Internet Activities

Unit 1
Social networking sites are a relatively new phenomenon. People started to use them in the late
1990s, and they continue to grow in popularity. Not only are established sites gaining more and
more members, but new sites are starting up every day.

A | Do a search to find answers to the questions about one of these sites: Facebook,
MySpace, MyHeritage, Bebo, or hi5.
When did the site start?
What is the purpose of the site?
Approximately how many people use the site?
Who started the site?
What languages can be used on the site?

B | Share your information with the class. Then tell the class which site appeals most to you
and why.
Example: The site that appeals most to me is Facebook. It allows friends and relatives to stay in
touch with each other. Three generations in my family are on Facebookmyself, my
mother, and my grandmother. My mother uses the site to find out what her children,
including me, are doing. I like the site because . . .
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Unit 2
While marriage customs differ across cultures, marriage itself is a key human institution. A
recent survey of 34 nations put the divorce rate at its highest in the United States and its lowest
in Sri Lanka. Another survey showed Belarus with the highest divorce rate and the United States
in twelfth position. Still another survey of 11 nations showed Canada and the United States as
being the countries with the highest percentage of happily married couples.

A | Do a search to find five interesting statistics about marriage. Find statistics on these
three items. Then add two of your own.
the country with the highest percentage of married adults
the country with the lowest percentage of married adults
the longest marriage on record

B | Share your information with the class. Discuss the positive and negative aspects of
marriage. Do they think being in a long-term relationship without being married is very
different from being married?
Example: In the United States, about 60 percent of all adults are married; about 10 percent
are divorced; about 24 percent have never been married. Some research showed that
married people are healthier . . .

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 Unit 3
Vacation travel to and from a wide range of places around the world has become more popular
and more affordable in many areas.

Work in small groups. Choose a vacation spot that you would like to visit. Do a search
and find some interesting facts about it. Then describe your place to the class. Say what
youll be doing there, but dont say its name. The class must guess your vacation spot.
Example: When I get to my destination, heres what Ill be doing:
Ill be exploring Witomo Cave on the North Island.
Ill be seeing yellow-eyed penguins on the Otago Peninsula.
Ill be walking on Fox Glacier.
Ill be seeing lots of kiwis.
Ill be learning about Maori culture.
(Answer: New Zealand)

Unit 4
While there are many similarities in the ways people act in social situations across cultures, there
are also many practices that differ.

A | Do a search to find answers to these cultural questions:

When you are invited to a persons house in Lebanon and are giving a gift, which hand should
you use?

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If you are invited to a Brazilians house for dinner, should you arrive early, on time, or late?
If you are invited to someones house in China and want to give a gift, should you give four
items of something? Should you give eight items?
If you give flowers as a gift in Hungary, should you give them in even or odd numbers?

B | Share your information with the class. Compare the customs to those in your own
country. Are they similar or different?
Example: When you enter a house in Japan, you should remove your shoes and arrange them
so that they point toward the door. This practice is quite different from that in the
United States, where in most cases people do not remove their shoes when they are
visiting someones home.

Unit 5
Most of us are intrigued by mysteries and puzzles. For example, people around the world
continue to be fascinated with the question of the Loch Ness Monster. Loch Ness in Scotland is
the largest body of freshwater in Great Britain, and over the decades, there have been a number
of sightings of a strange-looking, long-necked creature. Does Nessie really exist, and if so, what
is it? There are many theories, but no answers.

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 A | Do a search to find information about a mystery or puzzle that intrigues you. You can
choose one of the topics below or choose your own topic:
The lost continent of Atlantis
UFOs
crop circles
the Voynich manuscript
the Taos hum

B | Share your information with the class. Does anyone have more information about your
mystery or puzzle?
Example: I am studying dinosaurs in one of my classes, and I think the Loch Ness monster
looks like a plesiosaur. It may have survived extinction because it was stronger than
the other dinosaurs. . . .

Unit 6
People all over the world are increasingly interested in health: We want to know how to combat
disease, how to improve poor health, and how to maximize good health.

