National Geographic Video Library

presents

The Memory Man

Poziom A2 (Pre-Intermediate)

Beata Tomaszewska

2

© Copyright Nowa Era 2011, Materiały do powielania

The Memory Man

EXAM

Video

to show two ways memory can be developed.

A

to describe a man with an incredible memory.

B

to explain that practice helps build memory.

C

to get people to take memory classes.

D

TRUE

FALSE

1. Gianni Golfera memorized

exactly 250 books.

2. Gianni can remember his

second birthday.

3. Scientists know quite well how

memory works.

4. How good your memory

is depends only on your genes.

5. Gianni’s private life is quite

normal.

6. Gianni goes to special classes

to improve his memory.

7.

Gianni says that to remember

things better you need to put

them in the right order.

Vocabulary

3

Put each verb into the right gap. One verb is used

twice. Remember about the correct form of the verb!

2

Decide which sentences(1-7) are true and which are

false:

1

What is the main idea of the video?

4

Memory game

REMEMBER REMIND RECOGNIZE

MEMORIZE FORGET

„Please, ________________________ that poem for

1.

Monday”, said the teacher.

Oh, no! I ________________________ to do my homework

2.

! What shall I say to the teacher?

Some words are easy________________________, and

3.

some are so difficult.

This song always ________________________ me of our

4.

holidays in Sopot.

Sorry, I ________________________ you. You‘ve changed

5.

your hairstyle!

Will you ________________________ me to buy a

6.

memory stick with a larger capacity?

MEMORY

MEMORIZE

FORGET

FORGETFUL

GENE

GENETICS

REMIND

REMINDER

BRAIN

BRAINY

REMEMBER

REMEMBRANCE

SCIENCE

SCIENTIST

RECOGNIZE

RECOGNITION

IMPROVE

IMPROVEMENT

ORGANIZE

ORGANIZATION

5

How do you memorize new information? How do you

remember new facts? Work in groups of four. Prepare

at least 3 ideas for the problems below.

Speaking

Group A

Learning new words in a foreign language.

Group B

Remembering numbers and dates.

Group C

Remembering facts from biology.

Group D

Studying geography.

3

© Copyright Nowa Era 2011, Materiały do powielania

The Memory Man

EXAM

8

Przeczytaj tekst i uzupełnij go, wpisując w każdą lukę

(1–5) jeden wyraz z ramki w odpowiedniej formie.

Wymagana jest pełna poprawność gramatyczna

i ortograficzna wpisywanych wyrazów. Jeden wyraz

został podany dodatkowo i nie pasuje do żadnej luki.

9

Write down as many words as possible which you can

form from the following words:

7

Analyse these sentences from the video. Notice how

the structure of indirect questions changes.

Grammar: Indirect Questions

Why do these happen?
Nobody knows why these (things) happen.

How is memory coded in the hippocampus?
Nobody knows how memory is coded in the hippocampus.

Following the same pattern, finish the sentences below:

Why do some people lose their memories?

1.

Nobody knows _______________________________

Why are so very few people like Gianni?

2.

They don’t know _______________________________

Where is Gianni from?

3.

I don’t remember _______________________________

What does it mean?

4.

Do you know _______________________________

Do you like learning things by heart?

5.

Could you tell me _______________________________

Assignment 1

Assignment 2

FORGET WORK HISTORY

TRAIN HE MANY

Practice and exercising the brain can improve the memory.
The same idea is true for Gianni. 1. ___________ genes are only
part of the story. Since the age of 11, he’s been

2.___________

his brain to improve the power of his memory. He practices
continuously to remember 3. ___________ things. Gianni
thinks about memory and 4. ___________ on it all the time.
He has even memorized a whole series of 5. ___________
books.

memory (eg.memorize)

A

remember

B

forget

C

genes

D

science

E

Write down one sentence with a new word from each group/family.

EXAM

6

You and your classmate are planning to study for an

important exam. Discuss the following aspects:

Speaking

PLACE

TIME

METHOD OF

STUDYING

MATERIALS THAT

MAY HELP YOU

4

© Copyright Nowa Era 2011, Materiały do powielania

The Memory Man

*Note: You may choose steps 3-7 to concentrate on the listening
comprehension / video watching activities only, when you discuss the topic
of studying or personality / features of character.

Lead in: (3min)

Write on the board the following number: 202000202. Let your students

1.

look at it for 5 seconds only and try to memorize it. Erase or cover the
number. Ask students to write it down. Check how well they remember
the number. Discuss what made it easy for some to get it correctly
(e.g. pattern: 202/000/202).
Ask students what information they remember easily (eg. names,

2.

