The author draws on her teaching experience to show how an interesting lead-in to a text-based lesson can unlock a treasury of linguistic usage and stimulate students' curiosity and motivation to learn. The one hundred original pre-text activities are designed to improve students' learning abilities and strengthen their linguistic confidence. They should also help improve students' motivation and confidence by bringing the text to life. The book features activities for use with almost any text, from short articles and poems to full-length novels and plays and is suitable for all levels and abilities. Many activities include little or no preparation and use a "recipe" format.