Conversation Class Lesson Summary
Language and Section: Russian Advanced 13
Date: January 27, 2015
Class theme/topics discussed:
Happiness
Goal of the class:
Talk about what makes people happy, 21 habits happy people have
Structure of the class (unless you attach your lesson plan below):
Activity 1 Warm-up – Video – 5 min
We watch a short video where schoolkids are interviewed on the subject of happiness
Activity 2 – Happiness – Vocabulary – 5 min
We brainstorm synonyms for happy, joyful, excited, on cloud nine etc.
Activity 3 – Habits happy people have: brainstorm – 10 min
They work in pairs, writing a list of habits happy people have (minimum 10)
Activity 4 – Habits happy people have: read out, ask questions, discuss – 15 min
Each pair reads out their lists, taking turns. We compare, find habits that all three pairs have mentioned, discuss
Activity 5 – Habits happy people have: HANDOUT 1 – 25 min
We read (some points out loud) and discuss the article “21 habits happy people have”, adapted from http://www.adme.ru/svoboda-psihologiya/22-privychki-schastlivyh-lyudej-812310/ (which is in turn translated and adapted from an English-language article published in the Huffington post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/happiness-habits-of-exuberant-human-beings_n_3909772.html).
What technology, media or props did you use? (satellite tv, internet resources, playmobiles, etc.)
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
This class went super well! The topic is fun, and there was a great balance of listening (video in Activity 1), speaking (all the discussions), writing (their lists) and reading (Handout 1). They all loved the article. So good topic + good balance of activities/skills + good, natural timing = great class!
How could this class be improved/ modified?
Please attach your lesson plan and handouts for this class below – if you used any.