LEVEL 1 Teacher’s notes Teacher Support Programme Jennifer Lopez Rod Smith restaurant businesses, and more importantly, she is a very good mother. EASYSTARTS Background and themes Making dreams come true: Jennifer Lopez shows that LEVEL 2 it is possible for dreams to come true—even if they seem difficult, or even impossible. Lopez dreams about becoming a singer, dancer and actress, and in the end, LEVEL 3 by following her dreams, she succeeds in making them a reality. LEVEL 4 Discussion activities Pages 1–7 Before reading Summary LEVEL 5 1 Discuss: Ask students to look at the picture on the Pages 1–7: The book starts in the Bronx, New York, in cover of the book. Who is the woman in the picture? 1970, shortly after Jennifer’s Lopez’s birth. Four years Do you like the way she looks? Why/why not? Does the later, she is a beautiful and interesting young girl who picture on the cover of the book make you want to read LEVEL 6 loves to perform in front of her family. One year later, the book? Why/why not? she starts going to a school of theater and dance, and 2 Research: Put students into pairs and get them to look up the word dream in a dictionary or on the soon she can sing, act and dance very well. By 1991, Internet. Make the exercise into a competition—the Lopez’s hard work pays off, and she gets a job as a first pair of students to find the definition wins. They dancer on the TV show, In Living Color. should stand up and read the definition out loud to Lopez changes her focus to acting in 1993, getting roles the rest of the class. Finally, each student should on several TV shows. By 1995, she has acted in several describe a dream that he or she has. successful movies, including Money Train and Jack. In 1997, After reading Lopez marries her Cuban boyfriend, Ojani Noa, and in 3 Artwork: Get students to draw a picture of one of the same year, she is in four different movies—Blood the events in Lopez’s life described in pages 1 to 7. and Wine, Anaconda, U-Turn and Selena. In 1998, she is in When they have finished, they should stand at the Out of Sight, and her voice is in the animated movie, Antz. front of the classroom and describe their picture to However, her marriage isn’t as successful as her career, the rest of the class, and the class should guess which event the picture illustrates. and she and her husband divorce. Pages 8–14: In 1999, Lopez has a new boyfriend—a Pages 8–14 famous singer named Sean Coombs. He has problems Before reading with the police, so, in 2000, Lopez stops seeing him. 4 Research: Ask students to bring information about Jennifer Lopez to class. Put a large piece of paper A year later, she marries a dancer named Cris Judd, on the wall and then get students to attach their but the marriage only lasts a year. In 2003, she stars in information to the piece of paper to make a wall a movie called Gigli with Ben Affleck, who becomes her display. boyfriend. However, the movie isn’t popular, and soon her relationship with Affleck ends. After being in several After reading unsuccessful movies, Lopez falls in love with the singer, 5 Pair work: Get students to work in pairs and discuss the following questions: Do you like Jennifer Lopez’s Marc Anthony. They get married in 2004. movies? Why/why not? Do you like her music? Why/why The book shifts focus to Lopez’s singing career, moving not? back to 1999, when she makes her first CD, On the 6. Her 6 Discuss: Write the phrase role model on the board success continues in 2001, when her next CD is released, and teach students what it means (a person children J-Lo, which reaches number one in the United States. can look up to) Do you think Jennifer Lopez is a good role model? Write this question on the board and get Her next several CDs—J to tha L-O! The Remixes, This Is students to discuss it in small groups. Me, Rebirth, Como Ama Una Mujer and Brave—are also very successful. She is also successful in the clothes and pearsonenglishreaders.com © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Jennifer Lopez - Teacher’s notes 1 of 1.