This document provides information about the Simpson family from the animated sitcom The Simpsons. It begins with a warmup activity matching pictures of famous families to their names. It then provides a chart to fill in with details about each Simpson family member like their name, job, hobbies, and traits. There is a reading passage that provides more details about each character, such as Homer working as a safety inspector and loving doughnuts. It includes discussion questions and a listening comprehension activity about an episode of the show. The document aims to teach English vocabulary and grammar related to family relationships through activities focused on the fictional Simpson family.

1. Unit 1. My life

2. Complete. Ask and answer.
Correct. Match. Look at
page... Check your answers.
Write. Repeat. Listen. Read.

3. Unit 1: the Family

4. Unit 1. “the SimpSonS”
• Session 1:
1.-Warm up: The Simpsons Family
a.- Match the following pictures of famous
families with their names
b.- State the relationship among the members
of the family (e.g.: Lisa and Maggie are Bart´s
siblings)Review of the Saxon Genitive (Bart
is the brother of Lisa/ Bart is Lisa´s brother)
The Simpsons, The Telerín Family, The
Addams Family, The Flinstones, The
Superheroes

5. the Family
•

6. the Royal Family

7. meet the moSt FamoUS ameRican Family!
a.- Pre-reading: Brainstorming. Talk to your partner about what
you know about The Simpsons (e.g. physical description, jobs,
hobbies, age, etc.)
The Simpsons is perhaps the most popular family in the world.
The main characters were originally created by Matt Groening as
part of a series of original animated segments for the Tracey
Ullman Show. Lisa, Maggie, Marge and Homer share names with
Matt Groening's sisters, mother and father respectively. Bart,
however, is an anafram for brat, with Groening having stated that
he thought naming the boy "Matt" would be too obvious.
Homer Simpson is a safety inspector at the Springield
Nuclear Power Plant and a generally well-meaning buffoon whose
short attention span often draws him into outrageous schemes
and adventures. Homer is the typical couch potato, who loves to
laze around, drink chilly beer, eat doughnuts and watch tv. He
spends the day in Moe´s tavern with his friends. Marge Simpson is
for the most part a stereotypical housewife and mother. His huge
blue bun and harsh voice make her a bit eccentric. Marge is very
good at cooking and has an awful lot of patience with Homer. Bart
Simpson is a ten-year-old troublemaker who thinks of himself as a
rebel. Bart is a really bad student, who always fails and gets
punished. He is always getting into trouble and is a big fan of
Krusty the clown and the Itchy and Scratchy cartoons. Lisa
Simpson is an extremely intelligent, often-activistic middle child
who is eight years old. Lisa is extremely clever and gets top marks.
She loves playing the saxophone, reading and ponies. Lisa is an
animal activist and does not eat meat. Maggie Simpson is a baby
who, for the most part, simply sucks on a pacifier and doesn't
speak.

8. b.- While-reading: Fill in the following chart:
Homer Marge Bart Lisa Maggie
has the same
name as Groening´s
Relatives
Loves doughnuts
Is a trouble-maker
Plays the saxophone
Sucks on a pacifier
Is a vegetarian
Is a bit eccentric
c.- Post-reading: Look at this list of items and try to explain their meaning from
the text.
anagram/buffoon/couch potato/punish/fan/eccentric/harsh/pacifier/activist

9. GRAMMAR POINT: PRESENT SIMPLE & CONTINUOUS
• Which tenses are used in these
sentences?
1.- Marge is making apple pie
2.- Lisa plays the saxophone
everyday
3.- Homer always eats doughnuts
with his coffee
• Which tenses do we use for:
routines and habits?
 temporary current activities?
 more permanent situations?
 Lisa is staying at her aunts´
house.
• Complete the letter Lisa sends to
her friend Jenny with the correct
tense of the verb in brackets.
• At the end of a letter
• XXX stands for kisses
• OOO stands for hugs
Dear Jennie,
How are you?
__________you____________(enjoy) your
summer vacations? I ___________(write)
this at my aunts´ house near
Baltimore.________________(stay) with
them for two weeks.They
_________________(live) in a village outside
the city. We
_____________________(usually/see) each
other twice a year. This is my first holiday
on my own without mum and dad so
__________________ (enjoy) the freedom.
How are things with you? Give my love to
your parents and write
soon!
Lots of love,
Lisa
XXX

10. 1 This cereal contains
(contain) all the important vitamins.
2 His uncle.......................................................
(own) a jewellery shop in Kenya.
3 Who ..............................................................
(that scooter/belong) to?
4 What .............................................................
(we/have) for lunch today?
5 .......................................................................
(you/think) the swimming pool is open today?
6 What exactly ..................................................
(telepathy/mean) ?
7 What ..............................................................
(you/think) about at the moment?
8 I ......................................................................
(not see) the difference between these two mobile phones.
9 She .................................................................
(not believe) his story about missing the bus.
10 It .....................................................................
(not matter) if we arrive early.
Present simple or present continuous
Complete the sentences, putting the verbs in the present simple or present
continuous.

