Friday February 4, 2005
Pre-Intermediate +

THE ARTICLE

A new force has emerged in the portable music race to challenge the dominance of Apple’s i-Pod and i-Tunes. The once illegal music download service Napster has unveiled a brand new method of downloading music, which they believe will be as popular, if not more, than Apple’s MP3 products. It is called Napster To Go and consists of subscribers paying a set fee of $14.95 a month to rent an unlimited number of songs for four weeks. After a month, the secret code contained in the download for each song automatically deletes the song from your music player, unless you keep up with the monthly payments. If you stop paying, your music disappears, unless you have recorded them elsewhere, like a CD-R or your desktop! But that’s illegal. Napster’s homepage says, “Now with Napster To Go, you can fill and refill your compatible MP3 player with your choice of over a million tracks without paying 99 cents a track”. Apple’s I-Tunes store currently charges 99 cents a track, but you are buying the song, which means you can keep it forever. In a $30 million advertising campaign to start Sunday, Napster ask the public to “Do the Math”, pointing out that it would cost $10,000 to fill an i-Pod (if you bought the songs and not file-shared them). Subscribers will be able to play their music on a number of portable music players, but not on Apple’s I-Pod. Surprise, surprise!

Lesson & plan in Word.doc

Example Class Handout in .pdf

WARM UPS / COOL DOWNS

1. CHAT:  Talk in pairs or groups about music / music players / CDs / MDs / records / tapes / MP3 / iPod / Apple / downloading music…

To make things more dynamic, try telling your students they only have one minute (or 2) on each chat topic before changing topics / partners. Change topic / partner frequently to energize the class.

2. MUSIC PLAYER BRAINSTORM: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with portable music players. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

3. MY MUSIC HISTORY: Talk to your partner about how your musical tastes have changed throughout your life / this year / since you heard the latest Beyonce single …. What was the first single / CD / record … you bought and what do you think of it now etc.

4. MUSICAL DAY: Talk to your partner about the role music plays in your everyday life. Write a brief timeline of when you listen to music, where, how, why; and include the other places you get to hear music – in an elevator, in a store, the local Starbuck’s etc.

5. MP3 WARS: MP3 is the latest way to store and listen to music. Look at the following opini ons. Student A agrees with them. Student B disagrees with them. Discuss:

(a) Apple’s I-Pod is the greatest music player ever. It is unbeatable.
(b) All music should be free.
(c) Napster-To-Go is a rental service. Owning your music is better.
(d) The radio is best – it’s free and you don’t have to worry about what to listen to.
(e) Napster’s rental service won’t be that popular.
(f) Nobody needs to carry 10,000 songs. Who knows 10,000 songs?
(g) Video rental and CD rental works. Napster-To-Go will work
(h) Why pay 99 cents a song or $15 a month when you can file share for free?

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Students look in their dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … of the words ‘music’, and ‘race’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Students look at the headline and predict whether they believe the following statements about the article are true or false:
(a)  A new force has emerged in the portable music race.  T / F
(b)  Apple’s i-Pod and i-Tunes are the market leaders.  T / F
(c)  Napster is an illegal music download site.  T / F
(d)  Napster wants to charge $14.95 a year for people to rent music.  T / F
(e)  Your rented songs are deleted if you do not keep paying. T / F
(f)  Recording the songs you rent onto another CD, tape or your computer is legal.  T / F
(g)  Apple’s I-Tunes store charges 99 cents a song. T / F
(h)  You can play Napster-To-Go music on Apple’s I-Pod. T / F

3. DEFINITIONS: Students match the following words with the most likely definitions (Please think about the headline!):

(a) force (n)
(i) the next in the sequence: first, second, third …
(ii) a strong and powerful organization

(b) emerged (v)
(i) suddenly appeared on the scene
(ii) when a road forks and splits into two different roads

(c) dominance (n)
(i) having most of the power or market share
(ii) a game played on a table with lots of small black blocks with white spots

(d) unveiled (v)
(i) showed a new product to the public that was a secret
(ii) when your CD player suddenly runs out of batteries

