Coping with bored students — and teachers — during lockdown (Part 2 — The Materials)
Here, I’m going to share the materials that I’ve designed around my original idea for Masters of Boredom. There are notes on how to use the materials within the Google Slides, but I’ve added a brief description of who they are intended for here.
- I’m an English teacher, so for me, any topic that will motivate students to talk is a good one. Somewhat ironically, I think the topic of boredom will do this.
- I’m interested in lessons where students bring their own experiences/schemata to class and using that as basis to form lessons (see, Dogme). I think the current unique lockdown situation which many of us are facing is ideal for this, so long as it is navigated carefully.
- I’ve planted my idea for Masters of Boredom into a lesson which includes a Ted Talk and a National Geographic article. In their current form, the materials will be more suited to students with a good level of English (B2 upwards). There’s a mild swearword in the Ted Talk ‘get your shit together’ and a context-appropriate reference to drugs, but aside from these, the materials are suitable for young learners (e.g. teens).
- The materials are in the form of a Google Slide and Google Document. Once you have clicked on the hyperlink under the screenshots below, you should be able to make a copy of the document. From there, you are free to customise it however you wish.
A note on the lesson
I’ll be splitting this lesson in two. Towards the end of my normal lesson tonight, I’ll introduce the topic, use the initial discussion questions, and set the homework: the Ted Talk and writing down their Masters of Boredom ideas. Students will need thinking time for the latter, and for various reasons, I’d prefer them to watch the video in their own time. In the next lesson I’ll get them to answer my questions about the listening, complete the reading and speaking task and establish what their topic is for Masters of Boredom. In future classes, I may use this to help them plan mini-presentations.
There is no explicit language point — I’m leaving that open — but the usual functional language for agreeing/disagreeing/presenting could be incorporated into the lesson. We’ve been doing verbs of the senses in my class, so I may revise that by getting them to write a poem about what they can feel/smell/see from where they are sitting (adapted from English File, of course).
As I haven’t even taught this lesson at the time of writing, I am rushing this out so people can take advantage of it sooner, rather than later. Therefore, aspects of the presentation might change slightly, and please check for typos before using it. Send me a message on Facebook if you spot any!
A note on the Google Slide
More detailed instructions for the lesson are in the Google Slides notes. Again, check for typos!
A note on the Google Doc
The writing activity is based around the Cambridge FCE/CAE Exam Part 2 — Open Cloze. My feeling is that any students above the B2 level should find it fairly easy.
A note on this blog
In case you were in any doubt, this blog is completely non-profit. I love teaching and sharing materials, and I’m definitely not about to start charging now. While the link between these materials and the remit of the ALMAR blog may not be immediately apparent, they actually tie together many of the topics I’ve discussed on the blog. Feel free to ask me any questions about those topics or the materials I’ve shared.
