PEER PRESSURE FOR TEENS PAVES THE WAY TO ADULTHOOD

By: Shirley S. Wang

Published: The Wall Street Journal; June 17, 2013; www.wsj.com Alternatively just google the title and writer’s name

Level of Difficulty:**

Note to the student: Examples of both writing activities are posted in the file marked “Sample Essays”

BEFORE YOU READ

·         What kind of a person is your typical teenager?

·         What is his relationship with his parents like?

·         What about his friends?

·         Who has greater influence? Why?

NOW CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING

Peer pressure http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/peer_pressure_video.html

The Role of Peer Groups in a Teen's Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7298936ms5I

Peer pressure – adolescent issues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6K0F0gLcX0

QUESTIONS

1. What standard misconception concerning teenagers does the writer point out?

2.       There is a ………………….correlation between age and the ability to with stand peer pressure.

3.       What ultimate advantage does coping with peer pressure provide for the individual?

4.       What underlying cause of susceptibility to peer pressure decreases with age?

5.       The increase in peer influence in the early teens is due to the fact that………………………………

6.       ………………………………………hampers decision making in teenagers.

7.       What does “This” refer to in the phrase “This heightened rush of neurotransmitters”?

8.       What is the consequence of the fact that the youthful brain is still completing its development?

9.       Which of the characteristics listed below help the teenager to better resist peer pressure? Select as many as you need.

·         Being outgoing

·         Finding it easy to talk to people

·         Having parents with a criminal background

·         Having parents with alcohol or gambling problems

·         Being liked by one’s friends

·         Being self confident

10.   Why do less confident kids seem to acquire bad habits like drinking in groups?

11.   What conclusion can be drawn from Dr. Prinstein’s study?

12.   What tentative conclusion did Dr. Prinstein reach concerning race?

13.   What role do clothes play in peer groups?

14.   What is the disadvantage og excessively authoritarian parenting?

15.   Starting to keep an eye on a child’s friends quite early on is an advantage because………………

16.   Lorenzo C. Kavoliunas owes his current status to the fact that…………………………………………………

THE FIRST WRITING TASK

Summarize the text as concisely as possible. You will find an example under Sample Essays.

THE SECOND WRITING TASK

Write an essay discussing the advantages of peer pressure. Make notes as you read, seek out a related video, listen and take notes. Then write your essay. You will find an example under Sample Essays.

PEER PRESSURE FOR TEEN PAVES THE WAY TO ADULTHOOD KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

It is always a joy to find a simple yet interesting text which lends itself to both good questions and writing activities. Enjoy.

1.       That teens follow each other because they are less capable of making rational decisions

2.       Negative

3.       Self reliance

4.       They get greater pleasures from behaviors they experience as rewarding; they tend to find being liked by other people very gratifying

5.       During puberty people experience an increase in novelty seeking; OR they start exploring outside the home and making their own peer circles.

6.       Being emotionally worked up

7.       The increased activation in the reward centers in the brain during adolescence; OR the fact that the reward centers in the brain get more activated in adolescence.

8.       The ability to make decisions when emotional isn’t at full strength

9.       1, 2, 5 and 6. High communication skills come with confidence and being outgoing

10.   Because risky bad behaviors like drinking tend to be associated with being popular

11.   When the supposed peers are popular, highly socially anxious kids indiscriminately conform but low anxiety kids are more choosy. OR  the kids most likely to be influenced are the least popular

12.   Non whites are not as influenced by peers or people outside their ethnic group

13.   They resemble each other

14.   The child is going to be more susceptible to others saying “Do this”

15.   Once a child reaches adolescence, friends may wield more influence than authority figures

16.   His confidence grew when he made good friends and started excelling at sports

IS WORK KILLING YOU? FIVE WAYS TO LOWER YOUR STRESS

By: David Posen

Published: June 11, 2013; The Wall Street Journal; http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/06/11/five-ways-to-lower-workplace-stress/

Level of Difficulty: *

BEFORE YOU READ

·         What aspects of a workplace may cause stress? The working hours? The Overtime? The workload? The people? Explain.

