Teacher’s notes PENGUIN READERS Teacher Support Programme LEVEL 1 David Beckham Bernard Smith to the media and to people who don’t even like football. He is, of course, a brilliant footballer. He is also goodlooking, rich and married to a pop star. Some people think that he is boring. He never gets into trouble, never causes scandal and obviously adores his wife and children. So why are people so interested in him? Probably because his story offers hope to ordinary young people everywhere. Youth policy in football: Beckham was signed on by Manchester United for their youth training programme when he was young. Now he himself has opened his own football academy. Summary Pages 1–7 David Beckham is a very famous English footballer. David Beckham was born in London in 1975 into a footballloving family. The young David was not very good at schoolwork and spent all his spare time playing football. He was encouraged by his father, who was a Manchester United fan, and joined Manchester United when he was 16. He played his first game for them a year later, and went on to help them win many trophies, including the European Champions Cup. He played his first game for England when he was 21. He was sent off against Argentina in a World Cup match, which England lost. When he was 25, he became the captain of England’s national football team. Pages 8–14 Getting sent off the pitch in 1998 made Beckham unpopular, but he scored England’s only goal when they beat Argentina in the 2002 World Cup match. One year later Manchester United sold him to Real Madrid, the best team in the world, for twenty-five million pounds. He is married to Victoria (‘Posh Spice’ of the famous pop group, the Spice Girls) and they have become one of the most famous and glamorous couples in the world. David is always in the newspapers and magazines because of his football, his family, his house, his cars and his hair. Beckham loves children, and he has opened his own football schools in Greenwich and Los Angeles. He is just an ordinary family man at heart, and a wonderful model for young people all over the world. Background and themes Fame and stardom: David Beckham is not just a football star. He has become an international icon, of great interest c Pearson Education Limited 2008 Football and money: Beckham agreed to a $250 million five-year deal with the LA Galaxy in Los Angeles. He is one of the highest-earning athletes of all time. Discussion activities Pages 1–7 Before reading 1 Discuss: Talk about David Beckham. Show students the picture on the book cover and ask Who is he? Ask students if they know anything about David Beckham. Have them look at the pictures on pages 2, 3, 5 and 7 to help them talk about him. After reading 2 Role play: Students work in groups of three and act out this conversation. Student A: You are 11-year-old David. You want to enter a football competition for 15 year olds. Student B : You are his father. You want David to go, but you think he is too young and small. Student C : You are his teacher. You think he should spend less time on football and more on schoolwork. Pages 8–14 Before reading 3 Discuss: Talk about the headings. On the board, write down the headings – ‘Posh and Becks’, The World Cup 2002: Bekkamu! Bekkamu!, Goodbye to the Reds and A Family Man. Ask students what they think they are going to read about. If possible, bring in some related magazine pictures to help them. After reading 4 Discuss: Have students work in small groups to discuss the following questions: Why did David go to Los Angeles, do you think? Will he be happy there? 5 Discuss: Do footballers today earn too much money? Vocabulary activities For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to www.penguinreaders.com. David Beckham - Teacher’s notes of 1