AIES Modulo4
AIES Modulo4
Índice
Lesson 1: The Counterculture Movement: A Close Look at the Past Days of Rebellion ................3
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Módulo 4: La enseñanza del inglés a través de hechos históricos y actuales vistos a través del arte
Introduction
Welcome everyone!!
In this module we are going to bring some historical events to our classrooms and we are going to
do it through Art. The idea is to provide our students with interesting topics in order to foster their
motivation and also to provide a context to their learning process. Broadly speaking, this module is
organized on three main aspects: History, Arts and the classroom. For this reason, you will find in
the four lessons the development of historical events seen through photography, films and series,
all of them selected to make our lesson more interesting and motivating. Another important aspect
to take into account for this module: you will find a lot of activities, some are optional and some are
compulsory. Although you are not supposed to do all the activities, it would be advisable to pay
close attention to all of them because they will be useful for your final presentation.
In this lesson we are going to deal with what is called the Counterculture Movement of the 60´s.
First, you will find the historical background. In this part of the lesson you will find activities (Reading
comprehension) which may be useful for your own lessons. From this text you will see how to adapt
a text for secondary school students. After that you will find a lesson plan in which one of the aspects
of the historical background is developed, you will also find the stages of the lesson that are
proposed by Jeremy Harmer and examples of activities for each stage. In this lesson plan you will
also observe how you can teach History through photos. Finally, you will find some activities for you
to complete. (Important: You will find many examples of activities, you will only have to complete
the ones that are marked for you to do.)
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Objectives:
● To see different possibilities to teach English taking the aspects mentioned above.
My name is Verónica Meli, I am from San Martín, Mendoza. I have taught English for 30 years and I
have been lucky because I have taught in primary, secondary levels and at College. Although I love
English, my passion is teaching English Literature and History. I hope you also enjoy this module and
I also hope you find it interesting and useful for your own practice.
Now, it is your turn. Introduce yourself and write some expectations as regards
this particular Module and the Actualización. (Your answers should not exceed 40
words.)
Thanks!!
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As regards the method, we have chosen to follow the communicative approach. This approach sees
language as communication and for this reason teachers should provide students the possibility to
communicate in the classroom. Another important aspect of this approach is that its objective is the
communicative competence, so it is important to focus on the use of language and not on the
structure of the language, that is to say, its grammar (here it is important to say that we are not
going to set the grammatical aspects aside, but it won't be our focus.) According to Jeremy Harmer
(2007: 52), when discussing the way students learn, he says that Dick Allwright and his colleagues
(who had the task of improving the English language skills of students) started to question the ways
they had been teaching. For example, they had asked students to study grammar; they had
explained vocabulary and taught paragraph organization. But it didn't seem to be working and it did
not 'feel right'. How would it be? They wondered if they abandoned all that and instead devoted all
their efforts to exposing students to English and getting them to use it. The hypothesis they were
working on was, in Allwright's words, that “If the language teacher's management activities are
directed exclusively at involving the learners in solving communication problems in the target
language, then language learning will take care of itself.” (Allwright 1979:170, en Harmer, 2007).
Having stated the method we are going to use, we are going to present the way in which a lesson is
planned. According to Jeremy Harmer, the best model of lesson planning is the following: ESA which
stands for Engage, Study and Activate. Harmer explains that Engage is the part of the lesson in which
teachers try to catch the students´ attention and, in doing so, appeal to their emotions. (Harmer,
2001: 22) The second stage of the lesson, Study, consists of activities in which students are focused
on the structure of the language and the way it works. At this point it is important to highlight the
fact that grammar should be inferred by the students. Finally, in the stage called Activate the
teacher designs activities to get students using the language as freely as they can. (Harmer, 2001:
22) All these stages will be developed deeply in the following lessons of the module.
As it was stated before, teachers should present a context to introduce the topic and provide
students the possibility to communicate in the classroom. One way of achieving this is to include
the awareness and development of the fifth skill: Culture to our lessons. The teaching learning
process in an English class has as one of its main objectives the development of the four macro-
skills, i.e. the receptive skills: listening and reading, and the productive skills: speaking and writing.
Some years ago the interest of a new skill started to gain importance, this fifth skill is culture. The
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integration of this skill gave teachers the opportunity to teach within a context, and in doing so, they
could focus their teaching in this context and leave aside the focus on grammar. Why is culture so
important? According to Douglas Brown (2007: 188), “Culture is a way of life. It is the context within
which we exist, think, feel and relate to others.” And taking into account this, language could not be
taught in isolation, if we want our students to acquire the language, then we should provide them
with this cultural context. For example, we can include History, Arts, Music in our lessons, or we can
include the native speaker's customs, norms, etc. Another benefit teachers can obtain in doing so is
that students will be focused on the topic and not on the grammatical structures. In doing so, they
will be not only learning, but acquiring the language as well. Actually, this allows teachers to use
indirect learning in their lessons and this is extremely important if we want our students to acquire
the language. Taking into account what has been stated, the purpose of this module is to learn how
to include context in our lessons, specifically History seen through different expressions of Art.
At this point you may wonder about the criteria which have been taken as regards the selection of
the historical points we are going to deal with which are: The Counterculture Movement of the
1960 ́s, Feminist Movement and LGBTQ+ Movement. They are mainly related to the students'
motivation and the integration of culture as a fifth skill. If we take into account the characteristics
of teenagers, we will see that one of the most relevant ones is their commitment to human rights
and if we take into account the importance of including a cultural context in the classroom, we will
get better communicative situations in the classroom. For these reasons, the historical events that
have been chosen are those which originated some of these rights and they present a great
opportunity to take these iconic events as the cultural context to develop the teaching-learning
process.
Finally, the decision of presenting certain historical points through art: photography, films and series
is also based on the way teenagers learn. The importance of pictures as you have just learned in the
previous module gives teachers the chance to speak the students´ language.
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Photography has been utilized in these ways, and perceived as a tool of accurate and objective
documentation, because of its inextricable connection to the real world: light-sensitive film records
what is before the camera’s lens.
Photographs can also be powerful tools for telling stories and chronicling events. Their context and
presentation can greatly influence the way we understand everything from historical narratives to
current cultural issues and situations. In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, photographers,
scientists, and social historians gathered together photographic images into archives cataloging
people, places, and natural phenomena”. (Photography Explore the many different ways
photography has been used to document and interpret the modern world. Moma Learning, s.f.)
Now, let's have a look at the years of social revolution when the young generation of the 60´s started
to question the values and customs of the previous one. The main aspects which they were against
had to do with the claim of human rights. They were against the injustices that African-American
people suffered, the Vietnam War and the lack of voice in Universities.
