How Stories Shape our Minds
ESL Lesson PlansHow Stories Shape our Minds

How Stories Shape our Minds

This ESL lesson plan examines the ways in which stories shape our minds through reading, listening, and presentation skills exercises. Learners analyze multimedia resources and deliver structured presentations on storytelling's cognitive and social impacts. The lesson focuses on improving public speaking and the ability to synthesize information, fostering advanced communication skills in a collaborative setting.

Skills

  • Can synthesize and exploit information and arguments from a complex spoken or written text
  • Can present a complex topic confidently and articulately to an audience unfamiliar with it, structuring and adapting the talk flexibly to meet the audience's needs
Online Interactive
Based on CEFR
Fully Customizable
1

At home: Watch this video "How stories shape our minds". Answer the following questions in writing and be ready to use your answers in class during discussion.

1
What is the potential power of stories according to the speaker?
2
What did the research paper mentioned by the speaker suggest about the impact of reading Harry Potter and vampire books?
3
How does the speaker describe the experience of reading a book and building worlds?
4
Why does the speaker suggest that reading about someone else's actions can activate brain areas related to performing those actions?
5
What does the speaker say about the role of the mirror neuron system in the process of connecting with fictional characters?
6
How can reading stories about stigmatized groups improve attitudes towards those groups?
7
Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of stories for children's understanding of the world and themselves?
2

At home: Read this article.

3

At home: Fill in the gaps with the words below to complete the phrases used in the article. Self-check by scanning the article once again.

4

At home: Synthesize the information from the video and the article:

5

At home: Prepare a presentation based on the main points that you outlined in the exercise above. Choose one story (from a book, film, TV, fairy tale, cartoon etc.) and explain how these points can be / are reflected in this particular story or the experience of its readers.

6

In class: Answer these questions relying on your homework materials as well as your unique experience

7

In class: Show your presentation

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