·         How could these problems be addressed?
NOW WATCH THE VIDEOS

·         “Beat stress at work” http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/pages/workplace-stress.aspx

“How to reduce stress at work” http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-reduce-stress-at-work

QUESTIONS

1.       What does the phrase “the latter category” refer to? How would you refer to the remaining sentence?

2.       What does “This” refer to in the phrase “This leads us to two questions”?

3.       The amount of work at the workplace is a problem because there is ………………………………….

4.       How do managers contribute to the increase of velocity in the workplace?

5.       What forms of behavior harm worker morale?

6.       Why can’t workers who are unhappy just leave?

7.       Why is workplace stress bad for the companies?

8.       What does “This” refer to in the phrase “This would make a huge difference” and why would bosses resist it?

9.       It is implied that flextime and flexplace would benefit the company by increasing …………………

10.   The writer makes various suggestions as to how to use technology. Why does he do this?

11.   Contrary to popular belief regular overtime is not in the company’s interest because……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

12.   Which sentence best summarizes the advice given about workplace bullies?

13.   Workplace stress need not exist because ………………………………………………………………………………..

WRITING TASK

Summarize the information in the text as briefly as possible; preferably in a 100 words. You will find a sample summary under “Sample Essays

IS WORK KILLING YOU? FIVE WAYS TO LOWER YOUR STRESS KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

This seriously simple yet interesting text can be done at pre intermediate level quite early on in the year. It is not easy to find topical texts of such simplicity which also lend themselves to questions. The references are the hardest questions. This text also lends itself to summary writing an example of which you will find under Sample Essays.

1.       Do you groan your way to the office; the former

2.       Workplace stress is making people sick

3.       The best answer is: overload. The next sentence, people are working longer hours under more pressure, is an explanation of overload. Although this is also correct, you need to learn to pick out the short answer.

4.       By higher expectations and impatience for things to be done ever faster

5.       Abuse; OR office politics, bullying harassment

6.       Because there is high unemployment

7.       It costs billions of dollars of lost productivity

8.       Reducing the tasks to be done or hiring more people to share the load. Because they think of employee salaries as expenses rather than investments.

9.       Profits or productivity

10.   Because people are drowning in an ocean of electronic messages and techno stress

11.   People who are chronically tired are less efficient; OR productivity declines after about 40 hours a week

12.   Fix them or fire them

13.   Many of the solutions aren’t complicated; Or it is eminently fixable

YOUR BRAIN ON TRIAL

“Lessons from psychology could greatly improve courtroom  making, reducing racial bias, eyewitness errors and false confessions”

By: Scott O. Lilienfeld and Robert Byron

Published: Scientific American Mind; January / February 2013
To access the text, copy paste the following: 
http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0113-44

Level of Difficulty: ****

WHILE YOU READ: It is suggested that you stop to discuss or think about each section. It is also suggested that you make notes on each section for the writing task.

QUESTIONS

1.       What does “It” refer to in the phrase “It arrived only after”?

2.       Cases like that of Mr. Ireland’s could be prevented thanks to …………………………………according to the text.

3.       What conclusion can we draw from the 1990 study at Harvard University?

4.       The effects of belief perseverance are neglected in court in the following two cases:

5.       The common sense way to prevent belief perseverance in the case of evidence to be ignored is ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6.       Reading out the charges at the start of a trial can be unfair to the defendant because it encourages …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7.       The 1974 University of Washington experiment proved that ………………………………………………..

8.       Why exactly do Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton tour the country and give presentations? Use your own words.

9.       The figures published by the Innocence Project prove that ……………………………………………………

10.   Which of the following interfere with eyewitness testimony? Select as many as you see fit.

·         Differences in social class

·         Skin color

·         Leading questions

·         Tone of voice

·         Guns

·         Age

11.   Why exactly is a simultaneous lineup biased against the innocent whereas a sequential lineup is not?

12.   The police officers organizing a line up should be unaware of…………………………….and refrain from ……………………………………………to decrease the possibility of an innocent person being victimized.

13.   Why exactly is the disadvantage of the proposals made by the writers not so important in retrospect?

14.   Why don’t people seem to be able to differentiate between true and false confessions?

15.   Various factors that lead to false confessions are listed in the text. What general heading can we give them?

16.   Amanda Knox’s guilt is far from certain because she underwent…………………………………………….

17.   The writers warn against the use of the Reid Technique specifically because ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

18.   The three solutions suggested to minimize instances of false confessions are: ……………………….

19.   What conclusion can we draw from the 2007 University of Chicago experiment?

20.   Besides guaranteeing fairness, racially diverse juries have additional advantages of ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

21.   According to experts, …………………………….are better indicators of lying than the widely accepted focus on……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

22.   What does “this bias” at the end of the last paragraph but one refer to and what is the reason for it?

WRITING TASK

Write a problem solution essay discussing how miscarriages of justice can be prevented. You will find a sample essay on the topic under Sample Essays

In your introduction, discuss the importance of providing justice and avoiding errors. State in your thesis statement that there are two categories of solutions that can be implemented

In your first developmental paragraph, discuss the measures that could be implemented before the case comes to trial.

