Each Essential UK comes with guidance on how to use the materials with your students and the classroom materials for you to print and photocopy for use in class. To download the classroom materials you will need to have installed Adobe Reader. This a free software and can be downloaded from www.adobe.com.

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• Lifestyles
• Schools and education
• Cultures
• People
• Special times of year
• Social issues
• General interest

Lifestyles

			Individual style This lesson is about style and clothing and there are several tasks here that would be suitable for elementary level learners.
			Pet mania This lesson is all about the weird and wonderful world of pets, from dogs to more exotic examples.
			Cycling These materials explore the popular sport of cycling with readings and class surveys.
			Gadgets This lesson is based on the topic of gadgets. It may be difficult for you or students to think of a direct translation of the word ‘gadget’ in their language. A dictionary definition is, ‘A gadget is a device that has a useful specific purpose and function.
			Tattoos Tattooing is by no means a new trend as it has been around for more than 5,000 years. However, tattoos are now seen as the ultimate fashion statement amongst many in the UK, amongst the general public as well as celebrities. This lesson looks at the popularity of tattoos. If you are teaching in a country where either tattoos are not at all common, or where they are an embedded part of the culture, be careful how you deal with the topic.
			Texting for all Students are often really keen to learn how to text in English and the students may also be interested in teaching you some of their ways of texting
			Vegetarianism Ideas and activities connected with vegetarianism
			Sleep Ideas and activities based around the theme of sleep and dreams
			Names Ideas and activities which explore the culture and meaning behind people's names.
			Music Ideas and activities based around the theme of music
			Robots Ideas for activities based on the theme of robots in our lives
			Shopping nation Are we a nation of shopaholics. Materials which explore shopping habits and favourite products.
			Cool brands This material explores students attitudes to brand name goods. It has a variety of tasks including a reading text and discussion tasks.
			Cooking and TV chefs This material is based around the theme of food in different cultures. It focuses particularly on new developments in cooking in the UK.
			Computer gaming This material explores the growth of computer gaming and how it is becoming part of our culture.
			Mobile phones This material explores the issues related to the growing use of mobile phones among teenagers.
			Reality TV This lesson has materials related to viewing habits and attitudes with a focus on the issues raised by the growing popularity of 'Reality TV' programmes
			Fizzy drink Exploring attitudes to food and healthy eating
			Reading houses Buildings and lifestyles, personal tastes
			Game on Activities based around the theme of computer games
			Pocket money and pester power Young people's spending habits in the UK
			A generation of couch potatoes Looking at the health, fitness and lifestyles of young people
			Toy fads and fashion Looking at consumerism and changing fashions in toys

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Schools and education

			UK Education system There are differences in the educational systems in the different countries that make up the UK so bear this in mind. If you haven’t had first hand experience of the educational system yourself have a look at some of the web links at the bottom of the page. You should easily find information about the educational systems.
			Technology for learning This lesson is about technology and how it’s changing the way students learn and study.
			Child's play This material helps to explore the kinds of games we played at school and some of the dangers of school games.
			ICT in education Exploring the effects and changes of ICT on education
			Forced to wear a skirt School uniforms in Britain and teenage dress codes
			Who does better? Girls’ performance in the GCSE exams. UK exam system
			School discipline Bad behaviour and punishments at school

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Cultures

			Diwali - My favourite festival The Hindu festival of Diwali, ways to celebrate, legends and superstitions
			A multicultural society Immigration, demography, ethnic minorities in the UK today

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People

			Royalty Many students are interested in this aspect of UK culture. These materials will help you to explore this area.
			Changing lives This lesson consists of two case studies based on real life stories of people living in the UK today. The topic encourages students to talk about their own lifestyles and priorities
			Famous Britons This lesson explores the fame of the three personalities and the growing interest in celebrities in modern British life
			A Boyhood home This lesson consists of two texts which explore the relationships between buildings and famous people who have lived in them

