Theme: Famous British figures and the cult of celebrity. Role models for young people.
Lexical area: Jobs, professions, language to describe someone's achievements.
Cross curricular links: Personal and Social Education, Media Studies, History.

Instructions for language assistants in italics

Classroom materials

Introduction
This lesson consists of three short texts which give clues to the identity of three famous Britons. The texts explore the fame of the three personalities and the growing interest in celebrities in modern British life.

• For lower levels support this topic with visuals from magazines found in your host country. The second part of task 6 and task 8 would be too challenging for lower levels. You can follow task 5 with an activity based on writing and talking about their favourite national figures or celebrities. They could also do this with international stars from music or fashion fields. This work can be displayed around the class in the next lesson and enjoyed by all students.
  
  For higher levels a selection of headlines and articles from your host country could support this lesson. Visuals of the famous people involved could be used. Start the lesson with a brainstorming task around the word 'celebrity' and the word 'fame'. Ask them if there is a difference between a celebrity and a famous person. Ask them to give you a definition for celebrity.

1. Famous Britons Quiz

This quiz can be done in pairs or small groups. It helps to introduce the theme and students are not expected to know all the answers. It will also give you an idea of their background knowledge. Be honest and try to do the same quiz for yourself about their country.

• Higher levels could discuss where they have gained this knowledge.
• Ask them how they find out about British people and introduce the idea of paparazzi and celebrity magazines. Keep this discussion very brief.

Task 1 Famous Britons Quiz

Do this quick quiz in pairs.

• Can you name a famous from British person for each of the titles below?

• The Prime Minister
• The Queen
• A well known footballer
• A well known singer.
• A famous group
• A well known writer.
• A famous artist
• An inventor
• A scientist
• An explorer

• Check with your class.
• Can your teacher do the same for your country?

2. People past and present
The BBC recently asked the British public to nominate their favourite famous Britons. Some people nominated are celebrities alive today. Some of the nominees were historical figures who contributed to Britain's past. Tell students that the nominations were reduced to a top 100 names from which a top 10 were produced after voting. The BBC also made a series of programmes with well known people arguing the case for their favourite Briton. Check the website details below.

• Students can tick the names and then compare in pairs.
• With lower levels introduce the questioning for the second part very carefully.
• Take the first two names and discuss them.
• Ask questions like:
  
  • Is he alive or dead?
  • What is he famous for?
  • Is he a singer or an actor?

• Put students in small groups to make categories for the names then run down the list and give them some brief details on each person. The web links will help you with this.
• Extend the last activity by asking each group to add as many other names to the list as they can to a set time limit of 2-3 minutes.

Task 2 People past and present

The BBC recently asked the British public to nominate their favourite famous Britons. Some people nominated are celebrities alive today. Some of the nominees were historical figures who contributed to Britain's past.

• Tick the names that you recognise
• Ask about the people you don't know:
  
  • What do you know about Churchill?
  • Is he still alive?
  • What does/did he do?

• Divide the names in to historical, political, sporting or entertainment figures.

• Princess Diana
• Daniel Radcliffe
• John Lennon
• Isaac Newton
• Winston Churchill
• David Beckham
• Charles Darwin
• Isambard Kingdom Brunel
• William Shakespeare
• Horatio Nelson
• George Orwell
• Captain James Cook
• Sean Connery

3. Guess the person

Make sure lower levels know that they do not have to understand every word. If this is challenging for them do not go to task 4 which requires more comprehension of the texts. Go straight to task 5.

• There are more issues here for higher levels to discuss. You may wish to focus on one aspect and develop it into a discussion. You could do this after task 4.
• Take the Winston Churchill text to discuss history, politics and image. Note that politicians in Britain today have to pay more attention to the image they project in the Media.
• Ask about your host country. Discuss the statesmen that have shaped your host country's history.
• Use the text on Beckham to discuss the Media obsession with celebrity. Some would say that there is a dumbing down of media as the Beckham photo even made the front page of The Guardian and also the scandals surrounding his private life make headlines on the TV News alongside Iraq.
• What do your students think of this? Ask if celebrities are starting to dominate their national life.

Task 3 Guess the person

Read these clues and match a name from the nominees to each description.

4. Fame and the British

Put students in pairs to do this. Use the feedback session to extend the discussion if appropriate to your students' level and interests.

Task 4 Fame and the British

What do the clues tell you about fame? Answer 'True' or 'false'

• The public voted for a celebrity footballer as their most important Briton. (False. Most people preferred to vote for historical figures but that may also reflect the age range of voters and the types of viewer who watched the BBC programmes about the Britons.)
• The British public look for a good example from their Royal family. (True)
• The public are not interested in the private life of the royals. (False. This has dramatically changed since the young royal couples allowed themselves to be photographed and filmed at home in the 80s and 90s. The family has also been dogged by scandal and divorce.)
• Famous people are allowed to have a private family life. (False. Quite the opposite and some would argue that the paparazzi had a role to play in Diana's demise.)
• Magazines are prepared to pay huge sums of money for pictures of famous people. (True)
• Modern celebrities are not just famous for what they do or say. (True. Their image is held up as a role model to copy or admire like Diana or Beckham.)

