Розробка уроку "Generation Gap"

Olha Marchuk,

 teacher of English,

 school 4,

 Zmerynka, Vinnytsia region

Level - B1 intermediate

Generation Gap

Objectives:

• to summarise students’ knowledge on the topic “Family Relations”;
• to develop students’ communicative skills in group discussion and interactive activities;
• to present students’ project works and surveys;
• to teach students to respect elderly people, their way of living.

Learning Outcomes:

children will be able to:

• present their projects “Sources of Conflicts in Families”, Family Survey”, “Patents’ Survey”, “Rules in the Families” video survey “Does Generation Gap Really Exist?”;
• role play the situation “Children/ Parents. What do they accuse each other?”;
• give pieces of advice on what rules both teenagers and grown-ups have to follow to prevent the generation gap (10-12 sentences).

Equipment: a computer, multimedia presentation of the lesson, video-film “Like Father

         Like Son”, proverbs and quotations of famous people, handouts with the tasks, project

          works.

Хід уроку

I. Introduction

1. Greeting.

2. The aim of the lesson.

T: William Shakespeare once said, “Crabbed age and youth cannot live together”. These words mean that it’s quite difficult for people of older generation to understand the way of life and desires of young people. As you see, today we’ll speak about an everlasting conflict between fathers and children. The problem of parents and children has always existed and will exist as long as the world lives. This is an eternal problem and it has neither national nor time boundaries. So, we’ll discuss the problems of young people of our country and try to find the way how to get along with our parents and not to upset them so much.

II. Warm-up

1. Reciting the poem “Age and Youth” by W. Shakespeare

 Crabbed age and youth                                       Сваряться молодість і старість,

 Cannot live together;                                           Не можуть разом жити.

 Youth is full of pleasure                                      Старість сповнена турботами,

 Age is full of care;                                               Молодість – насолодами.

 Youth like summer morn;

 Age like winter weather;                                             Молодість любить літній ранок,

 Youth like summer brave;                                           Старість – зимовий світанок.

 Age like winter bare.                                                   Молодість – літню хоробрість.

 Youth is full of sport;                                                  Старість – зимову убогість.

 Age's breath is short;                                           Молодість – спортивна й смілива,

 Youth is hot and bold                                          Старість – холодна й хвороблива.                               

 Age is weak and cold;                                         Молодість – дика й спритна,                 

 Youth is wild and age is tame                              Старість  - приручена й слабка.

 Youth, I do adore thee!                                        Молодосте, я обожнюю тебе!  (Зоряна Галіо)

2. Brainstorming

T: Our world has seen many changes since Shakespeare’s time. What does it mean to be a teenager nowadays?

(Possible answers)

Being a teenager means:

• hard work at school;                                
• preparing to independent testing;
• experiments with the image;
• communicating with friends;
• being in love;
• having a lot of new impressions;
• going in for sport
• misunderstanding;
• having emotional problems;
• having a lot of house work;
• unsuitable relations;
• having conflicts in the family.

III. Main Part

1. Speaking

T: So what are the possible sources of conflicts between parents and their children?

(Possible answers)

2. Presentation of the projects “Sources of Conflicts in Families”

S1: As for girls, they mostly argue about … with their parents.

S2: As for boys, they mostly have conflicts on …

T: What can we do to avoid problems in family relationship?

• be patient;
• be tolerant;
• be ready to help;
• be ready to find a compromise;
• be ready to mutual understanding.

3. Group Work

T: Trying to solve these problems we can turn to folk wisdom and the sayings of some famous people. They are small pieces of human wisdom that have been handed from generation to generation and continue to be applicable.

   Let’s work in six groups of four. Your task is to match the parts of the sayings and proverbs cut into some pieces. Comment on them.