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photography. At this point, it is important to remember the importance of images in the process of
learning for adolescents. It is also relevant to remember the reason for seeing History through
photography. On the one hand, we have the students’ interests and, if we take into account these
interests, we will motivate them and attract them to our lesson. On the other hand, we have the
notion/fact that photography has been the art that has been able to achieve the synthesis of
historical events, as the article we mentioned above says, “Photographs can provide glimpses into
lives past, long-ago events, and forgotten places. They can help shape our understanding of culture,
history, and the identity of the people who appear in them”. (Photographs. Explore the many
different ways photography has been used to document and interpret the modern world. Moma
Learning, s.f.)
Another important aspect to consider is that you will find a text for students in the lesson plan. This
text has been adapted from an authentic one, the one that you have seen about the Counterculture
Movement. Below, you will find some techniques to adapt and use authentic texts in the classroom.
The importance of using authentic text in the classroom comes from the fact that it has
been written or spoken to convey a message in real communication rather than
language teaching in the classrooms. Any texts developed for the former purpose—
even if they are not produced by native speakers—could be considered authentic texts.
Now, when dealing with authentic texts teachers should ask themselves some
questions before using such texts:
These questions will give teachers some clues as regards the need to adapt an
authentic text. For example, texts should be used with certain specific teaching
purposes, it is not just a question of reading a text. Another aspect is the difficulty of
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texts. If a text is too easy for students, they will lose interest because it is not
challenging. On the other hand, if the text is extremely difficult, students will perceive
it as an impossible task to do and they will be discouraged. The same happens with the
number of new vocabulary, the type of vocabulary and the complexity of structures.
So, one way of using authentic texts, for example History texts, is to adapt them to fit
the students’ needs. One way to achieve this is through simplification and elaborative
modification:
Taking into account the previous considerations, we present the following lesson plan. The following
step will be to analyze and answer some questions about the plan. At the same time, remember to
take all these aspects into account for your final presentation.
Lesson Plan
Context: The Counterculture Movement
Warm-up
The students see some photographs about the counterculture revolution and they write key words
about what they see, and the words they can read in the posters.
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They answer questions about the photos:
o Name the symbols that appear in the pictures. What do they mean?
o Can you name a song, movie in which you can find the same meaning?
Presentation
1- Pre-reading questions:
The Counterculture Movement (Remember that his text has been adapted for
students)
The term counterculture refers to a theme of conflict between the values of the
total society and the values and customs of a group of people that are different
and opposed to those accepted by most of society.
The counterculture movement in the USA started in the fall of 1965 when young
people from the suburbs of San Francisco left their comfortable bedrooms and
decided to migrate to the Haight-Ashbury district to live at the edge of poverty.
This group of young people was known as hippies, and they were the ones who
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protested and rebelled against the values and norms of the previous generation.
For this reason, if the norm was to waste consumption, hippies lived with bare
necessities. If the dominant culture did not pay attention to the Vietnam War,
hippies were against it and claimed peace and love. If American culture were
interested in ethnic work, hippies were unemployed.
This reaction against the values and lifestyles of the previous generation has its
stem in the different situations which the new generation considered a threat to
human and civil rights. This new generation was against the segregation of African
American people, the actions of the Vietnam War, the student protest in Berkeley
University asking for freedom of speech. Therefore they started various peaceful
protests against these events which they thought to go against the equality and
rights of Americans.
While anti-war protests were almost commonplace during the Vietnam War, the
Counterculture Movement was one of the most iconic groups making their voices
heard.
Music-Woodstock:
During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the genre of psychedelic rock emerged as
the popular type of music for participants of the Counterculture movement.
Among the most representative singers and bands which were present in the
festivals we can mention, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Creedence
Clearwater Revival. All of them were influential during the counterculture
movement, and made clear their protest in favor of human rights. These singers
and bands participated in the Woodstock Music Festival where they had the
opportunity to protest for human rights.
Another important band which was also influential during this period was The
Beatles. The band eventually was perceived to be the embodiment of the ideals of
the Counterculture Movement.
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3- Post reading:
a. Look at the photos and match them with the historical events.
b. Who were the people who started the movement? Why did they start it?
d. Was their protest violent? Look at the photos and provide examples.
Students read an extract from Mario Savio's speech, a student of Berkeley University.
Then, they extract some sentences. Write the sentences on the board. Below, you will
find the sentences that will be used for students to deduce the grammar. The teacher
writes the reported statements. For example:
“I just want to say one brief thing about something the previous speaker said.
Mario said that he wanted to say one brief thing about something the previous speaker
had said.”
Students look at the examples above and answer the following questions:
Here, students deduce the grammatical rule. Finally, the teacher writes the rule with the students.
In the box below you can find the extract to work with the students. From this text you can take
examples to present the topic. And then, use different sentences to practice. (The highlighted
sentences have different tenses in order to have many examples for the presentation stage. It is also
important to say that they have been chosen as an example.):
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You know, I just want to say one brief thing about something the previous speaker said. I
didn't want to spend too much time on that 'cause I don't think it is important enough. But
one thing is worth considering.
But he made the following statement (I quote): "I would ask all those who are not definitely
committed to the cause to stay away from demonstration." Alright, now listen to this: "For
all upper division students who are interested in alleviating the TA shortage problem, I
would encourage you to offer your services to Department Chairmen and Advisors." That
has two things: A strike breaker and a fink.
I'd like to say one other thing about a union problem. Upstairs you may have noticed they're
ready on the 2nd floor of Sproul Hall, Locals 40 and 127 of the Painters Union are painting
the inside of the 2nd floor of Sproul Hall. Now, apparently that action had been planned
sometime in the past. I have tried to contact those unions. Unfortunately -- and [it] tears
my heart out – they are as bureaucratized as the Administration. It's difficult to get through
to anyone in authority there. Very sad. We're still – We are still making an attempt. Those
people up there have no desire to interfere with what we are doing. I would ask that they
be considered and that they not be heckled in any way. And I think that -- you know -- while
there is unfortunately no sense of -- no sense of solidarity at this point between unions and
students, there at least need be no -- you know -- excessively hard feelings between the two
groups.
Further Practice
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Production
The students look at some pictures and they imagine what those people said in that particular
situation taking into account the historical context they saw in the reading section.
Closure
The students imagine what the generation of the 50’s would have said about the generation of the
60’s and they report the statements.
- They will ruin our country. → They said that they would ruin their country.
Important!! Remember to provide a guide to your students so that they can do the
activities.
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Congratulations!! You have finished this first lesson. For this reason we will leave a present for you,
and you can also use it with your students.
As we have seen in the historical background, the counterculture movement started as a reaction
against the people from the 50's and their way of life and values. We also said that this movement
was peaceful and the protests were made through music. One of the most important singers of
those times who criticized the lack of rights during the 60's was Bob Dylan.
So, as a present, we leave you this song and how you can use it in your
classrooms.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwgrjjIMXA
2- What aspects of the historical events does Bob Dylan criticize in this song?