A | Do a search on one of these topics:

a health issue you are concerned about
a specific diet you are interested in

B | Report your findings to the class. For health issues, tell the class what you have learned,
Copyright 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

including information about prevention, symptoms, and treatment. For diets, explain
what the diet is and discuss its advantages and disadvantages.
Examples: A: I learned about diabetes. I discovered that people with a borderline diagnosis may
be able to control the problem by changing their diet.
B: I learned about the Atkins diet. Its a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. The
advantages of it are that you can lose weight on it and eat foods like beef, eggs,
and cheese . . .

Unit 7
While environmental consciousness has been raised around the world over the last few decades,
many animals and plants remain endangered or threatened. Often because of the efforts of
environmentalists, some species have begun to make a recovery in their numbers, while for
others, the future is uncertain.

A | Do a search to find out the status of these three endangered animals. Then add one
example of your own.
the whooping crane
the giant panda
the Siberian tiger

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B | Share your findings with the class. Discuss how serious you think the problem of
endangered species is. What do you think should be done about it?
Example: The American bald eagle, which is the national symbol of the United States, came
close in the 20th century to being wiped out. Decades of hunting and pesticide use
had vastly reduced the numbers of these birds. However, pesticides such as DDT
were banned in the 1970s, and other methods of protection of these birds have been
in force for a considerable time. The result is that the bald eagle has made a partial
recovery; it has been moved from the endangered list to the threatened list.

UNIT 8
International travel has become increasingly more common over the last few decades, and
in some nations tourism has become the number one industry. Travelers need to be aware
of currency issues and ask questions such as: Should I get a significant amount of money in
the currencies of the countries to which Im traveling? Should I use my credit card? Should I
purchase travelers checks?

A | Imagine that you are going to take a trip to Europe. Do a search to find answers to these
questions:
What is the current exchange rate between the euro and that of my country?
What E.U. countries do not use the euro?
What currencies should I use in those countries?

B | Share your findings with the class. Ask if anyone has ever had difficulties shopping while
traveling abroad. How can one know a reasonable amount to pay for something outside
of ones own country? For example, what is the price range for a rug or a painting?

Copyright 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Example: The current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the euro, as of this writing, is
1 euro = $1.3723. Best recommendation: Use your credit card for most purchases; get
some currency in euros.

unit 9
Unexpected events in history are always interesting. In 1948, Harry Truman was running for
president. He had been the vice president under Franklin Roosevelt and became president upon
Roosevelts death in 1945. By the time the 1948 election rolled around, he was thought to be
rather unpopular. Opinion polls predicted that Truman would surely lose the election to Thomas
Dewey. On election night, Dewey had a strong lead early in the evening. In fact, the Chicago
Tribune famously printed the next days newspaper with the headline Dewey Defeats Truman. Of
course, the newspaper was wrong; Truman in fact won the election, and not by a small margin.

A | Do a search to find out what was unexpected about one of these topics:
the Spruce Goose of Howard Hughes
the discovery of black swans in Australia in 1697
the reign of King Edward VIII of England

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 B | Share your findings with the class. Ask class members to discuss any unexpected events
in history that they find interesting.
Example: Susan Boyle, a Scottish mezzo-soprano singer, appeared as a contestant on the TV
show Britains Got Talent on April 11, 2009. Her unassuming appearance led audience
members and judges not to expect a great deal from her singing. However, she
changed everyones perception through her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream from
the musical play Les Miserables. Susan received a standing ovation from the crowd
and has since gone on to become a well-known singer internationally. She released
her first album in November 2009.

Unit 10
Bumper stickers have been in existence for almost as long as cars have. Automaker Henry Ford,
responding to the increasing number of accidents after cars had become popular, created the car
bumper as a means of protection. Soon after, the idea of combining mobility with the individual
desire to express opinions resulted in the bumper stickeran adhesive label to be applied to the
rear of an automobile. Bumper stickers are used to present various kinds of messages: religious,
political, humorous, and advertising.

A | Do a search for two bumper stickers: one political and one humorous. Decide what
subject area you would like to focus on so you can narrow your search. For example, use
key words such as bumper stickers + driving.

