HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY MIND

Compact A2 Key for Schools Unit 11

11
CLASS PROJECT: A SHORT
HISTORY OF A MEDICAL DEVICE
Step 1: Plan
THE PROJECT

In groups, you are going to research and write a short history about a device related to health and the medical
world. You will include key information about the device, such as who invented it, when it began, and why it
was needed, etc. You will then present your short history to your classmates and decide together which device
has had the most interesting history.

1 Read the project description and answer these questions with a partner.
1 What topic is the project about?
2 What will you produce in this project?
3 What kind of information will you need to research?
4 What decision will you make at the end?

2 Discuss these questions about the topic with your classmates.

1 What medical device is in the photo?
2 Have you ever used this device? For what reason?
3 What other medical devices do you sometimes need to use?
4 What other medical devices do some people need to use and for what reason?

PREPARATION

3 Match the words (1–8) in the glossary to their correct definitions (a–h).

Glossary
1 height (n) a a person getting medical help from a doctor
2 injury (n) b to have the right to make or sell an invention
3 to patent (v) c how heavy someone or something is
4 patient (n) d describes something that doesn’t last very long
5 permanent (adj) e how tall someone or something is 1
6 support (n) f describes something that lasts a long time or for always
7 temporary (adj) g practical help
8 weight (n) h something that hurts because of an accident

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4 Read through the text and circle the correct words 1–5 that are from the Glossary in Exercise 3.

underarm crutch cast

“Hi! I’m Adam. I (a) (break) my leg. I was playing American football.
I was in a lot of pain when it first happened, but my leg is getting better now.
I (b) just (be) back to the hospital, and the doctor says
he can remove my cast next week and I’ll be able to walk without crutches again.”

A short history of crutches

When someone breaks or badly hurts their Then, in 1917 A Frenchman called Emile Schlick
leg, knee, foot or ankle, they need help to walk was the first person to (4) patient / patent the
again. The doctor will usually put a cast on the crutch. He wanted to produce more crutches for
(1) support / injury and the patient has to use soldiers injured in the First World War. Later, an
crutches for a while. American called Lofstrand developed a more
modern crutch with the option to change the
People (c) (use) crutches
(5) weight / height for taller or shorter people.
since the time of the ancient
Egyptians. Nearly 3,000 years In the 1950s, the American
ago, they created the first crutch Thomas Fetterman invented
using a piece of wood. a new design called the
‘forearm’ crutch, which has a
Crutches (d) (be)
circular part that goes around
popular for a long time, both with
the forearm for support instead
people who had (2) permanent /
of under the arm.
height problems with walking and forearm crutch
those who needed temporary help Nowadays, underarm and
walking after an accident. In fact, forearm crutches are both
the basic design of the crutch popular, but they are usually
(e) (not change) made of plastic and metal
much over the years – a wooden instead of wood. And more
stick with an underarm (3) injury / than 100 million crutches
support to hold the patient’s are produced in the world
weight. every year!

5 Read through the text again and complete a-e with the correct present perfect form of the
verbs in brackets.

6 Discuss with a partner. Have you ever used crutches? When? For what kind of injury?

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HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY MIND
Compact A2 Key for Schools Unit 11
11
CLASS PROJECT: A SHORT
HISTORY OF A MEDICAL DEVICE
Step 2: Develop

1 In groups, decide which medical device you would like to write a short history of. Here are some
suggestions, but you can also choose your own.
• hearing aid
• wheelchair
• teeth brace
• syringe
• thermometer
• stretcher

2 Try to find out the answers to these

questions about the device you chose Online Research:
in Exercise 1. Use the Online Research to Different search techniques
help you. In earlier projects, we looked at how to search for the right
1 What do you already know about information online. Let’s review some of these key tips:
this device? • Use a well-known search engine like Google
2 What other useful information would • Look at official information sites like Wikipedia
you like to find out? • Choose websites that specialise in your topic
3 How are you going to do the research • Use key words to help you find the information you need
for your device? • Make sure the information is up to date
4 How can you be sure the facts • Remember to check the facts on at least three different
are correct? websites
5 How can you be sure the facts are up
to date?

