Cool jobs

Welcome to Unit 4. You will read an article about four unusual jobs, scan a text for facts, ask and answer questions with How long, for and since, use already and yet, listen for the order of steps, write an article, practise make and do, be polite in a dialogue and crack a secret code. The last part revises Units 3 and 4 (Review 2).

4.1Reading: Unusual jobs

The magazine article asks: "Have you ever thought about what job you'd like to do?" It talked to four people with unusual jobs and asked why they chose the job and what they like most about it.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.48-49 (summary in my own words).

Vocabulary panel

Word list: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.48. Meanings written for this site.

4.2Reading comprehension: scan for information

The book's example question is "Which animal did Jill Johnson help last week?". The key words are Jill, last week and animal. Look for Jill's text, then for "last week": you find a baby elephant stuck in the mud.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.50 (Learning to learn).

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.48-50.

4.3Grammar: present perfect with How long?, for and since

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.51.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.51.

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.51.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.51.

Use has with he, she, it and one person's name; use have with I, you, we, they and more than one person. Pupils' book question: "How long has Adela been a pilot?" (answer: "For 12 years.")

4.4Language in use: already and yet

Sophia is on her first day at a new school. A friend asks what she has done. The dialogue gives the key sentences:

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.52 (new words: canteen, cloakroom, gym, locker).

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.52.

4.5Listening: the best job in the world

On Life Radio the presenter asks "What's the best job in the world?" and gives three choices shown in photos: a video game tester, a travel writer and an ice cream taster. Words in the task: factory, flavour, freeze, spit, spoon.

The task is to listen for sequence: you hear how to taste ice cream and number six jumbled steps in order (the first, "look at the ice cream", is already numbered 1). The steps cover looking at, warming, tasting and spitting out the ice cream, and writing down the results. You also answer five questions, such as how many flavours Jean tastes each day and how long she has had this job.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.53. The recording is not on this site, so only the printed task is described; use the sequence words you hear to decide the order.

4.6Writing: an article about a job

The model text is The paramedic. Sandra Smith works in a hospital in the USA and has worked there since she was 23. She drives an ambulance to emergencies every day. She chose the job because she wanted to help people. Last week she and her team rescued a man from a burning car: they pulled him out through the window in only two minutes. She likes the job most because it is rewarding and challenging, and she has to make decisions very quickly.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.54 (summary).

Activity 1 gives seven interview questions (a-g) and asks you to number them in the order the information appears in the text. The order is: name, job, place of work, how long, why she chose the job, an interesting situation, and what she likes most.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.54, Activity 1.

How the article is built

1. Give it a heading, for example "My English teacher".
2. Paragraph 1: name, job, place of work, how long (with since or for).
3. Paragraph 2: why the person chose the job and an interesting situation (past tense).
4. Paragraph 3: what they like most.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.55.

4.7Working with words: make or do?

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.55.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.55. Extra phrases are from the exercise on the same page.

4.8Speaking: apologise, make offers and accept offers

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.56.

Robert is a smart new robot who loves a challenge and can do all your chores. In pairs, ask what he has done today. The list shows the carpet cleaned, the cleaning done and dinner made; the beds, the washing and the gardening are not done yet. A model question: "Have you cleaned the carpet yet?" "Yes, I have."

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.56.

4.9Think about it! Decode a message

Textbook figure: Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, p.57.

Computer programming is a popular job and needs people who understand codes. Julius Caesar used a code to send secret messages to his soldiers. In the book's code, under a you write c, so every letter moves two places forward.

4.10Review 2: Units 3 and 4

Review 2 (pp.58-59) checks words from both units, sorted into jobs, places, things and adjectives (for example canteen, factory and university are places; challenging, polite and strange are adjectives). It also revises matching sentence halves with for, since and already, a pair survey ("Have you had lunch yet?" "Have you ever tried kayaking?"), a make or do text and a listening task.

Academy Stars Year 6 Pupil's Book, pp.58-59 (summary).