One nation under CCTV (lower level)

Use this lesson with secondary and adult learners of CEFR Level B1. Students will develop listening skills and explore a photo taken of street art.

A Banksy image with the words 'One nation under CCTV'

One nation under CCTV by @dfogarty: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eltpics/5487675091/

Author

Fiona Mauchline

Introduction

In this lesson students listen to a man talking about a photograph. A series of activities help students to understand the context of the photo, the content of the photo, what it means and why the photographer likes it. During the lesson, students will practise language to compare and contrast their ideas with the photo.
ELTPics image by @dfogarty

A student worksheet accompanies this lesson. However, teachers can use a presentation for a no-printing option.

Learning outcomes

Identify specific and detailed information in an interview
Use language to compare and contrast images

Age and level

13-17, Adults (B1)

Time

Approximately 40-55 minutes

Materials

The following materials can be downloaded below:

Lesson plan
Presentation
Student worksheet
Audio file: One nation under CCTV
Image: One nation under CCTV

In addition, examples of Banksy artwork would be useful. You can find these at: https://www.banksy.co.uk/

Lead-in (5-10 mins)

Write ‘Banksy’ on the board and ask students if they know who he is (he is a street artist and political activist from Bristol, UK. His work has appeared on streets, walls and bridges in the UK and other parts of the world).
Ask students if they know any of his work. If it’s possible, show some examples. You can find some on his website: https://www.banksy.co.uk/
Now write the word ‘graffiti’ on the board and ask students to say what it means (writings or drawings made on walls, doors etc. in public places). Ask them to say / write the words they associate with ‘graffiti’. They can do this in small groups or as a whole class. If they work in groups, invite some to share their words with the class.

Task 1: Listening (Understanding the context of the photo) (10 mins)

Show slide 2 of the presentation or refer students to Task 1 in the student worksheet.
Tell them that they are going to listen to a person who is talking about a photograph that he took. The photograph is of one of Banksy’s ‘graffiti’ or works of art.
Explain that they will listen to the first part of the recording. As they listen, they should try to find out answers to questions 1-4. If you like, you could ask students to try to guess answers before they listen.
Play the recording until ‘it’s like part of the United States Pledge of Allegiance’ (2 minutes 16 seconds).
Give students some time to discuss their answers together, and play again if necessary before checking answers with the class:
Answers: 1. 2-3 years ago, 2. London, 3. Took photo as a souvenir of the holiday in London (it’s famous), 4. He thinks it’s quite clever

Task 2: Listening (Understanding an image) (10 mins)

Show slide 3 of the presentation or refer students to Task 2 in the student worksheet.
Ask students if they understood what is in the photo from previous listening. Gather ideas – you could even encourage students to draw their ideas on the board.
Explain that you will play the first part of the recording again. This time, they should listen to the final paragraph, and take notes of words which describe the image.
Play the first part of the recording again (up to 2 minutes 16 seconds), then give students some time to discuss what the picture looks like in pairs / small groups. They could attempt to draw the image, or again, you could invite one student to draw the image on the board, using ideas and suggestions from the class.

Task 3: Comparing images (5-10 mins)

Now show slide 4 of the presentation or display the image of the photo: One nation under CCTV. Ask students to compare the image with the one that they imagined / drew. They can do this in pairs / groups or as a whole class.
If necessary, review language students could use to compare / contrast. These phrases are available in Task 3 of the student worksheet.
Check that students understand what ‘CCTV means’ (closed-circuit television i.e. surveillance cameras – there is an example camera in the photo to the right of the graffiti).

Task 4: Listening (Understanding the meaning of the photo) (10-15 mins)

Show slide 5 of the presentation or refer students to Task 4 in the student worksheet.
Before they listen to the rest of the recording, ask students to discuss questions 1-4 in small groups or as a whole class. If they discuss in groups, invite them to share their ideas.
Play the recording from ‘What’s a Pledge of Allegiance?’ (at 2 minutes 16 seconds) until the end.
Give students some time to discuss their answers together and play again if necessary. If students find the recording challenging, you could hand out copies of the transcript (see Appendix) or show the transcript on slides 6/7.
Check answers with the class.
Answers:
1. The ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ is a promise to be loyal to the country e.g. children say it at the beginning of a school day.
2. ‘One nation under God’. God is like an eye or camera and watches everything we do. CCTV watches to see if we do ‘bad things’.
3. The child is painting graffiti (a bad thing) under the CCTV camera (to the left of the photo).
4. There are two more people in the original graffiti (but not in this photo): a policeman and a passer-by. They are watching the child.

Follow-up activities / homework

Option 1: Students find another picture from Banksy. They describe the picture to a partner who draws it (without looking at the original picture). At the end, they compare and contrast their drawing with the original.
Option 2: Students find out more about Banksy (or another street artist) – or an interesting piece of street art - and prepare a presentation.
Option 3: Students design a funny or ironic piece of graffiti, in pairs or groups. They then show the class their design and tell their classmates about it.