What is the "Prom"?
The month is June, and high school students across the country are getting ready for their annual school prom. The prom is a formal dance held at the end of the school year. It is "the” social event of the year. Months ahead, boys are deciding which girl they will ask and girls are out shopping for the perfect dress.
Schools may have proms for each year’s class; freshman, sophomore, junior and senior, but there is no doubt that the senior prom is the biggest of all. This is their graduating year and their last big party together.
Planning
Many students spend a lot of time, money and effort in planning for the prom. Students go to the prom either alone, with friends or with a date. Girls wear formal dresses and have their hair and nails done while the boys wear suits or tuxedos and try to look cool. To make the evening even more exciting some students rent a limousine or a party bus. This way they get to and from the prom safely and avoid being driven by a parent, which can be embarrassing.
The Actual Evening
The evening is full of fun starting with dinner and then lots of dancing and just having a good time with all your school friends. A formal picture can be taken and later in the evening there are often some speeches, awards and ceremonies. The high point of the evening is the crowning of king and queen of the prom.
When the prom ends some head home and others continue on partying through the night at someone's house. The prom is a very important event for many students, and most wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Comprehension
Complete the sentences using information from the text.
- The prom is a ______ ________ at the end of the ________ _______
- It is "the" important ________ ________ of the year.
- The senior prom is considered the most important because ………
- The girls wear ________ _______ and do their ________ and _______. The boys wear _________ ____ _________.
- Some students rent a limousine because …………
- Name at least 7 things which might take place at a prom.
Vocabulary
In the picture, Inside the prom limo, the teenagers are on their way to the prom. Find at least 10 words (adjectives) which describe the people in the limo, how they look and what their feelings might be e.g. young, excited. Write down both the English word and the Norwegian translation.
Conversation Practice
In pairs
Look at the picture, Inside the prom limo. Act out a conversation between two of them. You choose who you want to be.
Suggested topics:
- The limo costs a fortune
- The prom only lasts for a few hours. Tomorrow it will rain again.
- Wow, I'm only young once and I'm "gonna" make the most of it.
- My God, these clothes are uncomfortable!
- Do you think the driver knows where to go?
- Will there be a menu for vegetarians there?
- I wish people would leave those cameras at home!
Starter: Do you know what I keep thinking about?
Writing
- You are one of the people in the picture, Inside the prom limo. You are a Norwegian who has been at high school in the US for a year and are now on your way to the prom. Write an SMS to an American friend in Norway telling them what you are thinking at this moment.
- Imagine that you have just been to your senior prom and have had the time of your life. You want to share your thoughts about the prom with your date in a special way, so you decide to write him/her a letter. You will find information about how to write an informal letter in the link collection.
Discussion
Watch a few minutes of the video: Junior Prom (link collection). What has changed, and what has not changed when it comes to proms and dating? Take notes and compare in pairs/groups afterwards.