Lesson Topics: Ms. Rachel, Israel, political inaction
Skill Focus: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: israel-children-rachel-upper-intermediate-062025.docx
- Cautionary Foreword: This lesson is decidedly against the Israeli settlement of Palestine and the current genocide. I feel it is impossible to write a lesson about the killing of 56,000 people in a "neutral" tone. As Ms. Rachel says, when enough people say (or discuss) something, it's not controversial anymore. I feel that bringing light to the atrocities in Gaza is necessary, even if it is uncomfortable for some people to hear. -MB
- The lesson begins with warm-up questions about charities and global issues.
- As inputs, this lesson has a short reading passage and a video. The passage, at 101 words, introduces Ms. Rachel, her advocacy, and the attack on her by pro-Israeli groups. The short TikTok video (1:44m) features Ms. Rachel shaming politicians who refuse to act to protect children in Palestine.
- The passage is followed by comprehension and follow-up questions.
- Next, students match vocabulary from the passage to definitions. Then students form discussion questions with the target vocabulary.
- The lesson has three debate prompts about political inaction and involvement in foreign politics.
- The first roleplay depicts are very real scenario: a character trying to persuade her husband to publicly announce his opposition to Israel's actions in Palestine, yet the husband is concerned about the ramifications for his career if he does so.
- This is followed by a group activity in which students pick a cause and then select a style of fundraiser to raise awareness for the cause.
- Next, students review two famous quotations and the lesson's collocations.
- Finally, students review vocabulary before discussing some final discussion questions. The lesson has one writing prompt as well.
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) Lesson on Ms. Rachel Vs. Israel
Warm-up
- Do you donate to charities? If so, which ones?
- What global issues are you most concerned with? Why?
- How likely do you think it is that the situation in Palestine will improve or be solved?
Reading & Video: Ms. Rachel Speaks on Gaza
Ms. Rachel is a widely followed content creator in the United States who publishes educational videos and songs for your children on her YouTube channel. In May 2024, she organized a fundraiser for children in warzones like Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine. She also began sharing statistics about more than 13,000 children killed by Israel in Gaza along with images. In response, some pro-Israeli groups accused her of antisemitism and have asked the Department of Justice to investigate her for being an agent of Hamas, a Palestinian political and military group.[1]
Ms. Rachel has recently released a video directed at world leaders:
Comprehension Questions & Follow-Up Questions
1) Recall & Retell: What is the purpose of Ms. Rachel’s video?
2) What does antisemitism mean? In your opinion, is it antisemitic discuss the deaths of Palestinian children?
3) What is Ms. Rachel’s point when she asks, “You think their babies don’t like peekaboo?”
4) Ms. Rachel assumes leaders have seen “the same images and videos that we’ve all seen.” Have you seen similar videos or images? Has the media in your country been following the conflict closely?
5) According to Ms. Rachel, why won’t leaders speak out for the children being killed in Gaza?
6) What does Ms. Rachel encourage people to do?
Vocabulary: Match the bold words with their meaning based on how they were used in the article.
| 1. fundraiser (n) 2. statistics (n) 3. agent (n) 4. ashamed (adj) 5. speak out for children (phr. v) 6. begging and pleading (v) 7. your reputation (n) 8. precious children (adj) 9. it’s not controversial (adj) 10. to starve children (v) | a) numbers or data that show information b) asking strongly and emotionally for something c) very important or valuable d) what other people think about you e) to not give someone enough food to live f) someone who gathers secret information about another country g) an event or activity to collect money for a cause h) feeling bad because you did something wrong or failed i) to publicly support and defend someone/a group j) debatable; giving rise to disagreement |
Replace the underlined phrase with one of the words below. Then ask the questions to a partner.
- What’s the closest you’ve ever come to not having enough food to live?
- In your culture, is it acceptable to discuss political or debatable issues in public? Why or why not?
- In your opinion, are some lives more valuable than others?
- Do you think you have a good or bad what people say about you? Why?
- Can asking strongly bring about political change?
- Can you describe a time when you felt bad because you did something wrong? What happened?
Speaking Activity: Debate
- Ignoring an issue is the same as supporting it.
- My country should not get involved in wars on other continents.
Speaking Activity: Roleplay (Pair Work)
Situation: Billy, is a famous American actor. Jill is his wife.
| Jill: You have been following the war in Palestine for a long time. You are sick of your government’s slow (or lack of) response to Israel’s actions. You think everyone needs to speak up.Your husband is an actor. He has millions of followers. You want him to share some content on social media about the issue, but he says he doesn’t want to. Talk to him again. Try to convince him Possible expression: Everyone needs to speak out for the innocent people in Gaza. |
| Billy: You are a famous actor. You have millions of followers. Your wife wants you to share content on your social media about Israel’s actions. You are worried that doing so would hurt your career because many people in Hollywood support Israel. Also, you could lose many followers.Talk to your wife. Explain your concerns. Possible expression: We also need to worry about my reputation. |
Speaking Activity: The Fundraiser (Group Work)
Task 1: Pick an issue/charity/organization that you want to have a fundraiser for. It can be a local, national, or international cause.
Task 2: You and your classmates are brainstorming fundraising ideas. Discuss some of the below ideas and add you own.
| Bake sale Car wash 72-hour fast | Talent show 24-hour gaming livestream Other: _______________ |
Task 3: Invite your teacher to the fundraiser. Explain the reason for it and where the money will go. Convince her/him to give a large donation.
Famous Quotations
- “Gaza has become ‘a graveyard for children’: one is killed every 10 minutes.” – Washington Post
- “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” - – Frederick Douglass
Collocation Review from Passage & Video
| 1. a widely 2. for children in war 3. the Department of 4. they haven’t 5. you could see her little pony 6. human | a) zones b) tail c) followed content creator d) Justice e) rights f) moved you to do the right thing |
Vocabulary: Insert one of the below vocabulary items into the appropriate blank.
reputation / precious / starve / ashamed / fundraiser / controversial / speak out / agent
statistics / beg and plead
1. … she organized a ____________ for children in warzones like Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine.
2. She also began sharing ____________ about more than 11,000+ children killed by Israel ….
3. … have asked the Department of Justice to investigate her for being an ____________ of Hamas…
4. Be so ____________ that you've seen the same images & videos we've seen…
5. Be so ashamed that you normally ____________ for children & human rights, but …
6. Be so ashamed that your constituents are ____________ for you to say something.
7. Your putting money, power, your career, your ____________, before ____________ children of God.
8. When enough people say something, it’s not ____________ anymore.
9. It’s never been wrong to say not to ____________ children…
Final Discussion Questions
- Some people argue that politicians are controlled by lobby groups. What do you think of this?
- Is this lesson antisemitic?
- Should foreign students who attend protests at universities be arrested and deported?[2]
- Should celebrities like actors or Ms. Rachel get involved in political issues?
Writing Prompt: Is silence dangerous? Write a short essay or opinion paragraph answering this question.
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: 1-g, 2-a, 3-f, 4-h, 5-i, 6-b, 7-d, 8-c, 9-j, 10-e
Collocations 1-c, 2-a, 3-d, 4-f, 5-b, 6-e
[1] https://x.com/StopAntisemites/status/1909425776727830619, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/17/ms-rachel-gaza-fundraiser
[2] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/immigration-judge-rules-that-columbia-student-mahmoud-khalil-can-be-deported