11. Attention to diversity: slow learners
• Everyday but
• Lisa writes her diary
• Marge .............(make) dinner
• Homer eats doughnuts
• Bart ......................(play) with his skateboard
• Now
• .............................(do) Thai-Chi
• She is making pancakes
• He........................(drink) beer
• He is doing graffiti

12. Complete the diagram. Write what relation the people are to Jim.
Emily Edward
1...Grandmother.................. 2 .................................

13. Vocabulary
1 1 Write what relation these people are to me.
My uncle's daughter
My brother's son
My father's new wife
3 My brother, who is exactly the same age as me
4 My wife's father and mother
5 My wife's father
6 The couple who looked after me after my parents broke up
2 Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in the box.
be together argüe brcak up
drive (someone) mad go out with solve
When I was young, my parents shouted at each other all the time. Then last year they broke up I live
with my mum, but I see my dad every week. In fact, my parents get on very
well now, and they never2
....................... They agree about everything, it's great! Six months ago I met
Paul at a party and now I3
...............
him. Actually, we4
........................ for four months. The problem is that my little brother
5
............................ me .................. at themoment! When my boyfriend comes round, he won't leave us
alone. I don't want to have a row with my brother, but I need to
6
.......................... this problem soon! What should I do?

14. PRONUNCIATION Of fINAL -S
 These sounds are voiceless:
/f/ /h/ /k/ /p/ /t/
 These sounds are voiced:
/b/ /d/ /g/ /j/ /l/ /m/
/n/ /ng/ /r/ /v/ /w/
+ all vowel sounds
• Voiceless sounds take /s/
Imagine the sound a snake
might make...ssssssssss
• Voiced sounds take /z/
Imagine the sound a bee
might make...zzzzzzzz
• These sounds take /iz/: /s/ /ks/
/z/ /dg/ Similar to the word 'is‘
/s/ /z/ /iz/
•Put the following verbs in the right
column
Stops/watches/reads/wants/fishes/
plays/goes

15. You are going to watch part of an episode of The Simpsons called “There’s No Disgrace Like
Home”. Homer takes his family to the annual company picnic where he realizes how bad
his family is in comparison to the rest of the families.
-Pre-listening: Think about the title (as opposed to “Home sweet home”) What do you think
the members of The Simpsons family do to embarrass Homer?
-While listening:
Are the following statements True (T) or False (F)?
• 1.- Lisa and Bart argue about whom loves Homer the most ____
• 2.- The Simpsons are the only family that brings gelatin desserts ___
• 3.- Marge gets drunk ___
• 4.- Maggie is left in the kindergarten ___
• 5.- Homer and Bart take part in the father-and- son sack race and win ___
LISTENING

16. • Post-listening: Watch the fragment again and complete the following dialogue:
Homer enters the kitchen and inspects a hugenormous mixture of green jelly and
marshmallows.
- Homer: Mmmmm.... marshmallows... Are you sure that's enough? You know how the ________
loves your delicious gelatin desserts!
- Marge: Oh Homer, Mr. Burns just said he liked it... ______.
- Homer: Marge, that's the only time he's ever spoken to me without the word. ______.
Everyone is in the car with a plate of delicious gelatin dessert on their laps.On arrival,
the family (save Marge) carry the plates above their heads.Homer sets some ground rules
with the kids.
- Homer: Okay, now look. My boss is going to be at this picnic, so I want you to show your father
some _____ and/or _______.
- Lisa: Tough choice.
- Bart: I'm picking ________.
Mr. Burns welcomes the Gammel family. When Gammel Jr. complains about missing little
league, the father kindly tells his son to be quiet.
- Burns: Oh please please, don't fight. Just go out back and have a good time. [to Smithers]
______ that man
- Smithers, I don't want him, or his ________ family to ruin my picnic.
- Smithers: He'll be gone by the tug-of-war sir.
- Burns: _______________.
The Simpsons arrive.
- Homer: Ah, afternoon Mr. Burns!
- Burns: Hello there... uh... uh...
- Homer: [whispers to Smithers] Simpson, Homer.
- Smithers: [hands an index card to Burns] Here you go, sir.
- Burns: Ah! Oh yes... [reads the card] Oh, and this must be your lovely wife... Marge.
- Marge: [smiles]
- Burns: Ho ho, look at little... uh... [consults the card] Lisa! Why, she's ______________
like a weed. And this must be... uh, ______!
- Bart: [unimpressed] Bart.
- Homer: Don't correct the man, _______!