Activities
You have to answer in the Forum (Your answers should not exceed 40 words. Due
to: two weeks):
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Reading Materials
Brown, D. (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. San Francisco. State University.
Longman. (Chapter 7)
https://smartlib.umri.ac.id/assets/uploads/files/af2ff-language-teaching-principles-1-.pdf
Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. England. Longman. (Chapter 4)
https://www.academia.edu/43684275/The_Practice_of_English_Language_Teaching_Jeremy_Har
mer
Hobsbawn, E. (1994). The Age of Extremes. Great Britain. Abacus. (Pages: 320-326)
Yinger, M. (1960). Contraculture and Subculture. American Sociological Review. Vol. 25, N° 5 (Oct.
1960) pp. 625-635. American Sociological Association Stable.
https://www.romolocapuano.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Contraculture-and-
Subculture.pdf
References
“Civil Rights Digital History Project. (s.f) Counterculture Movement.
https://digilab.libs.uga.edu/exhibits/exhibits/show/civil-rights-digital-history-p/counterculture”
Dylan, Bob.(11 de septiembre de 2012) Blowin´in the Wind.(Live on TV March 1963) Archive de
Video. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwgrjjIMXA
Griffith, R. (1992). Major Problems in American History since 1945. Lexington Mass.(p.
339-343; 384-388)
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Harmer, Jeremy. (2001). How to Teach English. England. Longman Griffith, R. (1992). Major
Problems in American History since 1945. Lexington Mass.(p.339-343; 384-388)
Hayes, A. (2022). The Counterculture Hippie Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Sep 15, 2022.
https://www.thecollector.com/hippie-counterculture-movement-1960s-1970s/
Hobsbawn, E. (1994). The Age of Extremes. Great Britain. Abacus. (Pages: 320-326)
https://ia800801.us.archive.org/31/items/HowToTeachEnglish/How%20to%20Teach%20English%
20Harmer%2C%20Jeremy.pdf
MomaLerning (s.f.) Photographs. Explore the many different ways photography has been used to
document and interpret the modern world.
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/photography/the-photographic-
record/#:~:text=Photographs
Students for a Democratic Society. (1962) The Port Huron Statement. (p. 176-196)
Yinger, M. (1960). Contraculture and Subculture. American Sociological Review. Vol. 25, N° 5 (Oct.
1960) pp. 625-635. American Sociological Association Stable.
https://www.romolocapuano.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Contraculture-and-
Subculture.pdf
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Créditos
Autores: Meli, Verónica
Meli, Verónica (2023). Clase Nro.2: The Counterculture Movement: A Close Look at the Past Days of
Rebellion. La enseñanza del inglés a través de hechos históricos y actuales vistos a través del arte. Buenos
Aires: Ministerio de Educación de la Nación.
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Módulo 4: La enseñanza del inglés a través de hechos históricos y actuales vistos a través del arte
Introduction
Objectives:
In this lesson, we are going to see a controversial part of History that has its first manifestations in
the past and it is still present in our days: feminism and women's rights. As we have stated at the
beginning of this module, the historical topics that we intend to develop to include in our lesson in
secondary schools should be interesting for students and have a cultural context. For this reason,
we have chosen the feminist movement, especially the second wave. At the same time, the
objective of this lesson is to see this segment of history through the art of cinema.
It is important to highlight that this topic is also relevant because it is anchored in one of the main
educational axes developed in Argentina: that is ESI (Educación Sexual Integral) in our schools. There
is a National programme (Programa Nacional de Educación Sexual Integral -PNESI-, de la Dirección
de Educación para los Derechos Humanos, Género y ESI, del Ministerio de Educación de la Nación)
that articulates the teaching of these contents in our schools. The idea is to make sure that all
students have access to information and knowledge on an equal basis. One of the themes to be
taught is the importance of women's rights. This lesson could be framed under the ESI (Lineamientos
Curriculares para la Educación Sexual Integral/Ley Nacional N° 26.150: 2006) since it develops and
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focuses on some of the contents proposed for secondary schools. ESI is based on five axes: the
respect for diversity, the value of affectivity, the exercise of rights, the care of body and health and
the guarantee of gender equality (2010: 10). As you will see later on, this lesson deals with some of
the previously mentioned axes. Another important aspect to take into account is that ESI proposes
to work with this program by organizing cross-sector spaces to develop these topics, that is to say,
that these contents can be taught within the English Language curricula. The program also considers
the possibility of working with these topics in a workshop or projects (2010: 14). At the end of the
present lesson you will realize that you may also use the content of this lesson to work and articulate
your lessons with the ESI program.
The first part is related to the lesson plan and its stages. As we have seen in the first
lesson we are going to focus on the ESA structure, proposed by Jeremy Harmer and
following the communicative approach.
The second part is devoted to the use of films in the classroom. In this section you will
find activities for different parts of a lesson plan. This includes the historical
background and this is seen through a film.
The third one has to do with the historical background. This comprises the different
periods since women started to fight for their rights. Then, you will see the different
waves of feminism and the movements and rights they achieved in each period. In
order to introduce the historical background to your students we suggest a warm up
activity which will engage students before we go to History. It is important to make
clear that the historical background will be developed together with the activities that
will be proposed for the lesson plan. So, you will find the last two parts of the present
lesson intermingled.
It is important to explain that the activities that are proposed in this lesson are
examples that you can apply to your lessons, you do not need to complete the
activities in the first and second part.
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The Lesson Plan: The Teaching Sequence Elements
In this section of the lesson we will concentrate on the importance of the elements of the teaching
sequence. As it was stated in the previous class of this module, the first thing teachers have to do is
to expose students to the language. To achieve this, students need to be motivated, be exposed to
language and given the chances to use it. Therefore, we can say what elements should be present
in our classrooms. According to Jeremy Harmer (2001), there are three elements and he calls them:
ESA (this stands for: Engage, Study and Activate).
Engage
Jeremy Harmer explains that Engage (and also known as the warm up part of the lesson), “is the
point in a teaching sequence where teachers try to arouse the students´ interests, thus involving
their emotions.” (2001)
Actually, we can state that if lessons are uninvolving students will switch off from what is being
taught. The reasons why they do this may be: They are bored or they are not emotionally engaged
with the lesson. On the other hand, if this part of the lesson is amusing, moving, stimulating or
challenging, students will be engaged and they will be present throughout the whole lesson.
Some examples of materials and activities that can be used to Engage students are: games, music,
discussions (when they are challenging), stimulating pictures, stories, anecdotes. When teachers do
not use these activities and materials, they can Engage their students with the Topic, or cultural
context that we saw in the previous lesson.
Study
As regards this element of the teaching sequence, Jeremy Harmer says, “Study activities are those
where students are asked to focus on the language (or information) and how it is constructed”.
