This lesson plan introduces the topic of social media and body image as well as a penpal project between two schools. Students will discuss issues related to unrealistic beauty standards promoted by social media. They will also learn about cultural differences in beauty standards around the world. The main activities include analyzing a cartoon about plastic surgery, a presentation on global beauty standards, and an activity comparing edited vs. unedited online images. Finally, students will begin writing emails to their new penpals from another school as part of an exchange project.

1. 1
I.S.F.D LENGUAS VIVAS BARILOCHE –
PRÁCTICA DOCENTE III
ENTREGA DE PLANIFICACIÓN
ALUMNO PRACTICANTE: PAULA EZPELETA
Institución educativa: EESA N°1
Año y sección: 6to año (división única)
Nivel lingüístico del curso: pre-intermediate (A2)
Cantidad de alumnos: 26
Tipo de Planificación: Clase presencial
Unidad Temática: Social Media and Body Image
Clase Nº: 3 (Lessons 17, 18 & 19)
Duración de la clase: 2 horas
Fecha de la clase: 01-11-21
Fecha de entrega de la planificación: 29-10-21
LESSON PLAN DESCRIPTION: This LP introduces the topic of Social Media
and Body image as well as the Penpal Project (PP). There will be another class
on the same topic (plus the PP) but the idea is to cover some topics more in
depth since the PP is time-consuming. I consider vital to discuss issues
related to body image within the framework of Comprehensive Sexual
Education (CSE). I will submit the Penpal Project once both head teachers had
signed it.
Learning Aims
During this lesson, learners will be able to:
 Develop critical thinking to reflect about unattainable standards of beauty
imposed by the media within the framework of CSE.
 Develop reading skills by reading two models of informal emails as well as
reading videos with English scripts about standards of beauty around the
world.
 Foster speaking skills by agreeing and disagreeing about someone’s opinion
and give opinions about plastic surgeries.

2. 2
 Develop writing skills by studying the different parts of an email and using
different tenses and informal phrases.
 Share opinions, fears or anxiety regarding body image pressure in a
supportive and caring environment.
Language Focus
LEXIS FUNCTIONS STRUCTURE
R
E
V
Action and state verbs
Basic adjectives
Basic adverbs
Expressing personal choices. Tenses (present simple, present
continuous, past simple) to write
the email
N
E
W
Vocabulary related to social media
and beauty standards
Appearance and body description
(adjectives and nouns)
Myths or realities related to gender
and beauty image
Vocabulary related to greetings
and salutations for an informal
email.
Giving opinions about plastic
surgeries, social media and body
image.
Agreeing and disagreeing about
idols.
Writing an informal email to a
penpal from another Agrarian
School.
I think that plasticsurgeries can
be good/bad in some case cases.
I believe that isn’t necessary if
you have confidence in yourself.
I’d like to have a plasticsurgery.
Agreeing: Yes, I agree! -
Absolutely! - Exactly!
Disagreeing: I don't agree! - I
totally disagree! -
Absolutely not!
Partly disagreeing: I agree up
to a point, but ... - That's
partly true, but ... - I'm not
so sure about that.
Email structure:
Greeting: Hi, Dear…, Nice to
meet you!
Main body: In my free time… I
watch…. I made a presentation…
What about you?
Closing: Write me soon, Best
wishes.
Materials
THE POWERPOINTS HAVE A COMIC STYLE, FONTS AND GRAPHICS.
HOWEVER, THESE FEATURES ARE NOT DISPLAYED ON DRIVE. YOU HAVE TO
DOWNLOAD AT LEAST ONE PPT TO SEE THE DESIGN THAT IS AWESOME. 

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 Power Point Warm-up:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AVlNmmguH2uvGRWOxM5Q1MJf
wPaIkuIF/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106841763969626939066&rtpof=true&s
d=true
 Power Point presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BcITdPUqlzeLq30fa6tBp37xHzc97
TPz/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106841763969626939066&rtpof=true&sd=tru
e
 Power Point Activity 1: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1H6nXZWV-
yPiDJHBO3LDc_fsTIiiQAAx-
/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106841763969626939066&rtpof=true&sd=true
 Power Point Activity 2:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1chd0l5xF2-
iuir6bEWyS2s4aG9bNnv22/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=1068417639696269390
66&rtpof=true&sd=true
 Students’ handout. Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13gRw35eKdiihoZpp_Pg1_x3AnVr63u4-
/view?usp=sharing
 Some activities have been adapted from ‘Childnet International’
https://www.childnet.com/resources/pshe-toolkit/myth-vs-
reality/online-body-image and visual images from the internet. The Penpal
Project activities are based on online material mostly from British Council
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing/intermediate-
b1-writing/email-new-friend and ‘Time Zone 2’ (2011) Student Book-1st
edition. Heinle, Cengage Learning
There’s a correspondence 1 to 1 between the PPTs
and the ss’ handout.
Procedures

