ESL Uncaged

Advanced lesson plan (B2 and above): Should police use facial recognition technology? -  BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content   Ever noticed Facebook is able to identify the people in your photos, even before you've tagged them? Facial-recognition algorithms compare features against vast databases and return matches.  But, in the hands of police, is the technology disturbingly intrusive and even racist? Or is it an indispensable tool for catching society's worst criminals?  In this B2+ worksheet, students will study the difference between "like" vs. "as", learn lots of face-related phrases and watch a video about facial-recognition technology being used by London police. Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee!       Lesson objectives: 1) To match six face-related phrases to the appropriate pictures (face lift, to face down, to face off, poker face, to face away, in...

Advanced lesson plan (B2+): How to win friends and influence people -  BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content In 1937, arguably the most influential self-help book ever was published: How to Win Friends and Influence People , by American author Dale Carnegie.  But how relevant are its lessons in the modern world? Decide for yourself in this week's worksheet, which also introduces six friend-related idioms and phrasal verbs, as well as a mountain of advanced vocabulary. Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee! Lesson activities: 1) To warm up, students will complete five quotes from Carnegie's best-seller, using vocabulary from a list. They will then discuss their thoughts about the advice.  Key vocabulary: to dangle, bristling, temper, shun, vanity, rattlesnakes, to be fond of, incessantly. 2) Students will watch a video (9:00) entitled "How to win friends and influence people - a summary of C...

  Advanced lesson plan (B2 and above): How to survive the apocalypse -    BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content Who are the "doomsday preppers"? In light of the global pandemic of 2020, should we all start stockpiling and making contingency plans for future catastrophes? In this B2/C1 worksheet, students will learn some survival tips, discuss the psychology of "doomsday preppers" and learn phrases related to the topics (e.g. "better safe than sorry", "tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists"). Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee!   Lesson activities: 1) To warm up, students will label nine survival items and discuss which three they would want in an apocalyptic scenario. Key vocabulary: axe, backpack, sniper rifle, gas stove, torch, compass, thermos flask, gloves, first aid kit. 2) Students will watch a video (8:41), offering tips on how to survive in the wilderness - fr...

  Advanced lesson plan (B2 and above): How to navigate using the stars -  BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content Could you find your way if you had nothing but a blanket of stars above your head to go by? In this B2+ worksheet, students will learn how constellations correlate with north, south, east and west. They will also read a poem about the night sky, see six star-related idioms and learn about how birds use the stars to navigate. Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee!   Lesson activities: 1) To warm up, students will read the poem 'Distances' by William Stanley Braithwaite and discuss their intepretations.  Key vocabulary: dispassionate, flesh, bond. 2) Students will study a video (7:38) about the how to navigate using constellations.  Key vocabulary: Orion, nebula, horizon, equator, to keep track of. 3) Next, they will see  six star-related idioms/phrases: Reach fo...

Advanced lesson plan (B2 and above): Why do we dream? -  BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content Mr Sandman, bring me a worksheet about dreams! In this B2/C1 worksheet, students will learn about the science of dreams, study six dream-related idioms and read an article about predictive dreaming. Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee! Lesson activities: 1) To warm up, students will read the poem 'A Dream Within A Dream' by Edgar Allan Poe and discuss their intepretations. Key vocabulary: surf, grains, grasp, clasp, creep. 2) Students will watch a short video (6:31) about the science of dreams.  Key vocabulary: REM, chemicals, lucid dreaming. 3) Next, they will see  six dream-related idioms/phrases: sweet dreams, pipe dream, to daydream, beyond one's wildest dreams, a dream job, living in a dream world.  Students will get a chance to see the idioms in sentences, and to create thei...

  Advanced lesson plan (B1 and above): How intelligent are crows? -  BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content Learn why scientists think crows are as smart as seven-year-old children. In this B1 and above worksheet, students will watch a video about the unique way crows react when a member of their species dies; in addition, they will read a short, cryptic story about a scarecrow; they will study bird- and crow-related idioms; and they will read an article that summarises scientific research on the immense intelligence of these strange corvids. Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee!      Lesson activities: 1) To warm up, students will read a cyrptic story by Lebanese-American writer Kahlil Gibran about a scarecrow and discuss how they interpret it.  Key vocabulary: lasting joy, stuffed, straw, to belittle. 2) Students will watch a short video (4 minutes 34 seconds) about ho...

Advanced lesson plan (B1 and above): The boy who was raised as a girl -  BUY ME A COFFEE if you like my FREE ESL content After a botched circumcision, doctors recommended baby Bruce be raised as a girl. He would be happier as a girl than as a boy without a penis, according to the family's psychologist Dr John Money. His true identity was to be kept a secret. In this worksheet, students will discuss the line between nature and nurture, the patient-doctor relationship and a mother who did her best in an impossible position.  Educational materials shouldn't be paywalled. Show your support for my ESL content by  buying me a coffee! Lesson activities: Part 1: The Accident . Students read the introduction to the medical case study. They must complete the sentences by choosing words from the purple box. There is then a discussion section, where they can practise second and third conditional structures: "If that happened to my son, I would feel devastated"; "If I had bee...