Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for English teachers explores the fascinating topic of deception. This ESL class material uses a video and practical exercises to teach students how to analyze the language of a liar, perfect for an engaging conversation class.
This lesson plan is centered around an engaging TED-Ed video on how to spot a liar. Activities include a ‘two truths and a lie’ warm-up, a vocabulary matching task, video comprehension questions, and a practical grammar focus on hedging language. Students will get to practice expressing suspicion politely through a fun role-play and a critical thinking writing task where they analyze a potentially deceptive public statement. This lesson is designed to spark lively discussion and boost analytical skills in your English class.
Activities
- Students begin the class with the classic 'Two truths and a lie' icebreaker, which encourages them to think about what makes a story believable and discuss the subtle cues that might reveal a lie in a low-stakes, fun context.
- Learners watch an engaging TED-Ed video on the four linguistic patterns of deception and complete comprehension exercises to identify key concepts like distancing language and the use of convoluted sentence structures.
- Students practice expressing skepticism politely through a structured role-play activity where one student gives a weak excuse and the other uses hedging language and useful phrases to gently question their story without being accusatory.
- The lesson concludes with a critical thinking writing task where students analyze a short, formal statement from a politician, applying the concepts learned from the video to identify potential signs of deception in the text.
Vocabulary focus
The lesson introduces key vocabulary for discussing truth and lies. Students will learn and practice terms such as deception, to fabricate, convoluted, subconscious, tell-tale sign, and to distance oneself, ensuring they can describe the nuances of dishonest communication.
Grammar focus
The grammar section concentrates on hedging language. This practical lesson teaches students how to use modal verbs (might, could), adverbs (allegedly, reportedly), and specific phrases (it seems that...) to express suspicion or doubt cautiously without making direct accusations.