5. Make you own clues

This can be a class quiz if you split them in to teams and read aloud clues. The details on the clues very much depend on their level.

• Give a model for lower levels with a couple of clues about famous people in your host country. Keep them basic and straightforward.
• This activity could extend to writing about their favourite famous people.

Task 5 Make your own clues

• Write a description of a famous person from your country.
• Get your class mates to guess who is being described.

6. Celebrities and role models

This task can be done in two parts. Leave out the second part which involves more discussion if your class are a lower level.

• Conduct the poll with a show of hands after pairs have asked each other the questions.
• Then put pairs or small groups together to read through the comments by people involved on the Newsround site. They should discuss each comment. Ask them to compare to their own country too.
• The final discussion questions can be done in groups.

Task 6 Celebrities and role models

The BBC recently asked young people using its 'Newsround' site to talk about the people who influence them. This is the poll question they asked.

• Who influences you most?

• Your parents
• Your friends
• Your teachers
• Your favourite celebrities

• Answer the question from the BBC poll
• Check your answers with the whole class

The BBC poll and other recent research in Britain showed that celebrities have more influence over young people than parents or teachers. Some youngsters think of their celebrities as 'pseudo-friends'. Many people are worried that these celebrities have too much influence.

• Here are some of the comments made by young people. Do you agree with any of them?
  
  'We see the lives of famous people every day and that makes us envious and dissatisfied with our own lives.'
  
  'The Media makes the lives of pop stars seem more glamorous and happier than they are in reality. They write and talk about them too much.'
  
  'It is awful to be famous because you cannot do ordinary things like shopping. People always speak to you and you can't be alone.'
  
  'There is terrible pressure to be perfect and I blame celebrities. They are too thin and too plastic. We cannot be like them.'
  
  'Famous people can give young people good ideas and ambitions. If a black footballer is successful or a girl from a poor background becomes a well known dress designer, it gives us all hope. We can all make something of our lives.'

• Would you be influenced by a celebrity? Why? Why not?
• What do you think of celebrity magazines?
• Do you think famous people should be allowed some privacy?
• Do you think celebrities or people in the public eye should set a good example?
• Would you like to be famous?

7. Nominate a good role model

This activity can be done individually, in pairs or groups. See if there are any popular figures nominated by the whole class.

• Give an example of role models you remember from your teens, if you think this will help to guide them.

Task 7 Nominate a good role model

• Choose a well known figure in your country or simply a person you know locally.
• Say what makes them a good role model.
• Write a definition of a good role model for young people.

8. Projects on media and role models

These projects are more suited to higher levels and are the basis for a follow up lesson. Give the whole class one topic to do in groups or pairs or allow them to choose a topic.

• In a large class it would be good if each group covers a different theme so that the follow up presentations are varied.
• If you wish to guide this more you could take a selection of UK teen magazines and examine them more closely with guiding questions.
• You could do the same with a selection of publications from your host country.
• Be wary of relying on the students supplying the material if this is in any way going to cause difficulty. There is nothing worse than having a lesson planned and no raw material to work from.

Task 8 Projects on media and role models

• The media is often criticised for offering the wrong types of role models for young people. Teen magazines were recently criticised for their bad models and so are films and TV. Choose one of the following areas to study.
• Take some teen publications from your country. Look at the role models offered by them. Are they good models? What types of messages do they send young people? Give examples.
• Look at a selection of TV programmes offered to young people. Are the stars very dominant in the programmes? Do the programmes reflect life in your country? Can you suggest better programmes? Are you satisfied with the types of people presenting the programmes?
• Some critics say that films should not show celebrities smoking because this influences teenagers and they might follow the example. The same criticism has been aimed at hip hop. Critics say hip hop promotes gun culture and this encourages young people to be more violent and to accept violence. Find some examples from your culture to support the critics or to argue against them.

Internet links

www.bbcfactual.co.uk/great_britons.htm This site gives you details on each contender for the title of the greatest Briton.
www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/archive.shtml This is the official site and winners list.
www.aboutbritain.com/default.htm Short texts on legendary and historical figures to use with lower levels and all classes.
www.anglik.net/notablebritons.htm This site for English teachers has a lot on cultural background and good links.
http://elt.britcoun.org.pl/v_quiz.htm A ready made famous Britons quiz for students.
www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/ details of many famous people can be found here.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/ The Newsround site has a lot on celebrities including recent discussions on issues like: Do celebrities influence what you buy? Just do a search with 'celebrity' for a good deal of material based on real young people and their views.

Essential UK links
About a novelist looks at Nick Hornby, a very popular modern writer in the UK today.
Teenage tribes looks at issues of identity and can follow up the theme of influences on young people.
Show racism the red card follows up the theme of sports personalities and their role in setting an example in the fight against racism.
The Brit Awards looks at the famous names on the UK music scene.
Reality TV looks at the changing nature of TV and can be used to discuss programmes featuring celebrities, such as Big Brother and others.
The Windrush Generation looks at some famous Black Britons and their contribution to UK culture.
Young drinkers could follow up the theme of role models to explore the models students receive for drinking or smoking in their culture

By Clare Lavery