will remain?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What is the connection between Tim Berners-Lee and the Internet?	6.	What important exhibit was mentioned at the beginning of paragraph two?
	a) 1,000 Mbps b) he's the founder c) Bill Gates d) a high-speed cable		a) the first ever kilobyte b) an Apple I computer c) a server d) an Internet cable
2.	What kind of force did Berners-Lee say the Internet was / is?	7.	What is the name of the exhibition at London's Science Museum?
	a) an armed force b) a dark force c) an unknown force d) a force for good		a) The Superhighway Age b) the Knowledge Age c) the Internet Age d) the Information Age
3.	What does Berners-Lee see wherever he looks?	8.	What is Berners-Lee's position at the World Wide Web Consortium?
	a) a mass of energy b) laptops c) megabytes d) information		a) director b) consultant c) coder d) owner
4.	Besides negativity, what was Berners-Lee sad about regarding the Internet?	9.	What does Berners-Lee hope web-based tools will help us do?
	a) frozen screens b) pop-up windows c) trolling d) the lack of interactivity		a) collaborate b) make computers c) repair household items d) become rich
5.	What did Berners-Lee say people had become in their opinions?	10.	What does Berners-Lee hope the Internet will remain?
	a) thoughtful b) polarised c) forceful d) strong		a) fast b) a medium for positive change c) cheap d) a the fountain of all knowledge

ROLE PLAY

Role A – News websites

You think news websites are the most useful. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them reasons why their websites aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): weather websites, money websites or English-study websites.

Role B – Weather websites

You think weather websites are the most useful. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them reasons why their websites aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): news websites, money websites or English-study websites.

Role C – Money websites

You think money websites are the most useful. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them reasons why their websites aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): weather websites, news websites or English-study websites.

Role D – English-study websites

You think English-study websites are the most useful. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them reasons why their websites aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): weather websites, money websites or news websites.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

web

site

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:

25
side
mass
use
brought
loving

view
part
warns
currently
build
medium

THE INTERNET SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about the Internet 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.

THE INTERNET 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 'Internet'?
3)	How important is the Internet to you?
4)	What was life like before the Internet?
5)	How do you think someone came up with the idea of the Web?
6)	What do you know about the history of the Internet?
7)	What are the negative sides to the Internet?
8)	How does the Internet improve your life?
9)	What makes you angry about the Internet?
10)	Have you ever posted a negative comment on the Internet?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	What would an exhibition on the Internet be like?
13)	How important in history is the server that hosted the first website?
14)	What do you think about the 'Information Age'?
15)	Can you remember the first time you went on the Internet?
16)	What do you think Sir Tim Berners-Lee does every day?
17)	How can we stop the negativity on the Internet?
18)	Will we collaborate more and fight less on the Internet?
19)	Will the Internet remain 'a medium for positive change'?
20)	What questions would you like to ask Sir Tim Berners-Lee?

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

The (1) ____ of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about his creation 25 years after he helped to (2) ____ it. He said it has been a force for good, but it also has a negative side. Mr Berners-Lee was speaking to the BBC at London's Science Museum. He said: "Everywhere I look I see a (3) ____ of energy, a huge amount of energy, and also in some places, they are using the web for organised protests against oppressive (4) ____." He also lamented the growing use of the Internet for trolling and negativity. He said: "It's staggering (5) ____ me that people who must have been brought up like anybody else will suddenly become very polarised (6) ____ their opinions and will suddenly become very hateful instead of very loving."

Berners-Lee was at the Science Museum to (7) ____ an important part of Internet history. The museum will (8) ____ the server that hosted the first ever website. It is part of a new exhibition called the Information Age. The machine still has a reminder on it written by Berners-Lee that warns: "This machine is a server. Do not power it (9) ____." Berners-Lee is currently the director of an organisation called the World Wide Web Consortium, which (10) ____ the Web's continued development. Talking about the future of the Internet, he said: "Maybe we will be able to build web-based tools that help us keep people (11) ____ the path of collaborating rather than fighting." He hopes the Web will remain "a (12) ____ for positive change".

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

1.	(a)	finder	(b)	founder	(c)	findings	(d)	foundation
2.	(a)	conceit	(b)	conceive	(c)	concerted	(d)	concept
3.	(a)	miss	(b)	mast	(c)	most	(d)	mass
4.	(a)	regiment	(b)	regimes	(c)	regimented	(d)	regimen
5.	(a)	as	(b)	to	(c)	on	(d)	by
6.	(a)	of	(b)	as	(c)	in	(d)	on
7.	(a)	scene	(b)	vision	(c)	view	(d)	perceive
8.	(a)	home	(b)	stay	(c)	house	(d)	put up
9.	(a)	switch	(b)	in	(c)	off	(d)	down
10.	(a)	oversees	(b)	overstays	(c)	overseas	(d)	overshadows
11.	(a)	on	(b)	above	(c)	under	(d)	in
12.	(a)	mean	(b)	median	(c)	medium	(d)	modular

