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Lesson planB295 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
B2 First Unit 10: Media and Entertainment
Students build vocabulary for TV, news and online media, use defining and non-defining relative clauses accurately, and practise B2 First Reading and Use of English Parts 2, 4 and 5 and a Part 2 review.
Media · Entertainment · Relative clauses
B2 First preparationTopic unit
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use defining and non-defining relative clauses, with who, which, whose, where and when, and leave out the pronoun where possible
- Learn and use 22 words and phrases in 3 sets: TV and streaming, News and the press, Phrasal verbs and expressions
- Practise B2 First Reading and Use of English Parts 2, 4 and 5
- Writing task (Part 2): a review
Stages · 95 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs tell each other about the last thing they watched and how they keep up with the news.
- 15 minVocabulary: Ex. 1–3
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes: defining and non-defining clauses, then whose, where, when and leaving out the pronoun.
- 10 minControlled practice: Ex. 4–5
- 20 minExam practice: Use of English: Ex. 6–7
- 20 minReading: Ex. 8
- 20 minWriting: Ex. 9
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
Defining and non-defining relative clauses
- Defining clauses say which person or thing you mean, with no commas: The presenter who hosts the quiz is from Cardiff. Who, which and that are all possible.
- Non-defining clauses add extra information, between commas: My aunt, who works for a local radio station, gets up at four. Use who or which, never that.
- Which can refer to a whole idea: The show was cancelled, which surprised everyone.
whose, where, when and leaving out the pronoun
- whose = belonging to: the journalist whose article went viral.
- where for places, when for times: the studio where they film the show; the year when I got my first phone.
- In a defining clause you can leave out who, which or that when it is the object: the series (that) I'm watching. Not when it is the subject: the man who lives next door.
- Prepositions usually go at the end in everyday English: the channel I told you about; the person I spoke to.
Talking about TV and the news
- news is uncountable: The news is on at six (not are).
- Phrasal verbs for watching and reading: catch up on a series, keep up with the news, sign up for a streaming service, switch off the TV.
Study tips
- Learn relative pronouns with an example: whose for possession, where for places, when for times.
- Before you write a relative clause, ask yourself: does it tell me which one, or just add extra information? Only extra information goes between commas.
Glossary
- TV and streaming8 items
- News and the press7 items
- Phrasal verbs and expressions7 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Words that are easy to mix up
Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.
- a
I'm not very ___ in reality shows: they all seem the same to me.
- b
The second series was so ___ that I stopped watching after two episodes.
- c
Have you ___ the news? Our neighbour is going to be on a quiz show next week!
- d
In the documentary, a team of scientists ___ a new kind of frog living high in the rainforest trees.
- e
At the start of the show, the presenter ___ the audience to switch off their phones.
- f
She ___ a new video to her cooking channel every Friday evening.
- g
The studio audience has to stay completely ___ while the cameras are filming.
2
TV and the news
Complete each sentence with a word or phrase from the box. There is one extra word.
Word box
Tap a gap, then a word, or type the answer.
- a
We watched the final of the series last night, and it answered all our questions.
- b
My grandmother has watched the same for forty years: the characters feel like family to her.
- c
The film is in Korean, so I watched it with English .
- d
Last night's about plastic in the ocean made me change my shopping habits.
- e
The quiz show has a new , a former teacher who asks the questions with a big smile.
- f
More than two million watched the final, a record for the channel.
- g
For his birthday, I bought him a of all five series of his favourite comedy.
- h
The story about the missing dog was on the of every local newspaper.
3
Phrasal verbs and expressions
Match each phrasal verb or expression with its meaning. There is one extra meaning.
Tap an item…
…then its match
4
Who, which, whose, where or when?
Choose the correct answer.
- a
The presenter ___ hosts the morning show used to be a doctor.
- b
The channel's new drama, ___ cost millions to make, was cancelled after one series.
- c
That's the journalist ___ article went viral last week.
- d
This is the studio ___ they film the cooking competition.
- e
I'll never forget the evening ___ the final episode was shown.
- f
The final was moved to midnight, ___ annoyed a lot of viewers.
- g
Is this the series ___ you were telling me about?
- h
The documentary ___ won the award was filmed in just six weeks.
5
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Find it and write the correction.
- a
The new quiz show, that starts on Monday, is presented by a former footballer.
- b
The man which reads the news on our local radio station lives in my street.
- c
That's the actor who his brother runs the café on the corner.
- d
I've just finished the series what you recommended.
- e
The village where I grew up there has only one shop.
- f
The news are on at six o'clock every evening.
6
Exam task: The podcast that began in a shed
Read the text. Think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.
Exam task: Reading and Use of English, Part 2
Tip: Read the whole text once before you fill any gaps. For each gap, read the complete sentence, not just the words next to it, and decide what kind of word is missing.
Three years ago, my cousin Leo started a football podcast in a garden shed, 1 he had covered the walls with old blankets to keep the noise out. At first, the only people listening 2 his parents and me. Then one episode, in 3 he interviewed a retired goalkeeper, went viral.
Suddenly, thousands of people were signing 4 for his weekly show. A radio station 5 manager had heard the interview offered him a job. Leo, 6 had never worked in radio before, was nervous, but he said yes.
Now he presents a programme every Saturday, 7 means he no longer has time for the shed. He still records the podcast, though, and he says he owes everything 8 that first episode.
7
Exam task: Key word transformations
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. Use between two and five words, including the word given.
Exam task: Reading and Use of English, Part 4
Tip: Most answers have two parts, and each part earns a mark. When you have finished, read the whole second sentence again and check the tense matches the first sentence.
- a
The singer's new album came out yesterday. She's appearing on a chat show tonight.
