Lesson Plan: Shocking Bad Habits
While Reading Activities: Word Inference
- decade |ˈdekād| noun-a period of ten years: he taught at the university for nearly a decade.
- device |diˈvīs| noun a thing made or adapted for a particular purpose, esp. a piece of mechanical or electronic equipment: a measuring device.
- shock |SHäk| noun-a sudden discharge of electricity through a part of the body.
- dabble |ˈdabəl| verb- [ no obj. ] take part in an activity in a casual or superficial way: he dabbled in writing as a young man.
- zap |zap| informal –verb (zaps, zapping, zapped)-move suddenly and rapidly, esp. between television channels or sections of videotape by use of a remote control: video recorders mean the audience will zap through the ads.
- curb |kərb| verb [ with obj. ] restrain or keep in check: she promised she would curb her temper.
- torture |ˈtôrCHər| noun-the action or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something, or for the pleasure of the person inflicting the pain.
- design |dəˈzīn| verb [ with obj. ]decide upon the look and functioning of (a building, garment, or other object), typically by making a detailed drawing of it: a number of architectural students were designing a factory.
- ethical |ˈeTHikəl| adjective-of or relating to moral principles or the branch of knowledge dealing with these: ethical issues in nursing | ethical churchgoing men.
- aversion |əˈvərZHən| noun-a strong dislike or disinclination: he had a deep-seated aversion to most forms of exercise.
Source: New Oxford American Dictionary
Reading Comprehension: Fill-ins
Dr. Marc Potenza, a professor of psychiatry at Yale, says researchers have questioned the ethical nature of shock intervention when more comfortable options like cognitive behavioral therapies, pharmaceutical interventions and 12-step programs are available.
Grammar: Identifying Articles
Directions: Have students choose the correct articles to fill in the blanks.
As the name suggests, the $199 Pavlok, worn on the wrist, uses the classic theory of Pavlovian conditioning to create a negative association with a specific action. Next time you smoke, bite your nails or eat junk food, one tap of the device or a smartphone app will deliver a shock. The zap lasts only a fraction of a second, though the severity of the shock is up to you.
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