PIN numbers, tunes), and what information with difficulty (eg. phone
numbers). Why?

Before watching (2min)

Introduce the title of the video:

3.

The Memory Man and ask your students to

predict what the video will be about.

Video (10min)

Ask students to read

4.

Task 1. Play the video . Check the answer ( B) .

Ask students to read

5.

Task 2. Play the video again. Let students compare

their answers with the person sitting next to them. Discuss the answers
with the class.

Answers: 1F 2T 3F 4F 5T 6F 7T

After watching (2 min)

Gianni says that in order to memorize something, we need to put it in the

6.

correct order.

Ask students how they understand that idea. (eg, from the easiest to the most

difficult; from the general idea to details,etc)
Note: You may discuss some new expressions from the video: blindfolded,

randomly, forwards and backwards, heredity, lose one’s memory, repeat sth

from memory, learn by heart, contribution, hippocampus.

Working on language1 ( 4min)

Vocabulary: Ask students to work in pairs and do

7.

Task 3. Elicit answers

from the class.

Answers: 1 memorize 2 have forgotten/forgot 3 to remember 4 reminds
5 didn’t recognize 6 remind

Brain Gym (1min)

Ask students to stand up and put one hand on their heads and the

8.

other one on their stomachs. Students need to make circles, moving
their hands at the same time, each in a different direction (one to the
left, one to the right). Explain the idea of brain gym: to stimulate both
brain hemispheres so that they communicate better and you can learn /
remember more easily. This will help them to do the next task.

OBJECTIVES: by the end of the lesson students will be able to:

Use words connected with memory

•

Talk about ways of memorizing new facts

•

Discuss plans for studying

•

Listen for gist and for detailed information

•

Make sentences with indirect questions

•

Match words that belong to the same family

•

Form different parts of speech in context

•

THE MEMORY MAN – TEACHER’S NOTES

Level: A2

Time: 45minutes (*14 minutes)

Podstawa programowa: Themes:

Human being(personality);

School (studying)

Vocab: words connected with

memory

Grammar: Indirect questions

Exam Preparation:

Listening: T/F and MCQ

Structures: Gap filling + word

formation

Speaking: Role-play: Plans

for studying; Talking about

memorizing things.

PROCEDURE

Working on language2 ( 6min)

Memory game: Cut out the cards from

9.

Task 4. You should have one set

for 3 people. Divide students into groups of 3. Give a set of cards to each
group. Ask students to play the memory game. They need to match two
words from the same word family ( eg.inform-information)

Instruction: Students should put all the cards in a grid face down on the desk.
Students take turns flipping pairs of cards over. If the two cards match, the student
scores one point, the two cards are removed from the game, and the student gets
another turn. If they do not match, the cards are turned back over.

Speaking: (11 min)

Learning strategies: Divide the class into 4 groups (A-D). Ask students to

10.

read Task 5. Let students discuss their topic for 3 minutes in groups. Ask
each group to present their ideas to the class.
Role-play: Plan for studying. Ask students to work in pairs, read the

11.

instruction for Task 6 and discuss the problem. Let one pair perform their
role play in class.

Working on language 3. ( 5min)

Grammar: Ask students to read

12.

Task 7. Review the formation of indirect

questions. Ask them to work in pairs and finish sentences 1-5. Bring
students’ attention to sentence 5: they need to add an extra word
(if, whether). Check the answers.

Answers:

Nobody knows why some people lose their memories.

1.

They don’t know why so very few people are like Gianni.

2.

I don’t remember where Gianni is from.

3.

Do you know what it means?

4.

Could you tell me if you like learning things by heart?

5.

Homework (1min)

Explain the instructions for the assignments to your students.

13.

Assignment 1
Answers: 1 His 2 training 3 more / many 4 works 5 historical / history
Assignment 2

Memory (eg.memorize,memorable, memorization)

A

Remember ( eg.remembrance)

B

Forget ( eg.forgetful, unforgetful,forgetfulness)

C

Genes-( eg.genetics, genetically,genetic,geneticist)

D

Science-( eg.scientist,scientifically,scientific)

E

Projects
Ask your students to prepare a project or a presentation (individual, pair or group)
on one of the following topics:

10 hints for keeping your brain active.

1.

Brain testing games.

2.

Testing memory.

3.

Types of memory.

4.

Memories from childhood.

5.

Unusual memory masters.

6.

Brain Gym activities.

7.

Note:
You and your students may find more videos and tasks on the topic on
Videos:
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-
channel/all-videos/av-1539-2339/ngc-memory-masters.html
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-
channel/all-videos/av-9649-9983/ngc-faulty-memory.html
Memory games:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/memory-game