Learning Objective: This is a reading and comprehension and conversation class. At the end of the session, the participants are expected to be able to practice reading properly, enhance comprehension and recall and answer the questions about the article.



Story Proper
Pop superstar Whitney Houston has passed away aged 48. The blues and soul songstress died in a Beverly Hills hotel room on Sunday, just hours before she was to appear at a pre-Grammy
Awards party. Ms Houston was expected to receive a lifetime achievement award at the main ceremony. Medics arrived at her room around 3.43 pm and administered CPR. She was pronounced dead 12 minutes later. The cause of her death is not yet known. Her body was quickly removed from the hotel to avoid the chaos of the world’s media, which had congregated to cover the story. A police officer told reporters: "She has been positively identified by friends and family…and next of kin have already been notified.”

Whitney Houston was one of the world’s most influential, successful and popular singers. She was born into a musical family. Her mother Cissy was a gospel singer and her aunt was the legendary Dionne Warwick. Houston won six Grammy awards among many other top prizes. She released seven studio albums and sold over 170 million CDs, singles and videos. Her most famous song is her worldwide hit, "I Will Always Love You." In 1992, she married soul singer Bobby Brown. They had a rocky relationship that was widely covered by the press. The last 10 years of her life were dominated by drug use. Tributes to her have poured in from the world’s music superstars. Rihanna posted on Twitter: "No words, just tears."


1. POP SUPERSTARS: Talk to other students about pop superstars.


2. LEGENDS: Who are the biggest? Complete this table.



The biggest legend ------Who?------Why?


in music
in sport
in politics
in business
in environment
in fashion


3. ROLE MODELS: Students A strongly believe singers and actors should be role models; Students B strongly believe not because rebels are necessary. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.


4. DIVAS: Who’s the best? Rank them and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

Whitney Houston
Ella Fitzgerald
Britney Houston
Madonna
Mariah Carey
Hannah Montana
Aretha Franklin
Other _________________



5. BLUES: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘blues’.


"Online activities, the mp3 and printable handouts are available for this lesson at http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com"