Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Mark Zuckerberg

Time magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, as and their Person of the Year 2010. Zuckerberg, 26, is the second-youngest winner of the accolade. He won the award for connecting 12 percent of the planet on his social networking site. This is an impressive statistic considering the site has yet to make any impression in China. Mr Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, naturally on his Facebook page: "Being named as Time Person of the Year is a real honor and recognition of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and connected. I'm happy to be a part of that." The young entrepreneur owns a quarter of the shares of Facebook and is a multi-billionaire.

It was uncertain for a while who would win Time’s annual honour. Readers voting in the online poll chose the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as the winner. However, Time panelists chose Mark Zuckerberg. Time’s editor Richard Stengel explained they chose Zuckerberg because he was a more positive figure than Assange and because he changed “how we all live our lives in ways that are innovative and even optimistic”. He wrote on Time’s website: "There is an erosion of trust in authority, a decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater faith in one another…" he said. Mr Stengel continued: “Zuckerberg sees the world as filled with potential friends.” Perhaps only the Facebook creator himself knows how much more he can do.

WARM-UPS

1. FACEBOOK: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Facebook. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

founders / winner / awards / statistics / impressive / honors / recognition / shares / uncertain / online polls / winners / positive figures / innovative / optimistic / potential

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. 2010: Who do you think was person of the year? Complete this table and share what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote.

Person	Who?	Why?
Sports
Politics
Movies
Business
Technology
Your country

4. PERSON OF THE YEAR: Students A strongly believe this is a great idea; Students B strongly believe it’s a stupid idea. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. FB: What’s best about Facebook? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

photos
making new friends
finding old friends
social networking

Like
sharing things
my avatar
knowing people’s news

6. TIME: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘time’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The man who created Facebook has won a magazine’s award.	T / F
b.	Mark Zuckerberg, at 26, is the youngest ever winner of this award.	T / F
c.	Over 20 per cent of the world population use Facebook.	T / F
d.	Zuckerberg has a huge team helping him keep Facebook going.	T / F
e.	There was a possibility Julian Assange could win the award.	T / F
f.	Time chose Zuckerberg because he was more positive than Assange.	T / F
g.	Time’s editor said our trust in authority increases year by year.	T / F
h.	Zuckerberg believes we could have more friends in the future.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	founder	a.	survey
2	accolade	b.	linked
3.	statistic	c.	mark
4.	impression	d.	award
5.	connected	e.	possibility
6.	uncertain	f.	creator
7.	poll	g.	eating away
8.	erosion	h.	belief
9.	faith	i.	figure
10.	potential	j.	unsure

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	the second-youngest winner	a.	of the planet
2	connecting 12 percent	b.	authority
3.	an impressive	c.	that
4.	the site has yet to make	d.	online poll
5.	I'm happy to be a part of	e.	positive figure
6.	voting in the	f.	our lives
7.	he was a more	g.	of the accolade
8.	how we all live	h.	statistic
9.	trust in	i.	himself knows
10.	only the Facebook creator	j.	any impression in China

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Time magazine has ____________ Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, as their Person of the Year 2010. Zuckerberg, 26, is the second-youngest winner of the ____________. He won the award for connecting 12 percent of the ____________ on his social networking site. This is an impressive ____________ considering the site has yet to make any impression in China. Mr Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, ____________ on his Facebook page: "Being named as Time Person of the Year is a real honor and ____________ of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and ____________. I'm happy to be a part of that." The young entrepreneur owns a ____________ of the shares of Facebook and is a multi-billionaire.

statistic
quarter
accolade
recognition
named
naturally
connected
planet

It was ____________ for a while who would win Time’s annual honour. Readers voting in the online poll chose the Wikileaks ____________ Julian Assange as the winner. However, Time panelists chose Mark Zuckerberg. Time’s editor Richard Stengel ____________ they chose Zuckerberg because he was a more ____________ figure than Assange and because he changed “how we all live our lives in ways that are ____________ and even optimistic”. He wrote on Time’s website: "There is an erosion of trust in ____________, a decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater ____________ in one another.” Mr another…” he said. Mr Stengel continued: “Zuckerberg sees the world as filled with ____________ friends.” Perhaps only the Facebook creator himself knows how much more he can do.

