Beauty in the broken (life philosophies)

Olia | Aug 12, 2024Aug 12, 2024

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

• discuss cultural philosophies;
• watch a video about Kintsugi;
• practise advanced vocabulary for discussing philosophy. 

With this lesson, students discuss art, the idea of imperfection and philosophy. They watch and talk about a video on Kintsugi, a Japanese art that repairs pottery with gold, highlighting its beauty and history. Students explore advanced vocabulary for discussing philosophy (e.g. non-attachment, encapsulate, transience, etc.) and synonyms. They also discuss other Japanese philosophies and life challenges, philosophies from around the world and their cultural values, as well as students’ personal experiences.

VIDEO AND VOCABULARY

This class starts with a warm-up where students look at the lesson title and name things they expect to talk about. After that, they discuss questions about repairing vs. replacing broken items. Then, students watch a video about Kintsugi and summarize its main ideas. Next, they read ideas mentioned in the video (e.g. Kintsugi encompasses two Japanese philosophies.) and think of synonyms for words in bold (e.g. encompasses). Afterwards, they watch the video again and compare their answers to the synonyms used in the video. Following that, students complete gaps in statements about perspectives on beauty, art, and philosophies of imperfection. They practise advanced vocabulary for discussing philosophy and use the correct form of the words (e.g. weathered, encapsulate, fortitude, etc.). Then, students discuss the statements, say how much each idea resonates with them and explain their perspective. 

DISCUSSION

At this point in the lesson, students look at life challenges (e.g. facing career or financial uncertainties, dealing with failure or rejection, etc.) and think about which Japanese philosophies connected to Kintsugi (e.g. Yuimaru: care for your inner circle, Gaman: live with resilience, etc.) could help people navigate them. They also explain their ideas. Then, students read descriptions of more philosophies from around the world (e.g. Pura Vida, Selbständigkeit, Lagom) and discuss questions about which country each philosophy originates from, their understanding and application. They also talk about philosophies from their culture and how they shape people’s behaviours and attitudes.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This lesson plan also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students think of beginnings to complete sentences. They use the target vocabulary from the lesson. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

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