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GREETINGS (3 minutes)
Before students get into the classroom, I will connect my netbook to the smart
TV to get the slides readyfor the 1st
activity and check that everythingis working
well.
- I will first greet my students and ask ‘How are you today? How was your
weekend?
- I will ask ‘What day is it, today?’ and write it on the board.
- I will add ‘today, we’re starting a new thematic unit on ‘Social Media and body
image.’ We were discussing with some of you last week before the class about
some interesting topics related to Sexual Education that could be discussed
in this class.
- I will add ‘I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to discuss such vital topics with
you since I believe it is so important to reflect about sexual education that it
is not only concerned with our sexual organs and biological functions but it
also involves a wide spectrum of topics such as body image, diversity which
we’ll be also discussing next class, and others, not less important, as consent,
bullying, sexting… Which other topics do you think or know are dealt in Sexual
Education? Which ones have you discussed up to now in another subjects?
Students answer.
*Some ss told me that they have only discussed pregnancy and STD/HIV/AIDS
prevention. I will check it out.
WARM-UP
SHORT CARTOON FILM ‘PLASTIC SURGERY’ (7 minutes).
The idea of using a cartoon without a script is to catch their attention and
provoke thought and dialogue. In fact, this has been a topic proposed by
some of my students in the previous class that I think will motivate them.

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 I will share the cartoon and say ‘I need you to pay close attention to this cartoon, it
hasn’t got dialogues but the message is profound. Let’s watch it!’
 Once the video is finished I will read aloud the quote in the final slide to remind of
what’s really important.
 Then, I will ask ‘What do you think about plastic surgeries?’ I will scaffold their
answers by including ‘USEFUL LANGUAGE 1’ sections at some points of the
handout. Students answer.
 I will round up the discussion pointing out major trends that crop up and I’ll give my
own opinion ‘I truly feel we’re constantly bombarded by publicity campaigns to dislike
ourselves and feel miserable with our bodies. The reason is simple. These are
businesses and big corporations that have created an unattainable model of beauty,
a term defined many decades ago by some feminists. This means that we’ll never
feel satisfied, as it happens to the character from the cartoon because the model of
beauty change all the time to make us feel, once again, dissatisfied. Needless to
say, as our dissatisfaction grows, their profits grow proportionally since we’re forced
to buy more and more products that make us feel beautiful and believe that we will
deserve to be loved.
 Finally, I will warn ss that the idea of these discussions is to reflect and develop
critical thinking about how the media influence us and not to judge individuals or
people who think differently. Plus, I will be clear that I’m not interested in extremist
ideologies or behaviors since I consider they divide us even more.

6. 6
Transition comment: Now, I want to share with you a very interesting presentation about
how beauty standards for women and men ‘vary’ according to the culture in which we live.
Because we haven’t talked about men yet, right? What do you think, boys?
PRESENTATION
BEAUTY STANDARDS: WOMEN AND MEN AROUND THE WORLD (20 min)
 I will share the PPT and ask ss ‘What’s beauty according to you?’ (slide 3). I will pick
up some ideas and write them on the board (I wish I could use Wordcloud) and
encourage them to pick the words or phrases they feel are more ‘accurate’ to define
such a subject concept as beauty and write them on their handout (below).
 Then, I will ask ‘Which are the typical features in Argentina for a woman/man
to be considered beautiful/handsome? I will provide any vocabulary they may
need at that moment in case they can’t put their ideas into words and write
them on the board.
 After watching the first video on women I will ask ‘What’s your first
impression? Ss answer. I will add ‘Why do you think that beauty standards
change according to the culture? Are these standards so different in the
different cultures? Which are the main differences, for example between
Argentina and Italy?
 I will repeat the same procedure with the men’s clip but I will focus on whether
boys are aware of how much pressure they also get from the media. I will say

