Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence - Novice High
Lesson Information
Positive Psychology Learning Outcomes
Students will...
- recognize, describe and experience beauty in nature and the world.
- identify and describe the beauty within themselves and others around them..
- practice mindfulness meditation.
Language Learning Outcomes
Students will...
- learn to use sense verbs (see, hear, feel, smell) in simple sentences.
- use formulaic language to describe nature and the strengths of others.
- learn new vocabulary related to nature, skills, and traits.
Materials Needed
- PowerPoint: Appreciation of Beauty - Foundations
- Worksheet: FL Beauty - Handout #1 (1).docx
- Video: Short 5 Minute Guided Meditation for Mindfulness - YouTube
- Worksheet: FL Beauty - Handout #2 (1).docx
- Video: A Drone Tour Of La Sagrada Familia | TIME - YouTube
Overview
Explain to students that today they will be learning about something very different from their normal class time. This class will focus on appreciating--being thankful for--beauty and excellence.
Activate Background Knowledge
Have students find a picture of something they think is beautiful.
- Give them a minute or two to search for a picture.
- Share their pictures in a group and have them try to think of two or three sentences to describe to each other what they think is beautiful in each picture.
Activity 1: Vocabulary
Introduce the four sense verbs that will be used for the next activity: see, hear, feel, and smell. Use Appreciation of Beauty - Foundations.
- Briefly give examples of sentences using each verb.
Activity 2: Vocabulary
Distribute FL Beauty - Handout #1 (1).docx to the students.
- Instruct the students to take a couple minutes to look up words that they do not know using a dictionary.
Activity 3: Speaking
Each of the 11 links in the powerpoint Appreciation of Beauty - Foundations (slide 9) contains a video of a nature scene with natural sounds. You can open and spend as much time as needed on each scene.
- Instruct students to look at each column and create a sentence that describes the scene they are looking at.
- Encourage students to share as a class what they see, hear, and to imagine what they could touch and smell from the scene they are viewing.
- After 15 min, ask students to share which scenes they like the most and which they would want to visit using the fluency line examples (slide 10).
Activity 4: Listening
Play Short 5 Minute Guided Meditation for Mindfulness - YouTube (also found in the PowerPoint). Students should try to pay attention to the instructions in the video.
- Ask students how they feel afterwards or for a thumbs up or down to see how many enjoyed the mindfulness meditation exercise.
- How does this meditation connect to appreciation?
Activity 5: Speaking
Provide students with FL Beauty - Handout #2 (1).docx.
- Explain to students how they will know which column of words to use for each type of sentence, i.e. skills vs traits found in Slide 12 of the Powerpoint. . Students may need time to look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary.
- Direct students to use the fluency lines given in Slide 13 to form simple sentences about the strengths (skills and traits) of someone they know and for their own strengths.
- Allow students time to share with a partner or the class the sentences they formed about the strengths (and beauty) of others.
Activity 6: Speaking
Discuss the many places where beauty can be found (Slide 15).
- The following are a few examples:
- a beautiful building
- a song
- a sculpture
- writing/poetry
- A painting
- Food / cooking or baking
- A type of dance
- Inspiring people
- Beautiful experiences (walking in the rain, laughter of a child, hugging someone you haven’t seen in a while)
- Show the video A Drone Tour Of La Sagrada Familia | TIME - YouTube
- Instruct students to use their phones to find an example of something that they find beautiful besides a picture--could be poetry or book, painting, sculpture, etc.--and have them share in small groups of three or four.
Homework
Challenge students to find a new example of beauty in the natural world around them. Tell them to prepare to share what they find in the following class period.
Follow-Up
Tuesday:
Have students share an example of beauty that they found from their homework assignment.
Wednesday:
Watch a 1-min mindfulness meditation. How does meditation make them feel? What do they think of?
Thursday:
Have students share with the class about an example of beauty that they saw in others.
End-of-Chapter Survey
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