Topic: bridging our differences, feminism, climate change, transgender issues
Level: B2+
Objectives:
- to develop students’ vocabulary (personality adjectives, global issues)
- to develop students’ listening skills (listening for specific information)
- to develop their knowledge about certain global issues
- to develop students’ critical thinking skills
- to develop students’ researching and analytical skills
- to develop students’ communicative and argumentative skills
- to make students take a stand on certain issues
- to develop students’ attitudes of openness and curiosity
- to develop group dynamics
Equipment needed: computer, internet access and a downloaded version of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yyDUOw-BlM, projector, a mentimeter.com account and presentation set up in advance, students’ smartphones with internet access, some space in the classroom, agree and disagree sign
Activity sequence:
1. Warmer: Pair work (Give students approx. 5 minutes to discuss these questions)
1. Describe what it is like to be like you in 5 adjectives.
2. Name three things you and I have in common.
Full class work:
1. What do we, the group, have in common?
Set up a word cloud on mentimeter.com before the lesson. Enter the question – What do we have in common? After creating the poll, your students will be able to access it by entering the code.
Go to menti.com, enter the code and submit the 3 things you have in common.
It should look like this (the most common adjectives are bigger and bolder):
How do you feel looking at the word cloud? (They can either share it with the partner or with the group – it depends on the atmosphere)
2. Definition of some key terms
Before watching the video, ask the students to put the following terms to the right place in pairs. Check the answers, provide them with clarification and further explanation if necessary. (Pay extra attention to the terms feminism, transgender.)
3. Watching the video for the first time
While watching: ask them to underline the adjectives they can hear.
Check answers later.
4. Discussion question 1 (give them max 2 minutes to reflect on the video):
How did this video make you feel?
5. Work on the vocabulary
Check what they have underlined in the previous activity.
Check the meaning of the words where necessary.
Ask them to mark in pairs which adjective is positive, negative or neutral. (Check in pairs, and ask them to justify their answers, as they have to use their critical thinking in this case.)
Extra questions you can ask: Which adjectives would you use to describe yourself? Which of these qualities is important for a friend to have?
6. Discussion questions
Give students some time (6-8 minutes to discuss the following questions):
1. Have you ever been in a situation when you had to talk to someone who had completely different views than you? How did the discussion go? How did you feel? (Please tell your partner about your experiences. If you don’t have such an experience, tell imagine you were in such a situation.)
2. Have you ever unfriended someone on Facebook (unfollowed someone on Instagram) or avoided talking to them just because they had different views than you do?
Ask for feedback if necessary.
7. Watch the video again. Complete the following sentences from the video.
1. I would describe myself a 100% __________________.
2. We are not ______________________ on climate change.
3. It’s absolutely critical that ___________ people have their own voice.
4. Could I be friends with someone who thinks that a woman’s _______________________? Ehhmm… No.
8. Opinion line activity
Make some space in the room so that the students can line up. Mark one side as the room as agree and the other one as disagree. Ask them to stand up based on to what extent they agree with the statements from the previous activity. Read out a sentence, ask them to line up and then pair them up in a way that they have a discussion with the person standing the furthest from them. Give them 2 minutes to have a discussion on a given question and then either ask for some feedback or make them line up again.
ONLINE TIP: Instead of forming an opinion line, you can ask your students to mark on menti.com to what extent they agree with each statement. (You have to set up the presentation in advance) Then, you can pair them up and ask them to discuss their answers in breakout rooms, or if you have an asynchronous lesson, they can record their discussion and send it to you to listen to.
9. Follow-up activity - How could we bridge the divide? How could we fight political polarization?
If you still have time during the lesson, ask the students to brainstorm some ideas and do some research on the topic with a partner. They should try to think about the personal and societal level as well.
If you don’t have time during the lesson, make them do it as HW – ask them to look for some solutions and be ready to present it to their peers the next lesson.
You should also look up some ideas to be able to help them next time:
https://www.better-angels.org/fighting-against-polarization/ https://www.johngraham.org/coach/17-finding-common-ground-negotiating-and-resolving-conflicts-part-i https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phgjouv0BUA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCjnCToZ7yc https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-culture/how-connect-find-common-ground-any-conversation-ncna791206 https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/apr/28/that-heineken-ad-does-it-land-with-the-audiences-other-beers-cannot-reach