(e) subscribers (n)
(i) graffiti artists who do their art in subway stations
(ii) people who pay a fixed fee to receive a 24-hour, weekly, monthly, yearly service

(f) fee (n)
(i) a payment of money for a service
(ii) something for which you don’t need to pay money

(g) keep up with (v)
(i) continue doing something to make sure it is up to date
(ii) make sure your Walkman or I-Pod has enough battery power for a long journey

(h) illegal (adj)
(i) a really sick bird
(ii) something that is against the law

(i) refill (v)
(i) to fill again
(ii) to empty again

(j) portable (adj)
(i) easy to carry anywhere or put in your pocket / bag / car
(ii) a special place where you can sit and listen to music in a CD store

4. SYNONYM MATCH: Students match the following synonyms from the article:

(a)	force	prohibited
(b)	portable	presently
(c)	dominance	highlighting
(d)	illegal	customers
(e)	unveil	movable
(f)	subscribers	reveal
(g)	compatible	until the cows come home
(h)	currently	supremacy
(i)	forever	power
(j)	pointing out	appropriate

 

5. PHRASE MATCH: Students match the following phrases based on the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

(a)	A new force	a set fee
(b)	to challenge the	campaign
(c)	a brand new	math
(d)	will be as popular,	surprise!
(e)	consists of subscribers paying	has emerged
(f)	unless you keep	forever
(g)	you can keep it	if not more
(h)	$30 million advertising	dominance of
(i)	Do the	up with the monthly payments
(j)	Surprise	method of downloading music

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. GAP-FILL:  Put the missing words under each paragraph into the gaps.

Napster – a rival for i-Pod?

A new __________ has emerged in the portable music race to challenge the dominance of Apple’s i-Pod and i-Tunes. The once __________ music download service Napster has unveiled a brand new method of downloading music, which they believe will be as __________, if not more, than Apple’s MP3 products. It is called Napster To Go and consists of subscribers paying a set fee of $14.95 a month to rent an unlimited number of songs for four weeks. After a month, the secret code __________ in the download for each song automatically deletes the song from your music player, unless you keep up with the monthly payments. If you stop paying, your music __________, unless you have recorded them elsewhere, like a CD-R or your desktop! But that’s illegal. Napster’s homepage says, “Now with Napster To Go, you can fill and __________ your compatible MP3 player with your choice of over a million tracks without paying 99 cents a track”. Apple’s I-Tunes store currently charges 99 cents a track, but you are buying the song, which means you can keep it __________. In a $30 million advertising campaign to start Sunday, Napster ask the public to “Do the Math”, pointing out that it would cost $10,000 to fill an i-Pod (if you bought the songs and not file-shared them). Subscribers will be able to play their music on a __________ of portable music players, but not on Apple’s I-Pod. Surprise, surprise!

illegal       forever      number      disappears      force     refill     popular     contained

2. TRUE/FALSE:  Students check their answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYMS:  Students check their answers to the synonyms exercise.

4. PHRASE MATCH:  Students check their answers to the phrase match exercise.

5. QUESTIONS: Students make notes for questions they would like to ask the class about the article.

6. VOCABULARY:  Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find the meanings.

POST READING IDEAS

1. GAP-FILL: Check the answers to the gap-fill exercise.

2. QUESTIONS:  Students ask the discussion questions they thought of above to their partner / group / class. Pool the questions for all students to share.

3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

4. STUDENT-GENERATED SURVEY: Pairs/Groups write down 3 questions based on the article. Conduct their surveys alone. Report back to partners to compare answers. Report to other groups / the whole class.

5. ‘MUSIC’/ ‘RACE’: Students make questions based on their findings from pre-reading activity #1.

