American English File STARTER Student eBook

1. VOCABULARY: small things

a. What are the four things? Can you remember?

b. Small things

 

Exercise a: Listen and repeat the words.

 

1. a cell phone /sel foʊn/
2. a watch /wɑtʃ/ 
3. a tablet /tæblət/
4. a wallet /'wɑlət/, a change purse /tʃeɪndʒ pərs/
5. a pencil /'pensl/ 
6. a notebook /'noʊtbʊk/ 
7. glasses /'glæsəz/ 
8. a photo /foʊtoʊ/
9. a (phone) charger /tʃɑrdʒər/
10. an ID card  /aɪ 'di kɑrd/
11. an umbrella /ʌm'brelə/
12. a camera /'kæmrə/
13. a credit card /'kredət kʌrd/, a debit card /debə t kʌrd/
14. a key /ki/
15. a newspaper /'nuzpeɪpər/

Exercise b: Cover the words. Look at the photo. Say the things. 

2. GRAMMAR: singular and plural nouns, a / an

a. Read the list. What do you think are the top four things?

 

Every day people all over the world say, "Oh no!
Where's my ..." The top eight things that people look
for are (not in the correct order): 
(___) pens and pencils
(___) glasses and sunglasses
(___) keys (house keys and car keys)
(___) wallets and change purses
(___) bank cards
(___) cell phones
(___) umbrellas
(___) phone chargers

b. Listen and number the things 1-8 in the list in a. Is this order true for you?

c. Look at the photos. Complete the chart.

d. singular and plural nouns; a / an

Listen and repeat the examples. Then read the rules.

What is it?
	It's a book.	It's a key.
	It's an umbrella.	It's an ID card.

 

• What is it?  NOT  what's it?
• We use a / an + singular noun.
• We use a + word beginning with a consonant, e.g., a bag, a phone. 
• We use an+ word beginning with a vowel, e.g., an umbrella. 

Listen and repeat the examples. Then read the rules.

 

What is it? It's a book.	What are they? They're books.
What is it? It's a key.	What are they? They're keys.
What is it? It's a watch.	What are they? They're watches.
What is it? It's a dictionary.	What are they? They're dictionaries.

 

Spelling rules
Singular	Plural
1. a bag    a vacation	bags vacations	add -s
2. a class	classes/Iz/	add -es (after ch, sh, s, ss, x)
3. a country	countries	consonant + y = y -ies

 

Exercise a: Complete the chart.

Singular	Plural
It's a pen.	They're pens.
1. ________.	They're phones.
2. It's a watch.	________.
3. ________.	They're umbrellas.
4. It's a dictionary.	________.
5. It's a key.	________.
6. It's a city.	________.
7. ________.	They're emails.
8. It's a passport.	________.
9. ________.	They're tablets.

Exercise b: Write questions and answers.

What is it?		It's a laptop.
1. ________.		________?
2. ________		________?
3. ________.		________?
4. ________.		________?
5. ________.		________?

e. Comunication: Memory game
Remember the things in the photo.

Students A+B

Exercise a: Look at the photo for 30 seconds.

Exercise b: Close your book. In pairs, can you remember all the things?

3. PRONUNCIATION: /z/ and /s/, plural endings

a. Listen and repeat the words and sound.

zebra

zero Brazil is he's

b. Listen and repeat the plural words and sounds.

 

	bags phones keys pens
	books coats passports tablets
	watches glasses pieces change purses

c. Listen. Say the plural.

4. LISTENING

a. Listen to five situations. Number the photos 1-5.

 

b. Listen again. Write the small things for each situation. 

1. ___________
2. ___________
3. ___________
4. ___________
5. ___________

5. SPEAKING

a. Look at the photos. What are the things? Work with a partner. A ask B about photo 1. B ask A about photo 2. Continue with the other photos.

 

b. What's in your bag or pocket?
Check ($\checkmark$) the things.

(__) a book 
(__) a credit card 
(__) glasses 
(__) an ID card 
(__) keys 
(__) a pen 
(__) a pencil
(__) a phone 
(__) a photo 
(__) a change purse 
(__) an umbrella
(__) a wallet 

c. Now tell a partner.

d. What other things do you have in your bag or pocket? Ask your teacher. 

WORDS AND PHRASES TO LEARN

Listen and repeat the words and phrases.

Oh no!
Where's my cell phone?
Where are my glasses?
What is it?
What are they?
I think it's an ID card.
I think they're keys.
What's in your bag?
I have two credit cards.