7. 7
that when I was a teenager the pressure was only on women (at the end of
the 90s and first years of 2000).
 Then, I will make an informal survey asking ‘Which gender do they believe
suffer more the ideal of beauty? Ss raise their hands for men first and we the
‘survey’s results. This will lead to the following statements about myths or
reality.
 I will ask ‘What do you think about these common statements? Are these myths or
realities? (slide 10)’ Ss discuss in pairs and try to reach a conclusion.
 After this, the whole class will discuss the following questions (slide 11):
a) Are these myths targeted at one gender in particular?
b) Where has these myths come from and what/who reinforces them?
 Then, I will ask ‘Can you think of other myths?’. I will ask them to discuss in groups
and share with another group. Then, two groups check if they have some similar
myth.
 Finally, I will ask the class which other myths they have discussedand type the more
interesting on slide 17.
Transition comment: Ok, let’s move to our first activity about classical dystopian novels, I
promise you won’t get bored. There are very interesting videos you will enjoy.

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DEVELOPMENT (PRACTICE and PRODUCTION)
ACTIVITY 1: SOCIAL MEDIA & BODY IMAGE (30 min)
The idea of this ‘short’ activity is to introduce the concept of body image that will be
discussed in depth in the following class while at the same time it allows me to
focus on the penpal exchange.
 I will share the PowerPoint and ask ‘ What does body image mean to you? Which
is the first word/s or phrase to come to mind? Complete the chart and share it with
the class
 Then, I will read out loud the Collins definition of body image (slide 6) and check
comprehension.
 I will focus on some figures related to how many ads an average person is exposed
to per day (slide 7). I will say ‘Can you believe it? This is crazy…’
 Then, I will show slide 8 of beauty models for around 10 seconds and expect what
ss say about it. After this, I will show slide 9 and ask if they think there has begun a
new movement more realistic and representative of human bodies or if it’s only a
facade to keep us quiet. Ss give their opinion.

9. 9
 I will read the following real opinion of a boy from Childnet International. How much
do you agree with the following opinion made by a teenager from the UK?
 I will scaffold their answers by including ‘USEFUL LANGUAGE 2’ sections at some
points of the handout. Students answer.
 Finally, I will discuss with the whole class the following questions:
a) How influential are the images we see online? Who has a greater influence
– celebrities or our peers? (slide 11)
b) Do you think people are more concerned with how they look online or offline
and why? (slide 12)
c) Do you think there is more edited or unedited content online and what would
people prefer to see? (slide 13)
 To close the activity, I will read shocking figures regarding how many selfies teens
take before posting them and so on. I will check if they considered these figures
apply to them or Argentinian teenagers in general.

10. 10
Transition comment: Well, now it’s time to start with the ‘Penpal Project’ between EESA
from Bajo Hondo and Hilario Ascasubi. Let me tell you something about it.
ACTIVITY 2: PENPALS EXCHANGE (ESSA N° 1 Bajo Hondo & ESSA N° 1 Hilario
Ascasubi) (60 min)
 I will explain ss that their school and EESA from Hlario Ascasubi have agreed on a
Penpal project where students will exchange emails. The chosen students are…
YOU!!! 6th year!!! and 4th year from Ascasubi whose teacher is a very good friend
of mine. Let me tell you that the headteachers, Alicia Buscarolo and Álvaro Ezpeleta
(I will say that I don’t know him at all, LOL) are glad since both schools have been
working together on other projects. Any questions? Ok, hands-on!
 Then, I will add that this project has two parts: one is the exchange of emails and the
other a video. But the video mustbe chosenby you, it mustbe funny and appropriate,
such a viral Tik Tok video where you altogether dance in the playground. Think of
something for the next class. You can send me some videos through the WA group.
Let’s have fun to finish this amazing but challenging year.
 Last but not least, you’ll write your email through a Google doc that I have created
since it allows you to write offline. You already have the link to start working today.
 I will share the PPT and read the quote about making new friends as an ‘icebreaker’
and to truly focus on the importance of making new friends.

