level 2 Teacher’s notes Teacher Support Programme

Five Plays for Today

Tonya Trappe window and the two girls say hello. Emily goes to the
same school as Judy and is surprised to discover Judy
lives next door. Emily admits that she didn’t talk to Judy
at school because she thought she was a quiet girl, and
because Judy was a new girl at the school. The girls then
talk about Emily’s family problems. Her father has left
home and she lives with her mother. They then talk about
their pet cats and decide to become friends. Emily wants
to walk to school with Judy the following day.
Say it!: Leo and Jane are sitting at a bus stop. Standing
behind them are Leo 2 and Jane 2, who represent what
each of them is thinking. Jane 2 wants to speak to Leo, but
she is too shy, and Leo 2 wants to tell her she is beautiful
Summary but is reluctant to do so because Jane never speaks to
Watch and learn!: Two friends, Sam and Paul, are talking or looks at him. Leo 2 persuades Leo to say ‘hello’. Jane
in a park. Paul is a quiet, studious boy who likes reading returns the greeting and looks away quickly. Leo 2 thinks
books. Sam criticises him because he hasn’t got any friends she hates him and that he is stupid, and Jane 2 thinks Leo
and is boring. Sam, on the other hand, thinks he is very 2 feels the same way about her. Leo 2 decides to say
interesting because he has a lot of hobbies and all the girls something nice and instructs Leo to ask Jane the time,
love him. He promises to teach Paul how to maintain a even though he has a watch. Jane 2 thinks he is bored,
conversation. Two girls, Anna and Susan come into the and there follows a series of misunderstandings. Leo
park. Sam immediately starts telling them about his new then compliments Jane on her jacket and she returns
motorbike, computer and jeans. Anna is interested but the compliment, saying she likes his T-shirt. Finally Leo
Susan appears bored. Anna asks Sam some questions, but manages to say he likes Jane and she says she likes him
because he so interested in himself, he doesn’t answer too.
her. When Anna wants to show the boys one of her Young love!: Sue is waiting for her boyfriend in a café. A
photos, Sam merely responds by insisting on showing man and a woman are sitting at the next table, wondering
some photos of himself. Paul asks if he can see Anna’s what the boyfriend will be like. Her boyfriend, Danny,
photo and she shows him a photo of herself and Sam comes in, and angrily demands to know where Sue was
at a party. Paul compliments Anna on her appearance, the previous day. Sue shouts back at him and is told by
and says he doesn’t like parties because he can’t dance. the man to be quiet. Danny suspects that Sue had been
Susan offers to teach him and invites him to a party later with another man, which she strongly denies, telling him
that evening. Anna notices Paul’s book and praises it, and she was at her seriously ill grandmother’s house. Danny
shows him a book she is reading. The two girls say they apologises and she reassures him that he is the only
both like reading, playing sports and listening to music. man in her life. The man at the next table thinks she is
Then they decide to go for a coffee and call Sam, who is lying, but the woman with him disagrees. They decide to
busy looking at his phone. On the way, Susan tells Sam listen into the conversation, the man being sure it will be
that Paul is really interesting and that he asks questions revealed that she has got two boyfriends. Danny orders a
and listens to the answers, and suggests that Sam could cup of coffee from the waiter and Sue asks for a glass of
learn a lot from his friend. water, claiming she hasn’t got any money. Danny offers to
Let’s talk now!: Judy is looking at the people in the pay for her coffee. The couple are happy again and this
town from her bedroom window. She wonders why convinces the woman that she hasn’t got two boyfriends.
everybody is always in a hurry, and they have no time A man called Alex walks into the café, surprised to see
to make friends. She is regretting living in the town. She Sue there, and sits down at the table. He wants to know
would prefer to be in the country, where all her friends why Sue wasn’t at her grandmother’s house. Danny
are, and where she used to go to school. Her next door replies that she had seen her yesterday, whereupon Sue
neighbour, Emily, is also looking out of her bedroom says they are going there now, and tries to get Danny
out of the café. The waiter arrives with the two coffees
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level 2 Teacher’s notes Teacher Support Programme