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	The ruodnef of the Internet
2.	25 years after he helped to ccneoeiv it
3.	protests against oppressive eimergs
4.	etaldnem the growing use of…
5.	It's gstgagnrei to me
6.	become very pslaerido (UK) / rdoplizea (USA)
Paragraph 2
7.	the server that htedos the first ever website
8.	part of a new ihboinxtie
9.	director of an nogarnioasit (UK) / rotizaaongni (USA)
10.	ervossee the Web's continued development
11.	the path of tilobnaagrclo
12.	a eimudm for positive change

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	has a reminder on it written by Berners-Lee that warns: "This machine is a server. Do not power it
( )	path of collaborating rather than fighting." He hopes the Web will remain "a medium for positive change".
( )	negativity. He said: "It's staggering to me that people who must have been brought up like anybody else will suddenly
( )	down." Berners-Lee is currently the director of an organisation called the World Wide Web
( )	of energy, a huge amount of energy, and also in some places, they are using the web for organised
( )	side. Mr Berners-Lee was speaking to the BBC at London's Science Museum. He said: "Everywhere I look I see a mass
( )	become very polarised in their opinions and will suddenly become very hateful instead of very loving."
( )	protests against oppressive regimes." He also lamented the growing use of the Internet for trolling and
( )	Consortium, which oversees the Web's continued development. Talking about
( 1 )	The founder of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about his
( )	creation 25 years after he helped to conceive it. He said it has been a force for good, but it also has a negative
( )	house the server that hosted the first ever website. It is part of a new exhibition called the Information Age. The machine still
( )	the future of the Internet, he said: "Maybe we will be able to build web-based tools that help us keep people on the
( )	Berners-Lee was at the Science Museum to view an important part of Internet history. The museum will

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	for He has force it a good said been .
2.	protests the web They for are organised using .
3.	anybody who been like People have up else must brought .
4.	opinions their in polarised very become Suddenly .
5.	very loving hateful instead Suddenly of become very .
6.	an View history Internet of part important .
7.	the The first server ever that website hosted .
8.	down it power not Do . server a is machine This .
9.	tools based - web build to able be will we Maybe .
10.	us on of Help people path keep the collaborating .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

The founder / finder of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about his creation 25 years after he helped to perceive / conceive it. He said it has been a force / forceful for good, but it also has a negative side. Mr Berners-Lee was speaking to the BBC at London's Science Museum. He said: "Everywhere I look I see a massive / mass of energy, a huge amount of energy, and also in same / some places, they are using the web for organised protests against oppressive regimens / regimes." He also lamented the growing / growth use of the Internet for trolling and negativity. He said: "It's stuttering / staggering to me that people who must have been brought up like anybody more / else will suddenly become very polarised in their opinions and will suddenly become very hateful / hated instead of very loving."

Berners-Lee was at the Science Museum to view / scene an important part of Internet history. The museum will home / house the server that hasted / hosted the first ever website. It is part of a new exhibited / exhibition called the Information Age. The machine still has a reminder / remainder on it written by Berners-Lee that warns: "This machine is a server. Do not power it down." Berners-Lee is present / currently the director of an organisation called the World Wide Web Consortium, which oversees / overviews the Web's continuance / continued development. Talking about the future of the Internet, he said: "Maybe we will be able to build web-based tools that help us keep people on the path / alley of collaborating rather than fighting." He hopes the Web will remain "a medium / normal for positive change".

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)

Th_ f__nd_r _f th_ _nt_rn_t, S_r T_m B_rn_rs-L__, h_s sp_k_n _b__t h_s cr__t__n 25 y__rs _ft_r h_ h_lp_d t_ c_nc__v_ _t. H_ s__d _t h_s b__n _ f_rc_ f_r g__d, b_t _t _ls_ h_s _ n_g_t_v_ s_d_. Mr B_rn_rs-L__ w_s sp__k_ng t_ th_ BBC _t L_nd_n's Sc__nc_ M_s__m. H_ s__d: "_v_rywh_r_ _ l__k _ s__ _ m_ss _f _n_rgy, _ h_g_ _m__nt _f _n_rgy, _nd _ls_ _n s_m_ pl_c_s, th_y _r_ _s_ng th_ w_b f_r _rg_n_s_d pr_t_sts _g__nst _ppr_ss_v_ r_g_m_s." H_ _ls_ l_m_nt_d th_ gr_w_ng _s_ _f th_ _nt_rn_t f_r tr_ll_ng _nd n_g_t_v_ty. H_ s__d: "_t's st_gg_r_ng t_ m_ th_t p__pl_ wh_ m_st h_v_ b__n br__ght _p l_k_ _nyb_dy _ls_ w_ll s_dd_nly b_c_m_ v_ry p_l_r_s_d _n th__r _p_n__ns _nd w_ll s_dd_nly b_c_m_ v_ry h_t_f_l _nst__d _f v_ry l_v_ng."

