Social Issues Lesson Plans
For your heavy hitters. This is where you find the big, complex debates for your ESL students. We provide the structure and the academic vocabulary needed to discuss current events and tough social issues without the whole thing turning into chaos. Prep for a seriously intense class!
The Rise of Singlehood
Why are so many people single? This B2 lesson plan on the rise of singlehood uses real stats, video, and debates to get students talking.
Surviving a Power Outage
Upper-intermediate ESL lesson plan about preparing for winter blackouts with reading, vocabulary practice, survival kit planning, and debate activities.
Deinfluencing Your Daily Choices
B1 lesson using TikTok videos about resisting consumer pressure. Students discuss what's actually normal when it comes to phones, clothes, and money.
Where Time Really Goes
B1 ESL lesson exploring screen time & life priorities. Includes video, time collocations, speaking activities & personal reflection tasks for adults.
Gender Equality
Teach gender equality with this B2 ESL lesson plan. Includes video, vocabulary, discussion, bias rewriting tasks, and a research homework activity.
What Does Aging Really Feel Like?
B2 ESL lesson on aging with video, vocabulary, speaking tasks, stereotypes, challenges, and personal reflections on growing older.
Hostile Architecture
C1 ESL lesson on hostile architecture. Explore urban design, vocabulary, and debate how cities shape comfort, access, and belonging.
Room 13: Mystery at the Motel
Spooky B1 ESL lesson for Halloween! Students solve a haunted motel mystery, learn 10 key words, and uncover the truth together.
Who Defines Normal?
C1 ESL lesson exploring hidden cultural bias in design—from “flesh” crayons to “chop suey” fonts. Analyze how color and typeface choices shape identity.
Why Billionaires Buy Bunkers
Explore billionaire doomsday bunkers, learn key vocab, and debate survival in this advanced C1 ESL lesson with reading, tasks, and discussion.
How They Watch You Every Day
How do smart homes, remote proctoring, and facial recognition track you? This C1 lesson explores surveillance levels with listening and debate tasks.
What Is the ‘Gen Z Stare’?
B2 lesson on the Gen Z stare and generational communication gaps. Covers vocabulary like formative years and soft skills plus slang research.
The Spread of 3D-Printed Guns
Advanced students debate gun control, loopholes, and freedom of information in this C1 lesson on 3D-printed weapons and online blueprints.
Mini Philosophy in Daily Life
C1 lesson on everyday philosophy: Socratic dialogue, art versus artist ethics, and moral behavior. Includes listening, debate, and advanced vocabulary.
Matcha: What’s Happening?
B2 lesson on the matcha trend and production shortage. Covers cultural vocabulary, reading comprehension, and discussion about tradition versus demand.
Weaponized Incompetence
B2 lesson unpacking weaponized incompetence in relationships. Video explains deliberate task avoidance, gender roles discussion, household labor vocabulary.
Phubbing: A Modern Bad Habit
C1 students explore phubbing through relationship scenarios, screen time analysis, and a deep-dive article on phone addiction's mental health toll.
Sports Betting Apps
C1 students analyze betting app psychology through video on dopamine tricks, dark flow, and near-misses. Ethical debates and Polymarket analysis.
Spotting a Scam
Students analyze phishing emails, fake calls, and fraud tactics in this B2 scam awareness lesson featuring a police captain outsmarting a phone scammer.
Murder Mystery: Who Did It?
Eight clues, five suspects, and one killer to find. This B2 murder mystery ESL lesson plan gets students debating from start to finish.
Shrinkflation
Teach your C1 students about shrinkflation with this lesson plan. Covers 12 vocabulary items, a video on hidden inflation, and Reddit examples.