Class theme/topics discussed:
February 23 in Russia

How did you pick this theme or topic? Relevant to the day; students learn about another Russian holiday and traditions associated with it.

How did you present the material? (handouts, group work, general discussion, student presentations, etc.)
Handouts, video, general discussion.

How did students react?
They enjoyed the class, the topic, and the video.
Did they engage with each other and you?
Yes.

What materials or media did you use? (articles, satellite tv, digital projector, etc.)
Handouts.
Please attach a copy.
Lesson 12_February 24_23 февраля ТВ анонс – текст
Lesson 12_February 24_23 февраля ТВ анонс

Would you recommend this activity for a future class?
Yes.

Why or why not?
Fun activities that introduce students to the Russian cultural traditions.

Advanced Russian
Lesson 12
February 24, 2011

1. News of the day.
February, 23d is a special day in Russia. What is it? (Какой праздник отмечают в России 23 февраля?) Write the official name of the holiday on the board. Ask them what it means. If they don’t know, introduce the words “Защитник/ защищать/ защита”, “Отечество”.
Give a short commentary on the history of the holiday – от большевиков до наших дней.
Ask students’ opinion on the idea of having a holiday like this.

2. On the board – a Russian saying (I introduced it by saying that February 23d is considered a very masculine holiday, so the saying we are about to discuss is also very «masculine» ☺ )
Баба с возу – кобыле легче.

Students are asked to translate it using a dictionary and try to guess the meaning.

3. Reading/ preparing to watch a video:
Introduce the video, say that it is a real анонс, but inform them that it is a joke – so that no one gets offended. It may be a good example of how political correctness functions in Russia.

(Handout Lesson 12_February 24_23 февраля ТВ анонс – текст)

Students read the text out loud, one by one, and translate it. We discuss the vocabulary, I point out the words that they need to memorize:

Определенно = точно
Изобрести / изобретение / изобретатель
Украшения
Гордиться (+ творит. падеж)
Глубоко в душе, в глубине души (+ comment on the English equivalent – as a rule, where English idiomatic expressions have the word HEART, in Russian it is ДУША, soul)
Какая разница – comment on two possible meanings depending on the intonation: 1) It doesn’t matter! / Forget it! / What’s the difference?.. 2) What a difference!
Особенный день
Канал
Передача

4. Watching the video Lesson 12_February 24_23 февраля ТВ анонс