In your second developmental paragraph, discuss the changes that should be made to courtroom procedure to ensure more fairness

In your conclusion, write a restatement

YOUR BRAIN ON TRIAL KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

Like  so many of the texts in Scientific American Mind, this piece has a wow factor, is riveting and lends itself to some super questions. When I was scratching my head and wondering how I was going to find such texts, I hit on this brilliant magazine. There is quite simply no other like it for our purposes. It’s one down side is that it isn’t free but students should be subscribing to something anyway – there are discounts – and a lot of universities subscribe anyway. It was a must have and do unfortunately but you will love the material I promise.

1.       Ireland’s new found freedom

2.       Psychological science

3.       Believing is our default mode so it comes to us naturally, disbelieving does not

4.       Judges admonitions to jurors to disregard a piece of evidence; reading the charges to the jury

5.       To explain why the jury should ignore it

6.       Confirmation bias; OR the jury according more weight to evidence that seems to prove the charges than to evidence that does not

7.       Eyewitness reports of an incident can be influenced adversely by information provided after the event

8.       Possible answer: Because she pointed to R.C. as the suspect saying she was 100% certain and he went to prison for eleven years for something he didn’t do.

9.       Consistency should not be confused with correctness

10.   2, 3 and 5

11.   Because witnesses (rely on a rule of thumb that is relative rather than absolute  and ask themselves which one of these people is most similar to the suspect I remember seeing) feel compelled to pick the closest match even if it is far from perfect. The parenthesis is not wrong but quite unnecessary as I am sure you can see. You need to try and pick out the most direct answer

12.   The identity of the suspect; giving feedback

13.   Because the American judicial system should be safeguarding the innocent

14.   Many of us find the notion that a person would own up to a crime they didn’t commit difficult to fathom

15.   Personal and situational factors

16.   A 43 hour coercive interrogation (across a five day period in a foreign country with the final eight hours conducted overnight without food and water) The parenthesis is what a coercive interrogation is and is not necessary. You need to pick out the shortest answer

17.   It increases the chances of a false confession by a factor of more than 7

18.   A video of the full interrogation, having an attorney present, a technique dubbed PEACE

19.   Racial bias may be rapid and largely automatic

20.   Being superior critical thinkers, bringing up more facts about the case, committing fewer factual mistakes and being more open to talking about race

21.   Verbal cues such as a lack of detail and minor imperfections in suspects’ stories; nonverbal cues

22.   Bias against the suspect; Camera Perspective Effect ; OR observers are prone to attributing cause to whatever is visually salient . Obviously the name is the best answer and you should pick it out.

DEAR AMERICAN CONSUMERS: PLEASE DON'T START EATING HEALTHFULLY. SINCERELY, THE FOOD INDUSTRY

By: Patrick Mustain

Published: May 19 2013; The Scientific American; http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/05/19/dear-american-consumers-please-dont-start-eating-healthfully-sincerely-the-food-industry/

Level of Difficulty:*

Note to the Student: it is suggested that you watch a video on healthy eating before you start

BEFORE YOU READ

·         What does a healthy diet consist of?

·         Do you follow a healthy diet? If no, why not?

·         Do you think the food industry follows the latest trends in healthy eating?

·         Why or why not?
NOW WATCH THE VIDEOS

·         “FED UP Official trailer” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCUbvOwwfWM  

“Van Hari sounds the alarm for changing the food industry”  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vani-hari-food-babe-sounds-the-alarm-for-change-in-the-food-industry/

QUESTIONS

1.       The writer says “This cannot continue”. What is he referring to? The fact that………………………

2.       The food industry prefers consumers to consider the food industry on a par with…………………

3.       What does “it” refer to in the phrase “we are ready for it”?

4.       Read the third paragraph carefully. What conclusion can be drawn from the examples?

5.       Why was the IWG asked to develop standards for advertising food to children?

6.       What aspect of the IWG report did the food industry object to? The fact that……………………..

7.       The food industry was able to get rid of the report thanks to their………………………………………….

8.       What would the disadvantage of following the IWG report be for the food industry? They would lose …………………………………………………..because…………………………………………would be considered substandard.

