Reflecting on 2020:

a lesson plan
by Oleksandra Sladkovska

Уровень: Intermediate-Advanced

Количество человек в группе: от 1 до 8

Тренируемые навыки: Reading, Vocabulary and

Speaking

Дополнительно: Используйте этот план урока, если

любите занятия на злобу дня и считаете, что

общение с учениками не должно быть оторвано от

реальности. Вводите лексику, которая пригодится

и на экзамене, и в жизни. Enjoy your lessons!

Содержание:
TEACHER’S NOTES
Lesson procedure
WORKSHEET
1. Warm-up
2. Pre-reading
3. First reading
4. Second reading
5. Useful vocabulary
6. Controlled practice of vocabulary
7. Freer practice
8. Homework

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 1

TEACHER’S NOTES
Lesson type: Reading and speaking

Lesson aim: By the end of the lesson, students will have improved
their reading for gist and for detail skills in the context of a story
about how the world sees the pandemic of Covid-19.

Subsidiary aims:
• to practice speaking for fluency

• to enlarge student’s vocabulary

Level: Intermediate

Length: 50 min

Materials: Photos and descriptions from

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/07/how-the-
world-sees-the-covid-19-pandemic/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2020/03/these-photos
-capture-a-world-paused-by-coronavirus/
Text adjusted from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/07/how-the-
world-sees-the-covid-19-pandemic/
Exercises designed by Oleksandra Sladkovska.

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 2

Lesson procedure
Time Stage and aim Procedure
5 min 1. Warm-up
Greet the student and have a typical small
(to engage the talk at the beginning of the lesson. Discuss
student in the the questions in the task and elicit the
topic of the lesson) topic of the lesson.

10 min 2. Pre-reading
Let the student look at the photo and
(to engage student discuss the two questions. Accept any
in the context of ideas at this point. Let them look at the
the text and second part of the task. Ask the student to
practice speaking match the photos with the countries and
for fluency) descriptions. Check their previous ideas
about the photos. Discuss what people feel
and if their situations are similar to the
student’s lockdown story.

5 min 3. Reading for gist Tell the student they are going to read the
(to read the text text quickly to answer one question. Show
quickly for general the question and the options to the student
comprehension) first. Ask them to predict what the text is
about. Tell them to look through the text
quickly and choose the best answer. Set a
2-min time limit.
Ask ICQs: Do you need to read the whole
text? (No)

Do you need to understand every word? (No)

How many questions do you have to ask? (1)

How much time do you have? (2 min)

After they read the text, let them tell you
their answer. Encourage them to justify
their choice.

Correct answer: C

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 3

 10 min 4. Reading for Tell the student they are going to read the
detail (to read the text again. Before that, pre-teach some
text for deeper vocabulary. Possible vocabulary to
comprehension) pre-teach: to capture hot spot crisis silver
lining Ask CCQs to check comprehension,
drill the pronunciation.
Ask the student to read the sentences.
Now let them read the text again and mark
the sentences true or false. Set a 4-min
time limit. Ask ICQs: Do you need to read the
whole text? (Yes) Do you need to
understand every word? (No) What do you
do with the sentences? (Mark them as True
or False) How much time do you have? (4
min)
After they finish, ask them to explain why
the sentence is True or False and correct
the false ones.
Optional. Discuss the post-reading
questions (if you have time).
Answers:

1. F (They took photos all over the world,

from Spain to South Africa, England to Italy,
Norway to New York).

2. F (Homes became not only a safe place

for people, but also turned into schools
and offices, centers of entertainment).

3. T

4. T

5. F (The photos make us question what a

home is, in general).

6. F (No. Age, location, and sometimes faith

influence our level of anxiety and feeling of
unsafety).

7. T

8. T

9. T

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 4

 10 min 5. Useful Show the task to the student. Drill the
vocabulary
pronunciation of the words. Ask them to
(to present useful read the words and definitions and match
vocabulary from the ones they know. Present the rest of the
the text) words. Ask CCQs to check comprehension.
Discuss the difference between the words.
Focus on the form and how to use them in
the sentence.
Answer: 1. e 2. i 3. a 4. h 5. b 6. c 7. j 8. f 9. g
10. d

5 min 6. Controlled Then, ask them to read the sentences and

practice of complete them with the words from the
vocabulary (to box.
practice the new
Optional. With the most problematic words,
words in a
ask the student to make up their own
controlled manner)
sentences.
Optional. With the most problematic words,
ask the student to make up their own
sentences.
Answers:

1. house arrest

2. influence

3. isolation

4. hot spots

5. gasp

6. affect

7. self-imposed

8. reacted to

9. anxiety

10. silver lining

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 5

 8 min Freer practice
Show the photos to the student.

(to practice the

Ask them to look the questions.

new words in a
freer manner, react Let them to choose 2 photos to talk about.
to the content of Give 3 min to get ready. Let them speak.

the article and

Optional. If you have time, discuss, and
practise speaking
describe all photos.

for fluency)
Encourage the student to use new
vocabulary and share their quarantine
experience. Ask follow-up questions where
necessary.

2 min Cool-down Sum up the results of the lesson.

Perform the delayed error correction.

Give homework.

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 6

WORKSHEET

1. Warm-up
Answer the questions
1. When did the quarantine start for you?

2. How did your usual life change?

3. What activities did you do during the quarantine?

4. What did you stop doing?

5. What new activities did you start doing?

2. Pre-reading
Look at the photos* the teacher will show you
and discuss the questions.
1. Where do you think this is?

2. What aspects of quarantine life was the photographer

trying to capture?

