english-teacher

Your Task: a. Deliver a speech to celebrate a leading African-American figure. Present her/ him to the class and explain the reasons for your choice.

b. This is your magazine’s editorial meeting. Debate is fierce to decide which leading figure of the Civil Rights Movement to profile in next month’s issue.

1. Did Obama ever doubt his ability to get white support to win the presidency? Test your comprehension HERE.

2. Learn more about the movement. Focus on specific dates and names.

3. How old was Starr when she was given the ‘talk’? What else do you learn about her? Read more HERE.

4. What do you learn about the book and its impact? Study a passage HERE.

5. What was ‘Jim Crow’ originally and what did it stand for up until 1954? 

6. How does the clip upend racial stereotypes? Read more HERE.

 7. Click on the cartoon to boost your grammar skills.

8. What makes Rita’s speech convincing? Read MORE.

Speaking task – Pair-work presentation:  compare and contrast the two stories below, highlighting the similarities and differences. Use the points you have noted in this  VENN DIAGRAM to shape your response, and aim for a lively and informative presentation style.

1. To what degree is this a more modern version of the original book? Study an excerpt from the novel HERE. 

2. Observe the painting closely (click on the pic to access a larger version and use either of these two APPROACHES) and listen to the recording (till 01:40). What changed for middle-class girls in the 19th century?

3. What happens to the four sisters in this coming-of-age story?

4. What is ‘Visual Literacy’? Learn more with the Toledo Museum of Art.

1. Do you know the story? What are the pros and cons of “never growing up”?

2. Listen to Monika (02:45-04:25) and sum up the film’s plot. Are “coming-of-age stories” your  favorite movies too?

3. What can you say about the narrator of this story? Consider all three narratives presented here.  Can you identify the different steps of coming-of-age stories?

Final Project: Choose a cause and design a poster/ make a piece of art/ write a poem or a song to defend it.

Alternatively, you can choose one of the two options suggested HERE.

1. Labour or Labor Day? Take the QUIZ.

2. What role did Margaret Thatcher play in Billy Bragg’s career (up to 2:35)? Listen on to fill in the missing words in the song’s LYRICS. 

3. Who was Joe Hill, the original song writer? Take a few notes and write a short profile.

4. How did The Beatles change the world? Pick out 5 ways they influenced society. Do a reading comprehension exercise HERE.

5. Watch the video and do these ACTIVITIES. 

6. Click on the pic to work on your grammar (do ex. #1+2).

Your project: a. Write an interview with a Starbucks union activist; then, act it out or record yourselves.

b. Make a presentation (3 to 5 minute long) about a labour activist / organisation.

1. Watch the video and take notes about the history, reasons for and ways of celebrating this holiday.

2. Watch the video (up to 1:35) and make notes about the ILO (answer the 5W and 1H questions).

3. Explain the workers’ problems and their goals. How has the employer reacted? Who else is concerned? Read MORE.

4. Listen and complete the lyrics HERE.