B | Share your examples with the class. As a class, discuss whether the political bumper
sticker is effective and whether the humorous bumper sticker is amusing. The class
decides which bumper stickers are the most humorous and most effective. Rate each
humorous bumper sticker with one of these terms:
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Hilarious
Amusing
Average
Not very amusing
Not funny at all
Example: Humorous bumper sticker: IM JUST DRIVING THIS WAY TO GET YOU MAD.
I rate this bumper sticker as amusing because I believe there is a certain amount of
truth in it. I sometimes think that certain motorists deliberately drive poorly in an
attempt to annoy or irritate other drivers.

Unit 11
Quotations, whether by people who are famous or not, are interesting because they give us
insight into cultural beliefs and practices and can also give us new ways to look at commonly
known facts and ideas.

A | Divide into four groups. Each group does a search on one of these quotations to find out
the person who said or wrote it, the persons background, the meaning of the quotation,
and, if possible, the context in which it was said or written.
Dont let it end like this. Tell them I said something.
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fearnot absence of fear.
You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.
Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come home.

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B | Share your information with the class. Ask class members to mention any favorite
quotations they know of.
Example: Never look down on anybody unless youre helping him up.
This quotation is from Jesse Jackson, American civil rights leader and minister.
Jackson, who also ran for president of the United States, is very much concerned
with helping others and working for equal rights and justice. In this quotation, he
used a pun on the meaning of the expression look down on someone. Normally,
this means to look negatively upon others with a sense of superiority to them.
However, Jackson focused on the literal meaning of the expression: to look carefully
at someone who is physically in a lower position. He was expressing his belief that
we shouldnt feel we are superior to others but should help them with their problems
or struggles.

Unit 12
There are many types of psychological personality tests. While no particular tests can claim to
be definitive, good tests can begin to give us insight into some personal qualities of the people
who take them. Also, remember that a test taken online or from a book cannot substitute for an
evaluation by a trained professional.

A | Do a search using the key words online personality test. Find one of these tests and
take it online. Study the results and decide whether you think they give an accurate
description of your personality.
Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers
Big Five Personality Test
Maslow Inventory Test

Copyright 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Quincy Psychological and Personality Test

B | Share your information with the class. Have a discussion about how accurate you
believe the tests are.
Example: In the Big Five Personality Test, those taking the test are asked to rate their
perception of themselves based on a number of statements. The ratings have this
range:
Strongly Disagree / Disagree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree
The first question is this: I see myself as someone who . . . is talkative
On this particular question, I would choose Neither Agree Nor Disagree. In some
situations I am talkative, and in others I am not.

Unit 13
Film is one of the worlds most important and most popular art forms. Many different awards are
given to movies every year. While the Academy Awards in the United States are perhaps the best
known of these, other awards continue to become increasingly common.

A | Divide into five groups. Each group does a search on one of these questions:
What country has produced the most Academy Award-winning films that are not in
the English language?
What is the all-time top moneymaking film worldwide?
What are the three most expensive movies ever made?

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 What male director has made the most films?
What female director has made the most films?

B | Share your findings with the class. Ask class members to discuss any findings that were
surprising.
Example: Which actor has the most Academy Award nominations?
The actor who has the most nominations is Jack Nicholson. He has been nominated
twelve times; eight times as Best Actor, and four times as Best Actor in a Supporting
Role. He has won . . .

Unit 14
A popular TV program, Unsolved Mysteries, deals with different types of mysteries and peoples
natural desire to discover answers to perplexing questions.

A | Do a search on a mystery you would like to know about. Choose from one of these topics
or choose one of your own:
How can we explain the disappearances of aircraft and ships in the Bermuda Triangle?
Did Billy the Kid, the famous 19th century outlaw in the American Southwest, die as is
generally reported, or did he live into the 20th century?
Do aliens exist? If so, what do they look like? How do we explain the testimony of people who
claim to have encountered them?