3 You are going to do the research for your short

history. Use the Useful Language to ask for and give Useful Language:
Asking for and giving opinions
opinions about the facts that you would like to
include for your chosen device. • What do you think about (including) …?
• Please tell me your opinion on …
• Do you agree that we should (include) …?
• I really think that …
• I strongly believe that …
• My opinion is that …
• I agree with the opinion of …

4 Write your short history using the information you have collected. Don’t forget to:
• decide on the best way to present the information in your short history
• use the model short histories on crutches and glasses (page 67 of the Student’s Book) as examples
• use vocabulary and grammar from Unit 11 of the Student’s Book
• use photos to make your short history more attractive

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HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY MIND
Compact A2 Key for Schools Unit 11
11
CLASS PROJECT: A SHORT
HISTORY OF A MEDICAL DEVICE
Step 3: Produce
PRESENTATION

1 When your short history is ready, present it to the class. Display it on the wall or on the digital whiteboard
and tell the other groups what you learned about the device you researched.

2 Listen to the other groups present their short histories. Then answer these questions with the members of your
own group:
1 Did anybody write about the same device as you? Did they present the information in the same way or
differently?
2 What interesting information did you learn from this project? Did anything surprise you?
3 Which device has had the most interesting history? Why?
4 In your opinion, which device is the most important to our everyday life? Why?

SELF-EVALUATION

1 With the members of your group, answer these questions together. 1 = not very well, 6= very well

COLLABORATION
1 How well did we work together?

1 2 3 4 5 6

COMMUNICATION
2 How well did we talk about the planning and preparation of our short history?

1 2 3 4 5 6

DIGITAL LITERACY & CRITICAL THINKING

3 How well did we compare points from different online sources?

1 2 3 4 5 6

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
4 How well did we understand each other’s points of view in choosing our device?

1 2 3 4 5 6

2 Answer these questions about yourself. 1 = not very much, 6= a lot

1 How well did I contribute to the project?

1 2 3 4 5 6

2 How much English did I use to plan and research the project?

1 2 3 4 5 6

3 Thinking about your answers above, how could you improve the next time you do a project?

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TEACHER’S NOTES

PROJECT OVERVIEW

In this project, students work in groups to research and write a short history about a device related to health or
the medical world. They will include key information about the device, such as who invented it, when it began,
and why it was needed, etc. They will then present their short history to their classmates and decide together
which device has had the most interesting history.
The project helps students to develop the following life competencies, which form part of the
Cambridge Framework for Life Competencies:
COLLABORATION
Listening respectfully and responding constructively to others’ contributions
COMMUNICATION
Using appropriate language for context
DIGITAL LITERACY & CRITICAL THINKING
Understanding and analysing links between ideas
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Empathy and relationship skills

HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY MIND

Compact A2 Key for Schools Unit 11
11
CLASS PROJECT: A SHORT HISTORY OF A MEDICAL DEVICE
Step 1: Plan

Estimated time: 45 minutes

1 Ask the students to turn to page 67 of their Student’s Books. Draw their attention to the Exam Task A short
history of glasses and ask them to read it through again. Then ask some questions on the text with their books
closed, e.g. What did Seneca use for glasses? When did the Chinese first use sunglasses? What did people in Canada
put on their eyes before glasses were invented? Explain that in this project students will prepare their own short
history on a device related to health and the medical world. Have students read the project description and
then answer the questions in pairs.
[AK: 1 health and the medical world; 2 a short history about a device related to health and the medical world; 3 who
invented the device, when it began, why it was needed, etc; 4 which device has had the most interesting history]
2 Discuss the questions about the topic as a class to find out what students know about common medical
devices that people use regularly, and which medical devices they might need sometimes need to use and
for what reasons. The photo shows a thermometer – a medical device to check people’s temperature. Other
common medical devices can include glasses, hearing aids, teeth braces, stethoscopes, wheelchairs, etc.
[AK: Students’ answers]
3 Explain to students that the words they are presented with in this exercise will probably be new to them, but
they are important to know in order to help them understand the project text that they will read in the next
exercise. Ask students if they know what a glossary is. Explain that it is a list of words and their meanings, a
sort of smaller version of a dictionary, that sometimes accompanies a text to explain any above-level words.
Students read the definitions and match the correct words to them. It doesn’t matter if students only make a
guess. You can correct any mistakes when you go through the answers together.
[AK: 1 e; 2 h; b; 4 a; 5 f; 6 g; 7 d; 8 c]
4 Draw students’ attention to the text on page 2. Ask them to read Adam’s speech bubble quickly and ask What’s
the matter with Adam? (He’s broken his leg.) Point to the photos of Adam and ask What has Adam got to help
him walk? Elicit a crutch/crutches from the students. Ask What is Adam wearing on his leg? Elicit a cast from the