(2001)
This part of the lesson is that teachers can study evidence (seen in the warm up or engage stage)
and students discover grammar for themselves, teachers can have their students work in groups
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studying a reading text or vocabulary. Here, it is important to remember that teachers should
provide examples so that students can infer the grammatical rules.
Some examples of this area of study are: the study and practice of sound and pronunciation, the
study of a grammatical item, the study of a particular function of the language (how to invite
someone, how to decline an invitation, etc.), the study and practice of paragraph organization.
Activate
“the exercises and activities which are designed to get students using the language as freely and
´communicatively´ as they can. The objective for the students is not to focus on language
construction and practice specific bits of language (grammar patterns, vocabulary or functions) but
for them to use all and any language which may be appropriate for a given situation or topic.” (2001)
Therefore, in this stage of the teaching sequence teachers should provide students the possibility of
using real language without any restriction. Typical Activate exercises include: role-plays,
advertisement design, debates and discussions, describe and draw, story and poem writing, among
others.
This element ensures students to use their knowledge in the safety of a classroom and prevents
them from finding language acquisition problematic.
The ESA elements should be present in every lesson if we want our students to acquire the language
use. Nevertheless, this does not mean that these elements have to follow the same order because
our lessons would be predictable and they would turn out to be boring for students. That is to say,
we should start with the Engage stage in order to catch our students attention, then continue with
the Study and Activate stages, but then we may continue with another item so we go to the Study
stage again, and so on, depending on the objective of a specific lesson.
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Importance of Cinema in the EFL Classroom
You may wonder… Why is cinema important for the development of English class? There are four
main reasons why cinema is relevant in the teaching-learning process. These are: motivation,
authentic and varied language, visual context and variety and flexibility.
● Motivation has to do with the fact that students are familiar with films, in fact, watching
movies is part of their everyday life. At the same time, it is interesting and amusing to bring
part of their life outside school into the classrooms.
● The other element that shows the importance of using films is that it provides the possibility
to teach/learn with authentic material. It gives us the possibility to use English in ‘real’
situations outside the classroom. And also the students can see natural expressions and the
natural flow of speech. If they are not living in an English-speaking environment, perhaps
only film and television can provide learners with this real-life language input.
● The visuality of film makes it an invaluable language teaching tool to understand more by
interpreting the language in a full visual context. Film assists the learners’ comprehension
to listening to language exchanges and seeing such visual supports as facial expressions and
gestures simultaneously. These visual clues support the verbal message and provide a focus
of attention.
● Finally, film can bring variety and flexibility to the language classroom by extending the
range of teaching techniques and resources, helping students to develop all four
communicative skills. For example, a whole film or sequence can be used to practice.
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Before reading the text, we are going to reflect on some issues about women's roles,
this activity could also be useful to do with your students:
● Briefly explain how these roles have evolved through the different Centuries.
● Women were expected to do the cooking, cleaning and taking care of their children.
● They had to be feminine, submissive and women´s proper role was to love, honor, and obey
her husband
● We can see the emergence of a new image of women in society. They left aside their
demure, frail and female stereotype from the previous century.
● Nevertheless, the image of the 1920´s flapper was restricted to a small portion of the
population: mainly white, young, and middle-class communities.
● Women from other ethnic backgrounds still lived struggling in their new roles as mothers
and professionals.
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● Women constituted a small part of the professional population.
● The increase of working women was reflected in the film industry, but they also continued
reinforcing outdated stereotypes about women's place in society: the plots were about poor
women who seek a better life by marrying rich men, or women who could gain happiness
only by marrying their rich bosses.
● Women in the early twentieth century were perhaps most active and influential as writers
and artists.
1- Pre-watching activities:
i. What is feminism?
iii. Is it good for a girl to be bossy? Is it good for a girl to be muscly? Why?/Why not?
3- Invite them to watch the video. Ask them to take notes: they will write only key words
related to the questions.
4- You can make the following matching activity to reinforce vocabulary and meaning of
key words before watching the video:
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5- Check with your students if the answers and key words were mentioned in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRr9v_shgbY
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After watching the video the students will answer the following simple questions:
1. How old was Emma when she started questioning gender equality? Why?
2. Name three events that Emma Watson had to endure as regards gender inequality.
The feminist movement started in Ancient Greece and continues nowadays. And from the very
beginning of this movement, feminism is based on the belief that women are equal to men,
consequently the aim of this movement has always been the struggle to find political, economic and
equality of women. Feminism is separated into three waves: The first wave feminism, these
women’s struggle was concerned with property rights and the right to vote. The second wave
feminism focused on equality and discrimination. And the third wave feminism, which started in the
1990’s, included those women who had been set apart because they were not white or straight
(History.com Editors,s/f).
First Wave Feminism: Women’s Suffrage and The Seneca Falls Convention
The first wave feminists protested and fought for their right to vote. In 1848 they organized the
Seneca Falls Convention where they presented the “Declaration of Sentiments''. In this document
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they proclaimed the equality between men and women and they demanded their right to elective
franchise, that is to say, their right to vote (Block, Sharon; Alexander, Ruth; Norton Mary Beth. 2013).
Although there were many people who were against the idea of granting women the right to vote,
the resolution passed and the women's suffrage movement began and dominated many decades.
The first wave feminists started to gain different rights in different parts of the globe. At the
beginning of the 20th century they obtained their first right with the passing of the 19th Amendment:
Women's right to vote and, later on, they obtained the Equal Pay Act (History.com Editors, s/f).
The 19th Amendment: Women’s Right to Vote and the Equal Pay Act
Slowly, suffragettes began to have a voice: In 1893, New Zealand became the first sovereign state
giving women the right to vote, followed by Australia in 1902 and Finland in 1906. In a limited
victory, the United Kingdom granted suffrage to women over 30 in 1918.
In the United States, women’s participation in World War I, to take the posts that had been left by
men who went to fight, proved to many that they were deserving of equal representation. In 1920,
thanks largely to the work of suffragists like Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt, the 19th
Amendment passed. American women finally earned the right to vote. With these rights secured,
feminists embarked on what some scholars refer to as the “second wave” of feminism.
After the Great Depression, women began to enter the workplace, when many male breadwinners
lost their jobs, forcing women to find “women’s work” in lower paying but more stable careers like
housework, teaching and secretarial roles.
During World War II, many women participated in the military or found work in industries previously
reserved for men. Following the civil rights movement, women sought greater participation in the
workplace, with equal pay at the forefront of their efforts.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was among the first efforts to confront this still-relevant issue.
28
Second Wave Feminism: Women's Liberation
Although women had succeeded in gaining some rights there remained cultural obstacles. For this
reason, the 1963 publication of The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan—who later co-founded
the National Organization for Women—argued that women were still relegated to unfulfilling roles
in homemaking and child care. In 1971, feminist Gloria Steinem joined Betty Friedan and Bella
Abzug in founding the National Women’s Political Caucus.
