Lesson Topics: racism, hate groups, conflict resolution
Skill Focus: Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary, Writing
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: daryl-davis-kkk-racism-advanced-052025.docx
- The lesson begins with warm-up questions about hate groups and methods to resolve conflict.
- Next, students watch a 3:47-minute video (AmE) about Daryl Davis, a Black American man who made a documentary on the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), an American white supremacist group. Through his relational approach, Davis has convinced twenty members to quit the KKK.
- The video is followed by comprehension questions.
- Next, students match 11 vocabulary items from the video to their corresponding definitions.
- After vocabulary matching, students form discussion questions with the target vocabulary.
- The lesson has two debate prompts: one about fighting racism, and another about whether one person can change the system.
- This is followed by an anti-hate taskforce activity where students discuss several methods (provided) for reducing the rise of hate groups in their country.
- The roleplay scenario involves a teenager and a parent. The teenager, inspired by Davis's relational approach, seeks his parent's approval to spend time documenting a local hate group.
- Next, students review famous quotations related to nature and nurture.
- Finally, students review vocabulary and collocations before discussing some final discussion questions and two writing prompts.
ADVANCED (C1/C2) Lesson on Daryl Davis & The KKK
Warm-up-Questions
- What are some extreme religious or political groups in your home country?
- Would you be willing to talk with someone who holds hateful or offensive views? Why or why not?
- What’s more powerful in the long run: protest or dialogue?
Video: How One Black Blues Musician Changed 25 Members of the KKK (CBN News)
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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
1. …
2. The video shows how Daryl Davis used personal conversation and music to form relationships with KKK members and change their views.
3. Because Daryl had impressed him with his music, and the man was curious — it was a moment of openness.
4. “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?”
5. When the Klan members began asking for his opinion — not just answering his questions.
6. Daryl uses personal, one-on-one dialogue; the younger generation uses activism and social media. Both approaches have value, but students may have differing opinions on which is more effective.
Vocabulary: a-remark, b-pondering, c-masses, d-clinks, e-undermines, f-intent, g-devoting, h-resurgence, i-naive, j-taint, k-supremacy
Collocations 1-a, 2-d, 3-c, 4-b