This lesson is designed around a beautiful short film by Matt Morris about Johnny Barnes, an 88-year-old Bermudian who dedicates his life to making people happy. Students practise speaking, listening and writing.
Language level: Upper-intermediate (B2.1)- Advanced (C1)
Learner type: Mature teens and adults
Time: 90 minutes
Activity: Speaking, writing and watching a short film and a video
Topic: Happiness
Language: Adjectives to describe character
Materials: Short film, video and discussion quotes
Downloadable materials: mr happy man lesson instructions mr happy man discussion quotes
Step 1
Put your students into pairs and show them the photo below. Ask them to describe the man and to speculate about the man’s life and his character.
After five minutes, get feedback from the whole class.
Step 2
Tell your students that they are going to watch a short film called Mr. Happy Man about this man, Johnny Barnes.
Put your students into groups of three or four and ask them the following questions:
Why do you think Johnny is so happy?
What do you think you will see in this film?
What do you think people will say about him?
What do you think he will say is the secret of happiness?
After five minutes get feedback from the whole class.
Step 3
Show the film and ask students to compare their answers in step 2 to what they see and hear in the film.
Step 4
Give your students the documents with quotes from Johnny about happiness and love. Put them into small groups and ask them to discuss the quotes. You can also show the quotes in the Scribd document below.
Step 5
Write the following sentence on the board:
The secret of happiness is helping others.
Ask your students to write sentences starting:
The secret of happiness is ……………
Give them a few minutes to write their sentences and help them with any vocabulary they’d like to use, and then put them in pairs to discuss their sentences.
Step 6
Tell your students that they’re going to watch a video which is a mash-up of clips from experts from various disciplines talking about the secret of happiness.
Ask your students to compare their sentences about the secret of happiness with what the experts say.
Show the video.
Get feedback, and then show the video a second time.
Homework
Get your students to write a composition titled The Secret of Happiness. Tell them to try to use some of the vocabulary and expressions they’ve come across in the lesson.
I hope you enjoy the lesson.
Thanks Kieran, this looks great …. I can definitely use this for my B2.2 class. Have a nice holiday ….
Kind and grateful regards,
John
Thanks a lot, John. Glad you like it. Have a great summer too.
All the best,
Kieran
Hi Kieran … We’ve just started spring (as far as I know) … but if you’ve somehow managed to leap frog into summer, let me know how you did it – I could use some serious beach time right about now …
Wishful thinking on my behalf, John. I meant Easter ; )
Thanks for your work, I’d like to use this with my students but the video doesn’t work, where can I get it? as in youtube there is only a preview???
Thanks
The film is working, but here’s a link to Vimeo, just in case: http://vimeo.com/36673515
Cheers,
Kieran
Excellent . Inspiring. I love it very much. Thanks!
Hi Vesna,
I’m happy you find it inspiring
Cheers,
Kieran
Maraming salamat (thank you very much) from the Philippines. Your lessons are like a breath of fresh air. I absolutely love them!
Thanks a lot, Anna. It’s great to know the lessons have reached the Phillipines.
Cheers,
Kieran
Thanks ever so much for the lesson, I’ll be using in class after Easter and link it to my classroom blog, too. I loved it, and not only this lesson but many others that you share, thanks for sharing!
Hi Mª Jesús,
Thanks a lot for your kind comments, I’m really happy that you emjoy the lessons.
All the best,
Kieran
I worked through the lesson with a bunch of B2 ESL students yesterday. Link to the blog: http://stopandlearnenglish.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/mr-happy-man-from-film-english.html
I hope you don’t mind my linking, it’s for my students to go back to it easily, as I have other tasks for them on their classroom blog, too!
The lesson brought so much discussion, both about the film and about the quotes that I had to set the composition as homework, so brilliant, as it made speak in English for quite a while.
Thanks a bunch again!
Thank you ! It’s really one of the greatest lessons . I loved it and will use it with my students. Very urgent community problems are touched in the lesson .Thanks a lot!
Thanks a lot, Zalina. I’m really happy that you like the lesson, let me know how it works with your students, please.
All the best,
Kieran
this is great…thanks
Thanks a lot. I’m glad you like it. Cheers, Kieran
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I wish I could hold that unfathomable source of happiness in my heart… thanks for sharing this with us. Elsa
Thank you for posting this. I used it in two different lessons today. One was an advanced group and the other was an intermediate one on one. It went well in both. I will use it in future lessons as well. Thanks again! Love the lesson and the site.
Thanks a lot, Eric. I’m happy the lesson went well with your students. Good to know you like the site as well : ) Cheers, Kieran
Hi Mª Jesus,
Of course, I don’t mind you linking to the lesson. I’m glad your students enjoyed the lesson.
All the best,
Kieran
Good to hear from you, Elsa. Thanks a lot for your kind comment.
All the best,
Kieran