Five Plays for Today

and Alex orders another. He asks Danny if he knows make the bullies go away. The bullies reaffirm that they
Sue’s grandmother. Sue and Danny reply simultaneously are not going to go away.
with him saying he doesn’t and she saying he does. Sue
then tries to change the conversation. The men have two Background and themes
questions for Sue. Alex wants to know who Danny is, and The art of listening: In the first play we are shown an
Danny wants to know if Sue was with Alex the previous example of someone who is incapable of talking about
day. At this point, Sue’s phone rings. She walks away from anything other than himself. He thinks this makes him a
the table to answer it. The man is now convinced that more interesting person than his friend, but in the end
she has two boyfriends, and the woman is beginning to he is told that listening to people will make him a better
accept the possibility. The waiter assures them she hasn’t person.
got two boyfriends. Sue is talking to John on her phone Shyness: In the second and third plays, three of the
and trying to convince him not to come to the café, saying characters are very shy and one is very sociable and has
it was full of unpleasant people. The man and woman are many friends. Although shyness is not a very bad trait, one
offended when they hear this, and Sue offers to buy them must learn to overcome it and be more self-confident,
a drink. The man orders a bottle of wine. John comes and self-confident people must be aware of shyness in
in and notices Danny and Alex fighting. He agrees with others and allow them into their circle of friends.
Sue that the people in the café are not very nice, and
she tries to get him out quickly. Danny demands to know Faithfulness: In the fourth play, the main character has
which of the three men is Sue’s boyfriend. John, who three boyfriends. She tries to hide the fact, but in the end
doesn’t know either Danny or Alex, says he is. The waiter they all leave her, and she is left counting the cost of her
then announces that Sue has three boyfriends. The man mistake.
triumphantly claims that he was right, but is corrected Bullying: The last play deals with the terrible practice
by the woman, who says that she was right because Sue of bullying in schools. The strong pick on the weak and
hasn’t got two boyfriends, she has three. Sue then goes defenceless, abusing them physically and making them
round the three men in turn, declaring each of them to commit crimes. The victims of this behaviour often feel
be her boyfriend. The men, in turn, all leave, saying they they cannot talk about their experiences to anyone, not
want nothing to do with her. She is then presented with even members of their family.
a bill for the coffees and wine, amounting to twenty
pounds. Taking a lot of money from her bag, she swears Discussion activities
never to have more than one boyfriend again, on account
Watch and learn!
of the cost.
While reading (p. 4, after ‘Oh, that’s a great book.’)
We’re not going away!: A group of stupid bullies are 1 Discuss: Put the students into small groups and ask
talking outside a school. They are saying how famous, them to discuss the following questions about books:
Do you like reading books? What book are you reading
strong, intelligent and bad they are, and that they are not
at the moment? What is your best book? Do you
going to go away. The head teacher is watching them sometimes read books and feel afraid? Do you like funny
and she realises she has a big problem on her hands. books or exciting books? How often do you read? Do you
The bullies, pretending that they want to help an old read books on the computer?
woman with her heavy bag, push her over in the street. After reading
Oliver arrives and the bullies demand money from him. 2 Write and ask: Write Where is Paul waiting for Sam?
He tells them he hasn’t got any, and they tell him to ask on the board and elicit the answer (In a park.). Ask
his mother. His mother notices something wrong with students to write another question about something
in ‘Watch and learn!’ Now have students walk around
Oliver, but he won’t tell her what it is. When he asks her
the classroom, asking and answering each other’s
for some money, and she refuses, the bullies tell him to questions.
steal it. He takes the money. Oliver’s friends, Jeff and Sally, 3 Write: Put the students in groups of four and tell
arrive and they admit that they have also taken money them each to write a summary of the play. The
from their mothers. They go to talk to the teacher about summary must be exactly fifty words long, not one
word more or less. The students then read out their
their problem. The teacher and Oliver’s mother decide to
summaries to each other.
call the police, but they are doubtful of whether this will
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Five Plays for Today

