Manners Maketh Man: Lesson Plan
This lesson plan (suitable for intermediate-upper intermediate levels) is designed around a briliant film on Facebook manners. Students discuss new words and new uses of words stemming from Facebook and social media, give advice on how to deal with awkward Facebook moments and make a list of rules of etiquette. Enjoy and happy teaching!
Step 1. Split students into small teams and show the slide/or write on the board the following words. Ask students to guess their meaning.
Step 2. Discuss the words and their meaning (see Teacher’s Note).
Step 3. Tell students they are going to watch but not hear the beginning of one black-and-white film, and their task is to guess what the film is about. Show the first 40 seconds of the film (0:00-0:40) with the sound off.
Step 4. Get feedback. Show the film from the beginning, but this time with the sound on (see TRANSCRIPT).
Step 5. Have students discuss the video and restore the chronology of events leading poor Timmy to jail. Which rules were bungled?
Answers:
Rule 1. Don’t change your relationship status without consulting the other person.
Rule 2. Don’t post embarrassing photographs of other people.
Rule 3. Be discreet when posting messages on another person’s wall.
Rule 4. Don’t steal other people’s friends.
Rule 5. Don’t start hate groups.
Step 6. Split students into small teams and ask them to make a mind map of how they can possibly use Facebook
(Example)
Step 7. Hold a plenary session on how students use/or can possibly use Facebook.
Step 8. “Devil’s advocate”: ask students to look at the mind map and make a list of 5 anti-friendship rules of Facebook etiquette.
e.g. Post embarrassing photographs of other people and try to tag all your friends in them.
Step 9. Ask teams to present their anti-friendship rules. Have other teams turn them into friendship ones.
Step 10. “Agony aunt” – Asking for and giving advice – Distribute the cards with ways of ‘giving advice’ and the “situation” cards (Cards – Set 1-Set 2) (you may also encourage students to use some situations from their networking experience). Ask each student to approach as many fellow students as possible within 7 minutes and pick the best advice. Tell students they should try to give creative but plausible advice.
Step 11. Ask students to give feedback. Discuss the most interesting pieces of advice given.
Happy teaching!
Looking for more ideas? Check out these fantastic activities designed by eltnick https://eltnick.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/facebook-manners/
(Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iROYzrm5SBM)
