Seasons & Weather with Korean Drama, "Boys Over Flowers"

A Popular K-drama series, Boys over flowers

For this class I'm trying a slightly different approach.

Learning your students' MTV language, so I can teach English.

 MTV  hires producers who can relate to teens and their current interest in music and pop culture. It's simple logic-- if you can understand your target viewers' language and the issues of their world, then you will relate better to the teens you work with to film. You'll know what captures your target audience's attention and sucks them in.

I'm slowly getting to learn about Korean culture and what's students find fun and popular in Korean sports stars, comedians, favorite game shows and K-pop celebs. So I've been trying to integrate it a bit more. Still, it's not easy to learn if you don't have co-teachers who are into Korean pop culture.

Warmup: Play the Pete Weatherall Weather Song

 Review: Show Seasons.ppt.

My 4 Seasons ppt is a bit more than the textbook demands.

I'm testing out different ways to teach through either pop culture or things the children might relate to in
their lives to facilitate learning, so this ppt has a little more work added to it; yet it's really simple too.

Download my Seasons.ppt presentation here or email me and I can send you a copy.

What do we think of when we think of Seasons?

Goal: I like (season) because it is .......  (Get them to expand their reasons for liking seasons)

Lesson:

Quick brainstorm activity where I write SEASONS on the board.

What are the 4 seasons?  I ask...
 The students tell me the 4 seasons for me.

"Well, what things we think of when we think of different seasons?"

They brainstorm a list but I also add...

- Weather
- Clothes
- Holidays
- Personalities
- Colors

Then I open the ppt and review while also introducing new ideas.

What "Changes" when seasons change?

The opening page of 4 Seasons- they call out the seasons I point at.

The picture of the 4 boys below is known by the kids as F4 ( in the popular Korean drama Boys Over Flowers) . I hadn't watched the show yet, so I was really pulling working off of an assumption that each character had a personality of a season.  So I asked... which Season they thought each character was.

They answered...

1- Winter  (heir to a powerful business- cruel)
2- Fall (musician- son of an ex-president- a bit sad but gentle)
3- Spring (artist- playboy and warm & sunny)
4- Summer  (son of a big warlord- a fighter )

Huzzah!

This idea of personalities as seasons is a bit advanced for 6th graders but in this category of pop dramas, they stepped up to the plate.

I proceeded through the different seasons and just reviewed some things we either brainstormed in the last class / Lesson 3.2, while introducing other concepts, I don't expect them to remember, but is good for opening up their thinking process.

i.e. When it's Spring, the weather changes...is warm and sunny, things such as flowers and love blooms, our holidays are Easter, and we think of colors like Pink and Yellow, etc...

Thank you Korean drama... thank you Boys Over Flowers!

This can be used as a review & a mini lesson, even if it's a little off textbook.