In 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress. This sought legal equality for women
and banned discrimination on the basis of sex. Nevertheless, this Amendment was never ratified
and it did not become law (History.com Editors, s/f).
The benefits of the feminist movement, especially the second wave, have not reached the concerns
of women of color, lesbians, immigrants and religious minorities. Even in the 19th
century, Sojourner Truth lamented racial distinctions in women’s status in a speech before the 1851
Ohio Women's Rights Convention. She explained that although she is a woman she has worked as
hard as a man. In fact, the rights that had been achieved by the feminist movement did not take
into account women who were not white and well-educated. Actually, that is the achievement of
this third wave because it became more conscious of race. Up to that moment, feminism was only
concerned with white, well-educated women and the movement neglected racial disparities within
gender. Connected to what it has been stated, Kimberle Crenshaw, a gender and critical-race
scholar, coined the phrase “intersectionality” in 1989. The term refers to how different kinds of
oppression – like those based on gender and race – intersect with each other. That is to say, that
women from minorities not only suffered gender but also racial, social, sexual or religious
discrimination. The phrase “third-wave feminism” was coined in 1992 by Rebecca Walker, a 23-year
old black bisexual woman (Human Rights Careers, s/f).
29
#MeToo and Women’s Marches
By the 2010s, feminists protested against sexual assault and cases of misogyny and, again, this group
stated the need of ensuring women equal rights. The #MeToo movement gained new prominence
in October 2017, when the New York Times published a damning investigation into allegations of
sexual harassment made against influential film producer Harvey Weinstein. Many more women
came forward with allegations against other powerful men—including President Donald Trump
(History.com Editors, s/f).
Let's See How we can Take this Topic to the Classroom through Films
The objective of this part of the lesson is to provide examples of activities with the historical
background and two films that are related to two different waves of feminism. The films are: Enola
Holmes I and Matilda. Then, you will have to complete a lesson plan with the activities suggested in
this part.
● Watch the videos/trailers and think about them from the following questions:
○ These activities are also suggested for you to work with your students.
Enola Holmes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d0Zf9sXlHk
30
Matilda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa74Gwy2WmM&t=36s
● Watch the film and answer these questions: (In this point we make reference to
one film because you can use this activity with any movie you choose for your
lesson or you can work with one film at a time and after that you can have your
students compare them. For example, they can think about the role of women in
the different films and explain the historical facts that make them different).
c- What historical aspects can you see reflected in the movie? Can you find an aspect
that differs from the historical background? The women in the stories represent
the feminists of the first or second wave.
31
d- Describe the character's personality, challenges, thoughts and feelings. To what
extent this description matches the women that were part of the feminist
movement.
e- Choose a shape and a color for each character. Support your answers.
● Debate:
○ Assign them two opposite positions as regards the topic of feminism. (One part
of the class will be against feminism, the other part will have to look for
arguments in favor of feminism.)
○ Provide an example of the content of their case. You may use the following
model:
i. Introduction: The case your group is making must be outlined in the introduction.
This involves stating your main arguments and explaining the general thrust of
your case. This must be done briefly since the most important thing is to get on
and actually argue it. It is also a good idea to indicate the aspects of the subject
to be discussed by each of the team members. Ask your students to use historical
aspects as well as examples from real life.
○ Debate: At this point, teachers should monitor the debate, letting the two parts
express their arguments for and against. Conclusion - At the end, once
everyone has spoken, it is useful to briefly summarize what your group has said
and why.
● Read the following quotes from Matilda and Enola Holmes and…
32
○ Explain why the person said that.
○ Why is the quotation important to the topic of feminism? Relate the quotation
to the historical background.
● “I mean, take a look at you and me. You chose books - I chose looks. I have a
nice house, a wonderful husband... and you are slaving away teaching snot-
nosed children their ABCs.”
● “The Choice Is Always Yours. Whatever Society May Claim, It Can't Control You."
● “I have no gloves.”
● “School? It's out of the question. Who would be here to sign for the packages?
We can't leave valuable packages sitting out on the doorstep. Now, go watch
TV like a good kid.”
● “There Are Two Paths You Can Take… Yours, Or The Path Others Choose For
You."
● “I'm smart; you're dumb. I'm big; you're little. And there's nothing you can do
about it.”
The examples above show some aspects we can work with our students. Now, it is also important
to think about not only about the advantages we can get from them but also some challenges we
may encounter when having our students work with these kinds of topics.
33
On the one hand, this experience may be enlightening for our students since many of them still bring
prejudices as regards gender equality. It may be a means to become aware of the situation of
women since the XIX Century and their fight to gain equality. At the same time, this awareness may
lead to gain consciousness as regards not only gender equality but also human rights in general.
On the other hand, we have to think about the challenges we may have when dealing with these
topics. First of all, we have to take into account those students who still have prejudices regarding
this topic. So, we have to be careful when working with them in a way that will prevent them from
feeling uncomfortable. Apart from that, we should take into consideration the age of the students.
For example, for students of 1st and 2nd year we would work only with the historical background,
or with facts. While when we work with older students the contents as well as the activities would
be more complex and challenging.
Disregarding the challenges that we may encounter if we treat this topic in our classroom, it is
essential to include these topics and articulate them with other subjects within projects to raise
awareness of gender equality in our students.
✔ The historical events that marked the fight for women's rights.
✔ The roles that women were assigned in the last centuries and its evolution.
✔ The way in which we can teach language through History and Art.
✔ The importance of becoming aware of the women's fight for their rights and their
achievements.
34
Congratulations!! You have finished the second lesson. For this reason we will leave a present for
you, and you can also use it with your students.
This time it is a female singer, a singer who has had a voice as regards women's rights. Taylor Swift
has created some of the most empowering songs ever written. One of them is The Man and it
belongs to her album Lovers.
So, as a present, we leave you this song and how you can use it in your classrooms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqAJLh9wuZ0
Listen to it and think: What aspects of gender equality does Taylor Swift denounce in
this song?
Activities
Now, Let's Activate our Knowledge! (Compulsory activity)
You will have to answer in the forum. You should not exceed 40 words. (Due to: two
weeks after you have seen the lesson).
Now, it is your turn. Look back at the activities and say where they can go in a lesson plan.
Support your answer.
