ESL/EFL Level: C1/C2 (Advanced)
Lesson Topics: social class, privilege
Skill Focus: Reading, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 2 hours
Lesson Plan Download: toffs-toughs-social-class-advanced-012025.docx
Lesson Overview:
Lesson Topics: social class, privilege
Skill Focus: Reading, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 2 hours
Lesson Plan Download: toffs-toughs-social-class-advanced-012025.docx
Lesson Overview:
- After warm-up questions, students read a 285-word passage that discusses the famous Tuffs & Toughs photograph from 1937. The passage describes the lives of the boys in the image and questions the role of privilege in determining contentment.
- The passage is followed by comprehension and a vocabulary-matching activity. After vocabulary matching, students form discussion questions with the target vocabulary.
- There are two debate topics related to social equality. This is followed by two roleplay activities on a similar theme (inheritance). For more formal speaking practice, choose the first roleplay that takes place in the House of Representatives. For an information conversation, choose the second scenario between a father and child.
- Next, students try to create a story using the lesson's 12 vocabulary items based on an image of a rich-looking dog and a scraggly unkempt one.
- As a bonus activity, students review and discuss three famous photographs. Each photo is accompanied by a long description that students should skim (rather than reading the entire page in detail).
- After famous quotations, the lesson ends with a review of vocabulary before presenting some final discussion questions.
ADVANCED (C1/C2) Lesson on Toffs and Toughs
Warm-up-Questions
- What do you think of when you see the photo on the right?
- What do you need that you currently don’t have?
- To what social class do you belong?
- How do differentiate between social classes? With a partner, write down some ideas that come to mind when you consider the below groups. Then share your ideas with the class.
| Lower Class | Middle Class | Upper-Class |
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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
- …
- It symbolizes the stark divide between the wealthy elite and the working class, highlighting inequality in opportunities and social roles.
- They were skipping school to do odd jobs, such as opening taxi doors and carrying bags, to earn money.
- Likely Thomas Dyson, as he died young from diphtheria, followed by his father’s death in a prison camp. This reflects both personal and family tragedy.
- The privileged boys (toffs) faced tragic and unhappy outcomes, while the working-class boys lived longer, more content lives, challenging the idea that wealth guarantees happiness.
- Wealth and privilege do not necessarily lead to happiness or longevity; resilience and contentment can arise regardless of class.
- Today, many people might challenge this view, advocating for fairness and equality. Pros: Acceptance reduces resentment. Cons: It may discourage efforts to address systemic inequality.
Vocabulary: 1-b, 2-i, 3-h, 4-k, 5-e, 6-j, 7-a, 8-c, 9-f, 10-d, 11-g, 12-l
Collocations 1-a, 2-e, 3-c, 4-f, 5-d, 6-b