ESL/EFL Level: Upper-Intermediate (B2/C1)
Lesson Topics: meaning of life, space exploration
Skill Focus: Speaking, Vocabulary, Listening
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: dust-in-universe-upper-intermediate-082026.docx
Lesson Overview:
Lesson Topics: meaning of life, space exploration
Skill Focus: Speaking, Vocabulary, Listening
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: dust-in-universe-upper-intermediate-082026.docx
Lesson Overview:
- Students first warm up with questions about motivation and space exploration. They then try to predict the answers to the main question of the video: why is life worth living?
- The video is 2:58 in length and contains hardcoded English and Spanish subtitles. I've provided links for X, TikTok, and Facebook (it's not on YouTube). In the video, a woman asks astronaut Chris Hadfield why life is worth living. Hadfield's answer acknowledges our seemingly small status as dust in the universe, but also argues that we can choose to go beyond it through our actions and by interacting with the wonders of life. Hadfield speaks at a slow pace accessible to B2 students.
- The video is followed by comprehension questions.
- Next, students match 12 vocabulary items from the video to definitions. This is followed by an exercise which requires students to ask questions to each other using some of the new vocabulary.
- The lesson has a debate topic on whether human civilization is improving.
- The roleplay is between a teenager and a parent. The teenager is feeling unmotivated in the face of life's big questions. The parent must encourage him by describing their own philosophy and motivation for life.
- The next speaking activity is a group task in which students review a list of ways to find meaning in life. They try to rank them in terms of how meaningful they are to them.
- Next, students discuss famous quotations.
- Students then review vocabulary from the video and some collocations.
- Finally, the lesson ends with a few final discussion questions.
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) Lesson on Why Life Is Worth Living
WARM-UP
- Why do you get out of bed every morning?
- Is exploring space worthwhile or a waste of time?
- Are you living your life in the way you want to?
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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. Claude AI was used to assist with answer keys and famous quotations..
ANSWER KEY
Comprehension Questions
- …
- Small and unimportant compared to the vastness of the Universe.
- He thanks his mother, previous civilizations that had schools and systems that helped him/us get to where we are today.
- The choice to be overwhelmed, or to take steps to discover and experience the magnificent.
- To give an example of a place where the beauty and wonder if nature can be experienced.
- (one interpretation: to go beyond basics of our dust-survival-mode and experience the wonders of life and the universe. Doing so is a choice we can make.)
Vocabulary Answer Key
a-overwhelmed, b-interpreting, c-wonder, d-in labor, e-infinite, f-eternity, g-enormous, h-on behalf of, i-magnificent, j-surrounded, k-take pride in, l-civilization
Collocation Answer Key
1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c