B_rn_rs-L__ w_s _t th_ Sc__nc_ M_s__m t_ v__w _n _mp_rt_nt p_rt _f _nt_rn_t h_st_ry. Th_ m_s__m w_ll h__s_ th_ s_rv_r th_t h_st_d th_ f_rst _v_r w_bs_t_. _t _s p_rt _f _ n_w _xh_b_t__n c_ll_d th_ _nf_rm_t__n _g_. Th_ m_ch_n_ st_ll h_s _ r_m_nd_r _n _t wr_tt_n by B_rn_rs-L__ th_t w_rns: "Th_s m_ch_n_ _s _ s_rv_r. D_ n_t p_w_r _t d_wn." B_rn_rs-L__ _s c_rr_ntly th_ d_r_ct_r _f _n _rg_n_s_t__n c_ll_d th_ W_rld W_d_ W_b C_ns_rt__m, wh_ch _v_rs__s th_ W_b's c_nt_n__d d_v_l_pm_nt. T_lk_ng _b__t th_ f_t_r_ _f th_ _nt_rn_t, h_ s__d: "M_yb_ w_ w_ll b_ _bl_ t_ b__ld w_b-b_s_d t__ls th_t h_lp _s k__p p__pl_ _n th_ p_th _f c_ll_b_r_t_ng r_th_r th_n f_ght_ng." H_ h_p_s th_ W_b w_ll r_m__n "_ m_d__m f_r p_s_t_v_ ch_ng_".

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

the founder of the internet sir tim berners-lee has spoken about his creation 25 years after he helped to conceive it he said it has been a force for good but it also has a negative side mr berners-lee was speaking to the bbc at london's science museum he said "everywhere i look i see a mass of energy a huge amount of energy and also in some places they are using the web for organised protests against oppressive regimes" he also lamented the growing use of the internet for trolling and negativity he said "it's staggering to me that people who must have been brought up like anybody else will suddenly become very polarised in their opinions and will suddenly become very hateful instead of very loving"

berners-lee was at the science museum to view an important part of internet history the museum will house the server that hosted the first ever website it is part of a new exhibition called the information age the machine still has a reminder on it written by berners-lee that warns "this machine is a server do not power it down" berners-lee is currently the director of an organisation called the world wide web consortium which oversees the web's continued development talking about the future of the internet he said "maybe we will be able to build web-based tools that help us keep people on the path of collaborating rather than fighting" he hopes the web will remain "a medium for positive change"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

ThefounderoftheInternet,SirTimBerners-Lee,hasspokenabouthisc
reation25yearsafterhehelpedtoconceiveit.Hesaidithasbeenaforcefo
rgood,butitalsohasanegativeside.MrBerners-Leewasspeakingtoth
eBBCatLondon'sScienceMuseum.Hesaid:"EverywhereIlookIseeam
assofenergy,ahugeamountofenergy,andalsoinsomeplaces,theyare
usingthewebfororganisedprotestsagainstoppressiveregimes."Heals
olamentedthegrowinguseoftheInternetfortrollingandnegativity.Hes
aid:"It'sstaggeringtomethatpeoplewhomusthavebeenbroughtuplik
eanybodyelsewillsuddenlybecomeverypolarisedintheiropinionsand
willsuddenlybecomeveryhatefulinsteadofveryloving."Berners-Leew
asattheScienceMuseumtoviewanimportantpartofInternethistory.Th
emuseumwillhousetheserverthathostedthefirsteverwebsite.Itispart
ofanewexhibitioncalledtheInformationAge.Themachinestillhasarem
inderonitwrittenbyBerners-Leethatwarns:"Thismachineisaserve
r.Donotpoweritdown."Berners-Leeiscurrentlythedirectorofa
norganisationcalledtheWorldWideWebConsortium,whichoverseest
heWeb'scontinueddevelopment.TalkingaboutthefutureoftheInterne
t,hesaid:"Maybewewillbeabletobuildweb-basedtoolsthathelpusk
eeppeopleonthepathofcollaboratingratherthanfighting."Hehopesth
eWebwillremain"amediumforpositivechange".

FREE WRITING

Write about the Internet for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

The Internet will make the world a better place. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

4. POSITIVE CHANGE: Write a magazine article about the Internet. Include imaginary interviews with people who think it is largely positive and with people who think it is largely negative.

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 Internet expert. Ask him/her three questions about the Internet. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make it better. 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

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

F

c

T

d

T

e

T

f

F

g

F

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	founder	a.	originator
2.	conceive	b.	come up with
3.	huge	c.	enormous
4.	oppressive	d.	dictatorial
5.	polarised	e.	divided
6.	view	f.	look at
7.	house	g.	accommodate
8.	currently	h.	presently
9.	collaborating	i.	joining forces
10.	medium	j.	means

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	He's the founder.
2.	A force for good
3.	A mass of energy
4.	Trolling
5.	Polarised
6.	A server
7.	The Information Age
8.	Director
9.	Collaborate more
10.	A medium for positive change

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

a

4.

c

5.

b

6.

c

7.

d

8.

a

9.

a

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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