TV heroes Cross-curricular – History of Science John Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth 1 Work with a partner. Guess the answers to these quiz questions.
TE LE V I S O I N QU i z
2 Read the text and find the answers to the quiz questions.
1. What nationalit the first person to y was a black-and-white transmit TV image? 2. What year was this? 3. When did televi sions be common in homes come ? 4. When did the firs colour TV program t regular mes begin?
3 Read the text again and match the years and events. 1925
First regular transmissions in colour
1926
First programmes for BBC, with sound
1928
First black-and-white image sent
1929
World’s first public demonstration of TV
1936
BBC changed from mechanical to electronic system
1967
First transmission from London to New York
Television is one of the greatest technological inventions of the 20th century. A Scottish man called John Logie Baird invented it. Inventors in the inv USA a and Europe were working on electronic television systems l but Baird used a mechanical system. In 1925, he was able to send the first black and white picture – of the head of a doll – from one end of his flat to the other. He then used a local office boy, not the doll, and this teenager was the first person ever to appear on TV. In January 1926, Baird invited scientists to his flat and showed them his invention. He called it a ‘televisor’. Later that year, Baird started the world’s first TV station and gave it the name wo g 1927, he sent images 2TV. In 1927 730 kilometres from London to Glasgow Lon using telephone u cables. A year later, cab his company sent the first transatlantic TV
images from London to New York. Baird made the first television programmes for the BBC in 1929. These programmes had sound, not just pictures. However, Baird’s system was very limited and basic. A totally electronic system was more popular and practical. The inventor of this electronic system was an American, Philo Farnsworth. In 1936, the BBC started using Farnsworth’s system because the picture was better than Baird’s. More and more people had televisions after the Second World War. Colour TV began in the USA in the 1940s but only a small number of people had colour televisions in their houses. They were very expensive. In Britain and the USA, the first regular colour TV programmes only began in 1967. Now, in the 21st century, we have digital television. TV has changed a lot since the face of a boy appeared on TV in John Logie Baird’s flat!
INSIDE INFORMATION ● ●
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The letters TTh l tt BB BBC stand t d for f th the British Broadcasting Corporation. Between TV and radio, the BBC is probably the largest news service in the world. Its programmes go out to over 274 million homes in 200 countries. There are no adverts on the BBC, except for adverts for the BBC’s own programmes.
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Click Onto Unit 5 Lesson 1
TV heroes
Warmer Write these inventions on the board: the telephone, the wheel, the steam engine, paper, the electric guitar, plastic. In pairs, students think about when each thing was invented and put them in order from the earliest invention to the most recent. Key 1 the wheel (3200-3500 AD) 2 paper (105 AD) 3 the steam engine (1803) 4 the telephone (1876) 5 plastic (1907) 6 the electric guitar (1923)
Cross-curricular – History of Science: John Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth 1 Before they read, students work with a partner to guess the answers to the quiz questions. 2 Students read the text to find the answers to the quiz questions. Check the answers with the class and ask students to justify their answers with information from the text. Recording: Unit 5 p62 Click onto … on www.gateway-online.net Key 1 Scottish 2 1925
3 in the 1940s 4 1967
Cultural information In the h photo at the bottom of page 62, students can see a ventriloquist’s dummy, Stukey Bill. Baird chose this wooden doll for his experiments because it could withstand the heat of the electronic equipment. On 2nd October 1925, John Logie Baird was amazed to see the dummy’s head on the screen in front of him. At the top of the page, students can also see the first known photograph of a moving image produced by Baird’s ‘televisor’. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began regular transmissions in 1930. But by 1931, there were still only about 29 television sets in the whole of the UK. The first major television event was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II live from Westminster Abbey in 1953. The broadcast attracted an audience of 20 million viewers in the UK, twice the number who listened on radio. Most were watching in public places or at friends’ houses because very few owned television sets. Within 12 months, the number of television licences had risen by 50%. 3 Students read the text again and match the years and the events. Encourage them to scan the text for the dates they are looking for, rather than reading every word. Key 1925 – First black and white image sent 1926 – World’s first public demonstration of TV 1928 – First transmission from London to New York 1929 – First programmes for BBC, with sound 1936 – BBC changed from mechanical to electronic system 1967 – First regular transmissions in colour
Inside information Ask students to tell you what they know about the BBC (What is it? Which country is it from? Which other countries does it operate in? What do the letters stand for? Can you name any BBC programmes? etc.). Then ask students to check their answers by reading the Inside information box.
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