6. DISCUSSION:  Students ask each other the following questions:
(a)  Who’s your fave pop star / rock group?
(b)  What’s your favorite kind of music?
(c)  What kind of music player do you have?
(d)  What kind of music player do you want?
(e)  When and where do you take your music player?
(f)  Have you ever downloaded music?
(g)  Do you pay to download or file-share (illegally)?
(h)  What do you think of Napster’s rental system?
(i)  What do you think of Apple’s I-Pod?
(j)  Do you prefer to rent or own music / songs?
(k)  Will you visit the Napster site for more info?
(l)  Would you like to carry 10,000 songs in your pocket (you can with I-Pod)?
(m)  Do you have a favorite music player company? Are you loyal to them?
(n)  How many different music players have you had?
(o)  Which is better – vinyl, cassettes, CDs, MDs or MP3?
(p)  If MP3 means we can carry 10,000 songs in a player the size of a cassette, what will
      MP4 do??
(q) Teacher / Student additional questions

HOMEWORK

1. VOCAB EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or the Google search field to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on Napster. Share your findings with your class next lesson.

3. MUSIC POSTER: Create a poster of your favorite musical artist.

4. PROS AND CONS: Write a short article for a music consumer magazine comparing the pros and cons of i-Tunes and Napster-To-Go.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

(a)  A new force has emerged in the portable music race.  T
(b)  Apple’s i-Pod and i-Tunes are the market leaders.  T
(c)  Napster is an illegal music download site.  F
(d)  Napster wants to charge $14.95 a year for people to rent music.  F
(e)  Your rented songs are deleted if you do not keep paying. T
(f)  Recording the songs you rent onto another CD, tape or your computer is legal.  F
(g)  Apple’s I-Tunes store charges 99 cents a song. T
(h)  You can play Napster-To-Go music on Apple’s I-Pod. F

DEFINITIONS:

(a) force (n)
(ii) a strong and powerful organization

(b) emerged (v)
(i) suddenly appeared on the scene

(c) dominance (n)
(i) having most of the power or market share

(d) unveiled (v)
(i) showed a new product to the public that was a secret

(e) subscribers (n)
(ii) people who pay a fixed fee to receive a 24-hour, weekly, monthly, yearly service

(f) fee (n)
(i) a payment of money for a service

(g) keep up with (v)
(i) continue doing something to make sure it is up to date

(h) illegal (adj)
(ii) something that is against the law

(i) refill (v)
(i) to fill again

(j) portable (adj)
(i) easy to carry anywhere or put in your pocket / bag / car

SYNONYM MATCH:

(a)	force	power
(b)	portable	movable
(c)	dominance	supremacy
(d)	illegal	prohibited
(e)	unveil	reveal
(f)	subscribers	customers
(g)	compatible	appropriate
(h)	currently	presently
(i)	forever	until the cows come home
(j)	pointing out	highlighting

PHRASE MATCH:

(a)	A new force	has emerged
(b)	to challenge the	dominance of
(c)	a brand new	method of downloading music
(d)	will be as popular,	if not more
(e)	consists of subscribers paying	a set fee
(f)	unless you keep	up with the monthly payments
(g)	you can keep it	forever
(h)	$30 million advertising	campaign
(i)	Do the	math(s)
(j)	Surprise	surprise!

GAP FILL:

Napster – a rival for i-Pod?

A new force has emerged in the portable music race to challenge the dominance of Apple’s i-Pod and i-Tunes. The once illegal music download service Napster has unveiled a brand new method of downloading music, which they believe will be as popular, if not more, than Apple’s MP3 products. It is called Napster To Go and consists of subscribers paying a set fee of $14.95 a month to rent an unlimited number of songs for four weeks. After a month, the secret code contained in the download for each song automatically deletes the song from your music player, unless you keep up with the monthly payments. If you stop paying, your music disappears, unless you have recorded them elsewhere, like a CD-R or your desktop! But that’s illegal. Napster’s homepage says, “Now with Napster To Go, you can fill and refill your compatible MP3 player with your choice of over a million tracks without paying 99 cents a track”. Apple’s I-Tunes store currently charges 99 cents a track, but you are buying the song, which means you can keep it forever. In a $30 million advertising campaign to start Sunday, Napster ask the public to “Do the Math”, pointing out that it would cost $10,000 to fill an i-Pod (if you bought the songs and not file-shared them). Subscribers will be able to play their music on a number of portable music players, but not on Apple’s I-Pod. Surprise, surprise!