Born to Not Get Bullied, By Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Lady GaGa and Oprah Photo: eurweb

Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey have joined forces with Harvard University to help victims of bullying. Gaga has created her Born This Way Foundation which empowers kids and provides an environment that is safe during and after school. Excerpts:

“When she was in high school, Lady Gaga says, she was thrown into a trash can. The culprits were boys down the block… I was called really horrible, profane names very loudly in front of huge crowds of people, and my schoolwork suffered at one point…I didn’t want to go to class. And I was a straight-A student…Lady Gaga came to Harvard University on Wednesday for the formal unveiling of her Born This Way Foundation, meant to empower kids and nurture a more congenial environment in and out of schools… A recent study from the University of Virginia suggests that when a school has a climate of bullying, it’s not just the targeted kids who suffer — the entire school lags academically.  A British scholar found that children who simply witness bullying are more likely to skip school or abuse alcohol. American studies have found that children who are bullied are much more likely to contemplate suicide and to skip school…Oprah Winfrey showed up as well, along with Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services. Kathleen McCartney, dean of the Graduate School of Education here at Harvard, said that she and her colleagues invited Lady Gaga because they had been searching for ways to address bullying as a neglected area of education — and as a human rights issue. As many as one-fifth of children feel bullied, she said, adding: “If you don’t feel safe as a child, you can’t learn.”

Bullying is an issue that concerns us all. Read the article in its entirety and share your thoughts.

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Level: Intermediate -Advanced

Language Skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening, and vocabulary  practice.

Time: approximately 2 hours.

Materials: student handouts (from this lesson) access to news article, and video.

Objective: Students will discuss the  positive aspects of celebrities  helping to create a  non-violent movement to stop bullying. Students will practice reading, speaking, writing and listening skills

I. Pre-Reading Tasks

• Prediction

Analyze headings and photos

Directions: Have students read the title of the post, the title of the  article, and analyze the photo.  Next, have them  make a list of  words, and phrases they might find in this article.

• Stimulating Background Knowledge

Brainstorm

Directions: have students generate ideas that may be connected to the article.

KWL  Chart

Directions: Have students fill out the KWL Chart concerning the issue of bullying.

Advanced KWL Chart-Credit MSU

II. While Reading Tasks

• Vocabulary

 Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold (taken from the article) and use a dictionary or thesaurus for assistance.

1. The culprits were boys down the block…
2. I was called really horrible, profane names very loudly…
3. Searching for ways to ease the trauma of adolescence for other kids…
4. American studies have found that children who are bullied are much more likely to contemplate suicide and to skip school.
5. Any self-doubt Lady Gaga harbors should have been erased by the huge throngs that greeted her at Harvard
6. they had been searching for ways to address bullying as a neglected area of education-
7. Exceptionally articulate, she seemed for the first time at a loss for words.
8. Her aim is a far broader movement to change the culture and create a more supportive and tolerant environment.
9. “The Born This Way Foundation is not restitution or revenge for my experiences…
10. Yes, that sounds grandiose and utopian, but I’m reluctant to bet against one of the world’s top pop stars…

• Reading Comprehension

 Questions for Comprehension True / False

Directions: If  the statement is true, students write (T) if  the statement is false they  write (F)  and  provide the correct answer from the article.

1. When she was in high school, Lady Gaga  was thrown into a trash can by a group of girls.
2. She was called names.
3. Lady Gaga was a poor student in school.
4. The name of her foundation is Born to Be Wild Foundation.
5. More focus needs to be placed on bullying because of the high suicide rates and because bullying is an impediment to education.
6. Research suggests that although the victims of bullying suffer, the rest of the school does fine.
7. Children who are bullied are much more likely to contemplate suicide and to skip school.
8. Oprah Winfrey has not joined lady Gaga.
9. The Born This Way Foundation is  a way for Lady Gaga to get revenge for  her experiences.
10. Bullying is not only physical, but can also be mental and emotional.

