| LESSON OVERVIEW
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- discuss overcoming challenges and excelling in your field;
- learn and practice vocabulary on challenges and achievements;
- talk about the Olympic Games;
- watch a video about an Olympic athlete.
In this lesson, students discuss accomplishments and awards (e.g. Nobel Prize, Oscar, Grammy). They talk about famous individuals, and learn and practice vocabulary on challenges and achievements. They share opinions on excelling in your field and the concept of winning at any cost. They also explore quotes about the Olympic Games and evaluate key factors in achieving exceptional results. Additionally, students watch a video about Olympic athlete Noah Lyles and engage in a discussion on the video and related topics.
WARM-UP AND VOCABULARY
This lesson begins with a warm-up where students look at achievements (e.g. Nobel Prize, Olympic medal, Oscar, etc.). They discuss questions about prizes and personal achievements. After that, they read statements about famous people (e.g. Despite being a few seconds shy of the record in some races, he is celebrated as the fastest man in the world.). They have to choose the name of the person each sentence is about (e.g. Usain Bolt, Albert Einstein, Serena Williams, etc.). Following that, students work on vocabulary on challenges and achievements (e.g. be in a league of your own, be shy of, go out of your way, etc.).
They find phrases in the sentences to match the definitions. Next, they complete sentences about personal goals and struggles using their own ideas (e.g. It’s only acceptable to rest on your laurels when…). Then, students look at different factors that play a role in achieving outstanding results (e.g. clear goals and vision, knowledge and expertise, etc.). They choose three they consider to be the most important and explain their choice. Afterwards, students complete quotes (e.g. “A lifetime of training for just ten seconds”.) to represent the spirit of the Olympic Games. They also compare their ideas with the originals. Students choose the one that they like the most and explain their choice.
VIDEO AND DISCUSSION
At this point in the lesson, students watch the first part of a video about an athlete called Noah Lyles and tick one fact that is mentioned about him. Then, they watch the second part of the video and add more details about Noah’s personal and professional life (e.g. Noah’s personal life: he loves anime with hero stories; Noah’s professional life: he needs to be as consistent as possible). Following that, students discuss questions about Olympic athletes’ motivations and challenges. Next, they practise vocabulary on challenges and achievements by completing gaps in sentences about attitudes toward success and failure (e.g. It’s better to retire and rest on your laurels while you’re still on top of your game than to lose your title trying to outdo yourself.). Finally, students discuss whether they agree or disagree with the opinions from the previous exercise and explain why.
HOMEWORK/REVISION
This lesson plan also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students rewrite a text using the target phrases from the lesson. Then, they choose a person who inspires them and write a short text about them using the remaining phrases. 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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