Autonomous Learning Projects

1. You are a wealthy person who lives a very comfortable life. You have just
woken up and are getting ready to start the day. You are also on vacation in a
well-known city somewhere in the world. Its time to plan your activities for the
rest of the day. Keep the following questions in mind: What are you going to
do? How did you get so famous? What popular tourist sites will you visit?
What would you do if you needed help during the day?
2. Form groups of four or five students. One student is a radio show host
interviewing people on the street. Two of the remaining students in the group
are people on the street, and the final student(s) is the radio show audience. It
is important to find out who are the people on the street, what are their wishes
and likes in life, and if something were to happen to them what they would do.
The radio show host then reports his/her findings to the audience and the
audience asks questions.
3. Students create a poster with a story line. The poster outlines a day in the
life of somebody wealthy. The layout is similar to a board game with important
events in the day highlighted. Students report to class what happened to the
person and what the person was thinking as they moved from one activity to
another during the day.
4. Students role-play an emergency. The emergency could be an earthquake, a
flat tire, a robbery, an automobile accident, or any relevant emergency situation
approved by the teacher. From two to four students are involved in the roleplay, whose outcome is influenced by the characteristics and the desired
outcomes of the participants. Some participants want to help, others want to
take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain, and others are
victims. The participants can be wealthy, famous, ordinary, and poor.
5. Research white lies from around the world in pairs or groups. Find out how
white lies vary from country to country. How do white lies told in Peru differ from
white lies told in the U.S., the U.K., and Hong Kong, for example? Collect
samples of white lies from as many different countries as possible. How is
honesty interpreted from one culture to another? Report your results to the rest
of the class.