Social media can be very distracting and make it hard to focus. Grace Marshall, a writer and coach, says that things like work emails can be a big problem. She thinks that jobs should have rules about when people need to answer emails to help them balance work and life. Fred Stutzman, who made the Freedom app, says that social media is made to be very interesting and hard to stop using. He thinks that as we get more and more technology, monk mode will become even more important.
Original news source: The people going 'monk mode' to limit social media use (BBC)
π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Each team takes turns choosing a word or phrase related to the article and acting it out without speaking. The other team must guess what they are trying to convey. The team with the most correct guesses wins.
– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner. Encourage them to use their own words and keep their summaries concise. After both students have shared, they can compare their summaries and discuss any differences or similarities.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a list of statements related to the article, such as "Using social media is always a distraction." Have students individually indicate whether they agree or disagree with each statement. Then, divide the class into small groups and have them discuss their opinions and reasons for their choices. Finally, have each group share their findings with the class.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on separate slips of paper. Have students take turns choosing a word and drawing a picture to represent it on the board. The rest of the class must guess the word based on the drawing. This activity reinforces vocabulary while also practicing listening and speaking skills.
– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups and give each group a topic related to the article, such as "Benefits of using monk mode" or "Drawbacks of social media." Have students discuss and list as many pros or cons as they can think of within a given time limit. Afterward, each group can share their lists with the class and discuss their reasoning behind each point. This activity encourages critical thinking and promotes group discussion.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
Monk mode means focusing on one thing and not getting distracted by phones or computers.
People use apps like Freedom and Forest to help them stay away from social media and the internet, so they can focus on their work.
Social media is distracting because it can be very interesting and make it hard to stop using. It can also make it difficult to focus on other things.
Grace Marshall thinks that work emails can be a big problem because they can distract people from their work and make it hard to balance work and life.
Fred Stutzman thinks monk mode is important because as we get more and more technology, it becomes even harder to stay focused and avoid distractions. Monk mode helps people stay on track and be more productive.
Sure! One example of a distracting thing on social media is when you start looking at cute cat videos and then you end up spending hours watching funny animal videos instead of doing your homework.
Apps like Freedom help people stay away from social media by blocking access to social media websites and apps for a certain period of time. This way, people are not tempted to check their social media accounts and can focus on their work or other tasks.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Many people are using "monk mode" to use less social media and do more work. mode means doing one thing and not letting or computers distract you. This idea is getting more popular, and many people are talking about it on . There are like Freedom, ColdTurkey, FocusMe, and Forest that help people stay away from social media or the internet for some time. Social media can be very distracting and make it hard to focus. Grace Marshall, a writer and , that things like work emails can be a big problem. She thinks that jobs should have rules about when people need to answer emails to help them balance work and life. Fred Stutzman, who made the Freedom app, says that social media is made to be very interesting and hard to stop using. He thinks that as we get more and more technology, mode will even more important.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is "monk mode"?
2. How would you feel if you couldn't use your phone or computer for a whole day?
3. Do you like using social media? Why or why not?
4. What are some apps that can help you stay away from social media?
5. How does social media make it hard to focus?
6. Do you think jobs should have rules about answering work emails? Why or why not?
7. What do you think about the idea of "monk mode"?
8. How do you feel when you use social media too much?
9. Have you ever tried using an app to help you stay away from social media? How did it work?
10. What do you think will happen as we get more technology?
11. How do you balance work and life?
12. What are some other things that can distract you from doing work?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.
Words
Meanings
π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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