What I saw in the war

 A lesson based on Janine di Giovanni's TED talk

Image source: TED.com [Fair use]

I came across this talk, which is shorter than usual TED talks, while looking for some materials on the topic of war and conflict - in view of the current events. The reactions from the students I've showed it to this week have been: "touching", "impressive" and "outstanding".

I've made two versions of this activity for different levels - just like with my news quizzes.

At both levels, the activity starts with pre-teaching key vocabulary. Although it's debatable whether pre-teaching vocabulary before listening is beneficial, I found it helpful with this particular video. You will see that the higher level version also has a follow-up activity for the vocabulary that was 'pre-taught'. If you are surprised at the conspicuous absence of other pre-listening activities, such as prediction or activating background knowledge, I felt that the events in Ukraine provided sufficient background and context to the activity.

As usual, if you use or adapt this activity, do let me know in the comments below.

Here's hoping for peace soon.

Link to the video

www.ted.com/talks/janine_di_giovanni_what_i_saw_in_the_war

Advanced

Preview below or click HERE to download the editable Google doc

Google Slides for remote teaching or classroom use

Intermediate

Preview below or click HERE to download the editable Google doc

Google Slides for remote teaching or classroom use