Lesson Plan Session 6: Health (C1.1) & Local Issues (B2.2)

For the fifth session of classes my C1.1 level focused on the theme of Health while my B2.2 level focused on Local Issues. I decided to have some fun this week and created activities to spark some much needed discussion after the long holiday break.

C1.1- Super Size Me

After three months of teaching and discussing American stereotypes with my students, time and time again the theme of obesity and the ubiquity of fast food destinations in the US came up. So, for my lesson on Health I decided to show clips from the 2004 documentary Super Size Me to my students. The documentary follows Morgan Spurlock as he explores the consequences of solely eating McDonalds three times a week for an entire month. In between the videos, I ask my students to share their first reactions and we finish with partner and big group discussions.

Discussion questions included:

• How does this video make you feel? What is your first reaction?

• What role do you think personal responsibility plays in people’s food choices?

• Should advertising for fast food companies be regulated?

• Do you think your Spanish citizens run the same risk as what is happening in the US?

• Do you think things have changed since 2004 when the movie came out or are they worse, better, or the same?

• What can be done to reduce the obesity problem in the US?

• How often do you eat fast food? Do you feel you could stop? Why or why not?

• Should fast food companies be held responsible for the obesity problem in the US?

• Do you believe that people can have food addictions? Why or why not?

While my groups never made it past our discussion questions within our hour time limit, I additionally had prepared a short lesson on health care in the United States. My students and I were able to have very interesting and thorough discussions on the world-wide implications of the fast food industry. Not only can they identify the effects it has had on in America, but they see how fast food has grown to become a dangerous enemy for youth here in Spain.

B2.2 - Town Hall Meeting

For this session's theme of Local Issues I decided to hold a mock town hall meeting for my B2.2 groups. For this activity broke up my classes first into small groups where they acted as representatives of their town to work together in order to fix local issues and problems their "citizens" had. In your small groups, they had to come up with 3 solutions to each problem their "citizens" had. Then, within their small groups they voted on which solution they deemed best for the problem. Once all groups were ready, I had a representative from each team share with the whole their agreed upon solution to the problem. Finally, as a whole, we voted on which group has the best solution for the problem at hand.

For each common local issue, I created fake "citizens" who voiced their concerns and troubles at our mock town hall meeting. Some issues I covered included:

• Speeding

• Graffiti

• Homelessness

• Noise Pollution

• Traffic

• Sanitation

• Safety

• Accessibility

Not only were my students able to spend most of our class time speaking about and discussing common city issues, but they worked together to come up with creative solutions to our citizens' problems. If we were to finish all of scenarios, then we would discuss as a whole what kind of city issues they face living in Vigo and how they would go about changing them. I was very impressed by the many unique and thoughtful solutions my students came up with. Additionally, not only were they able to express the issues they had with their own city, but I gained valuable insight of what it would be like to live here long term. All in all, it was a valuable lesson for everyone!

A Side Note: A Night at the Theatre

One evening during the past week EOI hosted an interactive theatre troop who performed in English. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I took my class for the evening to enjoy and be a part of the play, Pop Idol.

Filled with jokes and songs from popular music artists, my students and I ended up having a great time! A few of my students even had the ability to go up on stage and act along side the actors. Spontaneous activities and opportunities are always welcome in my class!