Screens and our brains

What's in the lesson

1. 1Warm-up
2. 2In this lesson
3. 3Guess the words (1)Vocabulary exercise
4. 4Guess the words (2)Vocabulary exercise
5. 5Check the wordsVocabulary
6. 6Check your understandingReading comprehension
7. 7Listen: three generationsListening comprehension
8. 8Use the new wordsVocabulary exercise
9. 9Why no -s?Grammar exercise
10. 10Uncountable nounsGrammar rule
11. 11Choose the right formGrammar exercise
12. 12Count or not?Grammar exercise
13. 13Say it naturallySpeaking practice
14. 14Your screen time planSpeaking practice
15. 15Let's discussDiscussion
16. 16Wrap-up

Homework

1. 1Homework: closest meaningVocabulary exercise
2. 2Homework: your sentencesVocabulary exercise
3. 3Homework: countable or uncountable?Grammar exercise
4. 4Homework: a guide to your phoneDiscussion

Words

• online content/ˌɑːnlaɪn ˈkɑːntent/

  the videos, posts, pictures, music and texts that people put on the internet

• mindless/ˈmaɪndləs/

  done without thinking, without using your brain much

• attention span/əˈtenʃn spæn/

  how long you can keep your attention on one thing

• distract/dɪˈstrækt/

  to take someone's attention away from what they are doing or thinking about

• meaningful/ˈmiːnɪŋfl/

  important and useful, with real value for you

• consume/kənˈsuːm/

  to use something, like food, energy or media

• generation/ˌdʒenəˈreɪʃn/

  all the people born at about the same time (my parents' generation)

• screen time/ˈskriːn taɪm/

  the time you spend looking at a phone, a computer or a TV

• concentrate/ˈkɑːnsntreɪt/

  to give all your attention to something

• binge-watch/ˈbɪndʒ wɑːtʃ/

  to watch many episodes of a TV show, one after another

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

Let's talk about screens.

1. What do you usually do to relax after a long day?
2. How do you feel after a long time watching videos online?
3. What did your parents or grandparents worry about when you were a child?

Grammar rule

Uncountable nouns

Nouns we don't count

Some nouns are uncountable in English, even if they are countable in your language: advice, information, news, research, evidence, content, homework, furniture, equipment, music, traffic.

• No a / an and no -s: some advice (not an advice, not advices)
• A singular verb: The news is on. This information is wrong.
• much, a little, little (not many, a few): How much time…? A little brain rot won't hurt you.
• a lot of, some and any work with both kinds: a lot of videos, a lot of information

Counting them

Use a word like piece: a piece of advice · two pieces of information · a news story · a piece of furniture

Watch out for the verb: Research shows that… (not researches show). Your homework is on the table.