Brain Games: In Living Colour

Level: B1+
Age: Young Learners, Teens, Adulst
Theme: Colours, The Brain, Perception

Brain Games is another great National Geographic TV show my students suggested and it really does introduce some thought-provoking concepts to the lessons.  There are loads of really interesting episodes which can be used to engage students and stimulate colourful(!) classroom discussions.

This particular clip is from Season 3 Episode 1 and has some great brain games related to colour. The games involving the beach and castle really surprised me.

Sharks

Level: B2+
Age: Young learners, Adults
Theme: Animal
Language: Comparatives and Superlatives

This video was used for a lesson with teenagers to describe and compare animals.

Who's fastest? Put them in order from slowest to fastest.

Olympic swimmers:

Usain Bolt:

Sharks

Dolphins:

Seals:

Watch the video to find out:

Watch again and complete these sentences (copy and paste onto ActiveInspire/powerPoint etc):

The Mako is the                                          shark in the world.

Think                                   with teeth.

The                             is packed with muscle.

The                         is sleek and streamlined.

It has a stabilizer on the side for cornering at speed.

Like all sharks, the skin is made from minuscule                                ,

But the Mako’s specially textured to minimize                              .

Here in the open ocean, their diner,                          , is quick.

To see how fast they are takes a speedboat, towing a camera.

 

The shiny housing attracts the attention of all sorts of animals.

First to follow…

                              , their top speed is 10 mph. 

Twice as fast as an                                              .

But there are faster creatures around…

A pod of common                                    arrive, their top speed is 20 mph.

With super streamlined bodies, their top speed is 20mph.

But, if the boat accelerates, they too will drop away.

 

Then at full speed,                              .  It can sprint at 30 mph.   

That’s quicker than                         .

Makos have been clocked at                       mph,

Though no-one really knows their limit.

But it’s faster than the speed boat.

  

Answers:

The Mako is the         fastest            shark in the world.

Think                torpedo                   with teeth.

The          tail             is packed with muscle.

The          body               is sleek and streamlined.

It has a stabilizer on the side for cornering at speed.

Like all sharks, the skin is made from minuscule            teeth             ,

But the Mako’s specially textured to minimize           drag                 .

Here in the open ocean, their diner,           tuna             , is quick.

To see how fast they are takes a speedboat, towing a camera.

 

The shiny housing attracts the attention of all sorts of animals.

 

First to follow…

         Seals             , their top speed is 10 mph. 

Twice as fast as an           olympic swimmer               .

But there are faster creatures around…

A pod of common        dolphins          arrive, their top speed is 20 mph.

With super streamlined bodies, their top speed is 20mph.

But, if the boat accelerates, they too will drop away.

 

Then at full speed,           a Mako           .  It can sprint at 30 mph.   

That’s quicker than       Usain Bolt      .

Makos have been clocked at            46        mph,

Though no-one really knows their limit.

But it’s faster than the speed boat.

Bill Hicks - It's Just a Ride

Level: C1-C2
Topic: Meaning of Life (!), Politics, Humanity, US Comedy

Bill Hicks is one of my all-time favourite comedians.  If asked who I would most like to have a dinner party with (one of those typical TEFL activities), Bill Hicks would definitely be in there.  He most likely wouldn't like being raised from the dead to attend my social event but I would love to get his take on how the world has progressed since we lost him at the very early age of 33 in 1994.

This video offers some wise words on how we can work to change the world.

Watch the video and answer these questions:

1)  According to Bill what is the world like?
2)  What to we do with the people who remember, 'the good guys'?
3)  What do the eyes of fear want us to do?
4)  How can we change the world?

 

 Transcript:

“The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people! "Shut him up! We've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.”

Transcript:

"The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that?  And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because… it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and define each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.” 

Do or Die: Raging Bull

Level: B1+
Age: Teens to Adults
Theme: Animals, Conditionals, Life or Death situations

Do or Die is a great TV series from the National Geographic Channel and so guarantees lots of informative engaging content that can be used in class.

Here are some warm-up questions that I set (copy and past onto preferred presentation program:

1. What are the most popular sports in the USA/Middle East/Europe/Asia?

2. Do you know about any strange sports that are unique to particular countries?

 Gaelic football / Bull fighting / Basque pelota / Highland games

Watch the start of the video clip, did your group mention these sports? 

Answer this question:

3.  How many people a year typically attend the major sports stadiums in North America? 277 million

Stop the video clip

Next section:

4. What are the bulls selectively bread to possess?

Enhanced aggression, strength and stamina

5. What speed can a bull reach when charging?

40 mph

6. What is being hit by bull like?

An 1,100 pound battering ram

What would you do?

Stop video and ask question in pairs / groups

Then show the three options on the clip.

What does flank / bleacher mean?

 

 

Which option would you choose?

Here’s what you should consider.

Q1.  What do loud noises do to the bull? Raise its hearbeat.

Q2.  How far can a large fighting bull toss a full grown man?

More than 30 feet / 10 feet higher than a single story house.

Q3.  How big is a bull’s fight zone? 100 feet

Make your final choice: A, B or C.

Stop clip, students pick final choice and write on mini whiteboards.

Which choice is correct / wrong? Why?

A – Move towards the bull’s flanks: Lateral positioning of eyes, 330 degree panoramic vision, blind-spot behind, bucking bull not appropriate.

B - Wave a Light-Coloured Cloth: matador waves red cape, white has opposite effect? No.  Bulls are colour blind.

C – Run down the bleachers: forelegs shorter than hind legs. Poor depth perception shadows/downwards slopes. 

Who survived!?