English le sson pla ns for Gra de 9 Le ssons in t his se c t ion

Distinguishing fact from opinion 
Statement Fact 
Opinion 
Not 
clear 
The government is closing Paul Allen’s golf course. 
9 
The fish died because Paul Allen used up too much of 
their water. 
9 
Clint Eastwood has plans to cut down trees on his land. 
9 
Tourism is always more important than the environment 
in poor countries. 
9 
If something is a problem in developed countries, it will 
be an even greater problem in developing countries. 
9 
Golf courses need millions of gallons of water to water 
the grass. 
9 
The Japanese, businessmen and politicians cause the 
problems. 
9 
Golf courses are good for the environment. 
9 
Golf courses are built on rubbish tips. 
9 
Sum up these exercises in front of the whole class by pointing out any common 
misunderstandings, problems or omissions only. 

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261 | English sample lessons | Grade 9 
© Supreme Education Council 2004 
Text analysis 
Get students to complete the exercise ‘Analysing text organisation’ on worksheet 
9.2b in pairs, discussing their answers and ideas in English or Arabic. Then put the 
class into plenary. Use an enlarged version of the text on an OHT to check answers 
with the whole class. As you go through the questions and answers, build up an 
analysis of the text organisation and draw out the features of a persuasive text. 
Label the paragraphs and examples ‘for’ and ‘against’, underline opening and 
closing statements, and persuasive language. Use the answer key below to help 
you. 
Answer key 
1 
Paragraph 
Dangers of golf 
Benefits of golf 
1 
9 
2 
9 
3 
9 
4 
9 
title 
9?
2 
3 benefits; 7 dangers. 
3 
Opening: News last week … highlights golf’s environmental dangers. 
Closing: And that green is only managed with the help of pollutants and chemicals. 
They make the same point so that the writer’s opinion is clear. Repetition emphasises 
and persuades
. 
4 
The opening paragraph proposes the point of view, the closing paragraph repeats that 
point of view for emphasis. The middle paragraphs give the arguments for and against. 
The ‘for’ and ‘against’ examples are both mentioned but not balanced because the 
audience has to be persuaded to choose one rather than the other. 
5 
It might look too opinionated and put readers off. The slightly unclear for-or-against 
feeling because of the question mark and the play with words (‘green’ as in golf course, 
‘green’ as in environmentally friendly) entice and persuade the reader to read on. 
6 
(a) ‘News last week …’, use of the present perfect for things that have just happened, 
use of the present continuous for things that are happening now; 
(b) ‘Clint Eastwood is battling …’, ‘… hotting up’, ‘Imagine then …’, 
‘… thrown off perfectly good farmland …’, ‘what was once … is now the playground of 
businessmen and politicians’. 
7 
The title (see above), talking about famous people such as Clint Eastwood and Tiger 
Woods, the idea that this problem is close to home – not just in South East Asia – the 
article is written for Europeans and Americans: it starts with what’s happening in 
America and says ‘Even in places like Spain …’