Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today?

I hope you're feeling really good.

My name is Ms. Afzal, and I'll be your teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling really pleased about that because we have an interesting topic ahead.

We're looking at historical and societal attitudes.

That's the title of our lesson, Discussing historical and societal attitudes.

I wonder if this is something you thought about much.

Don't worry if you have or not.

We'll be getting into it in today's lesson.

Our lesson comes from the unit of work, women's rights across the ages: non-fiction reading and writing.

So if you're ready to get into our topic, if you have some energy, if you have focus and enthusiasm, we'll begin our lesson now.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can explore and discuss historical and societal attitudes effectively.

I hope that sounds of interest to you.

We'll have some keywords in our lesson.

I'd like us to go through them one at a time, saying them out loud.

My turn, your turn.

Objectify.

Derogatory.

Witty.

Idealistic.

Inferior.

Good to hear those keywords.

Now, I'd like you to turn to someone and share with them.

Have you heard of any of these keywords before?

Do you know the meanings of any of these keywords?

Pause here and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's find out what these keywords mean.

Objectify.

This is to treat someone like a thing or object instead of a person.

Derogatory.

This is a disrespectful or belittling attitude towards someone or something.

Witty is clever and amusing.

Idealistic.

To view something with unrealistic perfectionism.

And inferior, lower in rank or status.

So these are our keywords, objectify, derogatory, witty, idealistic, and inferior.

Let's look out for them.

Let's listen out for them.

Let's think carefully about these keywords that will be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called Discussing historical and societal attitudes, and it has two learning cycles, Examining attitudes in "The Spectator" and Effective discussions.

Let's begin by examining attitudes in "The Spectator.

" So I'd like us to start with a discussion.

Which of these adjectives might you use to describe the societal expectations of women's behavior in the 18th century?

Let's read through them.

We have quiet, opinionated, assertive, witty, aggressive, passive, polite, obedient, outspoken, innocent.

So pause here while you share with someone, which of these adjectives might you use to describe the societal expectations of women's behavior in the 18th century?

Pause here while you have this discussion.

Thanks for having that discussion.

I wonder which adjectives you discussed might be used to describe the societal expectations of women's behavior in the 18th century.

Perhaps these ones, quiet, passive, polite, obedient, and innocent.

Women were not expected to be opinionated, assertive, witty, aggressive, or outspoken.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false?

All women were polite, passive, and obedient in the 18th century.

Pause here while you decide, is this statement true or false?

Well done if you selected false.

And now, I'd like you to justify your answer.

Choose from one of these two statements.

a, Although this was a societal expectation, it does not mean that all women adhered to these conventions.

Or b, Although this was a societal expectation, most women chose to ignore it.

Pause here while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected statement a.

Indeed, although this was a societal expectation, it does not mean that all women adhered to these conventions.

And now, I'd like you to listen as we're going to read an entry from "The Spectator," which was published from 1711 to 1712.

"The Spectator" was a highly influential daily paper published in London, which covered a wide range of topics, including literature, politics, society, and manners.

And I'd like you to think, what are your expectations of this type of text?

How might it use language, and what attitudes might be expressed?

Pause here while you consider your answers to these questions.

And now I'd like you to share with someone, what are your expectations of this type of text?

How might it use language and what attitudes might be expressed?

Take a moment to share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's take a look at this entry from "The Spectator.

" So let's read the first part together.

"Will Honeycomb was very entertaining the other night at a play to a gentleman who sat on his right hand, while I was on his left.

The gentleman believed Will was talking to himself, when upon my looking with great approbation," and means approval, "at a young thing in a box before us.

" So I would like you to now have a discussion.

Which word or phrase is most revealing with regards to how the writer views women, and how might this reflect the dominant attitudes of the time?

So pause here while you discuss with someone nearby.

Thanks for having that discussion.

I wonder if you came up with the phrase young thing as being the one that reveals the attitudes.

So the phrase young thing reveals how the writer objectifies the woman he is referring to.

It also has a patronizing tone.

Pause here and share with someone, can you remember what is the meaning of the word objectify?

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps you said that to objectify is to treat a person like a thing or an object rather than as a person.

And that's exactly what we can see being done here as the woman is being referred to as a young thing.

And this may reflect the dominant attitudes of the time where women were perhaps seen as objects to be owned.

Let's have a check for understanding.

The phrase young thing reveals, choose from the following.

a, How women could be objectified in the 18th century.

b, The complimentary tone of the writer.

c, The writer's respectful attitude towards the woman.

So pause here while you decide, what does the phrase young thing reveal?

Well done if you selected statement a.

Indeed, the phrase young thing reveals how women could be objectified in the 18th century.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to read the article, "The Spectator, Volume 1, Monday, 5th of March 1711," found in the additional materials.

And complete the following tasks.

One, who is the writer writing about?

Two, which words are most revealing in terms of how the men view the women?

Explain your choices.

And three, summarize in two sentences what this article potentially tells us about attitudes towards women in the 18th century.

And pause here while you have a go at this task, reading the article and answering these questions and writing the summary.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task?

Jacob shares the words he has chosen and explains his choices.

"The descriptions are quite shocking!

The men objectify the women throughout the article with phrases like 'this object' and 'thoughtless creatures,' which presents the women as things which have to be looked at and judged.

The descriptions are rather derogatory.

I've also chosen the words 'charming virgin,' 'chastity,' 'innocence,' and 'affability,' which reveal how the men are judging the women solely on their looks and behavior.