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Special times of year

			School holidays If you're coming to the end of the school year you could try these ideas with your classes. As well as the usual mix of language and skills-based exercises there is also an exercise encouraging students to reflect on their learning over the year.
			Summer festivals Introduce your students to a range of festivals that are held in the UK each summer, from Glastonbury to Edinburgh.
			Ramadan This lesson is based on Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting and festivities. In 2006, Ramadan takes place from September 24th to October 23rd. If you have Muslim students in your class it may be an opportunity for them to share their experiences of how they celebrate Ramadan. If you have students of other faiths, then you may be able to use this lesson as a starting point for talking about important times of year for several different religions. It goes without saying that you should always be sensitive to your students and your surroundings when discussing topics that could potentially provoke strong feelings.
			Euro 2008 This lesson is about football and is based on the European championships in Switzerland and Austria.
			Easter This lesson is about Easter in the UK. Task 1starts with introducing the theme using pictures, Task 2 offers some simple true or false statements about Easter and Task 3 explains how to have an Easter egg hunt in your classroom. Task 4 is a reading task about how Easter is celebrated nowadays in the UK and Task 5 asks students to plan a menu for an Easter lunch. Task 6 asks students to write a simple Easter poem.
			April Fool’s Day This lesson is about April Fool’s Day which takes place in the UK on April 1st. Many countries have their own equivalent of April Fool’s Day. If your country does, this lesson would create opportunities for students to tell you all about their country’s version and their experiences of it.
			Bonfire night Ideas and teaching activities based around Guy Fawkes and bonfire night.
			The four seasons Ideas and activities based around the theme of the changing seasons.
			Valentine's Day Ideas for activities to use in class around Valentine's Day
			Christmas Materials looking at how Christmas is celebrated around the world
			Halloween Some ideas of activities you can do with Halloween
			The Christmas number one Exploring musical tastes around Christmas time
			New Year’s resolutions New Year traditions and New Year resolutions. Reviewing the year, talking about past events, talking about intentions
			The Brit awards This lesson has some nice music related activities and texts based around the British music awards

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Social issues

			Plastic bag ban In the UK there is now a tendency to discourage the use of plastic bags because of their environmental impact. In one town, Modbury, they have been banned completely. This lesson explores this, along with environmental and recycling issues in general.
			Overweight Britain According to a recent survey, 10% of six year olds and 17% of 15 year olds in the UK are overweight, to the extent of being considered obese. This lesson explores related areas including healthy eating.
			Getting old In the UK, like in many countries around the globe, life expectancy is increasing and more and more people reach their 100th birthday. This lesson explores attitudes to ageing.
			The UK political system This lesson is about the political system in the UK. I have deliberately kept the tasks as light as possible and I have avoided going into a lot of detail. If your students need more information, have a look at the weblinks at the bottom of the page. This lesson may give you a chance to compare the UK political system with the system in the country where you are working. Students may be able to explain their political system to you, so exploit the natural information gap whenever possible.
			Immigration This lesson is based on the topic of immigration. Needless to say, depending on where you are teaching, this could be a highly sensitive topic, which may generate strong opinions. When approaching a topic like immigration do take into account the backgrounds of your students and make sure nobody will be made to feel uncomfortable. This lesson is better suited to older teenagers and higher levels that have the linguistic resources and maturity to deal with the subject.
			Women in a Man’s World This class is based on the changing role of women in the work place in the UK.
			Languages This Essential UK lesson looks at language learning. The British have a very bad reputation for not speaking foreign languages and according to a survey published in February 2006 by the European Commission the reputation is totally justified. The results of the survey state that the British are officially the worst language learners in Europe!
			Consumer power If there is one thing that people from all countries have in common, it is shopping. Like it or hate it, we are all to some extent consumers, so this is a subject that students of all ages an nationalities should be able to identify to.
			Charity wristbands This material uses the theme of charity wristbands to explore issues relating to good causes and ways of supporting them.
			Cops and Docs This material explores the issues surrounding the types of programmes students watch on TV
			Parents and parenting This material explores the roles of parents in the UK and gives students the opportunity to express their opinions and views on this area.
			Gambling and the national lottery This material has a range of activities which explore the growth of gambling in the UK.
			Smoking ban This material focuses on the moves toward banning smoking in the UK and issues that arise from smoking.
			Young drinkers This lesson focuses on the drinking habits of teenagers in the UK
			The Windrush generation This lesson explores the sensitive area of immigration and focuses on immigrants who have made the UK their home
			Friendship This lesson explores the different concepts of friendship among young people
			Too young to vote Materials and ideas for exploring the political rights of young people
			Faith This lesson explores the role of faith in the UK and in students' lives
			Teenagers talking Exploring relationships between teenagers and their parents and family
			Fundraising UK style Exploring different ways of raising money for charities in the UK
			Young roots Exploring students' sense of community and family.
			Freedom and you These activities explore issues relating to how much freedom young people have in their everyday life.
			Show racism the red card Football in the UK and campaigns against racism in sport.

