Lesson Topics: the influence of the Internet, preserving cultures
Skill Focus: Reading, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: amazon-tribe-internet-upper-intermediate-072024.docx
Lesson Overview:
- After warm-up questions and a prediction exercise, students read a 269-word reading passage about how the arrival of the Internet has affected a semi-isolated Amazon tribe. (The passage is mainly based on this TikTok video.) It discusses the positive and negative effects of Internet access on an indigenous community.
- The video is followed by recall activity, reading comprehension questions, and a vocabulary-matching activity. Next, students match vocabulary from the video to definitions and then form discussion questions using the target vocabulary.
- There are three debate topics related to the influence of the Internet and smartphones. Next, the lesson has two role-play scenarios. The first involves a Starlink sales rep and a tribal elder. The second is between two family members and the value of living a rural, remote life.
- As a bonus, there is an activity asking students to give a presentation about safe internet usage to a remote group.
- After famous quotations, the lesson ends with a review of vocabulary and collocations before presenting some final discussion questions.
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) Lesson on the Internet in the Amazon
Warm-up-Questions
- What is the longest you’ve gone without Internet access? What Internet-related services do you feel you need in your life?
- Do you wish you had grown up in a pre-Internet era? Why or why not?
- What is the most remote (far away from big city centers) place you have traveled to?
Prediction: You are about to read about an Amazon tribe that gained access to the Internet. What effects do you think the Internet had on them? Make some predictions.
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This lesson plan was created by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. ChatGPT was used to generate answer keys and some famous quotations. For questions, contact the author.
Comprehension Question Answer Key
- …
- True
- The internet introduced issues like reduced hunting and farming, misinformation, scams, and addictive content. The tribe leaders responded by limiting internet access to specific hours.
- The Marubo people have difficulty adjusting because they are dealing with the internet's effects all at once, whereas the developed world has had decades to adapt and debate its impact.
Vocabulary 1-b, 2-j, 3-g, 4-d, 5-h, 6-a, 7-e, 8-c, 9-I, 10-f
Collocations 1-a, 2-d, 3-b, 4-c
[1] https://www.tiktok.com/@nytimes/video/7375998344985972011?lang=en
[2] https://www.yahoo.com/tech/spacex-reaches-milestone-starlink-internet-032052994.html