ESL Uncaged

Flipped lesson plan (B2 and above): How does the Rorschach inkblot test work? -    BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content Learn about the dark and mysterious Rorschach inkblot test, a psychological tool used for decades to expose hidden demons in the unconscious mind. In this worksheet, students will take the Rorschach inkblot test for themselves and read about how the test was used on captured Nazi war criminals to give insight into their evil minds. In addition, students will learn six paint-related idioms (paint oneself into a corner, paint the town red, paint with the same brush, etc.) Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee! Lesson outcomes:  Use descriptive vocabulary to complete the Rorschach inkblot test (phrases like 'it reminds me of a lobster', 'it looks a bit like an animal hide') Watch and discuss a video about the origin of the Rorschach inkblot test. This will expose students ...

Flipped lesson plan (B2 and above): Does a baby's name affect its chances in life? -  BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content Find out why children called Eleanor, Anna and Peter have a better chance of getting into the University of Oxford than children called Jade, Paige and Shannon.  Also, we will discuss the origins of the top 10 most common surnames in the UK, learn six idioms/phrasal verbs related to names and practise deducing the relationship between individuals on a family tree (sister-in-law, auntie, niece, etc.) Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee! Lesson outcomes:  Learn idioms and phrasal verbs related to names and see them in context (e.g. to be named after, to drag one's name through the mud, to not catch someone's name) Watch and discuss a video about the origin of surnames and their connections with ancient professions and place names. This will help expose students to co...

Flipped lesson plan: How coffee keeps us awake -    BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content This advanced (B2 and above) worksheet is about the world's favourite drug: caffeine! It explores how caffeine affects our nervous system, based on a TED-Ed video. In addition, students will learn idioms and phrasal verbs related to sleep, and study the history of coffee in the ancient world and in 1940s Italy. Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee! Lesson outcomes:  Learn idioms and phrasal verbs related to sleep and see them in context (e.g. lie in, hit the hay, burn the candle at both ends) Watch and discuss a Ted-Ed video on the effect of caffeine on the nervous system, using specialised biological vocabulary (e.g. neurons, neurotransmitters, adenosine, dopamine) Study five attempts to ban coffee, spanning from Mecca in 1511 to Prussia in 1777 (advanced vocabulary: paraphernalia, clergymen, co...

Flipped lesson plan: How labour leads to love -  BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content This worksheet is for B2 and above students. It is about the 'Ikea Effect', an observation in behavioural economics that consumers value products more when they have invested time into their assembly. Think: Build-a-Bear, homemade food, Ikea furniture. I recommend students watch the video in exercise two before the class.  Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee! Lesson outcomes:  Follow instructions to make an origami swan, as a prelude to Dan Ariely's famous study on how people value their own cranes compared with those made by other people Understand academic-level English from behavioural economist Dan Ariely on the concept of the 'Ikea Effect', and reflect on how it is applied in one's personal life and in business Learn tool-related idioms (hit the nail on the head, hammer home, a spanner in...

Flipped lesson plan: Could eating insects save the world? -    BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content This worksheet is for B2 and above students.  I recommend students watch the video in exercise two carefully and note the answers to the questions. In addition, they should be encouraged to review the article in exercise three independently, and match the underlined vocabulary with its definitions.  Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee! Lesson outcomes:  Insect vocabulary (wasp, cricket, pupae, dragonfly, entomophagy) Phrasal verbs (to lose track, to dig into, to subsist off) Idioms related to insects (to bug someone, a fly on the wall, a fly in the ointment) Unpleasant taste vocabulary (bitter, dry, earthy) Practice formulating their opinions on complex issues, relating to individual lifestyle and environmental outcomes