17. WRITING SKILLS: FAMILY CONFLICTS
• Pre-writing: Read the following complaints
 Think about problems you have with the members of your family (dad, mum, brothers, sisters,
grandparents, uncles, etc.)
E.g.: quarrels about curfew, pocket money, boyfriends/girlfriends, clothes, homework, telephone bills,
drinking, smoking
 Imagine that you are a parent. Write a small paragraph trying to solve the problems you are having
with your teenage son/daughter. Try to put yourself in your children´s shoes!
 Your teenage son has failed his English exam, spends the whole day chatting on the internet and
wants more pocket money to buy a new video game. He doesn´t lift a finger in the house and barely
talks to the family.
 Imagine that you are a parent. Your teenage daughter spends hours choosing her clothes and puts on
way too much make-up. She has been caught smoking and drinking.
• Post-writing: Give your paragraphs to your partner and check your ideas.
I´m fed up with
cooking!
You´ve failed again! Do
your homework!What? You´re not
going out with that
guy again!
Give me the remote
control!
You spend the whole
day on the phone!

18. PERSONALITY TEST:
• YOUR SECRET PERSONALITY
Everyone has got two personalities —the one that they show to the world and their secret, real
personality. You don’t show your real personality when you are awake because you can control your
behaviour, but when you are asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of
course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the
one that you go to sleep in.
• Look at the four sleeping positions:
a) Which position do you usually go to sleep in?
b) Find at least one person in the class that sleeps in one of these sleeping positions
c) Each sleeping position is associated with particular personality
traits. Before reading which traits correspond to each position,
talk to your partner about your sleeping position and your
personality. Then, check your opinions with the following survey
carried out by US psychologists. Do you agree with them?
Why/Why not?
On your back On your
stomach
Curled up On your side
You are very
open
You are
secretive
You are very
nervous
You are
careful
You trust
people
You worry a
lot
You are
defensive
You are
outgoing
You are laid-
back
You are a
dreamer
You lack
security
You take
things as they
come
You are very
confident
You’re very
stubborn
You’re so shy You say what
you think

19. GRAMMATICAL POINT: AdvERbS OF FREquENCY
Position of adverbs of frequency
• Rewrite the sentence putting the adverb given in brackets into its proper position.
Example:He plays on the computer. (always) Answer:He always plays on the computer.
1. He listens to the radio. (often)
2. They read a book. (sometimes)
3. Pete gets angry. (never)
4. Tom is very friendly. (usually)
5. I take sugar in my coffee. (sometimes)
6. Ramon is hungry. (often)
7. My grandmother goes for a walk in the evening. (always)
8. Walter helps his father in the kitchen. (usually)
9. They watch TV in the afternoon. (never)
10. Christine smokes after dinner. (seldom)

20. do Wah diddy diddy
Here´s a song about meeting someone. Listen and complete it.
There he ________________just walking down the __________
Singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.
Snapping his ___________---and shuffling his ___________
Singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.
He looked _____________
He looked _____________
He looked __________________--, he looked fine
And I nearly ______________- my mind
Before I _________________-it he was walking next to _____
Singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.
Holding my _________- just as natural as could ________
Singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.
We _____________ on
To my ___________
We walked on to my door, then we __________- a little more
Wo oh wo oh
I knew we were __________ in love
Wow wow oh wow Yes I _____________
And so I told __________---all the things that I´ve been _________-
of
Now _________-together nearly every single __________
Singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.
We´re so _______________and that´s how we´re gonna ___________
Singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.
Cos I´m ___________
He´s ___________
I´m his and he´s mine. Wedding _________-are gonna chime.
Singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.
LISTENING

