LESSON OVERVIEW
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- read an article on personal choice in cosmetic procedure;
- discuss appearance, beauty routines and social media influence;
- review words and phrases for debating beauty trends and social pressures.
Students talk about beauty standards, personal care and social media influence. They reflect on how cosmetic slogans communicate ideas, share their opinions on cosmetic procedures and review useful vocabulary to discuss the topic (e.g. hammer, succumb to, be fair game for). Students also read a short text about Pamela Anderson and discuss ideas related to beauty, ageing and public expectations.
This is a Critical Reading Club worksheet. With this format, students need to read an online article at home and do the exercises in the classroom. Learn more about how to use such worksheets and their benefits in our post.
ACTIVITIES
This lesson begins with a warm-up. Students read the slogans from different cosmetic companies (e.g. beauty is liberating). They choose two and share their thoughts on the messaging behind them. Afterwards, students discuss questions about appearance, skincare habits and social media influence. Moving on, they look at the phrase ‘you do you’ and explain what it means in relation to the article about cosmetic procedures they read before class. Students consider potential criticisms or limitations of this idea and why it might not always be helpful, realistic or applicable. Then, students read opinions on beauty standards and cosmetic procedures. They find words and phrases (e.g. conflate, rail against, hammer) that match definitions. Next, students discuss the opinions from the previous task. They say to what extent they agree or disagree with them and add details. After that, students read a text about Pamela Anderson challenging beauty norms and ageing and discuss the questions about beauty expectations and public reactions.