positive
authority
founder
potential
explained
uncertain
faith
innovative

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Time magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, as their Person of the Year 2010. Zuckerberg, 26, is the second-youngest _______________________ . He won the award for connecting 12 percent of the planet on his social networking site. This _______________________ considering the site has _______________________ in China. Mr Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, naturally on his Facebook page: "Being named as Time Person of the Year is _______________________ of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world _______________________. I'm happy to be a part of that." The young entrepreneur _______________________ shares of Facebook and is a multi-billionaire.

It was _______________________ who would win Time’s annual honour. Readers voting _______________________ the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as the winner. However, Time panelists chose Mark Zuckerberg. Time’s editor Richard Stengel explained they chose Zuckerberg because he was a _______________________ Assange and because he changed “how we all live our lives in ways that are _______________________”. He wrote on Time’s website: "There is an erosion _______________________, a decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater faith in one another.” Mr another…” he said. Mr Stengel continued: “Zuckerberg sees the world as _______________________.” Perhaps only the Facebook creator himself knows how much more he can do.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘face’ and ‘book’.

face

book

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

second
12
yet
little
open
shares

poll
editor
figure
ways
faith
himself

STUDENT FACEBOOK SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Facebook in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

FACEBOOK DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘Facebook’?
c)	Why do you think Facebook is so popular?
d)	What do you know about Facebook’s creator Mark Zuckerberg?
e)	Do you think Mark Zuckerberg is a good person of the year?
f)	What do you think of the fact that 12% of the world population is on Facebook?
g)	Why hasn’t China opened up to Facebook?
h)	Is a more connected world a better world?
i)	What three adjectives would you use to describe Mark Zuckerberg – a multi-billionaire at 26?
j)	Do you think the name ‘Facebook’ is a good one?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Is Mark Zuckerberg a better choice for person of the year than Julian Assange?
c)	What are the best things about Facebook?
d)	How would you like to see Facebook improved?
e)	How has Facebook changed the world?
f)	Do you agree that Facebook “changed how we all live our lives in ways that are innovative and even optimistic”?
g)	How many friends is it possible to have?
h)	Is Facebook useful to use as a study aid?
i)	What do you think Facebook will be like in 10 years from now?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Mark Zuckerberg?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Time magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg, the (1) ____ of Facebook, as their Person of the Year 2010. Zuckerberg, 26, is the second-youngest winner of the accolade. He won the award (2) ____ connecting 12 percent of the planet on his social networking site. This is an impressive statistic (3) ____ the site has (4) ____ to make any impression in China. Mr Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, naturally on his Facebook page: "Being named as Time Person of the Year is a real honor and (5) ____ of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and connected. I'm happy to be a (6) ____ of that." The young entrepreneur owns a quarter of the shares of Facebook and is a multi-billionaire.

It was uncertain for a while who would win Time’s annual honour. Readers voting in the online (7) ____ chose the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as the winner. However, Time panelists chose Mark Zuckerberg. Time’s editor Richard Stengel explained they chose Zuckerberg because he was a more positive (8) ____ than Assange and because he changed “how we all (9) ____ our lives in ways that are innovative and even optimistic”. He wrote on Time’s website: "There is an erosion of trust (10) ____ authority, a decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater faith (11) ____ one another.” Mr another…” he said. Mr Stengel continued: “Zuckerberg sees the world as filled with (12) ____ friends.” Perhaps only the Facebook creator himself knows how much more he can do.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	finder	(b)	funded	(c)	finding	(d)	founder
2.	(a)	from	(b)	with	(c)	for	(d)	to
3.	(a)	considered	(b)	considering	(c)	considers	(d)	consideration
4.	(a)	yet	(b)	as	(c)	such	(d)	before
5.	(a)	recognize	(b)	cognition	(c)	recognition	(d)	recommend
6.	(a)	parted	(b)	partition	(c)	parting	(d)	part
7.	(a)	roll	(b)	poll	(c)	loll	(d)	toll
8.	(a)	figure	(b)	model	(c)	number	(d)	configure
9.	(a)	lively	(b)	live	(c)	alive	(d)	enlivens
10.	(a)	on	(b)	at	(c)	in	(d)	by
11.	(a)	in	(b)	on	(c)	at	(d)	by
12.	(a)	potty	(b)	potted	(c)	potent	(d)	potential

