Speaking
The next step is a text about teenage parents.
Learn more about teenage parents by following the next few exercises.
First read and answer these questions.
How old were your parents when you were born?
Why do you think some countries have higher teen pregnancy rates than others?
Do you think that teenage mums can make good mothers?
Give two reasons. Write down your answers.
Read the text.
UK still has the highest rate of teen pregnancies in Western Europe despite 25% fall in the last decade
19.7 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in the UK in 2012, study shows
Figure is much higher than the EU average of only 12.6 births per 1,000
Worldwide figures show Switzerland had the lowest rate at 3.4 births
The highest teen pregnancy rate was in Azerbaijan at 50.0 births
Britain has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Western Europe, new figures showed today. Only Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia have a bigger problem with girls aged 15-19 giving birth, the Office for National Statistics said. Tackling high levels of teenage pregnancies is linked to the struggle to break the cycle of ill-health and poverty, the ONS said.
According to the study into how European countries compare, the UK birth rate among women aged 15-19 was higher than the average across the whole of the 28 countries in the European Union. For every 1,000 women in the age bracket in the UK, there were 19.7 births, compared to only 12.6 births across the EU. The UK figure is significantly higher than other major European countries like Germany (8 births per 1,000), France (10.7) and Spain (9.1).
Europe's lowest teenage birth rate was in Denmark (4.4), Slovenia (4.5) and the Netherlands (4.5). The long-term trend shows that teenage pregnancy rates are falling, and faster in countries where it is a bigger problem. The UK teenage birth rate is down by more than a quarter (26.8 per cent) since 2004 compared to a fall of almost one fifth (18.2 per cent) across the EU as a whole.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: 'Teenage pregnancy rates in the UK are now at their lowest level for over 40 years – but we need to keep up the momentum to achieve the levels seen by our Western European counterparts. 'We know that teenage pregnancy is strongly associated with our most deprived and socially excluded young people, and together with the NHS and local authorities we must continue to make progress.'
Among countries outside the EU, Switzerland had the lowest birth rate with 3.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 2012. Azerbaijan, which borders Russia and Iran, had the highest rate at 50.0 births per thousand. In 2012, the birth rate among young women was 16.1 per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in Australia, 24.9 in New Zealand and 29.4 in the United States, the ONS said. The ONS said: 'There is a great deal of interest in teenage pregnancy levels in the UK and how these levels compare to other countries within Europe and the world. 'Globally, adolescent pregnancy and childbirth is regarded as a major contributor to maternal and child mortality and to the cycle of ill-health and poverty. 'This is largely as a result of the associated socio-economic factors before and after pregnancy as opposed to the biological effects of young maternal age.'
Look at the graphs. Do the exercise.
Discuss with a classmate (use your answers from the exercises):
Why do you think some countries have higher teen pregnancy rates than others?
What do you think are the advantages to be a teen parent and mention a few disadvantages?
Step 2 - Words
Words
In this step, you are going to do exercises with words (adjectives) about feelings.
In the first exercise are you looking for the right description at the verbs.
In the second exercise, you will learn to put the correct word in a sentence.
Take a look at these words:
ashamed
disrespected
depressed
singlehandedly
unintended
In the exercise you choose the correct definition for these words.
De onderstaande antwoorden moet je zelf nakijken; vergelijk jouw antwoorden met de goede
antwoorden, en geef aan in welke mate jouw antwoorden correct zijn.
Mum at the age of 15
You are going to read an article written by a girl who became a Mum at the age of 15.
Read the text.
What Pregnant and Parenting Teens Really Need
By Gloria Malone, a contributor to the Seleni Institute, a non-profit mental health and wellness center for women and mothers in New York City.
When I got pregnant and became a mother at 15, I experienced a huge amount of disrespect and shame from family members, friends and perfect strangers.
I was a teenager dealing with an unintended pregnancy, a high school course load, extracurricular activities, ob-gyn appointments and friends and peers talking behind my back, all while trying to plan for my future and that of my unborn child.
More than ever in my life, I needed emotional support. What I got was the complete opposite. Everyone seemed focused on making me feel that I had singlehandedly ruined not only my life, but also the future life of my unborn child.
Society seems to think that pregnant and parenting teens must be punished and used for political prevention campaigns instead of being supported and treated as the full human beings we are.
I felt alone, disrespected and depressed, with no understanding that my mental health was important. I didn't think I had any issues that needed to be addressed. That could not have been further from the truth.
I was depressed before I became pregnant and depressed throughout my pregnancy, in large part because of how terrible everyone else made me feel about this enormous change in my life. I did not feel like I could reach out to anyone because the very same people I was supposed to be able to count on were causing much of the pain and depression I was experiencing.
When my daughter was born, I added to that emotional burden the pressure to be the "perfect teen mom," along with the stress of needing to succeed at school and continue being the good student I had always been.
In an effort to survive and limit the impact of society's rude comments and actions, I shut down emotionally. This pushed me further into depression and subsequently made me ignore my mental health altogether.
I didn't realize it at the time, but the nightmares, anxiety, migraines and involuntary silent crying I was experiencing, sometimes daily, were directly due to a lack of mental and emotional support. I needed that support before becoming a pregnant teen, and I needed it as a pregnant and parenting teen. And I deserved the same support as all pregnant women and mothers.