21. ATTENTION TO dIvERSITY: FAST-LEARNERS
• Family relationships
Next of kin
Brain teaser
Try this little brain-teaser when you have five or ten minutes to spare. Each of the
fourteen people below is married to one of the others. From the information you are
given; find out who is married to whom. Note there are three generations here.
Alan in Caroline’s nephew and Larry’s cousin
Barbara is Larry’s mother and Maggie’s sister-in-law
Caroline is Edward’s daughter and Maggie’s sister-in-law
David is Gordon’s brother-in-law and Alan’s uncle
Edward is Ingrid’s grandfather and Maggie’s father-in-law
Fanny is Caroline’s mother and Alan’s grandmother
Gordon is Helen’s son-in-law and Nigel’s brother-in-law
Helen is Barbara’s mother-in-law and Larry’s grandmother
Ingrid is Gordon’s niece and David’s daughter-in-law
John is David’s father and Gordon’s father-in-law
Karen is Gordon’s daughter-in-law and Maggie’s daughter-in-law
Larry is John’s grandson and David’s son
Maggie is Larry’s aunt and Fanny’s daughter-in-law
Nigel is Ingrid’s father and Fanny’s son-in-law

22. SPEAKING
• Identify the possible features of these pictures by answering the following questions:
• Have you ever heard about Dolly Sheep? What do you know about her?
• Have you ever met any twins? Do you think twins sometimes behave in the same way?
Would you like to have a twin? If not, why?
• Are you interested in genetically modified food? Are you in favour or against?
• What do you know about cloning? Would you like to be cloned in the future? Why?

23. REAdING ACTIvITY AbOuT
• Now you have to work in small groups.
Each member of the group will have a
sentence which is part of a text about
Dolly. Try to piece the text together and
find the answers to the questions. The
first group to finish will be the winner
and they will have a cloned sheep for
free!
• .
Dolly the Sheep
• Where was Dolly the Sheep cloned?
• When was she born?
• How old was Dolly when she died?
• Why do researchers think she may have
died so young?
Dolly the Sheep, the first animal cloned from an adult
cell, died in 2003.It
It had taken hundreds of attempts to produce Dolly
and since many people believed that it was impossible
to clone something as complex as a sheep, Dolly was
a real scientific breakthrough
However, Dolly who was born in the Roslin Institute
near Edinburgh, Scotland in 1996 died at only six
years old.
Sheep normally live between 10 to 16 years so Dolly
was quite young when she died
Since Dolly was cloned from an adult sheep that was
also six years old, investigators are researching into
whether this may have had something to do with her
early death.
Dolly’s death has sparked off further debate into the
safety of cloning, and the ethics of cloning humans.
They believe that there is a strong possibility that the
fact that Dolly’s genetic material came from a six year
old sheep may have caused her to age faster than
normal

24. READING
Pre-reading: Look quickly at the text.
a What is it about?
b What do you already know about this subject?
While-reading: The text is divided into two sections. What is each section about?
a Look at this list of topics.
genes and disease
how genes are inherited -
b Read the whole text and match the topics to the correct sections.
What colour hair have you got? Is it straight, wavy or curly? What colour are your eyes?
Why are some people tall and slim while others are short and stocky? It's all in your
genes. Each person on this planet is unique, because everyone has got a different
combination of genes. These are contained in the DNA structure. Your genes determine
your general shape and size, the colour of your skin, eyes and hair, the shape of your
face, nose, ears, mouth and teeth.
For every part of your body you have got two genes. You inherit one from your
mother and one from your father. One of the two genes is dominant, but you
can pass either gene on to your children. Look at this couple, for example. The
man and the woman both carry a gene for blue eyes and a gene for brown
eyes, which they have inherited from their own parents, but they have both got
brown eyes, because the brown gene is always dominant.
In this ideal example the couple have two sons and two daughters and each
one has received one of the four possible combinations of the parents' genes.
As we can see, one of them is blue-eyed and the other three have got brown
eyes, but three of them carry a blue gene.
A gene can stay hidden in a family for generations. For example, the second
daughter is married. Her husband's eyes are brown, but he also carries a blue
gene. This couple have got four children and each child has got a different
combination of the parents' genes. So one child has got blue eyes, although
her parents and grandparents have all got brown eyes.

