basketball In 1891 In a gymnasium

in Springfield, Massachusetts Dr James Naismith, a physical education teacher To provide exercise for a noisy class through the cold winter months baseball Unknown

Became popular in the early 19th century In England

Popular in the US Unkown, but in the early 19th century Alexander Cartwright wrote the rules for baseball in 1845. unknown Step III Reading (workbook)

Deal with the reading passage on workbook. Ask students to read the passage and answer the questions in Activity 8 in groups. Five minutes later check the answers with the whole class to make sure all the students fully understand the passage. After checking the understanding of the passage, go on with the vocabulary Activity 9. Then ask students to work in pairs and deal with Activity 10 on Page 95.

T: Turn to Page 94. You will see a webpage on which Rod Smith answering basketball fans' questions. Rod Smith is a basketball player who plays for Talk of the Town of the UK. Now let's read it and then answer the questions in Activity 8.

Suggested answers:

8.1. Watching his dad play in a lot of local leagues started his interest in basketball.

8.2. The fact that he grew ten centimeters in the summer when he was 16.

8.3. A trainer from the NBA.

8.4. He is going to play with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the USA.

8.5. Playing alongside best players like Rico Alder and John Swan has helped his game improve.

8.6. Because if you focus only the front or the back of the hoop, you might hit just that part.

8.7. He says Zak needs to keep practicing to make it to the NBA.

8.8. He says "Believe in yourself and that will give you the motivation you need to succeed."

T: Now suppose you are a basketball fan, what questions would you like to ask Rod?