Tag Archives: integrated skills

Freeganism: A Lesson Plan

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Note: this article was written and first published online by out dear friend and colleague,  ‘Teacher Dude’, on his blog: http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.gr

I once came across an article about ‘Freeganism’. It was titled “One Person’s Dumpster Is Another’s Diner” and was written by Becca Tucker, and posted on AlterNet on March 21, 2007. The article begins: “A subculture of people make a statement by living off the waste of millions.” For three days, a reporter gave it a dumpster-diving go in the “freegan” paradise of Manhattan.” I thought that it would make for an interesting lesson. As the article is quite long and complex this would be best done by advanced students.

The link to the article maybe found here: http://www.alternet.org/story/49547

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What’s The Story, Morning Glory?

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AIM: Question forming, Brainstorming, Narrative Work
LEVEL: Intermediate – Advanced
TIME: 10-15 minutes
MATERIALS / PREPARATION: None

PROCEDURE:
– Tell the students that you have a story in mind and that they are to guess the storyline by asking yes / no questions. Give them a general theme for the story such by telling them its a “love story” or a “crime”, etc. You can also give them some brief details about the characters if you like.

– Tell the students to keep notes about your answers so that they can keep track of the details and piece the story together.

– Instruct the students they you will only answer “properly formed questions”.

– You do not need to have a story in mind at all! Simply answer ‘yes’ to every third question and ‘no’ to the others. When answering questions, give the impression that careful thought has been put into each response!

– After answering a number of questions (at least 20) put the students into pairs and have them write the story they believe you have thought of.

– Encourage students to be creative, if they claim they don’t have the details.

– Have each group read their story to the class – before you tell them the truth!

The Cross-Curricular and Critical Thinking Connection

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Defining the Cross-Curricular approach to teaching is much easier than putting it into practice. This is because much forethought is needed into actually setting up a task or project as well as integrating different academic disciplines, matching said disciplines to component tasks, and then facilitating the usual management that comes along with any large-scale project. Whether you are contemplating a school level project involving many academic disciplines and class levels or you are an EFL teacher trying to weave different academic subjects into your class as material, the keyword, as mentioned above is “thought”. Yes, it takes much analytical thought. Critical analytical thought to be precise!

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Proficiency Exams, Teen Magazines, and Car Reviews

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Here’s a look at the power of giving students a ‘real reason’ to write, and the reeling negative effects of teaching too many ‘exam classes’. Some years ago, I was working with an upper-intermediate level exam class here in Greece, composed primarily of young teenagers who would attempt to take various C1 (advanced) level exams that year, and to be honest for no good reason, except that it was a ‘certificate’ plastered bump on the way to C2 (proficiency) level exams.

Now in all actuality my role was limited as I was mainly asked by the school’s director to sit in with the class once a week and help develop their oral skills… of course, for test purposes. As I recall, the students were fairly sharp and most concerned about passing the upcoming exam, albeit less concerned about learning the language to use in any real meaningful way. Nevertheless, motivation is motivation no matter how small. As I always say, never look a gift horse in the mouth.

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