● Lesson Plan
● a- Warm-up:
● b- Presentation:
35
36
Reading Material
Encyclopedia.com. (s/f). Women In The Early To Mid-20th Century (1900-1960): Introduction.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-
maps/women-early-mid-20th-century-1900-1960-introduction
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/feminism-womens-history
References
Block, Sharon; Alexander, Ruth; Norton Mary Beth. (2013). Major Problems in American Women ś
History. Cengage Learning. (p. 439-445)
Daily English Speech. (26 de marzo de 2019). Emma Watson´s Speech on Gender Equality. (Archivo
de Video) Youtube.
https://www.google.com/search?q=emma+watson+speech+gender+equality+english+subtitles&s
xsrf=APwXEdc6YV-
sr3IX6Dsq5Y7WqXxWSdWL4A:1683378421553&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiK-
Nqm4eD-
AhWejJUCHXtbDJgQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1366&bih=657&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f5df2cd
1,vid:i9v_shgbY
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/feminism-womens-history
Human Rights Careers. (s/f). Types of Feminism: The Four Waves. (s/f)
https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/types-of-feminism-the-four-waves/
37
Programa Nacional de Educación Sexual (2010). Lineamientos Curriculares para la Educación
Sexual Integral/Ley Nacional N° 26.150.
https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/lineamientos_0.pdf
Taylor Swift. (27 de febrero de 2020). The Man. (Official Version). Archivo de video. Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqAJLh9wuZ0
Créditos
Autores: Meli, Verónica
Meli, Verónica (2023). Clase Nro.2: Feminism Seen through Films. La enseñanza del inglés a través de
hechos históricos y actuales vistos a través del arte. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educación de la Nación.
38
Módulo 4: La enseñanza del inglés a través de hechos históricos y actuales vistos a través del arte
● Develop awareness on specific social issues (such as bullying) facing youth among
LGBTQ+ people.
● Relate the historical background and the series Heartstopper.
● Provide activities for the EFL classroom.
In our third lesson we are going to focus on the most important historical events which were the
very first steps in the LGBTQ+ fight for their rights. As we have seen in our previous lesson, this one
is also within the framework of ESI (Educación Sexual Integral) in our schools. This is a National Law
and this Law proposes a programme (Programa Nacional de Educación Sexual Integral -PNESI) that
articulates the teaching of these contents in our schools. In this case, the articulation of this topic
with our subject would be useful to raise awareness on social issues such as bullying. It is also
important to highlight that this topic may be framed within one of the axes that ESI perspective
provides: respect for diversity. It would also help students to find emotional support, in case they
need it, in a space in which it has not been proper to “talk” about these kinds of issues.
Our students know a lot about diversity and, even, many of them are LGBTQ+ people. Nevertheless,
not many know when this movement started and how difficult it was to gain these rights. For this
reason, the purpose of this lesson is to know the landmarks of the LGBTQ+ movement from its
beginning up to our days. At the same time we are going to relate the historical events to the famous
series Heartstopper.
In the previous classes we started from the historical background and then we went to the
photographs and movies that reflected those historical events. This time the intention is to start
39
from visual art and then turn our attention to History. Now, you may wonder why we have chosen
this particular series. There are two main reasons to work with Heartstopper, the first one is that
the series has become very popular among teenagers because it is an adaptation of a comic written
by Alice Oseman. The second one is related to the way the series introduces different teenagers
who represent members of the LGBTQ+ movement and the way they are presented is appropriate
for the students’ age.
The series, which is based on a graphic novel series of the same name by Alice Oseman, follows the
relationship of Charlie and Nick, two students at an all-boys grammar school called Truham in a
small English town. Charlie, Nick, and their friends navigate all the trials and tribulations of modern
young adulthood including discovering their identities and exploring their first romantic
relationships.
The series features prominent LGBTQ+ representation and has been applauded for its positive and
genuine portrayal of a queer love story. Before moving to the series we invite you to watch the
following talk and think about some issues of this topic.
https://www.ted.com/talks/jenni_chang_and_lisa_dazols_this_is_what_lgbt_lif
e_is_like_around_the_world
40
Watch the video and think about the situation of LGBTQ+ members nowadays
1. Reflect about the difficulties they have endured throughout the ages. Think about: family,
job, society.
2. Think about the countries which have advanced as regards this issue. Why is it important?
3. How would you feel if you or someone you care about were in their shoes?
Heartstopper
Now, it is time to start with the series. In this section of the lesson we are going to get acquainted
with the characters of the series and we are going to propose activities for the EFL Classroom.
Here you have a video which is a summary of the first season of Heartstopper. In case you have not
seen the series, we invite you to watch it in order to understand the characters and how they relate
to each other. Nevertheless, it would be advisable, if it is possible, to watch the series or some
chapters to fully understand the essence of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On47w0hEZDM&t=7s
41
Let's reflect about the series and the issues that it presents as regards the LGBTq+ people:
You may also use these questions to discuss with your students after watching the series.
1- Watch the recap video about the first season of Heartstopper and answer the
following questions.
a. Can you think of a film or series with the same sex-relationship as its main topic?
i. How do the characters who represent a member of the LGTBQ+ feel at school? Give
examples.
ii. What is the treatment they receive from their classmates at school? Why?
iii. Can they freely say their likes as regards their gender? Why/Why not? What do they
have to do in order to live their relationships?
v. Suggest three activities to work with your students. (You can work with the
characters, feelings, emotions, topics such as rejection, isolation, love.
First Part
Before you start with the activities, there are some aspects you may take into account. As your
students are going to start with the characters, you may show the students pictures of the
characters, or you may project the images and give the students copies so they can follow your
42
instructions easily. You may also have the questions printed together with the pictures. As this is a
warm-up activity, you may have the students work in pairs, so they can discuss the questions and,
at the same time, you will be fostering communication in the classroom.
Another important aspect to take into account is that it would be advisable to work with the pictures
and questions with the whole group in order to motivate your students and to anticipate whether
they have understood the topic or not. As regards the game that is suggested in this first part, it will
be more practical and useful if you have your students to work in groups.
a. The students look at the characters and they answer the following questions:
43
b. Now, the students answer questions about the characters orally. They choose one of them to
work with.
c. Then, they read a written questionnaire about the characters in order to play a game:
i. The students play a game: The course is divided into four groups. They have to
complete the questionnaire about the personal information of three characters. In order to
do so, each group will be assigned a quotation but they will not know which character had
said it. (So, they will get three quotations). In order to discover the characters (and then solve
the questionnaire), they will have to look for the quotation they have been assigned in a QR
code. This code will have the quotation they have been assigned and the picture of the
character who said it. Once they have found out the characters, they answer the
questionnaire.
The teacher will prepare a QR code with the quotation and the picture of the person who said the
quotation. Example:
44
“It’s hard to be confident when they all see me as a stereotypical gay boy
who can’t do sports.”
Then, the teacher will stick the QR codes on different walls of the schools. Then, the students have
to scan the QR codes until they find their assigned quotation. (Remember that the quotation also
has the picture of the character). Once the group has found their three characters, they have to
complete the questionnaire about them. The group that finishes first is the winner.
ii. Another way to work with characters in 1st and/or 2nd year is with the verb to be and adjectives.
