Where’s That Video I Saw The Other Day? I Need it for my Lesson!

Do you ever spend ages looking for the right picture, video, or text for your lesson? I can only imagine the hours in my teaching career I’ve devoted to this!

Other times, seemingly out of nowhere, the right text, video or picture comes, and creating a lesson around it is a smooth, enjoyable process.

One thing I’ve learnt is to be always on the lookout for pictures, videos and texts that can later be used for teaching. When I find them I save them in my profile on diigo.com, which is a bit like an online ‘favourites’ toolbar, and it allows me to tag the site. In this case I tag it as ‘make a lesson with this’. That way, whenever I go back to the tag I have all the sites, videos and pictures that at some point I though would make a good basis for a lesson. This has had a tremendously positive effect.

An example of how I’ve used this is when my brother sent me a fantastic video by WhatsApp, I saved it with that tag, and came back later and built a lesson around it.

At first sight the video appears to be a car advert, but appearances can be deceptive! What’s more, this advert was banned most unfairly. It’s edgy, visual and had a great twist. Perfect for a lesson on a transport theme and puts the climate crisis centre stage.

Would you like to see the lesson? I’d love to show you so just click below to explore it and use it in your classroom!

This lesson plan for language teachers fits in with the topic of transport that comes up in every course but keeps the environmental issues around transport firmly in sight. The lesson is based around an edgy advert that was banned in France and then went viral. At first appearance, it seems to be publicity for a sports car. Don’t be deceived! It contains a twist that’s certain to get learners engaged in the topic of transport and its environmental impact! This lesson can be used with students of A2 language level upwards and will appeal to both adults and young learners. It’s suitable for face-to-face and online teaching. Interested? Click on the button below to access the lesson plan packed in an infographic.

What about you? Have you found a method of finding, during, and retrieving materials for lesson plans that come up? I’d love to hear your ideas so please post a comment!