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General interest

			Cinema This lesson is about cinema and film and offers your students plenty of opportunities to practise their speaking skills.
			Reading Whether your students love it or hate it, the topic of reading will usually get them talking and expressing their opinions one way or the other.
			Transport As well as travelling itself, these activities consider the environmental impact it has.
			Photography This Essential UK looks at the area of photography and has a collection of materials and tasks.
			Destination UK: Northern Ireland This Essential UK lesson plan is part of a series of four entitled Destination UK. They look at the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. This one gives learners an insight into life in Northern Ireland.
			Destination UK: Scotland This Essential UK lesson plan is part of four entitled Destination UK. They look at the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. This one gives learners an insight into life in Scotland.
			Destination UK: England This Essential UK lesson plan is part of four entitled Destination UK. They look at the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. This one gives learners an insight into life in England.
			Destination UK: Wales This Essential UK lesson plan is part of a series of four entitled Destination UK. They look at the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. This one gives learners an insight into life in Wales.
			Animation This lesson is based on British animation and some tasks require visual aids so it does require a little more preparation on your part than the other Essential UK lessons. The British animation industry has seen something of a boom in recent years with the success of creations such as Bob the Builder, Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit, the film Valiant or the new hi-tech film version of the 1970’s classic The Magic Roundabout.
			Dress code Several shopping centres in the UK have recently banned people from wearing hoods and baseball caps, claiming that groups of young people with hoods up can appear threatening to customers.
			Green energy For a more extensive class this lesson could be combined with parts of the Essential UK lesson on Climate Change. You could easily mix and match activities from both lessons.
			Volunteering There are currently more than 22 million people in Britain who work as volunteers for many different organisations. Many employers nowadays favour job applicants who have some experience of voluntary work and many young people appreciate this.
			London Olympics 2012 This lesson is based around the Olympics games and gives students the opportunity to broaden their vocabulary of sports and to think about the qualities of the Olympic games’ host cities.
			Natural disasters This material explores the theme of natural disasters
			News A collection of activities based around the theme of news.
			Chocolate A collection of activities based around the theme of chocolate.
			Climate change This material explores the areas of environmental consciousness and has some interesting links to useful websites with support materials.
			Driving This lesson explores issues related to cars and attitudes towards driving and car ownership and its effects on the environment.
			Spirit of adventure This lesson explores the concept of travel and adventure including gap years and great explorers
			Sporting traditions This lesson consists of three short descriptions of sporting traditions in the UK. The texts explore the types of sport and the attitudes of people playing unusual games or entering unusual tournaments
			About a novelist This is a lesson based around the works of the novelist Nick Hornby. It goes on to explore literature of the students' culture
			Spring into science This lesson explores the links between science and the weather
			Innovation nation Looking at the past and present creativity generated within the UK
			And the Romans came This lesson looks at UK history and how our culture has been effected by early colonisation

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