Global Problems

Global problems such as poverty, corruption, and racism are constantly on the rise. We always hear about them among others in every kind of media and it seems as there are no practical solutions to those human dilemmas in the near future. Thus, I considered preparing an integrated skills lesson about three common world problems for my intermediate and upper-intermediate classes. 

I didn't follow the conventional procedure of a reading lesson plan, where students read a text for the first time to get the general idea of the topic (skimming). Then they scan (read more thoroughly) it to find specific information. 

I have designed a "reverse reading" lesson as it is called by Prentis (2014). In this lesson, I started with an engaging lead-in followed by general speaking questions about the topic before reading the text. The reading text is divided into three paragraphs. Students are put in threes; each one reads a paragraph and reports to the group. I integrated speaking with reading skills in this lesson to make it more communicative and learner-centered. Finally, students conduct some vocabulary work before they reflect on the reading and discuss three more questions in groups. 

Feel free to use the lesson and let me know how it goes. Click here to download the lesson plan. 

Ref. 

Prentis, N. (2014) Reverse reading conversation lessons. Modern English teacher (23), 3, 68-69.