Due To

Lead-in

  • Do you think about the future consequences of your actions? 
  • Does thinking about it stop you from doing what you want? How so?
  • What is something you did but regretted? why?
  • What do you think about the following quote?

“It’s better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven’t done”

Presentation

Pre

  • What do you think is the most important historical moment ever and what caused it?

Top Down

  • What would be a good title for the text? Read it and find out.
  1. Some of the most important global events
  2. Some uninteresting historical events
  3. History trivia
  1. Some of the most important global events
  2. Some uninteresting historical events
  3. History trivia

1943: Invention of LSD

• Date: April 19

• Location: Basel, Switzerland

Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman had been studying the potential medicinal value of lysergic compounds when he accidentally exposed himself to LSD-25, which he had created years earlier in his lab. This was the first LSD trip, a quarter-century before the counterculture endorses the hallucinogenic compound. Hoffman describes the “not unpleasant” experience as “uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors.” Hoffman takes a second dose and writes a paper about his discovery. The U.S. Army tests the drug on soldiers numerous times from 1955 to 1967, briefly toying with the idea of using LSD as a weapon to disorient enemy soldiers during combat.

1978: Cult’s Mass Suicide

• Date: Nov. 18

• Location: Jonestown, Guyana

More than 900 people die in one of worst recorded acts of cult-related mass murder-suicide after most of the victims and perpetrators drink a powdered drink mix dosed with cyanide. Most of the victims are Americans, devotees of Peoples Temple cult leader Jim Jones, a former Methodist-trained preacher who built a following and led the flock to Guyana. Among the dead are 276 children who drink the poison. A small number of cult defectors are killed by Peoples Temple gunmen who also slay California congressman Leo Ryan, who had gone to Guyana to investigate Jonestown.

Modified from source

Bottom Up

  • True or False?

Example: The text only mentions two historical events. True

  1. Swiss biochemist Albert Hoffman was a scientist who studied the potential medicinal value of lysergic compounds.
  2. Hoffman was responsible for the first LSD trip.
  3. After that, The U.S. Army tested the drug on soldiers numerous times from 1955 to 1967 and decided to use LSD as a weapon to disorient enemy soldiers during combat.
  4. More than 900 people died in the worst act of cult-related mass murder-suicide ever recorded.
  5. Most of the victims were Americans and kids.
  1. Swiss biochemist Albert Hoffman was a scientist who studied the potential medicinal value of lysergic compounds. False
  2. Hoffman was responsible for the first LSD trip. True
  3. After that, The U.S. Army tested the drug on soldiers numerous times from 1955 to 1967 and decided to use LSD as a weapon to disorient enemy soldiers during combat. False
  4. More than 900 people died in the worst act of cult-related mass murder-suicide ever recorded. False
  5. Most of the victims were Americans and kids. False

Post

  • What are the other 3 events you would add to the text? Talk about them.

Target Language

Past Perfect

The Past Perfect is used to discuss events that happened before another past event. It is formed by had (not) + past participle. Bare in mind that the contracted form of had is ‘d, so be careful not to mix it up with the contracted form of would.

  • They had lived in the United States for 5 years before they moved to England.
  • They’d lived in the United States for 5 years before they moved to England.
  • When I got to work I realized I had forgotten my suitcase at home.
  • When I got to work I realized I’d forgotten my suitcase at home.

When we refer to events in chronological order, the Past Simple is the proper verb tense to be used.

  • They lived in the United Stated for 5 years and then they moved to England.
  • I forgot my suitcase at home and realized it when I got to work.

Expressions of Cause & Effect

Useful expressions to describe cause and effect: thanks to, as a result of, because of, due to and owing to. These expressions are usually followed by nouns and can go in the middle or in the beginning of a sentence. 

  • I’m so sorry. I got late because of a terrible traffic jam…
  • All of today’s flights had to be cancelled due to the storm.
  • Jake’s always making new friends thanks to his strong sense of humor.
  • Our kids had to skip school today. They’ve got diarrhea as a result of food poisoning.
  • Tim has never had any serious diseases owing to his healthy lifestyle.

Notice that the expression thanks to is used when the effect is positive.

  • Thanks to you we are moving to the semifinals!
  • Gladly the criminal has been caught, thanks to the effort of the New York Police Department.

Controlled Practice

  • Match the halves.
  1. He became aware that he had spoken for himself…
  2. It took him seven hours to reach the place…
  3. And still they asked everyone about Helen, but they…
  4. And I looked and saw the chariot…
  5. When the birds ate the seeds he had planted, the farmer…
  6. All of a sudden, the ship jolted from side to side as if…

(   ) where he had left the constrictor.

(   ) was forced to reseed the field.

(   ) a wave had tried to push it over.

(   ) and he had a fit of sourness.

(   ) found no one who had seen her.

(4) and horses, of which the voice had spoken.