III. Post Reading Tasks

• Reading Comprehension Check

IV. Listening Activity

Title of Video Clip: The The Gayle King Show: Lady Gaga On Being Bullied – Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)

Gayle King Interviews Lady Gaga.

 Pre-listening Tasks

Directions: Based on the title of the video, students are to make a list of words and phrases that they think they’ll hear during the video. As students listen, they are to  check off the words and phrases predicted by their group.

 While Listening Tasks

•  True / /False statements

Directions: Review the statements with students before the watching the video.  As students listen to the video if  a statement is true they mark it T if the statement is  false they  mark  it F and provide the correct answer.

1. In high school, Lady Gaga was bullied.
2. She had many friends in school.
3. Gaga attended a coed school.
4. The school she attended required that students wear a uniform.
5. During the interview there was someone backstage waiting for Gaga.
6. Lady Gaga described this person in detail.
7. Her new single is entitled Born This Way.
8. Her new single received very little reaction from people.
9. There are 3 versions of this video.
10. The videos will be released on iTunes.
11. A portion of the proceeds from the new video will go towards an anti-bullying charity.

Post-Listening Tasks

•  Questions for Discussion

Directions: In groups,  have students make up questions they would like to ask Lady Gaga.

There is no answer key for this lesson.

Related Sites and  Articles

It Gets Better Project “We started this movement with the goal of letting all LGBT youth know, that despite the tough times, it gets better…”

We Stop Hate “Building a movement of ‘Boppers’ – teens around the world dedicated to ending bullying through raising self-esteem. Join us!”

Harvard Gazette Lady Gaga, Winfrey target bullying “Pop icon Lady Gaga, talk show host Oprah Winfrey, and others visited Harvard yesterday to launch the Born This Way Foundation, a youth-empowerment initiative that will target bullying…”

Tags: bullying, Harvard, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Calls and Reflects on 25 Years, By  Brian Stelter, New York Times
ESL Voices Activities for this article

Oprah Winfrey at the Sydney Opera House -George Burns :afp:getty

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, the extraordinarily popular talk show host Oprah Winfrey will be leaving her daytime television show for good. Oprah’s show has been on television for 25 years now, and her leaving has had an enormous impact on people every where, including those in several countries (even some without tv sets! – -go figure).

Before leaving, Oprah had a few interviews to complete, one of which was with Brian Stelter of the New York Times (lucky man).

She reminisced with Brian about some of her past shows, and she admits to having a lot of flexibility in choosing the topics, which aided in making her show a hit.

Oprah also reminded everyone that she still has OWN, her new cable network, which is going to have a broader and wider platform than the original show.

At one point Brian told Oprah about his mother who was a longtime fan of the show and asked Ms. Winfrey, what she wanted viewers like his mother to remember, to which Ms. Winfrey replied by quoting a line from Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’

“You are your own best thing. It’s you, you… That’s the message. That’s what we’ve been trying to say all these years. No matter what triumphs, defeats, sad times, painful times, whatever you have to go through in life — you are your own best thing.”

During her 25 years, Oprah has helped bring people from different cultures, backgrounds and genders together.

Oprah stated,

“…that she and her team had accomplished what they had set out to do — to let the viewer know that whatever you’re going through, you’re not alone.”

This is exactly what she did, and did it with style, dignity, and grace…the Lady will be missed.

A must read article!

ESL Voices Activities for this article.

Language Skills: Speaking Activity

Level: Low-intermediate

Time: approximately 1 hour.

Materials: none.

Goals: Students will practice speaking skills, and learn about Lady O.

Procedure:

Place students in groups, and have them answer the following questions:

I. Questions for Discussion and Reflection for students:

Who is Oprah Winfrey, and why do so many people like her?

Is there a person similar to Oprah in your country? Describe this person.

If you could have your own talk show, what are some of the topics you’d discuss? Why would you choose these topics?

Would you like to meet with Oprah Winfrey? Explain why.

What three questions would you like to ask her?

By CNN staff: Link to Oprah Bids Farewell in Final Show

Tags: Lady O, Oprah Winfrey, television