New lesson plan: Empower 5A Reading-Speaking

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Empower 5A Reading-Speaking - Upper-intermediate level

Empower 5A Reading-Speaking
Upper-intermediate level

Description

This is a 45-minute integrated reading and speaking lesson for B2-level preparation class students, focusing on the concepts of optimism and pessimism, both in personal reflection and in reading comprehension. The lesson uses interactive, student-centered activities to promote critical thinking, emotional awareness, and collaborative problem-solving.

Materials

Reading text handout

reading questions handout

Reading text handout

reading questions handout

Main Aims

To provide detailed reading practice using a text about optimism.
To provide fluency speaking practice in a discussion in the context of optimism.

Subsidiary Aims

To practice scanning and skimming skills while reading for headings and main ideas.
To encourage turn-taking, agreement, and disagreement strategies during pair and group discussions.
To promote self-reflection by helping students recognize their own thinking patterns through the optimism quiz.

Procedure (45-49 minutes)

Warmer/Lead-in (3-5 minutes) • To set lesson context and engage students

The lesson begins with a “Thoughts Yarn” activity to engage students and introduce the theme of optimism and pessimism. Students stand in a circle holding a ball of yarn. The teacher starts by sharing a negative thought about their life or future, holding one end of the yarn and passing the ball to a student, who then shares their own negative thought while holding the yarn. This continues until all students have contributed, creating a visible web. Then, students reverse the process by sharing positive thoughts as they gather the yarn back. This activity fosters openness and sets the tone for the lesson topic.

Pre-Reading/Listening (10-12 minutes) • To prepare students for the text and make it accessible

Explanation of Optimism and Pessimism Concepts: After the warmer activity, the teacher introduces the concepts of optimism and pessimism, explaining that optimism involves expecting positive outcomes and focusing on the good, while pessimism involves expecting negative outcomes and focusing on potential problems. The explanation includes examples to ensure students understand the difference and relate the concepts to their own experiences. Online Quiz: Students complete a brief online quiz designed to measure their level of optimism. The quiz results provide a percentage score reflecting each student’s optimism level. This personalized data serves as a foundation for the following speaking activity. Paired Discussion: Based on their quiz results, students are paired so that one student with a higher optimism score takes the role of the optimist, and the other with a lower score takes the role of the pessimist. Each pair receives a scenario to discuss, expressing opinions and proposing solutions from their assigned perspectives. This encourages critical thinking, role play, and collaborative problem-solving.

While-Reading/Listening #1 (10-12 minutes) • To provide students with less challenging gist and specific information reading/listening tasks

Students work in pairs to read the text about optimism bias. Their task is to match each paragraph with the correct title from a provided list.

While-Reading/Listening #2 (14-16 minutes) • To provide students with more challenging detailed, deduction and inference reading/listening tasks

Students read the text individually and answer questions by identifying the main points from a provided list. After completing the task alone, they check and discuss their answers in pairs to confirm understanding and clarify any doubts.

Post-Reading/Listening (8-4 minutes) • To provide with an opportunity to respond to the text and expand on what they've learned

Students reflect individually on their future goals and aspirations, then share their ideas in small groups or pairs