London Shutdown 1952
EXAM PRACTICE Mediation written task to practice Note-taking.
Inspired by www.thewayexperience.es
CONTEXT
A student asks his/her private English tutor for help on a school assignment. He/she has been asked to write an essay on an international Netflix series from The Crown «Act of God» that shows some parallels between the current lockdown and the London shutdown in 1952. This episode portrays the capital city of the UK impacted by a dense fog, which creates a serious health hazard. Chaos at hospitals, lack of resources and medics, symptoms and dramatic rise in death tolls.As there will be a follow-up written task assigned the students have been asked to focus also on the situations of conflict between the PM and The Queen: language usage samples and conflict resolution practices.
STEPS TO FOLLOW
The whole issue puts Churchill’s unwillingness to take action in a “vulnerable position” which will be wittingly resolved between the PM and The Queen in the final scenes.
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Read the instructions
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Watch the episode before the lesson. While you watch, take some notes on facts related to the conflict situation: who-what-where-when-why, samples of similarities between both Shutdowns: SMOG 1952 / COVID 2020, the resolution of the PM’s “vulnerable position” by The Queen, language usage: ways of expressing opinion, language usage: adjectives to describe conflict (situations or people involved)
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In-class: watch and discuss the selected scenes, then share your notes with your classmates and prepare your “essay drafts” using words and structures to show that you have mastered level C1: Cleft / Inversion / Passive / Conditionals / Participle C.
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You may like to check these links before you hand in your final written work:
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REVIEWS: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5170842/reviews?ref_=tt_urv
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VIRTUAL SHUTDOWN BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/9/newsid_4506000/4506390.stm
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LOCKDOWN STORIES BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2542315.stm
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CHURCHILL’S SPEECHES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB6uwZKCpJk
MEDIATION TASK
– As a mediator, the private English tutor contributing to your student’s assignment by making it easier for him/her to understand all the information on the video.
– As an English student, to write an opinion essay of your choice (The PM and The Queen / The Duke of Edinburgh / The Clean Air Act) Approx. 200 words.
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