In this case, we propose to play another game. This is a guessing game: The teacher divides the class
into groups. Then, one member of the group comes to the front, he/she places a picture of one of
the characters on his/her forehead, so that he she cannot see the character. The other members of
the group should give clues about the character's physical appearance or personality. For example:
He is tall, he is thin, he can run fast, etc. The student who is at the front has to guess the character.
The student who guesses with less tries is the winner.
Second Part
For older students, we can work with deeper and more difficult activities. Nevertheless, it is
advisable to start with the activities that were suggested in the first part because students will need
45
a cultural context or background before they can fulfill more difficult activities. These activities will
allow you to get deeper in the topic and then, in the historical background.
1. We can present the historical background (Remember to adapt the texts for your students
as we saw in the first lesson) and answer questions.
2. Write true or false.
3. Decide which sentence is correct or not. Order the sequence of events and support their
answers.
4. Relate the historical background and the series. For example, ask students to detect the
achievements made by the LGBTQ+ movement that are reflected in the series.
5. Compare the situation of LGBTQ+ people in the series and at the beginning of the 20th
Century.
6. Design memes, posters, etc. to raise awareness as regards the situation of LGBTQ+
members.
In 1924, Henry Gerber, a German immigrant, founded in Chicago the Society for Human Rights, the
first documented gay rights organization in the United States. During his U.S. Army service in World
War I, Gerber was inspired to create his organization by the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, a
homosexual emancipation group in Germany.
The gay rights movement stagnated for the next few decades, though LGBT individuals around the
world did come into the spotlight a few times. For example, English poet and author Radclyffe Hall
stirred up controversy in 1928 when she published her lesbian-themed novel, The Well of
46
Loneliness. And during World War II, the Nazis held homosexual men in concentration camps,
branding them with the infamous pink triangle badge, which was also given to sexual predators.
47
A few years later, in 1969, a now-famous event catalyzed the gay rights movement: The Stonewall
Riots.
The clandestine gay club Stonewall Inn was an institution in Greenwich Village because it was large,
cheap, allowed dancing and welcomed drag queens and homeless youths.
But in the early hours of June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn. Fed up with
years of police harassment, patrons and neighborhood residents began throwing objects at police
as they loaded the arrested into police vans. The scene eventually exploded into a full-blown riot,
with subsequent protests that lasted for five more days.
The increased visibility and activism of LGBTQ individuals in the 1970s helped the movement make
progress on multiple fronts:
● In 1977, the New York Supreme Court ruled that transgender woman Renée Richards could
play at the United States Open tennis tournament as a woman.
● Several openly LGBTQ individuals secured public office positions: Kathy Kozachenko won a
seat to the Ann Harbor, Michigan, City Council in 1974, becoming the first out American to
be elected to public office.
48
● Harvey Milk, who campaigned on a pro-gay rights platform, became the San Francisco city
supervisor in 1978, becoming the first openly gay man elected to a political office in
California
● Milk asked Gilbert Baker, an artist and gay rights activist, to create an emblem that
represents the movement and would be seen as a symbol of pride. Baker designed and
stitched together the first rainbow flag, which he unveiled at a pride parade in 1978.
● The following year, in 1979, more than 100,000 people took part in the first National March
on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
o Retired Sgt. Tom Swann wears a “lift the ban” armband to protest the Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell policy against gays in the military. At center is Navy Capt. Mike Rankin. All
were part of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Veterans of America.
o President Clinton in 1993 passed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, which
allowed gay men and women to serve in the military as long as they kept their
sexuality a secret. (Gay rights advocates decried the DADT policy)
o In 2011, President Obama fulfilled a campaign promise to repeal DADT; by that time,
more than 12,000 officers had been discharged from the military under DADT for
refusing to hide their sexuality.
o Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was officially repealed on September 20, 2011.
● In 2015 the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot ban same-sex marriage, making gay
marriage legal throughout the country.
● The Boy Scouts of America lifted its ban against openly gay leaders and employees. And in
2017, it reversed a century-old ban against transgender boys, finally catching up with the Girl
Scouts of the USA, which had long been inclusive of LGBTQ leaders and children (the
organization had accepted its first transgender Girl Scout in 2011).
● In 2016, the U.S. military lifted its ban on transgender people serving openly, a month after
Eric Fanning became secretary of the Army and the first openly gay secretary of a U.S.
military branch. In March 2018, President Donald Trump announced a new transgender
49
policy for the military that again banned most transgender people from military service. On
January 25, 2021—his sixth day in office—President Biden signed an executive order
overturning this ban.
● On December 13, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law.
The law requires that individual states recognize same-sex and interracial marriages that
were lawfully performed in other states.
Though LGBTQ+ Americans now have same-sex marriage rights and numerous other rights
that seemed farfetched 100 years ago, the work of advocates is far from over.
● 1997: The March changes date, from June to November in order to protect HIV persons from
cold weather. At the same time, this date is important because the first dissident group was
created on November 1st.
● 2006: Ley de Educación Sexual Integral N° 26.150. This Law is important for the LGBTQ+
people because one of its main axes is the respect for diversity.
● 2010: Ley de Matrimonio Igualitario N° 26.618. This Law recognizes the right for people of
the same sex couples to legally get married.
● 2012: Ley de Identidad de Género N° 26740. It recognizes the right to have their gender
identity the way they perceive it.
● 2021: Decreto N° 476. Argentina has been the first country to recognize identity legally.
50
In this lesson we have:
✔ Seen the main points of History, the hardships and achievements of the LGBTQ+
people.
✔ Seen different and varied activities and tasks for our students.
Congratulations again!! You have finished the third lesson of this module. And, as you know, we will
leave a present for you, and you can also use it with your students.
This song, called Girls, is interpreted by Marie Ulven Ringheim known as Girl in Red. In this song you
will find more evidence as regards the hardships that the members of the LGBTQ+ have to face and
endure. We hope you, and your students, like it.
51
Girls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQYI-kwnipE
If you use the song, you may ask your students to listen to it and answer:
Are these feelings and situations similar to the ones we saw in the series? Ask them to
support their answer.
Activities
52
Share your answers in the forum. The length of your answers should not exceed 40 words.
This activity is due two weeks after the first presentation of this lesson.
After reading the historical background and seen the series, you may reflect and/or
answer these questions:
c. Are these achievements enough? Why/Why not? Support your answer with
the situations shown in Heartstopper.
e. How would you relate the series to History? Give three examples.
f. What is your opinion as regards the use of these kinds of topics in our classrooms?
53
Reading Materials
Chang, J.; Dazzol, L. (2015). That is What LGBT Life is Like around the World. (Video) TED
CONFERENCES.
https://www.ted.com/talks/jenni_chang_and_lisa_dazols_this_is_what_lgbt_life_is_like_around_
the_world
References
Block, S.; Alexander, R.; Norton, M.B. (2013). Major Problems in American Women ́s History.