WRITING

Write about Facebook for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about Facebook. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. FACEBOOK: Make a poster about Facebook. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. MARK ZUCKERBERG: Write a magazine article about Mark Zuckerberg. Include an imaginary interview with him.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Mark Zuckerberg. Ask him three questions about Facebook. Give him three ideas on how to make Facebook better. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	founder	a.	creator
2	accolade	b.	award
3.	statistic	c.	figure
4.	impression	d.	mark
5.	connected	e.	linked
6.	uncertain	f.	unsure
7.	poll	g.	survey
8.	erosion	h.	eating away
9.	faith	i.	belief
10.	potential	j.	possibility

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	the second-youngest winner	a.	of the accolade
2	connecting 12 percent	b.	of the planet
3.	an impressive	c.	statistic
4.	the site has yet to make	d.	any impression in China
5.	I'm happy to be a part of	e.	that
6.	voting in the	f.	online poll
7.	he was a more	g.	positive figure
8.	how we all live	h.	our lives
9.	trust in	i.	authority
10.	only the Facebook creator	j.	himself knows

GAP FILL:

Facebook creator is Time Person of the Year

Time magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, as their Person of the Year 2010. Zuckerberg, 26, is the second-youngest winner of the accolade. He won the award for connecting 12 percent of the planet on his social networking site. This is an impressive statistic considering the site has yet to make any impression in China. Mr Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, naturally on his Facebook page: "Being named as Time Person of the Year is a real honor and recognition of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and connected. I'm happy to be a part of that." The young entrepreneur owns a quarter of the shares of Facebook and is a multi-billionaire.

It was uncertain for a while who would win Time’s annual honour. Readers voting in the online poll chose the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as the winner. However, Time panelists chose Mark Zuckerberg. Time’s editor Richard Stengel explained they chose Zuckerberg because he was a more positive figure than Assange and because he changed “how we all live our lives in ways that are innovative and even optimistic”. He wrote on Time’s website: "There is an erosion of trust in authority, a decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater faith in one another.” Mr another…” he said. Mr Stengel continued: “Zuckerberg sees the world as filled with potential friends.” Perhaps only the Facebook creator himself knows how much more he can do.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - c

3 - b

4 - a

5 - c

6 - d

7 - b

8 - a

9 - b

10 - c

11 - a

12 - d

Breaking News English

PRINT

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities

LISTEN

MP3 (2:08 - 1,021KB)

Facebook Creator is Time Person of the Year (16th December, 2010)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT FACEBOOK SURVEY

FACEBOOK DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Facebook creator is Time Person of the Year

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

My 1,000 Ideas e-Book	Breaking News English HOME \| HELP MY SITE \| 000s MORE FREE LESSONS	My 1,000 Ideas e-Book

Breaking News English

PRINT

13-Page PDF Handout - with all-skills activities

LISTEN

MP3 (2:08 - 1,021KB)

Facebook Creator is Time Person of the Year (16th December, 2010)

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT FACEBOOK SURVEY

FACEBOOK DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

WRITING

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Facebook creator is Time Person of the Year

Help Support This Web Site

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

13-Page PDF
Handout - with
all-skills activities