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Men, Women, and Household Chores Lower-Intermediate

Heads Up English - 1 www.headsupenglish.com

the ARTICLE (for teachers)

Men, Women, and Household Chores

Men make more housework for women. He may mow the lawn, shovel snow, or fix things

around the house. However, he still adds seven hours per week to the load of chores. The

information comes from recent research between 1996 and 2005. During this period,

husbands and wives from all regions of the US kept time diaries and answered

questionnaires.

Single women in their twenties and thirties did twelve hours of housework each week, which

was the least amount. Married women had about seventeen hours, which was the most.

These numbers are less compared to similar surveys in the past. For example, in 1976,

married women had twenty-six hours of housework each week. Men help more now.

The research showed that the situation worsens with children. With three kids, wives took

on twenty-eight hours of work around the house. Husbands with children did only ten hours.

There were some surprises too. For example, older men were more likely than younger

men to help out. Surveys from thirty years ago showed that men contributed only six hours

per week to household tasks.

So what does it all mean? Women have always taken on more responsibility around the

house. Although there is more equality in society for women these days, traditional habits

remain slow to change.

Teacher's Notes:

* Underlined words in red typeface are the recommended vocabulary for this lesson.



WARM-UPS

Select one or all of the following warm-up activities.

1: Define: What does "chore" mean? Can you use it in a sentence? Can you give

examples?

2: Brainstorm: Brainstorm with a partner words and ideas for "chores" for two minutes.

Next, talk about the words and ideas for five minutes.

3: Title: Today's article is: "Men, Women, and Household Chores." What will you read

about?

4: Do you agree or disagree? Why?

a. In general, men work harder than women.

b. Women take more responsibility than men at home.

c. Regarding household chores, younger men help more than older men.

d. Most men are dirty and lazy at home.

e. Women always have taken and always will take responsibility for household chores.



VOCABULARY Select one of the following vocabulary acquisition activities.

1: Vocabulary match: Individually or in pairs/groups, match the words in column A (from

the article) with the best choice in column B.

a. chore u. area

b. region v. become bad

c. similar w. old

d. worsen x. task

e. contribute y. the same

f. traditional z. help

2: Fill in the Blanks: Fill in the blank with the correct word.

chores traditional regions

contributed similar worsens

a. A man still adds seven hours per week to the load of ( ).

b. Husbands and wives from all ( ) of the US kept time diaries.

c. These numbers are less compared to ( ) surveys in the past.

d. The research showed that the situation ( ) with children.

e. Men ( ) only six hours per week to household tasks.

f. ( ) habits remain slow to change.

3: Define: Look in your dictionary for each word. Write the definition, correctly pronounce

the word, and give an example sentence to the class.

a. chore:

b. region:

c. similar:

d. worsen:

e. contribute:

f. old:



WORD RECOGNITION These activities are optional. They reinforce vocabulary and increase reading speed.

1: Word Search: Find only the target words (in bold). Time yourself, and see how long it

takes to find all the words.



S N H Z C R U R Y R F W D Q N F I F L W A A L E Y X O E M Q L U M I S I O G O U F R T R N E A O I L L O E L E N S A L N Q I N I L I T N X Y T E B U E D D M O N A Z N J R R N I T Z V I B S I S R K A G B S R A O S N C M Y D Q D J E O S T M B I D E T U B I R T N O C N L J G J V G Y T S T W S E R O H C Z G K Y I R T N A Z M S C U G T Y D O E G Y U M R V A J Q E W I N K Z H V W E H T K L O G O A H R E G I O N S P N T A P L C M O X T D F N F Z F A R A

2: Target Word Pool: Find only the target words (in bold) with their exact match. Time

yourself, and see how long it takes to find all the words.



chores chore

charred

chairs

shares

contributed

contribution

contributor

contributes

cooperative

traditional

traditions

untraditional

traditionally

trading

similar

similarly

dissimilar

simulation

similarity

regions

region

regional

reign

relations

worsens

worsening

worsen

worsened

whitens



pre- or post-COMPREHENSION Select one or more activity to direct students before the article is read, or to check

understanding after the article is read.

1: Brainstorm Questions: Brainstorm questions that you would like to ask about today's

topic. Answer a partner the questions. He shouldn't look at the article when he answers.

2: True or False?: Guess (before the article) or answer (after the article) if the sentence is

true or false. If false, correct the sentence.

a. Men make women busier with housework. T /F

b. Single women did the most amount of housework. T /F

c. According to the article, men now help at home more than thirty years ago. T /F

d. Younger men help around the house more than younger men. T /F

e. Because of tradition, women have more responsibility for household chores. T /F

3: Questions: Answer the questions to check comprehension.

a. How many hours of housework do men give women?

b. How did the researchers gather this information?

c. How does the article know that men do more housework now than in the 1970s?

d. What happens when there are kids?

e. Why do women take on more housework than men?

