Why do humans treat their pets like human beings? Yep, I’m guilty of that sometimes. And why wouldn’t I? Sometimes my dog is nicer to me that my children are. This phenomena is called anthropomorphism and there are many reasons we do this.
Somehow the relationship with a pet is a more intuitive and perceptually deeper. Since they don’t have words to tell us what they really think , we use empathy to ‘read’ them. And since animals are very good at picking up our vibes, it feels like they understand us better than our human counter parts.
I think it is normal to appreciate this, but do you think that showering them with treats and love and affection is good for them? It is also normal to want to give our pets a good life, but what should that really look like?
Pre discussion
What do pets bring to our lives?
How would you describe a healthy pet-owner relationship?
Some vocabulary:
pampered
appealling
mischievous
bond and bonding
alleviate stress
Behaviour
Video and Article: New York Times Why Humans Treat Their Dogs Like People
Are you protected from identity theft? It’s a scary thought really because my own personal answer is: I don’t know. I change my passwords regularly, I back up my computer, I don’t open any emails that ask me to give my personal information, and I never, repeat never, give my password to anyone. But is that enough?
Pre discussion
Have you or someone you know had problems with having your identity compromised?
What do you do to protect your identity?
The Video: Pattie Lovett-Reid: Tips For Preventing Identity Theft
Discussion
According to Lovett-Reid, when is your personal information most vulnerable?
What are some of her tips?
What are some of the things we should be aware of?
What are some of the first things you should do if you think your identity is compromised?
I don’t mean to scare anyone, but the more we talk about it, the better prepared we can be.
When you speak, do you think people listen to you? Do you think they understand–that they hear you? Ever watch a speech by former President Barak Obama? I just can’t stop listening. However, when my husband gives me the run down of the daily news, most times I totally tune out.
Why is that? According to Julian Treasure, there are many different aspects to a successful speaker ranging from tone of voice to subject matter. His TED talk presents some of the communication approaches that shut people down and those that open people up.
It is a talk that explores both the behavioural and mechanical aspects of speaking that I find rather interesting. Perhaps you and your students will too.
Pre discussion
Name some of the people you love to listen to
Why do you like them?
Name some people you tend to tune out of.
The Video: TED Julian Treasure: How to speak so that people want to listen
What are some of the behaviours or approaches that make listeners tune out?
What are some of the tools in Treasure’s tool box?
Do a little analysis of yourself. Which behaviours do you have that may put your listeners off?
Do you use/have some of Treasure’s tools already?
What could you adopt that may enhance your speaking without making yourself seem unnatural?
Do you have any anecdotes of good and bad speakers (e.g. teachers, parents, bosses, etc…)
What makes good art? If you have a few art lovers in your class, I think they will enjoy this lesson.
Does an artist have to suffer to make good art? Is it the amount of time one spends on the piece? The complexity, the skill of the artist, the message, the feeling it creates…what?
I am always fascinated when I watch my children draw or make crafts. They dive in with their whole being–fearless. They never doubt their ability to produce or that the result will be great. On the other hand, I am not submitting every piece to the Smithsonian…
So between the fearless child, to the tortured soul, what makes a piece of art great? In this PBS series the Art Assignment, they explore many of the stereotypes we attach to the “true” artist and they challenge some of the values we attach to quality. But better still, they talk about how, regardless of the process, art can make us feel less alone in the complex journey of being human.
Pre discussion
Do you go to museums or buy books to look at art?
What kind of art do you like?
What are some artist you know
The Video: PBS The Truth of the Tortured Artist
If you find this video a little fast or vocabulary dense, don’t forget that you can add CC (close captions) to help comprehension and you can slow the video down in the YouTube settings
Discussion
I would cut the video into parts and do Tell Backs on each. I would take notes on key vocabulary.
Part 1 from 0 to 1:07
Part 2 from 1:07 to 2:10
Part 3 from 2:10 to 3:45
Part 4 from 3:45 to 4:30 (on Picasso)
Part 5 from 4:30 to 4:45 (on Frida Kahlo)
Part 6 from 4:45 to 6:45 (on art as an outlet for pain)
Part 7 from 6:45 to end (what are some of the purposes of art?)
Do you think an artist has to anguish over a piece for it to be good. Or is it more a question of skill and craft (in the other words being very good at what they do)?
What are some of the states of mind art can come from?
If I could grant you all the skills you need to be an artist, why would you make art?
Are you a procrastinator or a planner? That is the question. Personally I am a planner. I get a sense of what needs to be done, break it down into task and plan it out so that I can do it before the deadline. I think that is largely due to the fact that being dyslexic, I need time to review. But that is certainly not true for everyone. In fact, Miles Bess exposes that up to 95% of people consider themselves to be procrastinators. That’s huge! I had no idea.
So let’s talk about this…
Pre discussion
Do you wait t’ill the late minute to do things or do you plan ahead?
What benefits do you get out of being one or the other?
The Video: PBS Above the Noise: Can Procrastination Be a Good Thing?
Questions
Why do you think so many people procrastinate?
What are the pros and cons of procrastination?
What famous people or documents were made last minute?
Can you explain ‘task-driven’ and ‘deadline driven’
What are some of your procrastination ‘go-to’s’ (e.g. video games, eating, shopping, etc.)
Are you media literate? When we hear the word literacy, generally our thoughts go to reading. But the idea of literacy encapsulates many different skills that we are now extending to many different areas. For example, you can have financial literacy, digital literacy, ethical literacy, computational literacy and yes media literacy (and the list goes on).
Essentially, when you have reached a level of proficiency in an area where you are able to decode, analyse, see patterns, and spot errors, you have become literate in that area. The trend to view literacy as skill that extends beyond reading is a fairly recent one. Not so long ago, before the web took off, the flow of information would generally come from what was deemed reliable sources. We got your history lesson from a history teacher and our news from a trusted news sources. We didn’t really have to question or doubt (perhaps we should have).
But now that information can come from anywhere, it has become increasingly important to be critical and analytical. In other words, we all have to have the instincts of an expert. Radio personality Jay Smooth has created a great YouTube series on probably the most important of the literacies: media literacy. See if you can scoop up some of the ideas he exposes and make a list of the tips he shares.
Pre discussion
Let’s play the good and bad game…go through the list of words and say whether they are good or bad:
Consuming media
Influence of media
Mass communication
Social media
Navigate media
The video: Introduction to Media Literacy by Jay Smooth
Smooth speaks very fast, and he goes very deep into ‘sociology speak’ so if you are working with lower intermediate students, I suggest you adjust the settings on YouTube to make the video slower and show the subtitles.
Also, I would stop the video at about 2 min (just after the definition of media literacy).
Doing this video requires a little teacher bravery, it’s fast and complex–but it’s also adult, current and intelligent. Remind your participants that the idea is to simply come away with the general concept, that they can deduce from context and perhaps try to recognize one or two new words.
What is media? Make a list
What is the difference between messages and effects?
Go to 5:25 of the video, watch the texting example.
Do you use emojis in your emails and texts? Do you have some signature emojis?
Have you ever sent a message that was mis-interpreted?
This is a vocabulary dense lesson, but it is true to native speaking. I believe it is important to expose students to this so they can develop skills and tricks for when this happens to them in real life. But like I said, it takes a little teacher bravery…let me know how it goes.
