• Lesson 1: What is Beauty?
• Lesson 2: The Beauty Myth

• Lesson 1: The History of Comics
• Lesson 2: The New Comic Book

• Lesson 1: What's a Hero?
• Lesson 2: Asian Heroes

• Lesson 1: Charlie Chaplin
• Lesson 2: Special Effects

• Lesson 1: Buy What You Don't Need?
• Lesson 2: Senseless Consumption

• Lesson 1: What is a Dessert?
• Lesson 2: Dessert Around the World

• Lesson 1: Asian Kids Taking Challenges
• Lesson 2: What's Left to Do?

• Lesson 1: Organized Noise
• Lesson 2: Write a Song!

• Lesson 1: Equality Now!
• Lesson 2: The Superwoman Myth

• Lesson 1: Pushing Physical Limits
• Lesson 2: Ironing Shorts on Everest

• Lesson 1: Jungle Drums to Telephones
• Lesson 2: The Future of Communication

• Lesson 1: What Do People Want?
• Lesson 2: The Worst First Date Ever

Lesson 1: What is Beauty?

This lesson focuses on female beauty. As an optional activity, ask your students to consider male attractiveness. What qualities make a boy or man attractive? How do they differ from female beauty? Why?

Lesson 2: The Beauty Myth

The reading in this lesson is set as a play. Ask your students to read the play and then retell it to a partner as a story.

Lesson 1: The History of Comics

Your students are very likely to have their own favorite comic books. Ask them to bring examples to class and use these to discuss how they are similar or different to the comic books mentioned in this unit.

Lesson 2: The New Comic Book

The reading in this lesson is a comic strip about creating a new comic strip. Ask your students to work together in small groups. Have them think of a new comic book character and then decide what kinds of situations the character would face.

Lesson 1: What's a Hero?

The reading in this lesson focuses on defining the qualities of a hero. Ask your students to list examples of heroes that they admire and then vote to decide who from the list the class agrees the greatest example of a hero is.

Lesson 2: Asian Heroes

The reading in this lesson introduces two heroes, the second of which seems like an unconventional type of a hero. Ask your students under what circumstances they might become heroes.

Lesson 1: Charlie Chaplin

The reading in this lesson introduces Charlie Chaplin, the famous American actor who should be familiar to many of your students. Ask your students to research the lives of other famous actors and directors, and provide a brief biography.

Lesson 2: Special Effects

Special effects are used extensively in movies. Ask your students to describe their favorite special effects in movies.

Lesson 1: Buy What You Don't Need?

The reading in this lesson suggests that advertising manipulates people into buying things they don’t need. Ask your students to find advertisements that they think are particularly good and particularly bad. Have students share the advertisements with the class.

Lesson 2: Senseless Consumption

Ask your students to keep a record of how many resources they use in one day. They can think about how to chart this, but it could include estimates of how much water they use, how much paper they use (including newspapers and computer printer paper), how much transportation they use and so on. Put the totals together for a class total.

Lesson 1: What Is a Dessert?

Ask your students to make a class list of desserts listing all their deserts they know about. Have students identify their favorite dessert, and one dessert that they would like to try and one that they wouldn’t like to try.

Lesson 2: Desserts Around the World

Ask students to find recipes for their favorite desserts.

Lesson 1: Asian Kids Taking Challenges

Ask students to find out about another adventurer, such as Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first people to climb Mount Everest.

Lesson 2: What's Left to Do?

Ask your students to make a class list of adventures they would like to do. Can they think of new ones that no one has done yet?

Lesson 1: Organized Noise

Invite your students to bring in some music that they admire. Play it in class briefly and ask her why they like it.

Lesson 2: Write a Song!

The reading in this lesson is a cartoon that describes part of the process of writing a hit song. Ask your students to write new lyrics for a song they know.

Lesson 1: Equality Now!

The reading in this lesson focuses on women’s equality. Ask your students to discuss and research other kinds of equality, such as between children and adults or old people and young people. Have students decided whether society favors one group over another.

Lesson 2: The Superwoman Myth

The superwoman myth is based on pressures for women to do their traditional home activities and other less traditional activities. What pressures are there on students today? What challenges do they face that might not have been faced by their parents?

Lesson 1: Pushing Physical Limits

Ask your students to research the Ironman competition and other physical endurance competitions.

Lesson 2: Ironing Shorts on Everest

Extreme ironing is an unusual but fun activity. Ask students to think of competitions that they could hold in their classroom, such as stacking pencils. What rules would they have? How would they identify winners?

Lesson 1: Jungle Drums to Telephones

There are several inventors mentioned in the article. Among the most famous is Alexander Graham Bell. Ask students to find out more about him, Marconi and the other inventors.

Lesson 2: The Future of Communication

Many (or all) of your students have cell phones. What do they use them for? Ask students to list their uses and then chart the frequency of use across the class. Find out how much time in total your class spends on activities such as text messaging, taking photos, talking to friends, getting information, etc.

Lesson 1: What Do People Want?

The reading in this first lesson focuses on what people want in a partner. What other qualities do your students see in someone they like? How do they differ from those listed in the reading?

Lesson 2: The Worst First Date Ever

The reading in this lesson is a short story. Ask students to work in pairs to turn it into a play by acting it out.