Educational Inequality 

Activity: Flyswatter 

Time: 10 minutes 

SWBAT targeted: 1 &2

Procedure:

1. Before class (time permitting), write each of the vocabulary words in a 4x4 grid on the classroom board.

a) If unable to do this before class, give students an introduction activity such as a pair discussion of “rose, thorn, and bud” that they can self-direct while you set up the board.

i. Rose: something good that happened recently for student 

ii. Thorn: Something difficult/bad that has happened to the student this week

iii. Bud: Something the student is looking forward to. 

2. Once the board is set up, begin with instructions for the activity.. 

a) Students will be divided into 3 or 4 teams (depending on # of Ss for even teams)

b) Students will form a single-file line within their group

c) The first students in each line will be given a flyswatter. The teacher will read a definition of one word on the board and students will listen and try to match it.  

d) Once the definition is read, students should run up to the board and use the flyswatter to hit the word they think was just defined. 

i. Each student gets two guesses for the word. 

ii. If no correct answer after two guesses, move on to the next student and use the definition later for a different round of student

1. Write down the words students have difficulty with and review after the game. 

e) The first student to get the correct word gets a point. 

f) The first group to win (Ex: 10 points) can be given a small prize if possible.

3. CQC’s: 

a) What do you do with the flyswatter? 

b) How many points to win? 

c) How many guesses do you get for each definition? 

4. After the game, bring students back together as a class to go over words that were most difficult.

Activity: Adverbial Clauses Introduction

Time: 20-25 minutes 

SWBAT targeted: 2, 3, & 5

Procedure:

1. The teacher will display a slideshow on the adverb clauses (Appendix G) on the board. 

2. The teacher will ask students if students know what an adverb clause is.

3. The teacher will explain adverb clauses and ask students if they know concepts from the lesson.

4. The teacher will have students read out examples.

5. The teacher will give instructions on the activity.

a) Have students create groups of 3-4 people

b) Using a list of conjunctions that will be shown on the slideshow and vocabulary on the education gap students will come up with 4 sentences.

c.) Students will write down the sentences on a piece of paper.  

d) Students will turn in the piece of paper at the end of  the activity 

e) Students will write down one of the sentences on the  board

f) The teacher and students will correct the sentences on the board. 

Activity: Dialogue Circle

Time: 25-30 minutes 

SWBAT targeted: 1, 2 & 3

Procedure:

1. In a previous class, students will have been assigned homework related to some new vocabulary words and their definitions. Have students take out their notes from this assignment to help with the discussion. 

2. Print and cut vocabulary cards before class. (Appendix A). Each partnership should be given 4 vocabulary squares. 

3. Pull up a timer to display on the board (Appendix B) and set it for 2 minutes 

4. Number students as “1” or “2” 

a) Have students clear out classroom space to make enough room for large circles of students

b) Have the “1”s create a circle facing outwards and the “2”s create a circle around the “1”s but facing inwards. 

c) Students should be aligned so that they are in pairs with one person on the outside circle and one person on the inside circle.

5. Give each student on the inside circle 1 set of vocabulary notecards

6. Instructions

a) Students will be discussing the new vocabulary with 4 different partners using previous background knowledge and the definitions they did for homework. 

b) The inside circle will read the words off to the outside circle so vocabulary is known by both students

c) Students will have 2 minutes with their partner to discuss the 4 vocabulary words on the notecard and go over the guiding questions related to the vocabulary 

i. Display Guiding Questions for discussion (Appendix C)

1. How do these words relate to each other? 

2. How could they be related to the education gap? 

3. How are these vocabulary words different?

4. Do you have any experiences related to the vocabulary, or are you passionate about one of them?

d) Ask one student to volunteer so that a demonstration can be given. 

i. Have the student read the words and start answering the guiding questions. 

e) After 2 minutes the outer circle of students will rotate clockwise facing the next person. 

f) The inner-circle students will then move on to the next notecard. 

g) Inner-circle students will then share the new vocabulary words with their new partner and have a discussion.

h) Once students have done 4 rotations, students will return to their seats.

7. CCQ’s 

a) Who moves? 

b) What direction do you move?

c) How long do you have to speak? 

d.) When does the inner circle change notecards?

Activity: Bingo

Time: 15-20 minutes

SWBATs Targeted: 3 & 4

Procedure:

1. Before handing out any materials, explain the format of the upcoming activity to students.

2. Students will be listening to a video multiple times. The first time is only so they can listen for gist; there is no assignment to do. The next time they listen, students will be trying to recognize certain vocabulary words and marking them off on their bingo card. 

3.  If necessary, explain the rules of bingo to students.

a) When students hear a word that is on their bingo card in the video, they can mark it off with a symbol (a star, an X, whatever they want).

b) To win bingo, students have to mark off four words in a row either up and down, side to side, or diagonally (“corner to corner”). Once they get four in a row, students can raise their hand and yell “bingo!”.

4. Hand out a bingo card to each student. 

5. Give students a few minutes to look over all of the vocabulary words and their places on the square. Encourage them to ask about any words they don’t remember or are unsure about how to pronounce/what they sound like.

6. Remind students that they are trying to get 4 in a row and should shout “bingo!” when they do. The video will be played all the way through no matter how quickly the first student gets a bingo; after students get a bingo they should try to mark off all of the vocabulary words (a “blackout”).

7. Ask CCQs about instructions:

a) What do you do when you hear a word that is on your bingo card?

b) How many words in a row do you need to win?

c) What do you shout when you get 4 in a row?

d) After you get a bingo, what should you do for the rest of the video?

8. Begin playing the video for students. Walk around the room or otherwise watch students to ensure they are actively listening and are marking off the vocabulary words. 

9. When the first student shouts “bingo!”, pause the video.

10. Ask the student(s) who shouted “bingo!” to read out their words to you, checking against the ordered list you have (Appendix C) to ensure the words have already been said in the video.

11. If correct, congratulate the students for getting a bingo and then un-pause the video to continue the activity. 

12. Repeat the pause, speak, and check process for each student who shouts “bingo!” until the video is over and every student has achieved a bingo.

Caveats: 

• If students need more practice/familiarity with the vocabulary before this activity begins, they can instead use a blank bingo card and fill in each word in whichever position they choose before the game starts. If you don’t have access to a printer or would prefer to save paper, have students draw out their own blank 4x4 bingo cards on scratch paper before filling in the vocabulary.

• To help students focus on the context of the listening text you may want to pause after the first listen and ask them basic questions about the video. Ex: “What is the topic of this video?”, “What types of people (Adults? Teens? Students? Teachers?) are talking in this video?”, etc.

Options: 

• If needed you can go over the homework before the fly swatter activity so Ss feel confident when playing the game. 

• At teacher discretion (or if students find the pace of the video too fast) the video speed can be slowed down to 0.75 by clicking the settings of the YouTube video (the gear icon on the bottom right of the video) and selecting “playback speed”.

• If needed for scaffolding, subtitles can be turned on for the video by clicking the “CC” button on the bottom right of the video. 

• Students can also play in pairs with one bingo card between them if the class size is larger or if consulting with a partner would benefit them.

Activity: Discussion 

Time:  15 minutes 

SWBATs Targeted: 3 & 4

Procedure:

1. Have the students get into groups of two or three. 

2. Ask the students to discuss the education gap and how they have seen aspects of the education wealth gap in their own experience or in ways they have seen around the world. 

3. Give the students time to discuss the first question then ask the students what could be done to address any issues they just discussed in the first question.