English_Book_2-Teacher_300913

INTRODUCTIONDear Teacher,Welcome to the second edition of Postcards, afour-level language course designed specifically foryoung teenagers who are studying English.Introduction• Offering extensive pair and group work with afocus on cooperative learning and peer feedback• Allowing opportunities for students to regularlymonitor their progress through Progress checks,Student self-evaluation checklists, and unit andquarterly testsPrinciples behind the course1. Postcards immediately captures students’attention by:• Introducing teenage characters with whomstudents readily identify• Presenting the real-life language that youngspeakers of American English use• Focusing on up-to-date situations, topics, andthemes that teenagers inherently recognize andrespond to• Providing stimulating sensory input throughengaging photos, illustrations, and realia chosenespecially for the teen learner2. Postcards holds teenagers’ attention by:• Offering a great variety of lesson formats,exercises, and activities• Personalizing learning through activities thatallow students to talk about themselves, theirworld, and their ideas• Providing activities that challenge students’ mindsas well as their linguistic skills• Offering extensive communicative practice,cross-cultural exploration, group and individualprojects, song activities, games, and competitions3. Postcards gives all students the opportunity toachieve success and a sense of achievement by:• Giving clear, concise, and easy-to-understandlanguage presentations• Providing carefully sequenced exercises that allowstudents to easily master English grammar andvocabulary• Offering level-appropriate communicativeactivities that enable students to expressthemselves with the English they’ve learned• Providing extensive recycling as well as followupreinforcement and practice in the LanguageBooster Workbook and Grammar Builder4. Postcards helps students set goals, developlearner independence, and monitor progressby:• Setting clear goals for each unit and section• Presenting an inductive approach to grammar• Providing explicit instruction and practice inlearning strategiesviCourse componentsStudent BookEach Student Book consists of six units divided intosections of two units. Each unit is followed eitherby Putting it together (a photostory activity) or aProgress check. The pattern is as follows:Unit 1Unit 2Unit PagesUnit PagesPhotoStoryProgressCheckEach Student Book also contains optional materialsthat can be done with or after each of the units.Suggestions as to when to complete each activityare listed in this Teacher’s Edition. The optionalactivities are: Games, Projects, Wide Angle on theworld, Fun with songs, Focus on culture, and Funwith grammar.Language BoosterThe Language Booster is divided into two parts:• A Workbook, and• A Grammar Builder containing grammarreference pages and extra grammar practiceexercises.The Workbook section is divided into unitsthat correspond to those in the Student Book.It gives practice in Grammar, Vocabulary, andCommunication. It also provides additional practicein reading and writing.The Workbook includes three levels of exercises foreach Grammar, Vocabulary, and Communicationsection: Get started (easy), Move on (medium),and Reach for the top (challenging). Designedfor mixed-level and mixed-ability classes, theLanguage Booster recognizes that all students willbe motivated if they are given tasks that allow themto succeed as well as to achieve higher goals.Most students will benefit from completing the firsttwo levels of the Workbook exercises, and some maywish to attempt all three. Students who already havea basic knowledge of English may find they need tocomplete only the second and third levels.Postcards_splitB_TE1_FM.indd vi2/27/07 10:23:13 AMPostcards