WHOSE
The singer, yesterday, is appearing on a chat show tonight.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- b
I didn't watch the last three episodes, so I must watch them this weekend.
CATCH
I have the last three episodes this weekend.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- c
Many viewers were annoyed that the final started an hour late.
WHICH
The final started an hour late, annoyed.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- d
The show is filmed in that old factory.
WHERE
That old factory is the show.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- e
Within hours, millions of people had shared the video online.
VIRAL
The video hours.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- f
I read the news every morning so that I know what's going on in the world.
KEEP
I read the news every morning what's going on in the world.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
8
Exam task: The newsletter that saved our local news
You are going to read an article by a young journalist. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Exam task: Reading and Use of English, Part 5
Tip: Before you look at the options, find and underline the part of the text that each question is about. Then choose the option that matches it in meaning.
When the Wrenmouth Echo printed its last edition, I was the youngest journalist on the paper. I was twenty-four, and I had worked there for less than a year. On my final day, the editor, who had been at the Echo for thirty years, gave me a box of old front pages and said, 'Somebody should keep doing this.' I assumed he meant somebody else. For a few months, I wrote articles for a celebrity website, which paid well but felt pointless. Meanwhile, Wrenmouth had no local news at all. A road closure, a new school, a fire at the sports centre: people only found out about these things from rumours, and the rumours were often wrong. So, one Sunday evening, I sat down at my kitchen table and wrote a short newsletter. It had three stories, a list of events and an interview with the woman who runs the market café. I sent it to forty friends and asked them to pass it on. By the following Sunday, three hundred people had signed up for it. The hardest part was not the writing. It was persuading people to trust a newsletter written by one person in a kitchen. At the town council, nobody would answer my questions at first; one officer told me that they only spoke to 'the press'. I explained, politely, that in Wrenmouth I was the press. Things changed after I reported on plans to close the town's only swimming pool. The story went viral locally, the plans were dropped, and suddenly the council started returning my calls. Readers also began sending me news, photos and, occasionally, cake. Two years later, the newsletter has eleven thousand readers, and I pay two part-time reporters. I still write the headlines myself, though, usually late on a Saturday night. People sometimes ask whether I miss working for a real newspaper. I tell them that the Echo never had readers who stopped me in the supermarket to argue about a story. I wouldn't swap that for anything.
- a
How did the writer react to the editor's words at first?
- b
Why does the writer mention a road closure, a new school and a fire?
- c
What does 'it' refer to in the third paragraph ('signed up for it')?
- d
What was the biggest difficulty at the start?
- e
What does the writer mean when she says 'in Wrenmouth I was the press'?
- f
What is the writer's main point in the final paragraph?
9
Exam task: Write a review
Write your review in 140–190 words.
Exam task: Writing, Part 2
Tip: Choose a plan that suits your documentary. Plan A: say what it is about, then what you learned, then who should watch it. Plan B: start with the most surprising thing you learned to catch the reader's attention, then describe the documentary and finish with your recommendation. Either way, give your review a title.
You see this announcement on an English-language website. Reviews wanted! Have you watched a documentary that taught you something new? Write a review of it. Tell us what the documentary is about, what you learned from it and who you would recommend it to. The best reviews will be published next month. Write your review. Word box: which · who · whose · where · episode · presenter
Suggested minimum: 140 words
Before you hand it in
- My title tells the reader what I'm reviewing and makes them want to read on.
- I say what the documentary is about and what I learned from it.
- I say who I would recommend it to, and why.
- I use at least two relative clauses, including one non-defining clause with commas.
- I use a few words from this unit, such as episode, presenter or viewers.
0 words · aim for at least 140
Show a model answer
Lights Out, City: a documentary worth staying up for Have you ever wondered what happens in your town after midnight? Lights Out, City, which you can stream on most services, answers that question beautifully. The series follows a small team of wildlife filmmakers who spend a year in a busy city at night. Each of the four episodes, which last about forty minutes, focuses on a different place: a park, a railway station, a rooftop and a river. I learned far more than I expected. My favourite episode is the one about the station, where a fox the team calls Rusty uses the empty platforms like his own kitchen. The presenter, whose calm voice suits the night scenes perfectly, never talks for too long, so the animals are the real stars. If I have one complaint, it is that the final episode feels rushed. However, it is still well worth watching. I would recommend it to anyone who thinks cities are only for people, and especially to families with older children.
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 22 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 3 sets.
TV and streaming
- episode
- one part of a story that is shown on TV or online in several parts
- series
- a set of TV programmes about the same people or subject, shown one after another
- documentary
- a film or programme that gives facts about a real subject
- soap opera
- a TV drama about the daily lives of a group of people, shown several times a week
- presenter
- a person who introduces a TV or radio programme
- viewers
- the people who watch a TV programme
- subtitles
- words at the bottom of the screen that translate or show what people are saying
- box set
- all the episodes of a series, sold or offered together
News and the press
- headline
- the title of a news story, printed in large letters
- journalist
- a person whose job is to write news for newspapers, websites, TV or radio
- article
- a piece of writing about a subject in a newspaper, magazine or website
- front page
- the first page of a newspaper, where the most important stories go
- the press
- newspapers, news websites and the journalists who work for them
- report
- (verb) give people information about something that has happened, often in the news
- interview
- a meeting where someone answers a journalist's questions
Phrasal verbs and expressions
- catch up on
- watch or do something that you missed earlier
- I spent Sunday catching up on my favourite podcast.
- come out
- become available for people to buy or watch
- go viral
- spread very quickly online as many people share it
- switch off
- stop a machine or device working
- keep up with
- stay informed about something that keeps changing
- find out
- discover a fact or a piece of information
- sign up for
- join a service or course by giving your details
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