1. A busy mother / makes a lazy daughter. (Irish)
2. Small children don’t let you sleep; big children / don’t let you rest. (Japanese)
3. To understand the parents’ love / bear your own children. (Russian)
4. It’s the mother / who can cure her child’s tears. (Japanese)
5. It’s a wise father / that knows his own child. (English)
6. Give a child his will / and he will turn ill. (English)

7. When children are doing nothing, / they are doing mischief.     Henry Fielding

8. If you want your children to improve, / let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.                                                                   Gigot
9. If you want your children to keep their feet on the ground, / put some responsibility on their shoulders.                                             Abigail Van Buren                                                                 
10. The family / is one of nature’s masterpieces.                           Edgar Howe
11. The best half of our lives is ruined by our parents and the second half – by our children.                                                                                   Clarence Darrow
12. By the time a man realizes that may be his father was right, / he usually has a son, who thinks he’s wrong.                                                   Charles Wadsworth

4. Children/Parents Game

T: Both parents and children are not satisfied with their relations. What can children blame their parents for? What can parents accuse their children of doing /or not doing?

(Children are joined into 2 groups representing children and parents)

Possible answers:

Children

• Children should be given more freedom.
• Parents constantly try to improve children’s behaviour.
• Parents impose their tastes on us.
• Children are not supposed to accept blindly the ideas of adults.
• Children don’t like to be treated like babies.
• Parents have old-fashioned ideas of love and relations between sexes.
• Parents don’t spend much time with their children.
• Parents should try to understand their children.
• Children should be allowed to experiment with their appearance.
• Children want to be treated as adults.
• Parents should not be indifferent to their children’s feelings and desires.
• Parents should be tactful.

Parents

• Children should treat their parents in the way they would like to be treated themselves.
• Children are not always good friends with their brothers and sisters.
• Children should develop a sense of responsibility in themselves.
• Children should be interested in their parents’ problems.
• Children should be prepared to compromise.
• Offer any possible help to your parents.
• Parents also want to have some rest.
• Parents have the right for free time.
• Try not to be so offensive.
• Respect our values!
• Children should try to understand their parents.

5. Family Survey

T: Conducting surveys is very popular now. We didn’t like to lag behind either and one of our groups conducted a “Family Survey”.

6. Parents’ Survey

7. Relaxation. Watching Video

“Powerful Inspirational true story...Never give up!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE

8. Rules in the Family

T: It’s high time to establish the rules of co-existence in a family. That was the task of another our group.

(Students share their ideas on the topic.)

T: Its common knowledge that different generations have different problems and life perception. Open your souls and hearts to each other.

9. Video Survey “Does Generation Gap Really Exist?”

S: Generation gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of younger generation and their elders, especially between children and their parents’ generation.

   Generation gap means difference in an attitude, or lack of understanding between younger and older generations. This generation gap has always been there but these days it has reached to an explosive stage. The values and patterns of life have changed to a greater extent. Today, everybody likes to live and behave in his own way. This attitude has widened the generation gap, which can never be filled. It is now destroying family life completely. The elders look after the children and make all sorts of sacrifices to bring them up. Naturally, they feel they have the right over them. They want their children to follow their instructions as they have certain expectations from them. But the children, when they grow up, want a complete freedom in their thoughts and actions and, unfortunately, their thoughts and actions are just opposite to those expected by the elders. They revolt when any kind of restrictions are imposed on them. Consequently, the family breaks up and everything gets ruined.

To clarify if this problem really exists in your family, answer the following questions. Put + if it exists, put – if it doesn’t.

Quiz

1. Have you ever felt that your parents don’t understand you?
2. Have you ever thought that they have no respect to you as an individual?
3. Have you ever felt as an alien in the circle of your family?
4. Is it easier for you to share secrets with your friends than with parents?
5. Have you ever felt that you and your parents are in different camps?

S: If you have three +, it means that the problem of the generation gap is burning for you as well. And as any problem it must be solved.

10. Reflection

T: You are so bright! Now I want you to think a little and give pieces of advice on what rules both teenagers and grown-ups have to follow to prevent the generation gap.

Ss: We have to love each other

      We have to respect each other.

      We have to share our experiences.

      We have to change for each other. etc.

IV. Summing-up

1. Home Assignment

Write an essay “Every generation of people is different in its own way. How is your generation different from your parents’ generation?”

2. Evaluation and feedback.