Inside Out

e-lesson Week starting 29th October 2007

1. Leonardo DiCaprio
This week’s lesson looks at one of the world’s most famous film actors, Leonardo DiCaprio.
He was born on 11th November 1974.

Level
Intermediate and above (equivalent to CEF level B1 and above)
How to use the lesson
1. Brainstorm on the subject of Leonardo DiCaprio. What do the students know about him,
and which of his films have they seen? Why do they think he has been so successful?
2. Give each student a copy of Worksheet A, then give them five to ten minutes to read the
text.
3. Hand out Worksheet B and give the students another five to ten minutes to match the
fourteen definitions to the words or expressions in the text on Worksheet B. You might want
to point out that some of the nouns referred to on Worksheet B are in their plural form in the
text on Worksheet A.
4. Check answers in open class.
5. Divide the students into two teams, A and B, and give each team the corresponding part of
Worksheet C. The students have to refer back to Worksheet A and formulate questions based
on the information using the words in the twelve boxes. They will then put these questions to
the other team as part of a quiz.
The teams must use the exact words in the boxes, and avoid asking the same question more
than once. The words in most of the boxes can be used to create more then one question, and
words such as ‘Where’ and ‘Why’ obviously offer various possibilities. If one team asks a
question the other team was going to ask, the other team has to think quickly to formulate an
alternative question.
Impose a time limit (e.g. five minutes) in which the teams have to formulate their questions.
If a team is unable to create twelve questions, the other team should receive a point for each
‘missing’ question – e.g. if Team A can only create ten questions, Team B gets two points.

6. When the quiz begins, make it clear that the teams can no longer refer back to Worksheet
A. The two teams take it in turns to ask and answer questions. Award one point for each
grammatically correct question and for each correct answer. Award zero points for questions
containing mistakes, repeated questions and incorrect answers.
When both teams have asked all their questions, the team with the most points wins.

Answers
1. commercial 2. couple 3. sink 4. previous 5. green 6. battle 7. huge 8. heroic
9. documentary 10. panel 11. critic 12. impress 13. pin-up 14. search engine
2. Related Websites
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000138/
Information on DiCaprio from the Internet Movie Database. Intermediate level and above.
http://www.leonardodicaprio.com/
DiCaprio’s official personal website. Intermediate level and above.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7020855.stm
A recent BBC article (October 2007) on DiCaprio’s plans to play an eleventh century Irish
king in what might turn out to be a historical blockbuster. Intermediate level and above.
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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2007.
 Inside Out
Leonardo DiCaprio – Glossary
blockbuster noun [count] model noun [count]
something that is very successful, especially a film, someone whose job is to show clothes, make-up etc
show, or novel by wearing them at fashion shows or in magazine
the latest Hollywood blockbuster photographs
A lot of models look far too thin.
box office receipts noun [uncount]
the money made from cinema or theatre ticket name someone after someone/something phrasal
sales verb
to give someone or something the same name as
celebrity noun [count] someone or something else, especially the same first
a famous person, especially in entertainment or name as a member of your family
sport Albert was named after his grandfather.
The hotel is well known for its celebrity guests.
petrol noun [uncount]
cover noun [count] a liquid used as fuel for cars and other vehicles. The
the outside page at the front or back of a book or American word is gasoline
magazine How far can you go on a tankful of petrol?
Her face was once on the cover of Vogue
magazine. play verb
to have a particular part in a play or film
disabled adjective She played Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire.
someone who is disabled is unable to use part of
their body or brain properly because of injury or pregnant adjective
disease if a woman is pregnant, she has a baby developing
inside her body
environmental adjective
relating to the natural world and the effect that project noun [count]
human activity has on it a planned piece of work that has a particular aim,
The Minister discussed environmental issues. especially one that is organized by a government,
company, or other organization
gossip collumn noun [count] an energy conservation project
an article that appears regularly in a newspaper or
magazine and gives details of the private lives of scary adjective
famous people. making you feel frightened
a scary story
hybrid adjective
when something is a mixture of different things or soap opera noun [count]
styles a television or radio series about the imaginary lives
of a group of people. A soap opera is often simply
iceberg noun [count] called a soap.
a very large piece of ice floating in the sea with
only a small amount of it above the surface of the solar adjective
water relating to the Sun, or coming from the Sun

lifestyle noun star noun [count]

the type of life that you have, for example the type a famous and popular person, especially an actor,
of job or house you have or the type of activity you entertainer, or sports personality
like doing
a healthy, outdoor lifestyle

likeable adjective
pleasant, friendly, and easy to like
a likeable character

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages.
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2007. Definitions from the Macmillan English Dictionary © 2002 and the Macmillan
Essential Dictionary © 2003, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. www.macmillandictionaries.com
 Inside Out
Leonardo DiCaprio WORKSHEET A

