Tell them three things about yourself. Then write your partner's answers below — you'll come back to them this week.
Name one hero you can think of and explain why you think this person (or character) is a hero. Answer below, then share with a partner.
Write at least one full sentence to unlock the tip.
There is no single correct answer here — but hold on to your definition of hero. The reading below may change it.
My grandfather cut hair for fifty-one years in the same small shop two streets from the harbour, in a town in the hills above Genoa. In his shop, he had three chairs, two mirrors, and a wooden box of combs that had belonged to his father. The combs were still the ones I saw when I went to visit him as a child in the 1990s.
My grandfather had left school at twelve to help in his uncle's shop. He had wanted to be a sailor, but his plans had changed after a leg injury at fourteen. The barber shop wasn't a dream. It was what was left.
What I remember most clearly are the postcards. He kept a whole wall of them, taped behind the second mirror. They were all from one cousin who had gone to work in a car factory in Germany in 1962 and never quite come back. The postcards arrived three or four a year, for forty years. When my grandfather died, I asked my mother what would happen to them. She said: "He always told me, if I go, take down the postcards first. Everything else can stay."
He cut the mayor's hair for forty years. He cut the priest's hair. He cut the hair of three generations of children who grew up and left and came back. He never charged the men who couldn't pay that week. He never mentioned it the next week, either. All his customers loved and respected him.
I don't know if my grandfather thought of himself as a hero but when I think of the word "hero", his face is the first one I see.
Choose T or F. Then correct the false statement in the box.
Answer both statements (and write your correction) to unlock checking.
Write full answers in your own words. Model answers unlock only after you have written something for all three questions.
Write a full answer (at least a sentence) for each question to unlock the model answers.
Choose the best meaning. Be ready to justify your answer from the sentence, not from a dictionary.
Choose an option for both questions to unlock checking.
What kind of a "hero" is the grandfather? Why do you think the writer calls him one? Note your ideas below, then discuss with a partner.
Three possible everyday heroes from YOUR life. They don't have to be famous. They probably shouldn't be.
| Person 1 | Person 2 | Person 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | |||
| How you know them | |||
| One thing they've done that nobody else made them do |
By the end of the week, this list becomes ONE person for the profile task.
1. Talk about ONE person from your shortlist for about 1 minute.
2. Listen to your partner BUT don't take notes.
3. Ask your partner to say ONE sentence back to you about your person. Write it down:
Add as many words as your group can. Write at least three in each column to unlock more ideas.