Topic: Tetris prodigy beats the game Level: Intermediate (B1-B2) Skills: Reading, speaking, writing, vocabulary, grammar Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Read and comprehend an article about a young Tetris player who achieved a remarkable feat
- Discuss their opinions and experiences related to video games
- Learn and use vocabulary related to video games and technology
- Review and practice the use of articles (a/an/the) with countable and uncountable nouns
Articles that cover this event; BBC, New York Times, and The Guardian
Procedure:
- Warm-up (10 minutes): Ask students to work in pairs or small groups and discuss the following questions:
- Do you like playing video games? Why or why not?
- What are some of the most popular video games in your country or culture?
- Have you ever played Tetris or a similar puzzle game? How do you play it?
- What do you think are the benefits and drawbacks of playing video games?
- Pre-reading (10 minutes): Introduce the topic of the article by showing the title and the picture of Willis Gibson. Ask students to predict what the article is about and what they expect to learn from it. Elicit some vocabulary related to video games and technology, such as console, screen, score, level, special effects, etc. Write the words on the board and check their meanings and pronunciation.
- Watching. Watch the video below.
- Reading (15 minutes): Give each student a copy of the article and ask them to read it silently. If this is too difficult they can read the easy version below, Then, ask them to work in pairs or small groups and answer the following comprehension questions:
- How old is Willis Gibson and where is he from?
- What did he accomplish in Tetris?
- What is the name of the technique he used to play faster?
- What is his goal as a competitive Tetris player?
- What are some of the challenges or limitations of playing the original Nintendo version of Tetris?
- Post-reading (15 minutes): Ask students to share their answers to the comprehension questions and check them as a class. Then, ask students to discuss the following opinion questions in pairs or small groups:
- Are you impressed by Willis Gibson’s achievement? Why or why not?
- Do you think playing Tetris requires skill, luck, or both? Why?
- Do you prefer playing old or new video games? Why?
- Do you think video games can be considered a form of art or culture? Why or why not?
- Grammar focus (15 minutes): Draw students’ attention to the use of articles (a/an/the) in the article. Ask them to identify some examples of definite and indefinite articles with countable and uncountable nouns. Explain the basic rules and exceptions for using articles, such as:
- Use a/an with singular countable nouns that are not specific or known to the speaker or listener, e.g. a movie, an adaptation, a fan, etc.
- Use “the” with singular or plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns that are specific or known to the speaker or listener, e.g. the movie, the novel, the story, the game, the screen, the special effects, etc.
- Use no article with plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns that are not specific or known to the speaker or listener, e.g. movies, novels, stories, games, screens, special effects, etc.
- Use a/an or the with some adjectives that modify uncountable nouns, e.g. a thrilling story, the original hardware, etc.
- Use “the” with some nouns that are unique or refer to a specific group or category, e.g. the sun, the internet, the Classic Tetris World Championship, etc.
- Use a/an or the with some expressions of quantity, e.g. a lot of, a few, the majority of, etc.
- Grammar practice (15 minutes): Give each student a worksheet with some sentences from the article that have the articles removed. Ask them to fill in the blanks with the correct articles or leave them blank if no article is needed. Alternatively, you can use an online quiz tool such as Kahoot or Quizizz to create a multiple-choice quiz based on the same sentences. Check the answers as a class and provide feedback and clarification if needed.
- Writing (10 minutes): Ask students to write a short paragraph about their favorite video game or a video game they would like to play. They should use some of the vocabulary and grammar they learned from the article and the lesson. They should also include some information about the game, such as its name, genre, platform, story, characters, features, etc. Ask them to exchange their paragraphs with a partner and check each other’s use of articles and vocabulary.
- Wrap-up (5 minutes): Ask some students to share their paragraphs with the class and comment on their partner’s choice of game. Review the main points of the lesson and ask students to reflect on what they learned and enjoyed. Thank them for their participation and encourage them to continue practicing their English skills.
Easy reading version
A 13-year-old boy from Oklahoma named Willis Gibson has become the first person to beat the game Tetris since its release more than three decades ago. Previously, only bots powered by artificial intelligence had forced the game to its “kill screen,” where its signature blocks are falling so fast that the game itself can’t continue. In a video documenting his feat and posted on Tuesday, Willis plays for roughly 38 minutes and reaches level 157 before saying, “Oh, I missed it,” believing that a misplaced block scuttled his attempt. But he recovers, and as blocks zip downward, he says, “Please crash,” and completes another line of blocks, the mechanism for scoring points in Tetris. The game freezes, the de facto victory, and he says: “Oh my God! Yes! I’m going to pass out. I can’t feel my hands.” His score read “999999”. Willis plays on a cathode-ray tube television, practicing roughly 20 hours a week.