Since my current school has very long lesson blocks, I incorporated my lesson on dreams (goals) with a lesson on actual dreams (as in the ones you have when you sleep). I actually started the class asking the students what the word dream means and once they produced both ideas, I began the lesson with the sleeping kind. This lesson plan can be found in another post. Concluding that lesson, which was relatively lighthearted and required students to share and interpret dreams, we returned to the second definition: goals, desires and wishes. I actually began this part of the lesson the idiomatic phrase, "kick the bucket" and asked the students to guess its meaning.(By the way, just before this, I had students recall prior knowledge and asked the students which idiomatic phrases they already know).
Bucket List Film Discussion
I then showed The Bucket List film trailer to the students. Afterward, I asked them general comprehension questions about the characters, setting and plot. I also asked them to predict what happens. An interesting discussion that came from the trailer spurred from a statement in the trailer that cited a study in which people were asked if they wanted to know the exact date of their death. As morbid as it may sound, my students had a great time debating this, explaining why they would or would not want to know and what they would do if they did.
There are so many inspiration videos out there but I feel like this one fits: It is about doing what you love. Here's the link: http://vimeo.com/34414313
Nelly Furtado Song Gap-Fill and Discussion
Continuing with the Bucket List theme, we also did a song activity and discussion. This could be done as both a cloze or just a general activity. The song used was "Bucket List" by Nelly Furtado. Although some of the lyrics are at times a bit rushed and difficult to understand, the students enjoyed listening and talking about it afterward. In addition to doing a traditional gap-fill activity, the students were also asked to answer questions that related to themes from the song and situations in their real lives. One especially effective question asked students if they would do as the singer says and give up their dreams for love. Students were very enthusiastic about this question and spoke about it for quite some time.
Bucket List Writing Activity:
I actually created my own worksheet for this one and, again, if you'd like a copy of it, please feel free to message me. It basically reviewed the meaning of "kick the bucket" and "bucket list", gave examples and provided space for students to write their own. As strange as it may sound, students were much more willing to open up and write about their bucket lists after I gave them some examples from my own personal list. Of course, the example's weren't incredibly personal but it in a way broke the ice and got the ball rolling. After students completed their top five (or ten depending on how much time you would like to allot to the activity) , students could volunteer and share some of the dreams on their lists. This activity could be easily expanded and turned into a writing assignment. Students could be asked to choose one activity from their lists and write a paragraph (or however many you'd like) about why they'd like to do that and how they will accomplish it.