9.       What does “this” refer to in the phrase “We like to think of this”?

10.   What does “that” refer to in the phrase “on top of that”?

11.   What natural inclination of people are food companies abusing?

12.   Why, in your opinion, does the food industry play on the natural inclinations of people?

13.   What is the deal the consumers can’t resist?

14.   What, in your view, is the main idea of the last paragraph? Select one of the following:

·         There is an industry out there to help everyone

·         If the food industry can’t help you the health care sector will

·         Eat whatever you like because there is help out there

·         The food and health care industry is big business

WRITING TASK

Write a paragraph detailing the real message of the text. You will find an example in the file marked Sample Essays

DEAR AMERICAN CONSUMERS: PLEASE DON’T START EATING HEALTHFULLY. SINCERELY, THE FOOD INDUSTRY KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

This wonderful, ironical and humorous text is simple enough to do quite early on in the year yet provides the opportunity to ask some really superb questions. There are some brilliant references for instance. There is a decent little writing task to follow a sample of which is in the file marked Sample Essays.

1.       People are thinking more about health and starting to do something about it. It is a good idea to locate the section of the text where the answer is, then see that your answer fits the grammar of the question.

2.       How they look. The rest is not necessary as it is what they don’t want

3.       The influence of your superficial understanding of health on your purchasing decisions

4.       Whatever the current trends, we respond by developing and marketing new products

5.       Because Congress identified these organizations as having expertise and experience in child nutrition, child health, psychology, education, marketing and other fields relevant to food and beverage marketing and child nutrition standards.

6.       Foods advertised to children must provide a meaningful contribution to a healthfull diet

7.       Their money

8.       Money; of the 100 most commonly consumed foods and beverages in America, 88

9.       The annual cost to an individual for being obese being upwards of 8000 dollars

10.   Being able to industrialize the food system so that they can produce massive amounts of the cheapest ingredients available in the cheapest, most efficient way possible

11.   The fact that salty, sugary and fatty foods light up the same pleasure centers in the brain as cocaine

12.   To make a profit

13.   Double the size of beverage and only be charged 20% more

14.   The last one

  

NO MORE EXECUTIVE BONUSES!

“The problem isn’t that they are poorly designed. The problem is that they exist”

By: Henry Mintzberg

Published: The Wall Street Journal; June 14 2012; www.onlinewsj.com Alternatively, just google the title and writer’s name.

Level of Difficulty: **

Note to the student: samples of the two writing activities are posted under Sample Essays. It is also suggested that you seek out a video on the issue, listen, make notes and then tackle the reading

BEFORE YOU READ

·         What do you know about executive bonuses?

·         Under what conditions does a CEO get a bonus?

·         What is a golden parachute?

·         What are the effects of executive bonuses on other staff?

·         What are the effects on the long term prospects of the company?

NOW CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING

Money Matters: The Ethics of CEO Compensation

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzrSvhap6Ec

Setting CEO Pay Executive Compensation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veplldWz6ng

CEO Pay: How Much Is Too Much?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtRDRtTJBdY

 QUESTIONS

1.       What is the problem with executive bonuses?

2.       What does “This” refer to in the sentence “This may sound extreme”?

3.       Why exactly is getting rid of executive bonuses the only way to fix the problem?

4.       Whose money exactly are executives accused of playing with?

5.       In what way do executives differ from gamblers who win at poker?

6.       What is a golden parachute?

7.       Why is it wrong of executives to collect a bonus when they sign a merger? Because they …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

8.       Why does the writer claim that anyone in the position of executives would take serious risks? Because there is nothing ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

9.       The writer doesn’t believe the system of executive bonuses can be fixed because ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

10.   The quality of a company’s brands, its overall reputation in the market place, the depth of its culture, the commitment of its people are all examples of …………………………………………………….

11.   What long term damage can financial measures lead to according to the text?

12.   There are two problems with performance measures: the first is the difficulty of …………………………………………; the second is whether when……………………………………………, it indicates, with no room for doubt, the achievement of the CEO.

13.   What is the major downside of attributing the success of a company to one individual; the CEO?

14.   The writer states that bonuses prevent a company functioning at its best because…………………

15.   Why won’t giving everyone bonuses in proportion to their pay work?

16.   How exactly should bonuses be used as a screening tool?

17.   Why?

18.   Barring those who place the highest value on bonuses from taking the top jobs will allow …………………………………….to take over and place the company front and center.

THE FIRST WRITING TASK

Summarize the text in no more than 50 words. You will find an example in the folder titled Sample Essays.

THE SECOND WRITING TASK

Write an essay discussing the disadvantages of executive bonuses. Use the text and any information you have gleaned from videos you watched.It is suggested that you introduce the issue then devote one paragraph to the disadvantages in terms of the leadership and one paragrapgh to the disadvantages in terms of the rest of the staff. End with a restatement

NO MORE EXECUTIVE BONUSES KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

This highly topical yet simple and straightforward text touches on an issue that irritates many members of the public. Many find the exorbitant sums being paid out to company directors scandalous so this text should go with a bang. The language is simple but I have paraphrased extensively in the questions to get students used to it. The text also lends itself to some brilliant questions and two lovely writing tasks. I feel the 50 word summary is of vital importance and should not be neglected.