B | Share your findings with the class. Ask class members to discuss any mysteries they
know about and are interested in.
Copyright 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Example: Sasquatch, also called Bigfoot, is said to live in the forests of the Pacific Northwest in
the United States and British Columbia in Canada. He is thought to be a large, furry,
apelike creature. Skeptics say that people who claim to have seen Sasquatch have
instead probably seen large, furry bears.

Unit 15
People have always been interested in the lives and accomplishments of famous historical figures.
Many of these figures have had lives that are both interesting and inspiring.

Divide into groups of four to six people. Do a search to gather facts for a group guessing
game. Prepare five or more statements about any famous figure: a political or religious
leader, an author, an explorer, an inventor, and so on. Students in other groups will try to
guess who the figure is. Make the first statements more general than the later ones.
Example:
1.
This person is considered to be one of the greatest religious leaders of all time.
2.
He was called great soul by his followers and admirers.
3.
In his time, he was revered for many things, including his efforts in favor of people known as
the untouchables.
4.
He is known today as the father of the nonviolent movement called passive resistance.
5.
He is regarded as the principal force behind the achievement of Indias independence.
6.
He was assassinated in 1948.
(Answer: Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi)

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 Unit 16
We are often intrigued by the lives of famous pairs in history. These relationships can be
romantic, political, professional, or based strictly on friendship.

A | Do a search to learn about the relationship between the people in one of these pairs, or
choose another pair you know. Search by using the key words famous pairs in history.
Anna Leonowens and King Mongkut (Siam, now Thailand)
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (Mexico)
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal)

B | Share your findings with the class. Ask class members if they know anything more about
the pair you discussed.
Example: American entertainers Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis met in the 1940s, became
friends, created a comic nightclub act, and later starred in a series of comedy films in
which Martin played the straight man and Lewis the comic. They loved performing
together, but eventually their relationship began to deteriorate, and they parted ways.
Both continued to be entertainers, but Lewis became widely known for supporting
and raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Years later . . .

UNIT 17
Most of us have struggled with procrastination at one time or another. Why do you think people
procrastinate? If you procrastinate, why do you do it? Here are some reasons for procrastination:
Youre a perfectionist. You think you can complete the task, but you dont want to proceed if
you cant do it perfectly.

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Your task is so complicated that youre overwhelmed by it.
Youre afraid you wont be able to do it at all.
You simply dont want to do the task, and you generally avoid things you dont like doing.

A | How would you advise someone who wants to stop procrastinating? Do a search, using
the key words overcoming procrastination. Read one or more articles on the subject and
prepare some advice.

B | Share your suggestions with the class. Ask class members to decide which methods
they feel are most likely to succeed and why.
Example: One of the best suggestions Ive found for overcoming procrastination is this:
Sweat it out for 10 minutes. In other words, identify a task that is causing you
to procrastinate. Take your alarm clock and set it to ring in 10 minutes. Work on
the task without stopping for that amount of time. Anyone can stand working on
something for 10 minutes. At the end of this period of time, you may find that you are
making progress and want to continue.

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 Unit 18
Many of the issues we find interestingwhether they concern individuals or society as a whole
are controversial on some level. What controversial issues are of concern to you? What issues do
you have strong feelings about?

A | Research one of these topics or choose one of your own. Do a search, using the key words
controversial issues. Write down key points. Be sure to look at all sides of the issue.
Are lotteries a good idea?
Is global climate change natural, or can our actions make it worse?
Should animals be used for research?
Are curfews effective in keeping young people out of trouble?

B | Share your findings with the class. Find out where your classmates stand on this issue.
Example: Should cigarette smoking be banned?
On the yes side
Medical evidence clearly proves that smoking harms the smoker.
Passive smoke harms people around the smoker.
People look unattractive when they smoke.
On the no side
Smoking is an individual choice.
Banning smoking would usher in a Big Brother era. Government should never have
so much control over people.
Many people enjoy smoking. Should something enjoyed by one group be prohibited?
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Unit 19
Many people enjoy some aspect of sports. We can watch, play, or both. We can also choose
between individual sports, like golf, or team sports, like football. However, there are some aspects
of school and professional sports that can be controversial.