These words link to the idealistic expectations of how women should present themselves.

" Are your answers similar to Jacob?

Which words have you chosen?

Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Jacob also shares his summary of the attitudes presented.

The article reflects the dominant attitudes towards women in the 18th century, portraying them primarily in terms of their physical appearance and innocence.

It suggests that women were often judged and objectified based on their outward beauty and perceived innocence.

And well done for writing your summary as well.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, Effective discussions.

I'd like you to discuss, what makes an effective and productive discussion?

Pause here while you do this.

Thanks for having that discussion about a discussion.

Let's hear some responses.

"It's important to take turns.

This means not interrupting the speaker.

" "Developing your points or arguments by using evidence or examples.

" "Responding to the other speaker.

This means listening to what they're saying, as well as thinking about your own points!

" Some fantastic points there.

I wonder if you had similar ones.

When discussing, you should consider the following skills.

Eyes looking.

Make eye contact.

You can nod positively to show that you're actively listening.

Ears listening.

Listen out for your turn and avoid interrupting.

Consider what others are saying so you can respond effectively.

Brain thinking.

Try to avoid saying just yes or no.

Develop comments and encourage the discussion to move further.

And speak clearly, ensuring that others can hear and understand you.

So these are our four key points.

Discussions, eyes looking, ears listening, brain thinking, and speak clearly.

Pause here and share with someone, which of these are you already strong at and which is gonna be something for you to perhaps work on a little bit more?

Thanks for sharing.

Sometimes it can be difficult to know how to respond to another speaker or develop the points being made.

Using ABC can help.

This means you choose one of the following.

A, you could agree with their comment.

B, you can build on their comment.

Or C, you could challenge their comment.

So you have three options of how to respond to another in a discussion or develop the points being made.

A, agree with the comment.

B, build on their comment.

C, challenge their comment.

ABC.

And these phrases can help.

So to agree with their comment, you could say, "I agree because.

.

" or, "I share the same viewpoint because.

.

" To build on their comment, you could say, "Expanding on this, I would add that.

.

" or, "Another aspect to consider would be.

.

" And to respectfully challenge their comment, you could say, "I see it differently because.

.

" It's worth questioning whether.

.

" So these are some helpful phrases to keep in mind.

Let's have a check for understanding.

I'd like you to label the comments.

Do they agree, build, or challenge?

Here's the first one.

"Expanding on this, 'The Spectator' article reveals how women were judged and objectified by men, and in turn, wider society.

" Next, "I share the same viewpoint because words like innocence reveal a stereotypical representation of women.

" And third comment.

"It is worth questioning the motivations of the writer and whether the language has been exaggerated for effect.

" So pause here while you label these comments.

Do they agree, build, or challenge?

For the first comment, expanding on this, perhaps you said that this one builds.

For the next comment, "I share the same viewpoint because.

.

" Perhaps you said Agree.

And for the third comment, it is worth questioning the motivations, perhaps you said Challenge.

Well done if you labeled the comments in this way.

An effective discussion will use evidence to develop the points being made.

These phrases can help.

More specifically, more precisely, in particular.

And let's take a look at an example.

More specifically, the "Spectator" article shows how the objectification of women is not a new concept.

More precisely, using words like innocent and charming reveal the stereotypical expectations placed on women.

Arguably, these are still perpetuated in today's society.

And an example of in particular.

In particular, the writer's use of the phrase "little thing" shows how women were objectified and seen as inferior or lesser than men.

So these are some really helpful phrases that you could use to help you to develop the points being made.

And now it's time for your task.

I would like you to discuss and debate the statements using evidence from the "Spectator" article.

Here are the statements.

"Society dictates the expectations of women's behavior.

" And, "Women are continually objectified and judged by society.

" Use the ABC phrases to help develop your discussions.

Remember, agree.

"I agree because.

.

" "I share the same viewpoint because.

.

" To build, you could say, "Expanding on this, I would add that.

.

" or, "Another aspect to consider would be.

.

".

And to challenge, you could say, "I see it differently because.

.

" "It's worth questioning whether.

.

" And you could add further evidence with these phrases, more specifically, more precisely, in particular.

So pause here while you discuss and debate these statements using evidence from the "Spectator" article.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

I hope you got on well with that task.

Let's take a look at part of Izzy's discussion.

"Expanding on this, I would add that the expectations placed on women in the 18th century are still somewhat prevalent in today's society.

" Izzy has given a what went well and even better if.

What do you think they might be?

Pause here and share with someone.

What feedback would you give to Izzy?

Thanks for sharing.

Let's take a look.

What went well?

Good use of build phrases to develop the discussion.

And even better if included evidence from the "Spectator" article using phrases such as more precisely or more specifically.

Some really helpful feedback there.

And now think about your own discussions.

Can you give yourself a what went well and even better if?

Pause here while you do this.

Thanks for offering yourself that feedback.

Thanks for having a go at this task.

In our lesson, Discussing historical and societal attitudes, we've covered the following.

There were societal expectations placed on women's behavior in the 18th century.

The "Spectator" article reveals the dominant attitudes towards women and how they were objectified.

Effective discussions will take turns, develop ideas, use evidence, and respond to the other speaker.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson.

It was interesting to explore these expectations, to recognize how attitudes have changed, and let's keep moving in that direction.

It was great to teach you, and I look forward to seeing you at another lesson soon.

Bye for now.