Lesson Topics: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, desires, aspirations
Skill Focus: Speaking, Listening, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 2 hours
Lesson Plan Download: maslow-hierarchy-advanced-lesson-112024.docx
Lesson Overview:
- After warm-up questions, students make a list of five needs that people need to fulfill in order to be happy.
- This is followed by a vocabulary preview task that has students match 12 words and phrases from the video to their definitions.
- The YouTube video is 4:30 minutes in length, but the URL provided in the lesson has a timestamp to stop playing at 2:30 (where I suggest stopping). The video explains Maslow's theory and some of its criticisms. It contains a lot of information that is narrated rather quickly; I feel 2:30 is a good place to stop to avoid overwhelming your student.
- Post-video activities include a recall and retell activity, comprehension questions, and an activity requiring students to use some of the seven new vocabulary items to form discussion questions.
- The lesson has two debate topics. The first is about the value of Maslow's theory today and the second asks whether money is essential for happiness.
- The first roleplay activity pits a parent against a teenage child--together they attempt to fulfill a list of priorities for the child's future. The second roleplay is between a life coach and an adult who is having trouble finding deeper meaning in life.
- After some famous quotations related to motivation and desire, the final speaking activity asks students to create a vision board. For this activity, students write notes on their future goals and aspirations as they relate to eight topics.
- The lesson closes with a vocabulary review, collocation review, and final discussion questions.
ADVANCED (C1/C2) Lesson on Motivation & Maslow’s Theory
Warm-up-Questions
- Why are you studying English? What do you hope to do when your fluency reaches a certain level?
- What do you hope to be doing in your retirement?
- Think about the happiest people that you know. What do they have in common?
Predicting: This lesson is going to discuss motivation. With a partner, make a list of five needs (e.g. the need for food) that people need to be happy. Then rank the needs in order of priority.
Membership is required to view this post. Please support EnglishCurrent by becoming a member today. Members, please log in.
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
- Maslow’s theory suggests that people have a hierarchy of needs, starting with basic survival needs at the bottom (like food and water), and moving up to higher-level needs, such as safety, love, and finally, self-fulfillment and reaching one's potential at the top.
- …
- False: Maslow did not claim his theory was universal. He acknowledged that context and culture affect human behavior.
- Self-actualization, according to Maslow, is reaching one's full potential and pursuing personal goals, often related to creativity, personal growth, or self-fulfillment.
- People criticize Maslow’s research method because he based his conclusions on subjective analysis of a small sample of people, many of whom were educated white males, making it difficult to generalize his findings to everyone.
- In nursing, Maslow’s theory can be used to assess a patient’s needs. For example, medical staff might prioritize basic physical needs, such as nutrition and safety, before addressing emotional or social needs.
Vocabulary 1-symphony, 2. makes us tick, 3. physiological, 4. altruism, 5. qualitative, 6. aspiring, 7. hierarchy, 8. comprehensive, 9. subjective, 10. nuanced, 11. nutrients, 12. top-tier
Collocations 1-b, 2-a, 3-e, 4-c, 5-d