Smallville Lesson Plan - Jenna Fettig

Lesson Plan: Pop Culture Smallville and Superman Instructors: Kaitlyn McClaren and Jenna Fettig Date: 11/5/12 Length: 50 min Target Students: High-­‐Advanced ESL Teenagers/Young Adults in the US Contexts: The class is midway through the unit and as seen entirely the first episode of Smallville. Vocabulary has been reviewed and the class is currently going over certain scenes answering some discussion questions. Ss were also given a worksheet about the pop-­‐culture references made in some of the scenes and should have a basic knowledge of the references found in the scenes. That HW was also has been already corrected in class. Some Ss also may have already watched the show prior to this class or have previous knowledge about Superman. Objectives: At the end of the class, SWBAT: • Discuss questions related to the scene in Smallville and relate it to either their personal and non-­‐
personal lives. • Using the vocabulary and references given from the scene, use them in conversation with the appropriate context. • Critically discuss Hazing/bullying and the issues surrounding it. Materials: • Video, PowerPoint, handouts, previous HW, laptop Procedure: Time
Student Activity
Teacher Activity
2-3 min
Greet T
Greet Ss
Have small conversation about
Have students converse about any upcoming plans
current school activities
involving school events
8 min
Listen to T for the activity and
Tell Ss that they will be having a discussion on
information
scene 3
Take out any HW on vocab and
Goes over Vocab from scene 3 briefly
pop-culture related to the video
3 min
Watch Scene 3
Play Scene 3
2 min
Receive Discussion questions
Reads discussion questions aloud
Give discussion questions to Ss
Has students read the discussion questions aloud
10 min
In pairs go over discussion
questions
Switch partners and discuss questions
In groups of four (new people) go
over the last question
Present one idea discussed from the
group discussion to the class
Have Ss divide into pairs answer questions
7 min
8 min
9-10 min
Have Ss switch partners and go over the questions
In groups of four have the Ss go over the last
question
Have each group share to the class their thoughts on
the last question (each member of the group gives
one idea)
Rationale: *Paralinguistics – Using body language, gestures, intonation, tempo, pausing to help understand meaning of the speaker’s words and intent. (Thornbury, 2005 p 9) *Sociocultural knowledge – Students are using what they know about their native country to help compare what they are learning about American culture to help put it into context. (Thornbury, 2005 p 12) *Using recordings – Using clips of a TV show with native speakers, an authentic source to help speakers gain exposure to language outside ‘textbook language.’ (Thornbury, 2005 p 43) *Noticing the Gap – Aimed at raising awareness of the difference between the learner’s current competence and the target competence. Learners are exposed to a wider range of vocabulary as well as pop-­‐culture references that they do not use in every-­‐day speech and may be found in media that they read or watch. (Thornbury, 2005 p 58) *Warm-­‐up discussion – when preparing learners to read or listen to a text, it is common to set a few questions for the pair or group discussion. Students are asked at the beginning of class to discuss any school events that are coming up in preparation for discussion question 1. (Thornbury, 2005 p 103) *Discussion cards – The teacher prepares in advance sets of card (we used a worksheet) on which are written statements relating to a pre-­‐selected topic. The students are given a set of questions with individual variation to either talk a personal or non-­‐personal level. (Thornbury, 2005 p 102) Name: ___________________________ Date: _________________________________ Discussion Questions 1. This scene starts off with Chloe and Pete talking about the Homecoming Dance. What is a homecoming in terms of American culture. D you have a similar kind of event when you were in high school? Discuss how they were similar, if not-­‐what kind of school events did you have? 2. Football is a very important sport in America and American culture. Discuss what you know about football. Does your home country have a national sport, if so what is it? Do you enjoy watching it, if not what sport do you watch and why? 3. Pete tells Chloe, “We’d love to join you and Scooby inside the Mystery Machine for another zany adventure but…” Scooby-­‐doo is a popular pop culture icon and that is constantly being referenced. What other American pop-­‐culture icons/references can you think of/heard frequently on Television or talking with native speakers? Are there certain pop-­‐culture icons similar to Scooby-­‐doo in your native country? Discuss who or what they are and how they are used. 4. Pete discusses the Scarecrow tradition, a Hazing ritual, to Chloe. How did Pete explain this to Chloe. What is Hazing and where does it take place? How is it similar/different to bullying? What are your opinions on hazing? What can be done to prevent it from happening or becoming too dangerous?