  1. He became aware that he had spoken for himself…
  2. It took him seven hours to reach the place…
  3. And still they asked everyone about Helen, but they…
  4. And I looked and saw the chariot…
  5. When the birds ate the seeds he had planted, the farmer…
  6. All of a sudden, the ship jolted from side to side as if…

(2) where he had left the constrictor.

(5) was forced to reseed the field.

(6) a wave had tried to push it over.

(1) and he had a fit of sourness.

(3) found no one who had seen her.

(4) and horses, of which the voice had spoken.

Freer Practice

  • Complete the sentences according to your own ideas.
    • I had lived…
    • Before I… I had…
    • As a result of… I…
    • Yesterday, when I got home I realized I had…
    • Thanks to my neighbor I…
    • I will never… again because of…
    • Due to this city’s weather I…

Production

  • Use the target language to talk about your past. Use the following topics as ideas.

Example: I had never studied this hard before I met that teacher. I think…

  • The first school you attended
  • Your first memory of getting hurt
  • The first time you traveled by yourself
  • Your first home

Homework

Complete the sentences with the proper past participle. 

Example: I had ______ to understand. (try)  I had tried to understand.

  1. I had ______ to buy the onions that day. (forget)
  2. Jessica had ___ the books before the movies. (read) 
  3. The soccer match had not/hadn’t _____ when we arrived at the stadium. (begin)
  4. They had _______ the homework before the bell rang. (complete)
  5. My dog ate my shoe this morning and last week he had ____ my belt. (eat)
  1. I had forgotten to buy the onions that day. 
  2. Jessica had read the books before the movies.
  3. The soccer match had not/hadn’t begun when we arrived at the stadium.
  4. They hadn’t completed the homework before the bell rang.
  5. My dog ate my shoe this morning and last week he had eaten my belt.

Fill in the sentences with the indicated Past Perfect.

  1. The Cardnals  ______  twice against the Denver Broncos before the final match. (play)
  2. Except for last night, I _________ to her since last month. (speak)
  3. He spoke to the doctor two days after he _________ the flu. (catch)
  4. She ________ 40 hours before she got her pilot license. (fly)
  5. He tried four times, but the bank _______ the money. (lend)
  1. The Cardinals had played twice against the Broncos before their final match yesterday.
  2. Except for last night, I hadn’t spoken to her since last month.
  3. He spoke to the doctor two days after he had caught the flu. 
  4. She had flown 40 hours before she got her pilot license. 
  5. He tried four times, but the bank hadn’t lent him the money. 

Put the sentences in the correct order.

  1. he naked. not had The  was emperor realized
  2. sung  had ago. year that They one song
  3. hired. was application before had written he letters He two
  4. quit days she her 45 after to job spoken She the Queen. had
  5. swept  a was mess floor after two The I had it. minutes
  1. The emperor had not realized he was naked. 
  2. They had sung this song one year ago. 
  3. He had written two application letters before he was hired. 
  4. She quit her job 45 days after she had spoken to the Queen.
  5. The floor was a mess two minutes after I had swept it.

Find and correct the mistakes.

Example: The zebra drunk water after it eat the grass. > The zebra drank water after it had eaten the grass. 

  1. The bodybuilder lift 300 pounds after he have lifts 280 pounds.
  2. The buildings is destroy because the earthquake have shook the town.
  3. We opens the company after we has studied management for two years. 
  4. The teacher haven’t speaks to the students before she speak to their mothers.
  5. You has steal my heart before you sang that song to me. 
  1. The bodybuilder litfed 300 pounds after he had lifted 280 pounds. 
  2. The buildings were destroyed because the earthquake had shaken the town. 
  3. We opened the company after we had studied management for two years. 
  4. The teacher hadn’t spoke to the students before she spoke to their mothers.
  5. You had stolen my heart before you sang that song to me.  

Past Participle is used for a past event (event 1) before another past event (event 2).  Put the events below in the correct chronological order and conjugate the verbs correctly.

Example: Event 1: I break the window. Event 2: The dog enters the room. > I had broken the window before the dog entered the room. Or:
The dog entered the room after I had broken the window. 
  1. Event 1: He eats 10 chickpeas. Event 2: He eats three watermelons for dessert.
  2. Event 1: The rooster crows. Event 2: I wake up.
  3. Event 1: The maestro sneezes. Event 2: The orchestra starts. 
  4. Event 2: I run home. Event 1: I eat pasta.
  5. Event 1: He brushes his teeth. Event 2: He takes a shower.
 
  1. He had eaten 10 chickpeas before he ate three watermelons for dessert.
  2. I woke up after the rooster had crowed.
  3. The maestro had sneezed before the orchestra started.
  4. I had eaten pasta before I ran home. 
  5. He took a shower after he had brushed his teeth. 

Writing

Write about important events of your life, their cause, and consequences. Remember to use as much of the Target Language as possible.

Example: One important event in my life was my brother’s wedding and because of it…