This is a good lesson for those of you with all BOY classes, especially lower level high school (Grade 1) and/or Grade 2 or 3 Middle School. Actually, it works with mixed gender classes too - but if you want to get your boys' attention, it's a good one for it.
You will need a working Internet connection, access to Google video and a working projection or TV screen. And candy.
1. Do a quick brainstorm as a class - What do you think when you hear extreme sports (exciting, dangerous, difficult...)
2. Divide the class into groups of 3. Give a worksheet to each group. When everyone has done question 1 (What are 5 extreme sports?), bring their attention back to the board and make a master list that you write on the board.
3. In their groups, the students then choose ONE extreme sport, describe what you DO in this sport and then what you NEED (equipment) for this sport. Share the answers of a few groups and write on the board. Example: Basejumping - You jump off a tall building with a parachute on your back. You need a parachute and a tall building.
4. Bring up the powerpoint (it's a short one). The first 2 slides are simply images of Parkour (aka Yamagashi?). Show one of the videos here - the chase scene is a good intro. Bring up the 3rd slide of the powerpoint and talk about Parkour (do a bit of research on it yourself, there is plenty of info about it online). Then show "A Brother's Journey". Finally, do the true/false. Get the students to say if a statement is true or false. If it is false, they have to repeat the sentence WITH THE CORRECTION to get the candy. Example: Parkour started in Canada. False. Parkour started in France. If there is time, show the Super Mario Parkour.
VIDEOS:
Go on video.google.com. Your first search parameter should be David Bell Parkour - you want the video called "Parkour Chase Scene" - it's about 3 minutes long. Super Mario = about 1 minute long. A Brother's Journey is by a pair of brothers from the UK known as 3run... search either 3run or Brother's journey to find their video on google.
This class will a)get their attention and b) make you look cool and c) keep them more or less in their seats and not setting fire to each other for at least 45 minutes.
