Title: Words have power

Lesson plan elaborated by: Magdalena Trysińska

Topic:

Words have power. You are responsible for what you say.

Target group

5th‑grade students of an eight‑year elementary school

Core curriculum

II. Language education.

2. Diversity of language Student:

2) uses an official and unofficial style of Polish language;

3) uses a style appropriate to the communication situation;

4) understands the literal and figurative meaning of words in an utterance; recognizes polysemous words, understands their meaning in a text and consciously uses them to create his/her own utterances;

5) recognizes idiomatic phrases in the utterances, recognizes their richness, understands their meaning and applies them correctly in the utterances;

6) recognizes neutral and evaluative vocabulary, understands its functions in the text;

7) adjusts the way of expressing himself/herself to the intended purpose of the utterance;

8) distinguishes between synonyms, antonyms, understands their functions in the text and uses them in his/her own utterances.

3. Communication language and culture of the language. Student:

3) defines the communication situation and understands its influence on the form of the utterance;

7) understands what a language etiquette is all about and applies its principles.

IV. Self‑study. Student:

2) perfects various forms of recording the information acquired;

6) pays attention to the type of dictionary definitions, determines their specificity;

7) develops the skill of critical assessment of the information obtained.

The general aim of education

During the lesson, the students will learn to take responsibility for what they say.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• learning to learn;

• cultural awareness and expression.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• uses idiomatic expressions and proverbs associated with the concept of “words”;

• explains what euphemisms are and gives examples of them;

• explains what a taboo is and gives examples;

• searches for information in dictionaries;

• uses dictionaries, knows the structure of a dictionary entry;

• creates a language rule for language users.

Methods / techniques

• elements of the expository method;

• problematic method: directed conversation;

• practical method: tasks concerned;

• activating method: drama;

• programmed method: using the computer, using an e‑textbook.

Forms of work

• uniform individual activity;

• uniform group activity;

• activity in pairs.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher defines the aim of the lesson which is to develop language awareness and responsibility for the words we say. He/she gives students the criteria for success.

2. The teacher asks students questions:

• What can the magical power of words consist in?

• What do the proverbs mean: O wilku mowa (speak of the devil and he appears), Nie wywołuj wilka z lasu (let sleeping dogs lie), the saying Wypluj to słowo (don't even think about it)?

• In what situations do we use them?

• Why do we knock three times on unpainted wood?

• What else can you do when you do not want something to happen?

Realization

1. The teacher presents genre scenes to the students (comic book from ex. 1). Drama: willing pairs of students play roles. The other students match the proverbs to the scenes watch: O wilku mowa (speak of the devil and he appears), Nie wywołuj wilka z lasu (let sleeping dogs lie), the saying Wypluj to słowo (don't even think about it).

2. The teacher asks students about their experiences of using euphemisms or superstitions related to speaking or not speaking about something. Then he/she provides information about euphemisms. The teacher says that some phenomena (illness, death, physiological activities) are so far covered by the so‑called linguistic taboo. They must not be discussed. If there is a need, however, alternative terms – euphemisms – can be used, without breaching the ban. Instead of saying that someone died, we will say: he passed away, fell asleep forever, went to the Abraham's bosom. We also use euphemisms to name some drawbacks, e.g. someone has sticky fingers, someone departs from the truth.

3. The students perform ex. 2 in the abstract – they determine the meaning of the euphemisms given. They then formulate a definition of linguistic taboo and euphemism.

4. Students perform ex. 4 in the abstract. They talk about the use of proverbs, e.g.

• How do you understand the proverbs given?

• With which proverbs did you come across in everyday life?

• In what situations can you use these proverbs?

5. The teacher provides information on the use of the following dictionaries: the Polish language dictionary and the English language dictionary. Students are introduced to sample dictionary entries, pay attention to the construction of the entry, learn to read information about emotional characteristics and information about the grammatical structure of words.

6. The students complete further exercises from the e‑textbook (ex. 5 and 6), which aim is to expand the vocabulary with a particular focus on the correctness of phrases.

Summary

1. The teacher asks questions prompting students to assess their own work and the level of understanding of the material, e.g.

• What is an euphemism?

• What is a taboo?

• Why should you take responsibility for what you say?

• What does it mean that a word can hurt?

2. The students write a short, 2 or 3 sentence lesson note in their notebooks.

Homework

Use the sayings and proverbs you know to write 10 instructions for language users.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Words have power!

From the earliest times people believed that words have a magical power: what we are talking about can really happen. Proverbs grew out of such conviction: speak of the devil and the devil appears, let the sleeping dogs lie, don’t even think about it or the superstition ordering to knock three times on an unpainted wood.