Big Brother is watching you

Title separator

Vocabulary - surveillance

Flipped

surveillance lesson plan

This is a standalone lesson but it can also be used as part of the set titled:

LESSON OVERVIEW

This surveillance lesson plan looks into the topic of employee monitoring software and questions the use of this technology raises. Students will do some word formation tasks, learn new vocabulary and have plenty of opportunities to discuss.

C1 / Advanced
C2 / Proficiency
60 minFlipped LessonUnlimited Plan

This is a Flipped Classroom lesson plan. In a nutshell, it means that the first part of the lesson needs to be done by students at home. Learn more about flipped classroom and how we implement it in these lesson plans in our post.

PRE-CLASS ACTIVITIES

The pre-class worksheet starts with a short text about the term surveillance. However, if you do this flipped lesson plan as a standard lesson plan, the e-lesson plan starts with a quote by Mark Zuckerberg: “Privacy is a social norm of the past”.

First, students have to read the text and think which parts of speech are missing in each gap. Next, they read it again and complete it with the correct forms of the words in brackets. Moreover, there is also other task on synonyms. In the same text, students need to find synonyms of the words given. In this whole pre-class section, students will learn the following words and phrases: illicit, illegal, to track, to monitor security, safety, protection, to reveal, to disclose, permission, agreement, consent, to keep an eye on, to spy. To practise the vocabulary, students choose 3 new words from this part of the worksheet and write sentences with them.

IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES

The in-class worksheet starts with speaking. Students have to comment and rank the different types of surveillance. They have to say whether these surveillance kinds are acceptable or too intrusive. Next, they move to one vocabulary task. They have to match words from the box to their meanings. Before watching a video, students discuss three lead-in questions. Then, they watch the video and try to explain the idea behind employee monitoring software. After that, they watch the video again and answer some comprehension questions. This surveillance lesson plan finishes with a short discussion as well as a debate about using employee monitoring software. Students prepare arguments against and in favour of the statement given and think about it both from the employer’s and the employee’s perspective.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. Naomi

    It didn’t take 75 minutes, we completed it in half this time

    1. Stan

      Have you used it as a flipped lesson plan? That is have you only done the in-class part in 30-40 mins or the whole thing?

    2. Lydia goold verschoyle

      That usually depends on a pertinent factor… the responsiveness and level of engagement of your students. I find that enthusiastic students usually add to a lesson by engaging constructively, for example bringing up related topics for discussion, discussion around the topic of ‘Big Brother’ Do they know Big Brother through the TV series, the book etc. Discussion around the language… etc

  2. Polly

    I cant view the video through this link – apparently its unavailable in Canada! Is there another link please?

    1. Justa

      How about this one? https://youtu.be/wMp0CjNBKcU

  3. Christiane

    Hey guys! Great topic and great lesson plan. I’m trying it out today. Linked to this same topic … How about a lesson plan on Recruitment processes employees/candidates privacy. Are companies / recruiter allowed to check out your Facebook, Instagram profiles? Should you be judged by that and maybe not hired? Most of my students love talking about this and it’s quite controversial, it could open debates in class. Just an idea 🙂

    1. Stan

      Thanks! It’s a great idea that we’ll definitely use 🙂 We created a lesson plan about recruitment some time ago but it’s more about how relevant resumes are in the process (https://eslbrains.com/why-the-best-hire-might-not-have-the-perfect-resume/).

    2. Justa

      Hi Christiane! See our new lesson plan https://eslbrains.com/unconscious-bias-in-recruitment/
      It’s not exactly about privacy, but it might be of your interest!

  4. Ben

    Really good lesson. As opposed to what was said above, it took over two hours to go through as it promoted some interesting debate with my students. As always, keep up the good work 🙂

    1. Justa

      Thanks, Ben! Nice to hear that your students were so actively engaged in the topic 🙂

  5. dafne

    Great material! Would love to see more C2 lesson plans 🙂

    1. Justa

      Thanks! We’re working on them now, so expect to see more soon 🙂

  6. AlexandraYu

    I’d like to thank you, guys for the work you do! It`s amazing, it inspires and helps in my classes a lot! Can’t put in words how grateful I am!

    1. Justa

      Thank you so much for your kind words! We really appreciate that😊

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
ESL lesson on energy production
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

I get electricity from…

Global Issues Technology

Step into the world of energy production with this lesson! Students practise useful vocabulary and watch a video on electricity trading. They also talk about local and global power generation, examine statistics and discuss sustainable energy.

ESL lesson about crowdfunding
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

When crowds fund your project

Business

With this lesson, students talk about funding sources, address scepticism and watch a video about common myths of crowdfunding. They also explore vocabulary, analyse successful crowdfunding campaigns and create their own projects.

conflict resolution lesson plan
C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Agree to disagree? Negotiating conflict

Business General

Explore the world of conflict with this lesson! Students discuss conflict narratives, resolution tactics, and personal conflict styles. They learn collocations, discuss opinion statements, and listen to a podcast.

technology in sports
C1 / Advanced | C2 / Proficiency
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

The fastest shoe in the world

Lifestyle Technology

With this speaking lesson, students talk about technology in sports, sports ethics and fairness and watch a video on a controversy involving Nike’s footwear in professional running. They also discuss regulatory measures in athletics and the future of technology in sports.

advanced lesson about branding
C1 / Advanced | C2 / Proficiency
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

How brands influence our thinking

Business Lifestyle

Engage in a discussion about branding with this lesson! Students talk about consumer behaviour and brand-building strategies, watch a video and discuss the relationship between consumers and brands.

ESL lesson about tech giants
C1 / Advanced | C2 / Proficiency
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

De-Google your life!

Technology

Step into the world of big tech! Students watch a video about a woman who tries to “de-Google” her life, discuss the challenges of finding alternative tools to Google’s and talk about the future of tech giants. They also practise vocabulary to talk about privacy and tech dependency.

B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Critical Reading Club 30 min / 45 min
Loading

The golden age of podcasting

Business

Explore the fascinating field of technology and podcasts with this lesson! After reading an article, students discuss the use of AI in podcasts, practise vocabulary to talk about the topic and discuss their ideas if they launched a 100% AI-generated podcast.

advanced grammar revision
C1 / Advanced
Flipped Lesson 60 min
Loading

Brave new influencers

Grammar Technology

With this Flipped lesson, advanced students get a great chance to revise and practise grammatical aspects, learn collocations connected to social media activity and have engaging conversations about AI influencers.

digital business vocabulary
C1 / Advanced | C2 / Proficiency
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

The digital Revolut(ion)

Business

With this lesson, students talk about online services and learn vocabulary related to the topic. They also discuss their own experiences, watch a video about a successful neobank, and discuss the features of digital businesses.

Show more lessons

Questions

Title separator

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there’s no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won’t be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).

Read more FAQ
Title separator

ESL Brains

Forgot password?
or continue with