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 Then, to motivate and engage ss I will show them some pictures from Ascasubi’s
school and most importantly some pictures from their penpals taken on Thursday,
28th by Miss Mariana. I will ask ‘Has any of you been to Ascasubi or maybe in the
Quality Ed. Project? You may know that perhaps you will meet someof your penpals
next year… (This is likely to happen to some of the kids since the ss with the best
projects travel to different agrarian schools included Ascasubi’s school.)
 I will add ‘Aren’t they lovely? Once I finished showing all the pictures, I will ask
some volunteers to read the email (slide 11).
 Then, I will ask ‘How is the email is organized? and elicit by grouping similar ideas
in the same paragraph. Tell me ‘Which topics does Amy discuss with her penpal
considering they don’t know each other yet?’ I will elicit school, routines,
preferences, music, etc.
 I will ask ss to order the parts of an email in pairs (slide 12)
 I will check the correct order with the whole class.
 Then, I will go through the big bubbles ‘Greetings’, ‘Main body’ and ‘Closing’ to
review the basic structure and some phrases of an informal email. (slides 13, 14 &
15).
 After this, I will say ‘Now, we’re going to read an email that resembles much more
your reality. Please, remember that this is just a model to guide you to write your
email. Don’t copy whole sentences, please!
 I will ask again some volunteers to read the email. I have created this email
following the basic structure of an informal email from the British Council but trying
to make it as funny as possible with some weird likes, singers and names.
 Students read the email and I will make the connections between the top tips and
the highlighted phrases.

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 Finally, we’ll discuss with the whole class the following questions regarding the
email (slide 18).
1
Hi Agustina!
Nice to meet you! 3
My name's Thiago and I’m your new penpal from Bajo Hondo.
3
I'm seventeen and 3
I live in Bahía Blanca with my mom, my little brother Lio and
my dog, Chu. We live in a small house in San Martín neighbourhood. I live 35 km away
from 3
‘Bajo Hondo’ school so I take the bus to schoolevery day. 3
I like school and
my favourite subjects are English, Agricultural production and Philosophy. 3
I love
playing football and volleyball. 2
What else? 3
I’m tall, I’ve got black eyes and
blonde hair. 2
What about you? What subjects and sports do you like?
3
In my free time 3
I listen to L-Gante, Nicky Nicole, and my favourite singer is Oscu.
Do you know him? This is my favourite song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz_udhvq4OQ. Besides, 3
I watch Ibai on Twich
and follow some coolYoutubers, especially gamers. 3
I have Instagram, Twitter and
Tik Tok accounts. What social media do you prefer? I like Tik Tok, 2
it’s funny. What
kind of music and series do you like? I’m watching ‘Squid Game’ now.
Two weeks ago we made our 3
presentation for the ‘Quality Education Project’, 2
it
was super stressful but we enjoyed working on a brand new product: healthy
sausages. 2
What’s your Project about? At the weekend I sometimes play video
games, football and now I can go the disco, 2
at last! 4
Write soon and tell me all
about yourself.
1
Best wishes,
1
Thiago
Adaptedfrom: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing/intermediate-b1-writing/email-new-friend

13. 13
 I will emphasize whether they feel comfortable including a photo of themselves,
and that of course it’s not mandatory. Do it if you want to. On the other hand, when
the students read the physical description included in the email, I will also ask if
they would like to describe physically.
 The idea, needless to say, is indirectly to make ss reflect on their anxiety or shame
about their bodies without judging them but at the same time I will encourage them
to relax and enjoy making just a friend, someone like you that wants to know
someone from another place.
 After this, I will ask ss to start drafting your emails, making a list of topics to include
in the email and start typing it in the Google doc.
 I will encourage them to share links to songs, YouTubers, trailers, gifs or whatever
stuff they would like to share.
 As I really believe that the time won’t be enough, I will propose to work
asynchronously by making suggestions to their emails during the week. This will be
the toughest part but I will do my best (cook a cake, sandwiches or cokes for the
last lesson).
CLOSURE Peer feedback (5 min)
 Students will read each other drafts and give feedback. Do they find their
classmate’s email interesting? Could they spot some mistake?
 Finally, I will say ‘it’s almost time, guys. Before leaving, let’s take a few pics of
the whole class for Miss Mariana, please!
 ‘It was a wonderful class. See you next Monday! Don’t forget the emails, please!
End
Each activity must be described in terms of the following components:
 Timing
 Activity description and instructions as they will be said to students
(include direct speech)

14. 14
 Scaffolding strategies
 Transition comment to link each stage of the lesson with the next one
To be completed by your tutor:
Lesson plan
component
Excellent
5
Very Good
4
Good
3
Acceptable
2
Needs
improvement
1
Visual
organization
X
Coherence
and
sequencing
X
Variety of
resources
X
Stages and
activities
X
Scaffolding
strategies
X
Language
accuracy
X
Observations
Fabulous ideas and resources!