How do they do it?

Target language: articles

Activity type: sentence correction
When to use: Use this activity after Lesson 6.i.
Time taken: 25 minutes
Preparation: Photocopy and cut up one worksheet for each pair of students in the class.

Procedure
Put students into pairs (A and B) and give them the appropriate worksheet each. Tell them
not to show their worksheets to their partner. The top text in each case has the articles
missing. Student A starts and has to read the first sentence of the text aloud to their
partner absolutely correctly, with the appropriate articles inserted before they can move
to the next sentence. Student B can follow what's being read by looking at the lower of the
two texts.
It's important that the student who is listening only says correct or incorrect when the
whole sentence has been read, not as they go along. So if it isn't right, the sentence must
be reread . When Student A has finished reading their text, Student B then reads their text.
You could give students a few minutes to add the articles before the reading aloud starts.
 How do they do it?
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Student A
David Blaine began his career with street magic, performing card tricks and illusions such as levitating or bringing
dead flies back to life. Encouraged by his mother every step of way, he used small camera crew to record his act live in
front of audience of everyday people. This act provided basis for his television specials of street magic which defined
his cool style and won him friendships with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna. Magician later turned
his attention to feats of endurance; these included being buried alive for week, spending 61 hours in block of ice and
standing on tiny platform at the top of 27 m high pole for 35 hours. Most famously, Blaine spent 44 days without food
in transparent box above River Thames in London. However, stunt became the subject of much media attention due
to mischievous minority. Eggs, sausages, water, beer cans, paint-filled balloons and golf balls were all thrown at box
and he was even subjected to having hamburger flown round him by radio-controlled model helicopter. One man was
arrested for climbing scaffolding supporting Blaine's box and attempting to cut power and water supply.

Student B - correct version

Escapologist Harry Houdini was born Ehrich Weiss on 24th March, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. He initially focused on
traditional card tricks and was known as the 'King of Cards' but also did illusions. One of the most successful of these
was performed in a London theatre in 1901 with Houdini making a full-grown elephant vanish from the stage. He
soon began experimenting with escape acts and his big break came in 1899, when he met the showman Martin Beck.
Impressed by Houdini's handcuffs act, Beck advised him to concentrate on escape acts and within months, he was
performing at the biggest theatres in the country. As Houdini's fame spread, he travelled to Europe and continued to
develop his act, freeing himself from handcuffs, chains, ropes and straitjackets, often while hanging from a rope or
suspended in water, sometimes in plain sight of the audience. In 1913, the escapologist introduced perhaps his most
famous act, the 'Chinese Water Torture Cell', in which he was suspended upside-down in a locked glass and steel tank.
Lowered into the water, Houdini would hold his breath for over 3 minutes before escaping from his handcuffs. Legend
has it that he died from a punch to the stomach.
~---------------------------------------------------------------~
Student B
Escapologist Harry Houdini was born Ehrich Weiss on 24th March, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. He initially focused
on traditional card tricks and was known as 'King of Cards' but also did illusions. One of most successful of these
was performed in London theatre in 1901 with Houdini making full-grown elephant vanish from stage. He soon began
experimenting with escape acts and his big break came in 1899, when he met showman Martin Beck. Impressed by
Houdini's handcuffs act, Beck advised him to concentrate on escape acts and within months, he was performing
at biggest theatres in country. As Houdini's fame spread, he travelled to Europe and continued to develop his act,
freeing himself from handcuffs, chains, ropes and straitjackets, often while hanging from rope or suspended in water,
sometimes in plain sight of audience. In 1913, escapologist introduced perhaps his most famous act, 'Chinese Water
Torture Cell', in which he was suspended upside-down in locked glass and steel tank. Lowered into water, Houdini
would hold his breath for over 3 minutes before escaping from his handcuffs. Legend has it that he died from punch to
stomach.

Student A - correct version

David Blaine began his career with street magic, performing card tricks and illusions such as levitating or bringing dead
flies back to life. Encouraged by his mother every step of the way, he used a small camera crew to record his act live in
front of an audience of everyday people. This act provided the basis for his television specials of street magic which
defined his cool style and won him friendships with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna.
The magician later turned his attention to feats of endurance; these included being buried alive for a week, spending
61 hours in a block of ice and standing on a tiny platform at the top of a 27 m high pole for 35 hours. Most famously,
Blaine spent 44 days without food in a transparent box above the River Thames in London. However, the stunt became
the subject of much media attention due to a mischievous minority. Eggs, sausages, water, beer cans, paint-filled
balloons and golf balls were all thrown at the box and he was even subjected to having a hamburger flown round him
by a radio-controlled model helicopter. One man was arrested for climbing the scaffolding supporting Blaine's box and
attempting to cut the power and water supply.