Let’s talk now! After reading
While reading (p. 7, after ‘Oh, you’ve got a cat.’) 10 Write and guess: Write Danny was happy when he
4 Write and game: Put the students in groups of four came into the café. on the board. Elicit which word is
and ask them to write down the names of all the wrong from the students (angry not happy). Now
animals they can think of in English. Put their students choose a sentence from ‘Young love!’ and
suggestions on the board, adding some of your own. rewrite it changing one word. Students walk around
Then play the twenty questions game. Student A the classroom, reading out their sentences and the
thinks of an animal. The rest of the group have to ask other students have to identify and correct the
him/her questions to guess which animal Student A mistake.
is thinking of. Student A can only respond ‘yes’, ‘no’ 11 Describe and draw: Put the students in pairs.
or ‘sometimes’. The group can ask twenty questions. Student A describes what is happening in the picture
If they can’t guess in twenty questions, Student A on page 17 and Student B has to draw it. Then
has won. See Discussion activities key for possible Student B looks at the picture on page 21 and
questions. describes it to Student A. How accurate are their
5 Discuss: Remind the students that the girls have both drawings?
got pet cats. Then put them in pairs and ask them to
We’re not going away!
talk about the following questions: Have you got an
animal? What animal is it? Would you like to have an While reading (page 27, after ‘There isn’t a problem.
animal? What animals do people normally have and OK?’)
what strange animals do some people have? What are 12 Discuss: Oliver has told his mother a lie. Put the
some of the problems you can have with an animal? students in groups and ask them to discuss the
following questions: Do you sometimes tell lies? Do you
Say it! know somebody who always tells lies? Is it sometimes
After reading OK to tell lies? Your friend buys new trousers and you
6 Pair work: Write the following words on the board: hate them. Do you say they are nice, OK or ugly? Is it
shy, feet, bored, watch, bus, clothes. Have the students sometimes very bad to tell lies? What bad things can
talk and write in pairs to say how these words were happen to you if you tell lies?
used in ‘Say it!’ 13 Write (p. 28, after ‘I lied to my mother and I took
7 Pair work and write: Remind students that Jane and money from her bag.’): Ask students to write a diary
Paul are shy people and that Paul thinks that Jane is entry as if they were Oliver. Tell them to write about
beautiful. Put them in pairs to make a list of all the a typical school day during which Oliver has to face
words they know in English to describe a person’s the bullies. Encourage them to be imaginative about
physical appearance and personality. Get feedback the things that happen to him and to write about
from the whole class and then ask students to Oliver’s feelings in the first person.
individually write a short composition describing 14 Write and discuss: Put the students in small groups
somebody they know well. to make a list of things that people are sometimes
8 Discuss: Remind students that Jane and Leo talk afraid of. Get feedback from the whole class and
about clothes and put them in groups to discuss the write the things on the board. Now put students in
following questions: Are clothes important for you? How pairs to discuss which of those things they feel afraid
often do you buy new clothes? Where do you buy them? of and why.
What do you usually wear during in the week and at 15 Discuss and write: Put the students in groups to
weekends? What do you wear to parties? discuss what other problems, apart from bullying,
they have in their school. Ask them to consider how
Young love! they could make their school a better place. Get
While reading (p. 18, after ‘We really must go now!’) feedback and then ask the groups to write a school
9 Role play: Put the students in groups of three and manifesto, including rules about what students can’t
tell them they are going to act out a conversation do and what students should do.
between Sue, Danny and Alex. The two boys want to
know about the confusion about the time of the visit
to Sue’s grandmother’s house and they are sure that
Sue is seeing both of them. Sue tries to defend
herself. See Discussion activities key for an example
start to the conversation.

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