Conversation Lesson Materials

Intro:   Watch the following Youtube video clip from the Christmas movie “Elf,” in which a real-life elf working at a department store confronts a fake Santa Clause.   Intro Discussion Questions: Why is the elf so upset? How does Santa react? What do you think of department-store Santas? Did […]

Celebrations and Holidays Conversation Lesson

Intro: Humans have been curious about the future since the dawn of history. Some people try to predict the future, and some try to create the future. In this conversation lesson, we’ll talk about what you think the future will be like. Watch this short documentary on some future technology […]

“The Future” Conversation Lesson

Do you like visual art? What role does art play in your life? What do you think drives people to make art, and what do you do when you feel this drive in yourself? In this conversation lesson, we’ll talk about various aspects of visual art and how people discuss […]

Visual Art Conversation Lesson

    What do you turn to when you want to laugh? What kind of humor do you like, and how do you talk about it? To start this lesson off, watch the following humorous video from “The Flight of the Conchords,” a musical comedy duo from New Zealand.     […]

Humor Conversation Lesson

Recently, a student of mine became interested in the musical history of Black people in America, from the very beginnings of blues in the early 1920’s to modern Hip-Hop and R&B. I put together this list of some influential musicians from a wide variety of genres. It’s not complete; I couldn’t possibly […]

Black American Music