Aris Mangowal: Will Smith - Biography and Lessons

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an actor and rapper. He first became famous in the late 1980s as the rap artist Fresh Prince. He made a very successful move into movies. He is the only actor in Hollywood history to make eight consecutive films that earned $100 million in the USA. ‘Newsweek’ magazine called him the most powerful actor on the planet.

Smith was born in 1968 and raised in Philadelphia. His mother was a school administrator and his father was a refrigeration engineer. He began rapping as a teenager. His friends nicknamed him The Prince. He met D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the duo became hip-hop stars in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1988, they won the first ever Grammy in the Rap category.

In 1990, the NBC television network signed Smith to star in the sitcom ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, which launched his acting career. Smith decided he would become “the biggest movie star in the world” and began studying box office successes. His studying paid off. His movies ‘Independence Day’ (1996) and ‘Men In Black’(1997) were both box office hits.

Smith is now one of Hollywood’s hottest actors. His movies make huge amounts of money and appeal across age, race, and gender. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Academy Awards, and has won many Grammys. He has also appeared in movies with his son Jaden, in ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, and his daughter Willow, in ‘I Am Legend’.

247 words
Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted biographies.

DOWNLOADS: Word Doc | PDF | MP3 Listening | Online Exercise

SYNONYM MATCH

Match the words from the article on the left with their synonyms on the right. Are your answers the same as other students’?

Paragraphs 1 and 2
1.	first	a.	switch
2	move	b.	brought up
3.	consecutive	c.	grouping
4.	raised	d.	initially
5.	duo	e.	back-to-back
6.	category	f.	pair
Paragraphs 3 and 4
7.	sitcom	g.	worked
8.	launched	h.	most popular
9.	paid off	i.	comedy
10.	hottest	j.	sex
11	appeal	k	started
12	gender	l	interest

PHRASE MATCH

Match the following phrases from the article:

1.	He made a very successful move	a.	a teenager
2	make eight	b.	in the 1980s and early 1990s
3.	He began rapping as	c.	network signed Smith
4.	the duo became hip-hop stars	d.	off
5.	they won the first ever Grammy	e.	in the Rap category
6.	In 1990, the NBC television	f.	with his son
7.	began studying box	g.	into movies
8.	His studying paid	h.	office successes
9.	His movies make huge	i.	consecutive films
10.	He has also appeared in movies	j.	amounts of money

LISTENING GAP FILL

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is ___________________. He first became famous in the late 1980s as the rap artist Fresh Prince. He made a very successful ___________________. He is the only actor in Hollywood history to make ___________________ films that earned $100 million in the USA. ‘Newsweek’ magazine called him the most powerful ___________________.

Smith was born in ___________________ Philadelphia. His mother was a school administrator and his father was a refrigeration engineer. He began ___________________. His friends nicknamed him The Prince. He met D.J. Jazzy Jeff ___________________ hip-hop stars in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1988, they won the first ever Grammy ___________________.

In 1990, the ___________________ signed Smith to star in the sitcom ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, which ___________________ career. Smith decided he would become “the biggest movie star in the world” and began studying ___________________. His studying paid off. His movies ‘Independence Day’ (1996) and ‘Men In Black’(1997) were ___________________.

Smith is now one of Hollywood’s ___________________. His movies make huge amounts of money and ___________________, race, and gender. He has been ___________________ Golden Globe, two Academy Awards, and has won many Grammys. He has also appeared ___________________ son Jaden, in ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, and his daughter Willow, in ‘I Am Legend’.

CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD

Delete the wrong word in each of the pairs in italics.

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an actor and rapper. He initial / first became famous in the late 1980s as the rap artist Fresh Prince. He made a very successful moved / move into movies. He is the only actor in Hollywood history to make eight consecutive films that earned / earnings $100 million in the USA. ‘Newsweek’ magazine called him the most power / powerful actor on the planet.

Smith was born in 1968 and risen / raised in Philadelphia. His mother was a school administrator and his father was a refrigeration engineer. He began rapping was / as a teenager. His friends nicknamed him The Prince. He met D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the duo / duet became hip-hop stars in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1988, they won the first even / ever Grammy in the Rap category.

In 1990, the NBC television network signed Smith to star / stardom in the sitcom ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, which launched his acting career. Smith decided he will / would become “the biggest movie star in the world” and began / begun studying box office successes. His studying paid back / off. His movies ‘Independence Day’ (1996) and ‘Men In Black’(1997) were both box office hits.

Smith is now one / none of Hollywood’s hottest actors. His movies make huge amounts / amount of money and appeal across age, race, and gender. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Academy Awards, and has won / beat many Grammys. He has also appealed / appeared in movies with his son Jaden, in ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, and his daughter Willow, in ‘I Am Legend’.