I eventually came to understand that. And so I began to unapologetically pursue my goals without feeling ashamed of my personal choices. I believe that taking charge of the narrative of my new family helped some members of my family realize that support and encouragement worked better than shame and stigma. By working hard and getting the support of family, friends and non-profit organizations, I was able to get childcare for my daughter and complete both high school and my undergraduate studies while advocating for other pregnant and parenting teens.
As a grown woman and mother of a 9-year-old, I am now actively working on making my mental health a priority. It's one reason I joined forces with six other women who experienced unintended teenage pregnancies and launched the #NoTeenShame team.
#NoTeenShame is a movement advocating that pregnant and parenting teens have a right to all the support, services, and encouragement they need to have healthy, happy, and shame-free pregnancies and parenting experiences. This includes mental health.
Addressing the mental health of pregnant and parenting teens -- who face significantly higher rates of postpartum depression -- should be paramount for all mental and maternal health non-profit organizations, programs and anyone who works with teen moms and families.
We need a support system - without shame or stigma -- to help all pregnant and parenting teens have healthy and positive experiences. To ensure that they don't become disenfranchised by society and help them to be confident enough to continue fulfilling their potential as parents, students and members of society.
How helpful do you think this site is to teenage moms?
Write a few (at least five) sentences giving your reactions to the site.
You can either post these up around your class or share them on your class site.
Discuss this with your teacher.
Step 4 - Grammar
Grammar
If you want to be able to do the assignments correctly you will need to know more about some grammar items.
Let's take a look at the comparatives.
De onderstaande antwoorden moet je zelf nakijken; vergelijk jouw antwoorden met de goede
antwoorden, en geef aan in welke mate jouw antwoorden correct zijn.
De onderstaande antwoorden moet je zelf nakijken; vergelijk jouw antwoorden met de goede
antwoorden, en geef aan in welke mate jouw antwoorden correct zijn.
Pronunciation
The vowel sound /ə/ appears in many words in English. It is so common that it even got itself a name – Schwa. The Schwa sound is a short and weak vowel sound.
In this step you learn about Schwa. You should practice pronouncing it with words ending with -er.
Watch the video to get an introduction.
You have seen the introduction video about Schwa.
Now watch the video about the pronunciation of words ending with -er.
Now practise the pronunciation of these words with a classmate:
1. happier
2. sadder
3. funnier
4. smoother
5. sweeter
6. easier
Step 6 - Task
Task
Think about the ways that you could make young people aware of the positive and negative results of being a teenage parent.
Would you ...
Set up a social media site?
Make a video with interviews with young parents?
Create a poster?
Hold school discussions?
Invite a guest speaker (who?)
Another way?
Choose one of the ways and prepare a short presentation telling the class which method you would
choose and why.
Plan your presentation. Write some notes. You can use or adapt this plan.
Introduction
The method of presentation we have chosen is…
We’ve chosen this way because…
Main points – the steps we would take to complete our project.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Practice your presentation with your partner.
Give your presentation to your class.
TIP: If you‘re listening to someone giving their presentation, make a note of the things that you liked!
Evaluation
Fill in this schedule. (Copy to Word or write down in your notebook)
Het arrangement Teenage parents h45 is gemaakt met
Wikiwijs van
Kennisnet. Wikiwijs is hét onderwijsplatform waar je leermiddelen zoekt,
maakt en deelt.
Dit lesmateriaal is gepubliceerd onder de Creative Commons Naamsvermelding-GelijkDelen 4.0 Internationale licentie. Dit houdt in dat je onder de voorwaarde van naamsvermelding en publicatie onder dezelfde licentie vrij bent om:
het werk te delen - te kopiëren, te verspreiden en door te geven via elk medium of bestandsformaat
het werk te bewerken - te remixen, te veranderen en afgeleide werken te maken
voor alle doeleinden, inclusief commerciële doeleinden.
Van dit lesmateriaal is de volgende aanvullende informatie beschikbaar:
Toelichting
Deze les valt onder de arrangeerbare leerlijn van de Stercollectie voor Engels voor havo, leerjaar 4 en 5. Dit is thema 'Love, friendship and relationships'. Het onderwerp van deze les is: Teenage parents. In deze les staat tienerzwangerschap en ouder zijn als tiener centraal. Er wordt gekeken naar de hoeveelheid tienerzwangerschappen binnen Europese landen. Daarbij is er aandacht voor de oorzaken en gevolgen ervan. In de opdracht over uitspraak wordt het onderdeel -Schwa en -er behandelt. De grammaticaopdracht gaat over Comparatives.
Deze les valt onder de arrangeerbare leerlijn van de Stercollectie voor Engels voor havo, leerjaar 4 en 5. Dit is thema 'Love, friendship and relationships'. Het onderwerp van deze les is: Teenage parents. In deze les staat tienerzwangerschap en ouder zijn als tiener centraal. Er wordt gekeken naar de hoeveelheid tienerzwangerschappen binnen Europese landen. Daarbij is er aandacht voor de oorzaken en gevolgen ervan. In de opdracht over uitspraak wordt het onderdeel -Schwa en -er behandelt. De grammaticaopdracht gaat over Comparatives.
The subject of this lesson is 'Teenage parents'.
Speaking
Britain has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Western Europe, new figures showed today. Only Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia have a bigger problem with girls aged 15-19 giving birth, the Office for National Statistics said. Tackling high levels of teenage pregnancies is linked to the struggle to break the cycle of ill-health and poverty, the ONS said.
Words
What Pregnant and Parenting Teens Really Need
Grammar
Task
