A 40 sec. Ad Works for Both LOTS & HOTS

I learned about the educational value of this commercial from Kieran Donaghy, both from his excellent talk at IATEFL, Liverpool, last month and from his blog post about it on Film English.

It was a big hit in class this evening!

Today we used the commercial for LOTS – Lower Order Thinking Skills. In my first lesson of every course for adults (hearing!) struggling with reading comprehension, we review basic Wh questions and how they are to be answered. This ad works beautifully for this purpose:

* It is very short.

* There is no dialogue (can easily be used for my deaf students as well).

* It is very clear.

* It is funny!

We discussed the meaning of each question and possible answers in the  worksheet (see below). Then we watched the ad and answered the questions. Simple but effective – they were all so focused!

 Wh Q Review

I plan to use this ad for a review of some of the HOTS my students are learning (Higher Order Thinking Skills) when we return to school at the end of August. Obviously it is perfect for the skills of ” identifying different perspectives” and “comparing and contrasting”. My question to you is if it isn’t too “improper” to use the very last scene of the ad for the skill of “problem solving”. The scene seems to fit the stages we learned but considering the location of the man in this scene, should we freeze this particular one to discuss the following?

* The man has identified the problem (lack of THE paper)

* The man has identified his options

* The man has compared his options and then has reached a decision. He calls his wife, Emma.

And then he gets what he deserves.

What do you think?

 

8 thoughts on “A 40 sec. Ad Works for Both LOTS & HOTS”

  1. I would definately use this in a secular school. I love it. I would have to double check before using it in a religious school.

    1. Thanks Francine! I’m going to work on this for the beginning of the new school year.
      Naomi

  2. Thanks Naomi,
    I like it a lot and would like to use it both with my 3-4 points classes and with the better ones who need a reminder during the last year of literature. Combining HOTS and humor is great.

    Rivka

    1. Glad to hear that Rivka!
      Would love to swap notes about using it with the different levels.
      Naomi

  3. I like it and will use it. I agree with Francine. I would have no problem using it in my school but would check before using it in a religious school.

    Tami

    1. Thanks Tami!
      Glad you like it too!
      Everyone’s feedback is very encouraging – seems as good for the high-school students as it is for the adults.
      Naomi

  4. nice!
    (yay FilmEnglish-and yay your passing forward and focusing on our specific classrooms)

    thanks, Naomi!

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