Elastic Thinking

Lesson Summary

This ESL lesson plan is based on the short video Elastic Thinking: 5 Ways to Be Better at It. It encourages students to explore creativity, open-mindedness and how unfamiliar experiences can help people think more flexibly and adapt to change.

Learning Objectives

• Explore the concepts of creativity and elastic thinking.

• Develop vocabulary related to creativity, open-mindedness and adapting to change.

• Improve viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills.

• Develop speaking and writing skills through discussion, roleplay and reflection.

• Practise critical thinking by examining unfamiliar ideas and experiences.

• Develop visual representing skills through multimodal homework tasks.

Lesson Activities

• Discuss creativity and elastic thinking.

• Explore and respond to quotations about creativity.

• Predict the content of a short video.

• Watch and analyse the video.

• Answer video comprehension questions.

• Perform an elastic-thinking roleplay.

• Read Why Unfamiliar Experiences Can Make Us More Creative.

• Complete article comprehension and vocabulary activities.

• Discuss the relationship between unfamiliar experiences and creativity.

• Undertake reflective writing and multimodal homework tasks.

Learner Type

• Mature teens and adults

Language Level

• Intermediate (B1)–Upper Intermediate (B2)

Language Focus

• Vocabulary related to creativity, open-mindedness and adapting to change

• Language for expressing opinions and considering alternative perspectives

• Language for discussing unfamiliar experiences and creative problem-solving

Time

• 90–120 minutes

Watch the short video.

Transform Your English Classroom with This Film English Multimodal Lesson

This ESL lesson plan is built around a carefully selected short video and designed using the exclusive Multimodal Approach– an innovative methodology that integrates traditional language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with viewing – the active process of analysing and interpreting multimodal texts – and representing – creating multimodal texts. This pedagogically rich approach mirrors how communication works in the real world, through a combination of language, image, sound, gesture and spatial design, making the lesson more engaging, relevant and effective.

This ESL video lesson plan plan consists of a complete, ready-to-use package that includes:

• A thought-provoking short video
• A detailed teacher’s guide with step-by-step instructions
• A pre-viewing vocabulary glossary to scaffold understanding
• Comprehension, discussion and critical thinking questions
• Creative post-viewing tasks such as roleplays, writing prompts and reflective activities
• A thematically linked reading text to reinforce language and deepen understanding
• A final task encouraging learners to create their own multimodal compositions (e.g. vlogs, posters, infographics or social media posts)

Benefits for Teachers:

• Save hours of preparation with a fully developed, flexible lesson plan
• Engage students through compelling stories and real-world themes such as emotional intelligence, character, values, empathy, personal development, identity, relationships, global issues and social issues
• Build classroom routines that integrate multimodal literacy naturally and progressively
• Foster more inclusive and differentiated learning by using varied modes of input
• Promote social-emotional learning (SEL)
• Rely on a trusted methodology backed by educational research and grounded in the theories of Vygotsky, Kress, Mayer and Krashen

Benefits for Learners:

• Develop communicative competence and confidence through integrated skill-building
• Expand vocabulary and improve listening and reading comprehension through repeated, meaningful exposure
• Think critically and creatively while exploring powerful social and emotional themes
• Create authentic, personalised multimodal projects that reflect their own voice and ideas
• Strengthen emotional intelligence and intercultural awareness through affective engagement with multimodal texts

Whether you’re teaching in a secondary school, university or adult education context, Film English lesson plans offer a dynamic, research-informed pathway to meaningful language learning. Join thousands of teachers worldwide who are transforming their classrooms with the Multimodal Approach and helping their students learn English—and live through English—more fully.