As one of the world’s most famous film actors, Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t need
much introduction. He has been a huge star ever since he acted alongside Kate
Winslet in Titanic, the most successful film of all time in terms of international box
office receipts.
DiCaprio was named after Leonardo da Vinci, because his pregnant mother was
looking at a painting by the great Italian artist when she first felt her baby kick. He
was born in Los Angeles in 1974, and – perhaps as a sign of things to come – spent
most of his childhood living not far from Hollywood.
He had an interest in acting from an early age, and by the time he was sixteen he had
appeared in various TV soap operas and commercials. He didn’t have to wait long to
make the jump to cinema, impressing critics at the age of nineteen by playing a
mentally disabled boy in a film called What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993).
In 1996 he played Romeo in a successful film version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet. Then, in 1997 came the blockbuster Titanic in which he played the part of Jack
Dawson, a likeable but poor young man who falls in love with a rich young woman
(Winslet), but then dies when the ship hits an iceberg and sinks. The film turned
DiCaprio into a celebrity pin-up, regularly appearing on magazine covers and
featuring in lists of ‘the world’s most handsome men’. In 1998, out of all the world’s
show business celebrities, his was the name most often entered in internet search
engines.
Since Titanic, DiCaprio has been in a number of other successful films, including The
Beach, Gangs of New York, and The Departed. It’s reported that his future projects
include a film about a heroic eleventh century Irish king who dies in a battle – a
production that seems likely to be compared with Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.
DiCaprio is good friends with many other film stars, including Ben Affleck and
Cameron Diaz. As for girlfriends, readers of celebrity magazines will remember that
one of his previous relationships was with the Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen – in
2004 they were described by People magazine as ‘the most beautiful couple in the
world’. According to the gossip columns, his latest girlfriend is the Puerto Rican
actress Daya Fernandez.
DiCaprio is very interested in environmental issues, and earlier this year helped to
make a documentary about global warming called The 11th Hour. His efforts to lead a
green lifestyle include travelling by normal passenger aircraft rather than private jet,
driving a hybrid car (one that is not powered only by petrol) and putting solar panels
on his house in Los Angeles.

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 Inside Out
Leonardo DiCaprio WORKSHEET B

Part A

Here are some simple definitions for words or expressions that appear in the text on
Worksheet A. Can you find the words or expressions they refer to?

1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (noun) advertisement on television

2. _ _ _ _ _ _ (noun) two things (but usually referring to two people in a relationship)
3. _ _ _ _ (verb) disappear below the surface of water
4. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (adjective) coming before in time or order
5. _ _ _ _ _ (adjective) environmentally friendly
6. _ _ _ _ _ _ (noun) a fight between armies
7. _ _ _ _ (adjective) extremely big
8. _ _ _ _ _ _ (adjective) very brave
9. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (noun) something (usually a TV programme) that reports on
true events
10. _ _ _ _ _ (noun) an object (usually rectangular or square) that is part of the surface
of something
11. _ _ _ _ _ _ (noun) a person who reviews or judges artistic work
12. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (verb) influence someone, usually making that person think
positively about you
13. _ _ _ - _ _ (noun) someone whose photograph is often put on walls, because
he/she is so handsome/beautiful
14. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (noun) tool that people use to help them find information
on the internet

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It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2007.
 Inside Out
Leonardo DiCaprio WORKSHEET C

Part B

Team A
Using the information in the text on Worksheet A, can you make questions using the
words in the boxes? Use only one box for each question, and don’t repeat any
questions. When you have prepared the questions, Team B will have to answer them
as part of a quiz.

Where Kate Winslet Why What happened

When kind of car issues named after

sink Where ... from play documentary

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team B
Using the information in the text on Worksheet A, can you make questions using the
words in the boxes? Use only one box for each question, and don’t repeat any
questions. When you have prepared the questions, Team A will have to answer them
as part of a quiz.

Where house When What happened

Why Where ... from of all time play

ship hybrid year aircraft

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net.

It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2007.