25. Discussion Activity: to clon or not to clon?
• This discussion activity on cloning can be done in pairs or smallgroups. Give each pair or group the discussion cards
and ask them to discuss the different scenarios about cloning on them one by one in their group. Once the students
have finished discussing the cards in pairs or groups, you may want to close the activity by asking different pairs or
groups their opinions on some of the scenarios and ask them if their opinions on cloning have changed. You will need
to cut up the cards before class and give each group one set of cards
Card 1
Jane is blind and has a guide dog called Bobby.
Bobby has been her guide dog for 10 years but is
getting old. Bobby is Jayne’s best friend and she feels
that without him she couldn’t live. Should Jayne be
allowed to clone Bobby before he dies? Should people
be allowed to clone their pets?
Card 2
There is only one Giant Panda left on earth. It
does not have a partner to breed with so once it
dies the species will be extinct. Should scientists
be allowed to clone another Giant Panda to keep
the species alive? Should scientists be allowed to
clone endangered species?
Card 3
Scientists believe that stem cells found in human
embryos could be used to cure a range of diseases.
Should scientists be allowed to clone human
embryos to create stems cells for medical purposes?
Card 4
Mrs. Jones eldest son Mark is 10 years old and is
dying with cancer. Should Mrs. Jones be allowed to
clone Mark before he dies? Should people be
allowedto clone other than humans or clone
themselves?
Card 5
John Green is a farmer in Texas and he wants to
clone his prize bull to sell it and make money.
Should farmers be allowed to clone their best
animals to make money?
Card 6
A developing country with food shortages want to
clone their best food producing animals, cows,
chickens, pigs etc. to try and produce more food per
animal to solve their food shortages. Should
countries be allowed to clone animals to increase
food production.

26. speAking
 Have a look at the following pictures and discuss them with your partner
While speaking: Match the pictures with the following words and expressions:
DNA/Mendel’s law/Chromosomes/Genes

27. Speaking tip! Genes is pronounced in the same way as jeans.
Words that have the same pronunciation are called homophones.
 Match the
homophones:
• Fur aisle
• Waste flour
• Crew brake
• Isle fir
• Break cruise
• Flower waist
 Choose the right
word:
• I like reading
tales/tails
• It is a starry
knight/night
• I will eat a
stake/steak with
french fries

28. listening: Multiplicity
• Pre-listening: Imagine having a clon to do your English test and another one to do your homework,
and another one to make the bed and another one to lay the table....Do you like the idea?
You are going to watch a fragment from the movie Multiplicity. Construction worker Doug Kinney finds that
the pressures of his working life combined with his duties to his wife Laura and daughter Jennifer leaves
him with little time for himself. However, he is approached by geneticist Dr. Owen Leeds who offers him a
rather unusual solution to his problems - cloning.
• While-listening:
Choose the most appropriate answer:
 Why does Dough Kinney think cloning is the solution to his problems?
A)because he is lazy and wants to have clons to do his job
B)because he in really interested in science
C)because he is very busy and finds it difficult to have a family and professional life
 What does clon number 1 do?
A)does the housework
B)picks up his wife from work
C)prepares a family dinner
 Why is Laura surprised?
A)because her “husband” never kisses her good-night
B)because her “husband” has done the housework, his job and has spent the whole evening with the family
C)because her “husband” has arrived home early from work.
• Post-listening:
See the fragment again and match the clon with the activity he performs:
Clon 1 buys a bunch of flowers
Clon 2 kisses his wife good-night
Clon 3 prepares dinner for the family
Clon 4 watches his daughter´s game
Clon 5 attends the company meeting

29. Writing: to clon or not to clon?
• Brainstorming: Some people think that cloning is good because it can help
cure diseases. Others, however, believe that cloning is unethical because it
simply creates perfect people or robots.
• Think about pros and cons of cloning
PROS CONS
Eg:Help heal diseases Unethical
Write a for and against compositions about cloning.
Writing tip. These connectors are used to show
contrast: on the one hand, on the other hand, by
contrast, on the contrary, however, nevertheles,
but, although…

30. Attention to Diversity: FAst-leArners
Primary Lines
They are devoted to revise the basic concepts of
genetics. Each line has three or four exercises,
normally starting with a listen activity and following
with some exercises and games. Enjoy the trip!!!!!
Secondary Routes
They are defined in 3 levels, A, B, C and D and
arranged in order of difficulty. Students will do all
kind of language exercises: pronunciation,
vocabulary, grammar, communication, etc…And will
practice the four skills: reading, writing, listening
and speaking.