Technology in Our Lives: Then and Now
Students complete sentences with technology verbs (send, download, search, charge…), read an article comparing how a grandmother and her granddaughter did homework and talked to friends, answer questions, match each device with what it is for, complete six online safety tips and read three opinions to discuss cell phones at school.
Free, no card. Create your account and the activity is already there.
6 blocks, in class order
What's in this activity
-
Fill in the gaps Tech verbs: complete the sentences
-
Reading text Homework and friends: then and now
-
Multiple-choice questions Check your understanding
-
Match the halves What is it for? Match the halves
-
Fill in the gaps Six tips to stay safe online
-
Viewpoints for discussion Cell Phones at School: What Do You Think?
No login, no sign-up
Try it the way your students will
Answer freely: this is only a preview. Nothing is sent or saved.
Tech verbs: complete the sentences
Homework and friends: then and now
In 1975, Grandma Helena did her schoolwork very differently. When she needed information, she visited the local library to read heavy books. To talk to her friends, she wrote a long letter on paper or used the single home telephone. Everything was much slower back then, but she loved receiving mail in her mailbox.
Today, her granddaughter Yasmin is 13, and her school life is very different. When she needs information for her homework, she searches the internet on her smartphone and finds the answer in seconds. She doesn't write letters. She sends a message to her friends or makes a video call, and she can see them on the screen.
Is life better now? Yasmin thinks so, because everything is fast and easy. But Grandma Helena says that people spend too much time online. "A letter takes a week to arrive," she says, "but you can keep it forever."
Check your understanding
What is the main idea of the text?
Where did Grandma Helena go when she needed information?
How did Grandma Helena communicate with her friends?
How did Grandma Helena feel about getting mail?
How does Yasmin find information for her homework?
What is it for? Match the halves
Match the beginning of each sentence with its ending.
Left halves
Right halves
Six tips to stay safe online
2. Don't talk to Click the word... in online games.
3. Think before you Click the word... a photo. Everyone can see it!
4. Don't click on strange Click the word... in messages.
5. Tell an Click the word... if something online makes you feel bad.
6. Take a break! Too much Click the word... time is bad for your eyes.
Cell Phones at School: What Do You Think?
I think cell phones are very useful in class. Last week, I used my phone to find pictures for a science project. It was fast and easy. Sometimes students play games, and that is a problem. But we can learn how to use them well. Phones also help us feel safe when we walk home.
I see both sides of this topic. Phones can help students look up new words during English lessons. But many students check messages during tests or talk to friends. It is hard for me to keep everyone focused. Maybe we can use phones for only ten minutes in class.
I want my daughter to have her phone at school. I need to call her if I am late after class. However, I know she spends too much time on social media. She gets tired because she reads messages at night. I think phones are good for emergencies, but not for games.
Key Vocabulary
Discussion Questions
- 1 The student and the teacher both think phones can help in class. How can phones help you learn?
- 2 Do you bring a cell phone to school every day? What do you use it for?
- 3 The parent worries about social media. How many hours a day should young people use their phones?
Like it? Take it to your class
With the activity in your account, you share it by link or add it to a class, and follow each student's answers.
Keep looking
Similar activities
-
A2 · suggested for 8th grade
Last Weekend: Talking About the Past
Students listen to Nicole's voice message about her weekend and complete it with verbs in the past, read the story of a camping trip that went wrong, answer questions, change irregular verbs from present to past (usually… but yesterday…), match questions and answers with did and was and answer open questions. Listening · Reading · Grammar · Writing 55 min View activity -
A2 · suggested for 9th grade
Travel Plans: Going To and Will
Students listen to Marina's message to her grandmother about a trip in July, answer questions and complete the plans with going to, read a dialogue between two friends planning a weekend in the mountains, match sentence halves with going to and will, complete the plans for a school trip and answer open questions. Listening · Reading · Grammar · Writing 55 min View activity -
A2 · suggested for 7th grade
Animals and Their Habitats: Where Do They Live?
Students listen to an animal guessing quiz (Who am I?) and complete the transcript, read an article about animals of the rainforest, the desert, the ocean and the Arctic, answer questions, complete a text with habitat vocabulary (desert, rainforest, fur, feathers…), match the halves of animal facts and answer open questions. Listening · Reading · Vocabulary · Writing 55 min View activity