Cengage Learning. (p. 439-445)
Griffith, R. (1992). Major Problems in American History since 1945. Lexington Mass.(p.
339-343; 384-388)
54
Créditos
Autores: Meli, Verónica
Meli, Verónica (2023). Clase Nro.3: LGTBQ+ and Heartstopper. History Seen through Different Expressions
of Art to Work in the English Classroom. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educación de la Nación.
55
Módulo 4: History Seen through Different Expressions of Art to Work in the English Classroom
Objectives:
The present lesson aims to show the importance of games in the EFL classrooms. Although games
are essential in any part of the lessons, they would be a means to raise interest in the students when
we have to make a review of previous topics. When teachers have developed a topic and the
students have gone through the stages of practice and production, it may result in a difficult task to
review the same topic, for example, before an exam. Actually, in many cases this revision would be
monotonous and boring and this would turn into just “switching off” the lesson. So, in order to
answer this question you will find the first part of the lesson: how to check understanding (or review)
the contents that have been developed. The proposal in this part will be to check the students'
understanding through games, at the same time we will see the importance of games in the EFL
classrooms. Since the topics that have been developed in the previous lessons are complex and
students need to memorize facts and dates, this part will help you to make the revision of your
lessons easier to develop and, most important, you will have the full attention of your students.
As regards the second part, you will find the instructions related to your final assignment which will
be essential to complete and pass this module.
56
Using Games to Check Understanding and Go through the Contents of
Previous Lessons
In this section you will see the role and relevance of games in the process of acquiring the English
language. As we have seen since the first lesson, students acquire any language if they are exposed
to indirect learning, that is to say, students are interested in the context or the task rather than in
the language itself. In doing so, they will learn to use language for the purpose of communication.
There exists a factor which proves that the use of games helps students to get involved in the lesson
and it is not just for the sake of having fun. It is Krashen´s (1982) affective filter hypothesis.
The affective filter hypothesis states that there exist a number of affective variables. These variables
are: motivation, self-confidence, anxiety and personal traits and they play a crucial role in the
acquisition of any second language. They also may affect the students´ learning process positively
or negatively. Consequently, if the filter is high and the students feel stressed, inhibited, students
will block the knowledge. But, if the filter is low and the students feel motivated, relaxed and
confident, acquisition of the language will take place. For this reason, the use of games to check
understanding will generate the conditions to lower this filter and make students feel motivated,
relaxed and confident. Actually, games can prove to be really useful while learning a language for
many reasons which also serve to lower this affective filter:
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● Games can be an efficient way to develop communication skills, strengthen relationships and
face the world with confidence.
● Games are highly encouraging and increase cooperation.
According to Jeremy Harmer (2001), games which are designed to provoke communication
between students frequently depend on an information gap. That is, one student describes
something and the other one has to solve a puzzle, draw a picture, put things in order, find
similarities or differences or answer a question. In the following section you will find
examples of games.
1- Musical Envelope:
How to play:
In an envelope you are going to place: pictures or instructions or questions. Then you have to play
music, while the music is on the students pass the envelope hand by hand. When the music stops
the person who has the envelope has to open it and choose a piece of paper with the picture,
instruction or question, without looking at the inside of the envelope. Then, the student reads the
command and answers.
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Express your feelings.
Compare it with a similar event in Argentina.
b. Instructions:
Name three causes of the counterculture movement.
Name three roles of women during the XIX Century.
Name three achievements of LGBT people in Argentina.
c. Questions:
Where did Mario Savio deliver his speech?
What was the symbol of the hippie movement?
What was the name of the musical festival?
What is gender equality?
What did Enola Holmes do that was against the rules during her times?
What is the name of the protagonist of the series Heartstopper?
What does he suffer in school? Why?
How to play:
For this game you will need a board which will indicate different categories and different levels
of difficulties:
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Counterculture Feminism LGBTQ+
Movement
100 points
200 points
300 points
400 points
Each category and number has an envelope with a question on it. The questions which are 100
points are the least difficult, while the questions that are 400 points are the most difficult. The
students choose a category and a number, for example: Counterculture Movement/100. So, they
take the corresponding envelope and they answer the question. If the student's answer is correct,
he/she will get the points he/she bet when he/she chose the category and the points. You can
include any question, instruction or picture for them to answer. Even, you can also include grammar
questions, for example: Mario Savio said: “It's totally unrepresentative of the graduate students.”
So, the students see the quotation and they have to report the statement like this: Mario said that
it was totally unrepresentative of the graduate students. Then, if the grammar is simple past tense,
you may have questions in the envelope, for example: When did Emma Watson deliver her speech?
The game ends when there are no more categories and points on the board, and the winner is the
one who obtains more points.
This game is an adaptation of the TV Show. First, form four groups of students, then, they will
represent their groups taking turns. In this way, the first turn will be played by four representatives
of each group. Each member has to answer a question as the ones described in the Jeopardy game.
You can start with simple instructions and questions with the first students. In the second turn,
different representatives of each group will answer the questions, and so on. The instructions and
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answers will be more complex as the students answer the questions. At the same time, the students
who answer correctly can move towards the next step. The group that answers all the questions
and gets to the eighth step, is the winner.
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Food for Thought
Throughout this module we have presented many alternatives to work with in our classrooms. We
have explored new ways to create a cultural context in order to provide a space to foster interest,
participation and communication.
Now, these tools may give way to new ideas to share with your students. So, let's reflect on these
questions which can be useful to generate new elements for future research for your practice in the
classrooms:
1- What aspects can you innovate in your classroom taking the contents developed in this
module?
2- Is it worthy to include the topics that we have seen in the module? What other topics would
be interesting to include?
3- What new games can come up with from the ones you have seen in the module?
Activities
Propose a game which includes one of the topics of the three first lessons. Again, you are
free to choose the topic you feel more comfortable with.
Remember:
1. You have to state in what stage of the lesson you would place it.
3. You have to support the choice of your game and where you have placed it.
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4. Your answer could be done in more than one paragraph but it should not exceed 100
words.
6. For your answer use: Calibri, 12, Space: 1,5 and justified text.
Thank you!!!
References
Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Essex, England: Longman. (Chapter
19)
https://www.academia.edu/43684275/The_Practice_of_English_Language_Teaching_Jeremy_Har
mer
Krashen, S. (1982) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. University of Southern
California. (p.31-32)
https://www.sdkrashen.com/content/books/principles_and_practice.pdf
https://speechify.in/blog/importance-of-language-games-in-leaning-
english#:~:text=Games%20offer%20an%20environment%20where,face%20the%20world%20with
%20confidence.
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Créditos
Autores: Meli, Verónica
Meli, Verónica (2023). Clase Nro.4: How to Check Understanding through Games. History Seen through
Different Expressions of Art to Work in the English Classroom. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educación de la
Nación.
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