*Ссылки на фотографии учитель найдёт в блоке

Teacher’s notes

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 7

 Match the photos* with the descriptions
a. BARCELONA, SPAIN Exercise under lockdown requires
resourcefulness, such as setting up a mini-gym on a rooftop.

b. NEW YORK, NEW YORK Bangladeshi photographer Ismail Ferdous

made the difficult decision to stay in his adopted city, capturing
moments such as an apartment dweller at his window.

c. LONDON, ENGLAND Given for Mother’s Day (celebrated on March 22

in the U.K.), flowers show the passing of time.

d. BAHIA, BRAZIL Before the beginning of the quarantine, a man

and his dog enjoy a day at the beach.

e. MOSCOW, RUSSIA A girl finds entertainment the way millions

of others do, on a smartphone.

f. JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Home gardens offer some

residents a much needed escape from life within four walls.

*Ссылки на фотографии учитель найдёт в блоке

Teacher’s notes

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 8

3. First reading
The article adjusted from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/07/
how-the-world-sees-the-covid-19-pandemic/

Read the text and answer the question

How the world sees the COVID-19 pandemic

Photographers capture intimate images of isolation as the virus
affects life from Spain to South Africa, England to Italy, Norway to
New York.

WHEN THE WORLD seems cruel, “home is the place where ... they have
to take you in,” wrote the poet Robert Frost. But in the timesof a
deadly virus that requires self-isolation for weeks, homes have
become much more than a comfortable and safe place. We’ve turned
them into schools and offices, centers of entertainment, and hot
spots of stress. If boredom, stress, and anxiety could be used instead
ofelectricity, they’d power the planet.

Photographers around the globe have captured images of

thisstrange time, when we’re separated from each other by walls and
windows. Seen together, the photos make us wonder, what is a home?
Do you have a home? Do you like being there? Are you confident you’ll
be able to stay?

The images also show the different ways we reactto crisis andwhat
we consider important. Age, location, and sometimes faith influence
ourlevel of anxietyand feeling of unsafety. Consider theItalian
coupleunder self-imposed house arrest. The beachgoing Brazilians
eager for time outside. Those tired of the cityin South Africa,New York,
and Russia, who find balconies, fire escapes, anywhere at all, for
gasps of fresh air.

Though there is dread and disease clouds, there still are silver linings.
Humans keep adapting; a rooftop becomes an exercise studio, and a
wall a canvas for shadow dancing. When you take time to look, even
dying flowers become a work of art. No one knows how long this will
last, or how we’ll come outon the other side. But as we’re all
separated, the least you can say is that we’re doing it together.

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 9

 What is the main idea of the text?

a. Photography helps people survive the pandemic.

b. Quarantine made people start doing new activities.

c. Pandemic made people question what a home is.

4. Second reading

Read the text again and mark sentences as True or False.

Explain your answer

Photographers captured the images of isolation in Europe.

1.

The idea of home has not changed with the pandemic.

2.

Homes are not only offices and playgrounds now, but also an
3.
epicenter of stress and anxiety.

The time is strange because we are separated from each other.

4.

The photos make us think what a good home is.

5.

The levels of anxiety and feelings of unsafety are the same for
6.
everyone.

People who live in cities look for any opportunity to get outside.

7.

The silver lining of the story is that people keep adjusting.

8.

It is easier to be separated from each other if we are doing it

9.
together.

Discuss the questions with the teacher

Do you agree with the author of the article?

What helped you in this time of crisis?

What does home mean to you?

Has it changed with the pandemic?

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 10

5. Useful vocabulary
Match the words with their definitions

a. the feeling of being very worried about

1. isolation

something

b. to show a particular emotion because of

2. hot spot

something

c. to have an effect onthe way something

3. anxiety

happens

d. staying inside your house instead of prison as

4. affect
a punishment

e. when one group, person, or thing is separate

5. react to from others

6. influence f. when you breathe in air quickly

g. something good even in a situation that

7. self-imposed seems very sad or difficult

h. to do something that produces an effect or

8. gasp
change (especially negative)

9. silver lining i. a place where there is a problem

j. something that you have made for yourself,

10. house arrest and which no one has asked you to accept

What is the difference?

isolation vs self-isolation

self-isolation vs house arrest

affect vs influence

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 11

6. Controlled practice
of vocabulary
Complete the sentences with the correct word
from the box

isolation hot spot anxiety gasp affect react to

influence self-imposed silver lining house arrest

1. He was put under until further notice.

2. Several factors are likely to this decision.

3. Because of its geographical , the area developed its own

unique culture.

4. The report identified eight pollution .

5. A of fresh air is all she needed, so she went outside.

6. Smoking will definitely your health if it hasn’t already.

7. Even after retirement, he followed a work schedule.

8. She the news as expected.

9. A high level of was created by the introduction of cameras

into the factory.

10. Every cloud has a , so cheer up!

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 12

7. Freer practice

Tell a story behind the photo. Use the questions

below to help you

Where the person is from?

How do they feel?

What is their story?

What are they doing?

Is these activities new for them?

Is their situation similar to yours?

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 13

8. Homework
Take a photo of your quarantine activity and write
a 100-word post about it for the social media. Use
the words from the lesson. Tell the story behind
the photo.

by Oleksandra Sladkovska for Skyteach, 2020 ⓒ 14

 Этот урок подготовили для вас Александра Сладковская и
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