SPELLING

The underlined, jumbled words are from the text. Spell them correctly.

Paragraph 1
1.	an actor and rapepr
2.	He made a very fuessucslc move into movies
3.	eight consecutive films that nderae $100 million
4.	the most powerful actor on the eptanl
Paragraph 2
5.	born in 1968 and eairsd in Philadelphia
6.	his father was a refrigeration enrniege
7.	He began rapping as a eenretag
8.	the first ever Grammy in the Rap tygeaocr
Paragraph 3
9.	the NBC television oekrnwt
10.	dhalneuc his acting career
11.	box office uceesscss
12.	His yisngdtu paid off
Paragraph 4
13.	Hollywood’s otetths actors
14.	appeal across age, race, and gerned
15.	He has also eprdapea in movies with his son
16.	his greudath Willow

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	called him the most powerful actor on the planet.
( )	Smith is now one of Hollywood’s hottest actors. His movies make huge amounts of money and appeal across
( )	Smith was born in 1968 and raised in Philadelphia. His mother was a school administrator and his father was a
( )	In 1990, the NBC television network signed Smith to star in the sitcom ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, which launched
( 1 )	Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an actor and rapper. He first became famous in the late 1980s as the rap
( )	the duo became hip-hop stars in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1988, they won the first ever Grammy in the Rap category.
( )	off. His movies ‘Independence Day’ (1996) and ‘Men In Black’(1997) were both box office hits.
( )	make eight consecutive films that earned $100 million in the USA. ‘Newsweek’ magazine
( )	won many Grammys. He has also appeared in movies with his son Jaden,
( )	artist Fresh Prince. He made a very successful move into movies. He is the only actor in Hollywood history to
( )	age, race, and gender. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Academy Awards, and has
( )	refrigeration engineer. He began rapping as a teenager. His friends nicknamed him The Prince. He met D.J. Jazzy Jeff and
( )	his acting career. Smith decided he would become “the biggest movie star in the world” and began
( )	in ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, and his daughter Willow, in ‘I Am Legend’.
( )	studying box office successes. His studying paid

SCRAMBLED SENTENCES

With your partner, put the words back into the correct order.

1.	1980s late the in famous became first He
2.	consecutive 100 films million that make earned eight $
3.	a as rapping began He teenager
4.	1980s became hop the duo - in the hip stars
5.	first the category Rap the in Grammy ever
6.	the Smith NBC In television 1990 network , signed
7.	the star world become movie the would biggest in he
8.	hottest Hollywood’s of one now is Smith actors
9.	movies huge of His make amounts money
10.	has with also his appeared son in He movies

WILL SMITH DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	What do you know about Will Smith?
2.	Would you like to meet Will Smith?
3.	What would you like to know about Will Smith and why?
4.	___________________________________________________
5.	___________________________________________________
6.	___________________________________________________
7.	___________________________________________________
8.	___________________________________________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	What did you learn from this text about Will Smith?
2.	What questions would you like to ask Will Smith?
3.	What would his answers be to those questions?
4.	___________________________________________________
5.	___________________________________________________
6.	___________________________________________________
7.	___________________________________________________
8.	___________________________________________________

WILL SMITH SURVEY

Write five questions about Will Smith in the table. Do this in pairs/groups. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

Without your partner, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Return to your original partner(s) and share and talk about what you found out. Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

WRITING

Write about Will Smith for 10 minutes. Show your partner your paper. Correct each other’s work.

________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about Will Smith. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. WILL SMITH POSTER: Make a poster showing the different stages of the life of Will Smith. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about Will Smith. Include an imaginary interview with him. Write about what he does every day and what he thinks about.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Will Smith. Ask him three questions about his life. Give him three suggestions on what he should do in his future. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your “Will Smith expert” partner(s) will try and answer your questions.

ANSWERS

SYNONYM MATCH:

Paragraphs 1 and 2
1.	first	a.	initially
2	move	b.	switch
3.	consecutive	c.	back-to-back
4.	raised	d.	brought up
5.	duo	e.	pair
6.	category	f.	grouping
Paragraphs 3 and 4
7.	sitcom	g.	comedy
8.	launched	h.	started
9.	paid off	i.	worked
10.	hottest	j.	most popular
11	appeal	k	interest
12	gender	l	sex

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	He made a very successful move	a.	into movies
2	make eight	b.	consecutive films
3.	He began rapping as	c.	a teenager
4.	the duo became hip-hop stars	d.	in the 1980s and early 1990s
5.	they won the first ever Grammy	e.	in the Rap category
6.	In 1990, the NBC television	f.	network signed Smith
7.	began studying box	g.	office successes
8.	His studying paid	h.	off
9.	His movies make huge	i.	amounts of money
10.	He has also appeared in movies	j.	with his son

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Monday, November 23, 2015

Will Smith - Biography and Lessons