Viral theories

Kinga | Apr 15, 2026Apr 15, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

• engage in talking about theories from different viewpoints;
• watch part of a video about the abundance of online theories;
• formulate original theories and hypothesise their explanations.

In this lesson, students reflect on the meanings of the word ‘theory’ and debate the nature and credibility of claims. They argue for and against common theories and watch a video excerpt (to 03:37) about a social media phenomenon. Students discuss social media theory trends and their impact, read about theories related to human nature and, in pairs, develop their own theories.

WARM-UP AND DISCUSSION

This lesson starts with a warm-up. Students read three meanings of the word ‘theory’ and provide two more examples for each meaning. After that, they look at different claims (e.g. the Big Bang theory, the theory of evolution, the flat Earth theory) and engage in talking about theories’ origins, evidence and validity. At this point, students can do an extra vocabulary task. They use the correct prefixes (e.g. irrational, non-scientific, illogical) to complete the words in statements about theoretical claims. Then, students choose three statements and say to what extent they agree with them. Next, they examine some common theories (e.g. the dead internet theory) and explain what they might be about. They then provide one argument in favour and one argument against each. 

VIDEO AND MORE DISCUSSION

In this part of the lesson, students watch part of a video about a social media phenomenon involving theories. They say whether they noticed the phenomenon and give details. Moving on, students continue talking about theories and discuss questions about viral social media claims. They then look at some popular online theories about human nature (e.g. the taxicab theory). Following that, students do tasks that involve analysing, evaluating and creatively applying them. Afterwards, they work in pairs and come up with theories, including their names, explanations, inspirations and testing methods. Student A tells Student B the name of their first theory. Student B tries to guess what it is about. If it’s hard to guess, Student A gives them some hints. After describing each theory, students discuss whether people are likely to relate to it. Then, they swap roles until all theories are discussed. 

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