1.       There is no shortage of recommendations for fixing the way bonuses are paid.

2.       Don’t pay any bonuses; OR Scrap the whole thing. However, the former is, grammatically the correct answer.

3.       Because executive bonuses – especially in the form of stock and option grants – represent the most prominent form of legal corruption (that…)

4.       Stockholders’ and the employees’

5.       They collect when it appears that they are winning

6.       The money executives collect when they lose

7.       Don’t know if it will work out

8.       To lose

9.       The system and any proposals to fix it must inevitably rest on faulty assumptions

10.   What accountants call good will; OR its intrinsic value beyond its tangible assets. Just tangible assets won’t do because these are the intangible assets!

11.   The deterioration of the institution. What you get in the text is “the institution deteriorates”; you then need to make this fit the question which begins ‘what’. You, therefore, make it a noun.

12.    Assessing the long term performance of a chief executive; a company’s stock price goes up and stays up for several years

13.   It discourages everyone else in the company

14.   It reinforces a class structure within the enterprise

15.   Who is to come up with the measures to assess performance correctly? OR, how do you ensure that the goodwill is not being cashed in by everyone collectively?

16.   Anyone who insists on them should be dismissed out of hand

17.   Because they are the wrong kind of person. This is the shortest and most all encompassing answer. The rest of the paragraph is all about why they are the wrong kind of person; in other words, it is support.

18.   True leadership; OR engaged leadership

STUDENT 'ADDICTION' TO TECHNOLOGY SIMILAR TO DRUG CRAVINGS, STUDY FINDS

By: Andrew Hough

Published: The Daily Telegraph; 8 April 2013; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8436831/Student-addiction-to-technology-similar-to-drug-cravings-study-finds.html

Level of Difficulty: *

Note to the Student: This task should be covered in conjunction with “Twitter and Facebook Addicts Suffer Withdrawal Symptoms” and “Toddlers becoming so Addicted to iPads They Require Therapy”. The writing tasks involve all three so don’t attempt them until you are ready.

BEFORE YOU READ

·         Read the title of the text. Do you believe this kind of addiction is possible? Explain.

·         What are the symptoms of addiction?

·         Would you describe yourself as an addict?

·         Do you know any addicts?
NOW WATCH THE VIDEOS

·         “Technology addiction among teenagers”   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0OSZkFhrVo

“Very funny cartoon animation about smartphone addiction” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mwpmjf6cwE

QUESTIONS

1.       What proof do we have that college students are addicted to technology?

2.       What symptoms did the students in the study who didn’t use their gadgets experience?

3.       What does “These” in the phrase “These included emotions such as …” refer to?

4.       Which of their reactions to lack of technology came as a surprise to the students?

5.       Why did the students in the study experience all these reactions?

6.       In the study at Bournemouth University, what were the students allowed?

7.       What hypothesis did the study confirm?

8.       What positive outcome was noted?

THE FIRST WRITING TASK

After you have also completed the two other related writing tasks, write a combined summary of all three in no more than 100 words. You will find a 97 word example under Sample Essays.

THE SECOND WRITING TASK

Write a paragraph describing the disadvantages of excessive use of social networking sites. Remember: you will need to complete all three reading tasks first. You will find an example under Sample Essays.

STUDENTS ‘ADDICTION’ TO TECHNOLOGY ‘SIMILAR TO DRUG CRAVINGS’ STUDY FINDS KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

It is really wonderful to find three texts on a topical issue which have a wow factor and also lead to a combined – three text summary. Don’t let the summary scare you; it is very straightforward I assure you. I would suggest putting a few notes on the board or the screen, repeating the process for the other two texts and then crossing out repetitions – of which there are plenty. What is left will be very easy to summarize in a 100 words. The longer writing task should follow the summary; it isn’t an either or proposition; they both need to be done I feel. Examples are available under Sample Essays.

1.       Nearly four in five students had significant mental and physical distress, panic, confusion and extreme isolation when forced to unplug from technology for a whole day.

2.       Cravings, anxiety attacks, depression

3.       The words the students used to describe their emotions

4.       The psychological effects ( is enough; you don’t need the rest)

5.       Because they have spent their whole lives plugged in

6.       Landline telephones and books

7.       That students were addicted to modern technology

8.       The students got into more in-depth conversations; OR, a difference in conversation in terms of quality and depth