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 students. Tell students they are going to learn more about the history of crutches in the text that follows, and
tell them they are going to prepare a similar text on the history on a medical device of their choice later in the
project. Then ask them to read the text A Short History of Crutches and circle the correct words for 1–5 taken
from the Glossary in Exercise 3.
[AK: 1 injury; 2 permanent; 3 support; 4 patent; 5 height]
5 Ask students to read through all of the text again, completing the sentences with the correct present perfect
form of the verbs in brackets.
[AK: a have broken; b have been; c have used; d have been; e hasn’t changed]
6 Students discuss a time when they might have needed to use crutches and for what kind of injury.
[AK: Students’ answers]

Note: This is the end of Stage 1 of the project: Plan. You can continue now or in a future lesson. If you decide to
continue in a future lesson, you could ask the students to prepare for the next stage by thinking about which
medical device they would like to write a short history of.

HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY MIND

Compact A2 Key for Schools Unit 11
11
CLASS PROJECT: A SHORT HISTORY OF A MEDICAL DEVICE
Step 2: Develop

Estimated time: 90 minutes (this can be split into two sections, between Exercises 3 and 4)
Exercises 1–3: 45 minutes
Exercise 4: 45 minutes

1 In groups, students choose a medical device that they would like to write their short history on. They can
choose from the suggestions given or think of their own. Encourage each group to choose a different device
so that there is an interesting mix. This will allow for more discussion in the final stage of the project when
students discuss how successful each device has been over time.
2 Students should use these questions as guidelines to help them find the information they need when
researching their device. Focus their attention on the Online Research box. Explain that when they are looking
for information online, it is important to use official websites and to check at least three different website
sources so that they can be sure that the facts they want to use are accurate and up to date.
3 Students start doing the research for their short history and ask and give each other their opinions on the facts
that they would like to include for their chosen device. Encourage students to use the language in the Useful
Language box to help them with this planning and research stage.

Note: If you wish to stop here and continue in a future lesson, this stage of the project can be split at this point.

4 Students write their short history in their groups. They should decide on the best way to present the
information. This can be done digitally if preferred or it can be handwritten. They prepare the text and include
photos to illustrate their short history. When it is ready, students should have some time to practise presenting
it. They should decide in their groups who will present the information. Ideally, all the group members should
take a turn in presenting different sections of information.

Note: This is the end of Stage 2 of the project: Develop. You can continue now or in a future lesson.

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HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY MIND
Compact A2 Key for Schools Unit 11
11
CLASS PROJECT: A SHORT HISTORY OF A MEDICAL DEVICE
Step 3: Presentation and Evaluation

Estimated time: 30 minutes

PRESENTATION

1 Have each group present their short history to the other students in the class. If the groups have prepared
digital texts, link them to a digital whiteboard or similar if your classroom has access to one of these.
2 Allow students enough time to listen to the different short histories and look at them. Then ask students to
work in their original groups to answer the questions. Take feedback on Questions 3 and 4 from the class, and
discuss together the interesting histories of some of the devices and which ones student think are the most
important to our everyday life.

SELF-EVALUATION

1 Explain that students are going to think about how well they did the project as a group, as this will help
them to understand their strengths and their areas for improvement in future projects. Students discuss
the questions together and give their group a score from 1–6 for each question. Ask for some examples as
feedback for the entire class.
2 Explain that students are going to reflect on their own personal contribution, as this will help them to
understand their strengths and their areas for improvement in future projects. Students consider the questions
individually and give themselves a score from 1–6 for each question. Ensure that students understand that this
is self-reflection and is not in any way a formal mark.
3 Students reflect on their answers in Exercises 1 and 2 and discuss as a group how they feel they could improve
for the next project.

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