4: Fragments: Remember how the fragments were used, and complete the sentence.

a. Married women had about seventeen hours, which...

b. For example, in 1976, married women had...

c. With three kids, wives took...

d. Surveys from thirty years ago showed that men contributed...



post-COMPREHENSION Select one or more activity to discuss the contents of the article.

1: Vocabulary: Circle any other unknown words/phrases in the article. In pairs/groups, use

your dictionaries to understand these words. Write an example sentence for each one.

2: Class Questions: Read through the article once more, and write down any questions

that you would like to talk about in pairs/groups or as a class. Answer the questions.

3: Summarize: Work with a partner to summarize the article in your own words.

4: Discuss: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your

answers and ask more questions with your partner.

a. Did you like this article? Why/not?

b. How much work do you do around the house each week? What chores do you do?

c. Why do you think men do fewer chores than women? Please explain.

d. Why do women have more housework when there are children?

e. Would you ever want to become a house husband? (Or your spouse?)

f. Which is more difficult, work in a career or work in the home for the family? Why?

5: Discuss: Numerous household chores have been listed below. Decide who is best

suited for the chore among people in general, and why.

Chore Who? Chore Who?

Cooking: Landscaping:

Cleaning: Painting/wallpapering:

Laundry: Taking care of sick children:

Household finances: Ironing:

6: Google Search: Type "chores" into Google news and read additional articles on this

topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings.



STUDENT HANDOUT (the article)





husbands and wives from all regions of the US kept time diaries and answered

questionnaires.

Single women in their twenties and thirties did twelve hours of housework each week, which

was the least amount. Married women had about seventeen hours, which was the most.

These numbers are less compared to similar surveys in the past. For example, in 1976,

married women had twenty-six hours of housework each week. Men help more now.







house. Although there is more equality in society for women these days, traditional habits

remain slow to change.

Notes:



STUDENT HANDOUT (fill in the blank) Fill in the blank with the correct word.

regions similar traditional housework worsens

questionnaires research chores contributed equality


Men make more (a. _______________) for women. He may mow the lawn, shovel

snow, or fix things around the house. However, he still adds seven hours per week to

the load of (b. _______________). The information comes from recent

(c. _______________) between 1996 and 2005. During this period, husbands and

wives from all (d. _______________) of the US kept time diaries and answered

(e. _______________).

Single women in their twenties and thirties did twelve hours of housework each week,

which was the least amount. Married women had about seventeen hours, which was the

most. These numbers are less compared to (f. _______________) surveys in the past.

For example, in 1976, married women had twenty-six hours of housework each week.

Men help more now.

The research showed that the situation (g. _______________) with children. With three

kids, wives took on twenty-eight hours of work around the house. Husbands with

children did only ten hours.


men to help out. Surveys from thirty years ago showed that men (h. _______________)

only six hours per week to household tasks.


house. Although there is more (i. _______________) in society for women these days,

(j. _______________) habits remain slow to change.



STUDENT HANDOUT (extended listening) Listen and fill in the missing sentences. Compare your answers with a partner, and

then listen once more.





a) _______________________________________________________.

b) _______________________________________________________, which was the

least amount. Married women had about seventeen hours, which was the most. These

numbers are less compared to similar surveys in the past. For example, in 1976, married

women had twenty-six hours of housework each week. Men help more now.







house. c) _______________________________________________________, traditional

habits remain slow to change.

Sentence #1:

Sentence #2:

Sentence #3:



ANSWER KEY

Vocabulary

1: Vocabulary Match: 2: Fill in the Blanks:

a. chores

b. regions

c. similar

d. worsens

e. contributed

f. traditional

pre- or post-Comprehension

1. True or False: 2. Fragments:

Student Handout

1: Fill in the Blanks:

a. housework f. similar

b. chores g. worsens

c. research h. contributed

d. regions i. equality

e. questionnaires j. traditional

2: Extended Listening:

a. Although there is more equality in society for women these days

b. Single women in their twenties and thirties did twelve hours of housework each week

c. husbands and wives from all regions of the US kept time diaries and answered questionnaires

a. x

b. u

c. y

d. v

e. z

f. w

a. T

b. F

c. T

d. F

e. T

a. was the most.

b. twenty-six hours of housework each week.

c. on twenty-eight hours of work around the house.

d. only six hours per week to household tasks.

Documents

Men, Women, and Household Chores - Heads Up English · Men, Women, and Household Chores Lower-Intermediate Heads Up English ... Discuss or write an essay about your findings. Men,