Dead Body and Dodgy Words
Lesson Plan And Tips
Dead Body
Preparation
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There is a fair amount of preparation for this lesson but it is worth it as
you can use it with a range of classes
Body: it certainly adds to the fun if you can reconstruct a body in the
classroom like the teacher did in the video, but an easier alternative would
be to mock up a dead body and photograph it and the scene of the crime.
You can then put these pictures up on the whiteboard or even print them
out and let each group have a set.
Clues: You can use your imagination and whatever you have handy for
these pieces of evidence. In the video you will see a playing car, a goblet,
a scythe and a ransom message cut out of a newspaper. Playing cards are
good, but also worth trying: Tickets stubs , Postcards, Weapons, labels in
clothing, map fragments. But it is some times fun to throw in something
more zany: half a dozen eggs, a plastic mouse, a
Investigative report sheet: easy to create a checklist or form to suit
your age group. The main distinction is between an objective description
of the piece of evidence and any inference or deduction.
Lesson Plan
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Introduce or discover the dead body
Introduce the idea of the skill of detection: gathering evidence and using it
to infer and deduce the meaning of the evidence, and final proposing a
explanation of what happened based on the evidence.
Divide the class into Investigation Groups
Give each group a piece of evidence
Ask them to infer and deduce what the evidence suggest about the cause
of death and the reasons for it.
Make notes on the Investigation Sheet
After 15 minutes ask the groups to report back to the whole class.
Rotate the pieces of evidence so that the group now have to incorporate
the new piece of evidence into their version of events.
After 15 minutes report back
Repeat again depending on the length of the lesson
Dodgy Word Pitch
Preparation
Not much preparation required for this lesson idea, although you might like to
mock up the Special Dictionary. In the video the teacher refers to her special
dictionary.
Lesson Plan
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Introduce the idea of the ‘persuasive pitch’
You might find some of the resources in this lesson plan helpful
http://www.tes.co.uk/ResourceDetail.aspx?storyCode=6139080
Explain that you are looking for the most interesting new word to add into
your dictionary.
Divide the class into groups. Each group will have to pitch a made up word
to the rest of the class
At the end of the lesson the whole class will vote on which word they think
most deserves inclusion in the dictionary.
o First make up your word.
o Agree what it means with examples
o Decide on how you are going to sell the word.
o Make sure you use a range of persuasive devices including role
play.
You could show the class an extract from the video to show what a
presentation might look like.
After each presentation ask the other groups to score the presentation on
a scale of 1 to 10. Higher scores for a range of different persuasive
devices.
After all the presentations collect in the scores and celebrate the winner!