As Black Friday approaches, I thought I’d share this collection of activities that Krista presented last year at a BART event. For those looking for still more ideas, here is a post from 2012 on teaching about Black Friday / Buy Nothing Day, and here is one from 2007. Target audience: EAP students, high intermediate […]
Entries Tagged as 'consumerism'
Black Friday, Consumption, and Buy Nothing Day 2014
November 14th, 2014 · 1 Comment
Tags: blog · Buy Nothing Day · consumerism · ESL activity · global issues activities · poverty & wealth · reading · video
New Internationalist Easier English Wiki – Update
July 7th, 2014 · 1 Comment
I first posted about the New Internationalist Easier English Wiki about a year and a half ago. Since then, they’ve added a lot of great materials to their site. The New Internationalist is a magazine focused on promoting global justice and, through their easier English wiki, they make articles more accessible to English language learners […]
Tags: blog · climate change · consumerism · cultural issues · environmental justice · fair trade · finance · food and hunger · global issues activities · global issues resources · human rights · infographics · lesson plans · peace and war · politics · poverty & wealth · protests · the environment
The Myth of Human Progress and the Collapse of Complex Societies
May 1st, 2014 · 1 Comment
This transcript of a speech given by journalist Chris Hedges offers a very powerful look at our current state of affairs. The introduction of the article draws parallels between our self-destructive path and the novel Moby Dick, which opens the door to using this article as part of a unit on literature, as well as […]
Tags: art as activism · climate change · consumerism · finance · financial crisis (2008) · global issues activities · history · listening · natural disasters · poverty & wealth · reading · the environment · video
TESOL 2014 – Part of the Solution: Making Language Programs More Environmentally Sustainable
March 27th, 2014 · No Comments
This roundtable discussion was the second of two sessions presented this year by the TESOL Environmental Responsibility Forum. In this discussion, participants looked at ways an English language program could improve their overall environmental responsibility. I started the session by briefly describing my experience in attempting to green two different English language programs. The project […]
Tags: administration · blog · consumerism · food and hunger · greening an IEP · TESOL 2014 · TESOL Environmental Responsibility Forum · the environment · vegetarian / vegan · vocabulary
The Story of Bottled Water
July 25th, 2013 · No Comments
The Story of Bottled Water is a video by Annie Leonard and Free Range Studios (of The Story of Stuff fame) on the issue of bottled water. It is relatively short (about 8 minutes) and the language is fairly accessible. They also offer an annotated script that students could read along with. Anthony Lavigne (LinkedIn) […]
Tags: blog · consumerism · ESL activity · global issues activities · listening · reading · speaking · the environment · video · visual prompts · water · writing
Great Critical Readings on Food
June 21st, 2013 · No Comments
You Won’t Believe What the Food Industry Is Doing to Keep Americans Hooked on Junk Alternet’s April M. Short just put together a great article detailing some of the more devious ways in which corporations peddle their food products. First, she describes about how processed foods are made to look more natural, like McDonald’s using […]
Tags: blog · consumerism · food and hunger · global issues activities · health · reading · vegetarian / vegan
Buy Nothing Day 2012
November 21st, 2012 · No Comments
With all the talk of Black Friday (here in the US), I always like to do a short lesson on Buy Nothing Day around this time of year. One place to get materials is the Adbusters’ campaign page, where there are a number of protest ideas and posters. Developing Teachers has a 90-minute lesson based […]
Tags: art as activism · blog · Buy Nothing Day · consumerism · fair trade · global issues activities · happiness · lesson plans · my articles · pictures · poverty & wealth · reading · simplicity · the environment · visual prompts
The True Cost of Food / Free Range Studios
November 2nd, 2012 · No Comments
The True Cost of Food is a 15-minute video about the hidden costs of factory farming, industrial agriculture and fast food. It comes with a discussion guide and an excellent Take Action handout. I really like how the Take Action handout is framed — recommending actions based on the issues students care about. The video […]
Tags: animal rights · art as activism · climate change · consumerism · fair trade · food and hunger · global issues activities · global issues resources · health · lesson plans · listening · the environment · vegetarian / vegan · video · visual aids
After Capitalism
September 17th, 2012 · No Comments
After Capitalism is a series of short animated videos available from The Guardian. Each video features a student animation of an impression of post-capitalist society. I was particularly struck by this one. The text of each animation comes from various authors and economists, including one of my favorite journalists, George Monbiot. The videos are short […]
Tags: blog · consumerism · cultural issues · fair trade · food and hunger · global issues activities · happiness · health · human rights · imagined future · listening · politics · poverty & wealth · racism · the environment · video · visual prompts
The Simplicity Exercises: A Sourcebook for Simplicity Educators
September 17th, 2012 · No Comments
The Simplicity Exercises is a free PDF full of lessons that engage students with the concept of simplicity. Produced by the Simplicity Institute, it covers areas such as mindfulness, the environment, money and time, asking students to consider simplicity and sufficiency. Some of the activities are experiential. For example, a lesson called Silence and Solitude […]
Tags: blog · books · consumerism · global issues activities · global issues resources · happiness · health · lesson plans · listening · reading · simplicity · speaking · the environment · vocabulary