A | Do a search on one of these topics:

Are athletes salaries too high?
Is there really such as thing as the scholar-athlete? Should good players at colleges and
universities be paid?
Should physical education be a required course for all ages through high school?
Do for-profit companies have too much influence over sports?

B | Share your findings with the class. Do your classmates mostly agree or disagree?
Example: In 2009, these were the average yearly player salaries in four major sports leagues in
the United States:
National Football League: $2.0 million
National Basketball Association: $4.8 million
Major League Baseball: $3.5 million
National Hockey League: $2.1 million
Although these athletes are talented and popular, their salaries seem excessive. The
president of the United States earns $400,000 per year.

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 Unit 20
Organ donation is becoming increasingly more common; in fact, many people feel that it is the
ultimate charitable and compassionate act. The laws vary; in some places, such as the United
States, people can sign a donor card or have a notation placed on their drivers license allowing
permission for organs to be used after they die. In other places, such as Spain, the laws are quite
different; all people are assumed to be donors unless they sign documents saying they are not.

A | Do a search to find answers to these frequently asked questions (FAQs) about organ
donation. Use the key words transplantation and organ donation.
What organs and tissues can I donate?
Does organ donation disfigure ones body?
Will my religion allow me to donate organs?
What can I expect if I receive an organ transplant?

B | Share your findings with the class. Why do class members think organ donation could
be controversial?
Example: Q: Who can and cannot be an organ donor?
A: Most individuals can be organ donors, including newborns and senior citizens.
People under 18 must have official parental permission. Individuals with HIV,
actively spreading brain cancer, and certain severe infections cannot be organ
donors. People should decide about becoming donors after speaking with their
doctors and families.

unit 21

Copyright 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Throughout history, many people have made powerful statements about the minds capacity to
remember and about the role of memory in our lives.

A | Do a search to find out who said each of these statements. What do you think each
statement means?
The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: It is always the
false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant.
Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

B | Share your thoughts with the class. Ask class members if they agree or disagree with
your interpretation of the meaning of the quotation.
Example: Nothing stands out so conspicuously, or remains so firmly fixed in the memory, as
something which you have blundered.
This quotation by Marcus Tullius Cicero, a statesman, orator, and philosopher in
ancient Rome, deals with our painful memories of mistakes we have made in the
past. Often, details of positive experiences we have had tend to fade somewhat, but
those of errors remain sharp.

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 Unit 22
Certain events have greatly influenced the course of human history. For example, on October 12,
1492, explorer Christopher Columbus landed on an island that he named San Salvador in what
are now the Bahamas. Columbus helped to make Europeans aware of the Western Hemisphere
and initiate commerce between the Old World and the New. If he hadnt succeeded, no doubt
another explorer eventually would have, but knowledge about and development of the New World
might have taken quite a different course; for example, the Spanish might not have colonized the
New World as they did.

A | Do a search to discover what happened on each of these dates. What would or might
have happened if these events hadnt occurred? How would the world be different?
753 b.c.e.
105 c.e.
1088 c.e.
1455 c.e.

B | Share your results with the class. Can your classmates think of other world events that
could have turned out differently if other factors had changed?
Example: On November 22, 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas,
Texas. President Kennedy was advised not to travel to Dallas at this time. If he had
listened to this advice, he probably would have completed his presidential term. He
might have won reelection to a second term as president in the 1964 election. If so,
the Vietnam War might have gone quite differently . . .

Unit 23
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Young adults have always faced challenges, and the situation is no different today. Read the list of
problems encountered by young adults. Do they apply to you or to those you are close to? How?
the breakdown of the family
poverty
economic problems
peer pressure
community problems, such as neighborhood violence
global problems, such as climate change

A | Do a search on two of the problems above and one of your own choosing. Use the key
words problems faced by young adults.

B | Report the results of your search to the class. Ask class members to identify the top two
challenges. Discuss these in detail and offer possible solutions.
Example: I think one of the biggest challenges faced by young adults today is overcrowded
schools. This is especially problematic in bigger cities. Many schools need to have
smaller classes and more teachers. Otherwise, students cant get the attention they
need, especially for more difficult subjects. . . .

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