Purpose: To apply what you have learned in this course to a test case, considering what makes something a religion.Process:You will be placed in (or select) a group and use the group discussion board. The discussion will be focused on one or another movement that may or may not be considered a religion. Each of you will locate, read and view online resources (essays, videos) presenting alternative viewpoints and arguments (pro and con) regarding the status of that movement to help you determine is it is or is not a religion. Groups will discuss and debate the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments and then each group member will compose and post a summary of the group discussion. The best summary for each group may appear on the main class discussion board. Then you can read the summaries and conclusions the other groups came to about other debatable movements.Pay special attention to due dates for each part of the process: initial post due by..., replies due by..., summary post due by..., rating due by... (specific dates will be posted as an announcement in the course site and/or sent via email).Find your assigned group in the “group discussion” or “People” section of the course site, then choosing the "Is it a Religion (Links to an external site.)" tab at the top. Be sure to check the announcements in your group space for any group specific information. DirectionsStep 1: Research and initial postIndividually, each student is to seek out resources to familiarize themselves with the arguments on both sides of the debate:Use the internet and Googlesearch for < is ________ a religion > (fill in the blank with the movement you are assigned - do not use the < >)Identify and read(or view video/listen to audio) at least two sources:one pro (“yes, it is a religion”)one con (“no, it is not a religion”)may review more than one for each position and/or a more middle of the road (“it depends”) argumentConsider the reliability, credibility and authority of the author of the sources you read/view (an argument that sounds strong may be weak if the person who is making it does not really know what they are talking about – avoid uninformed bias and self-serving agendas. For instance, a Christian source might argue that Secular Humanism is a religion because they do not want it being taught in the public schools [religious worldviews cannot be taught in public schools])Come to your own conclusion, based on the sources you read/viewPost to your group discussion boardyour conclusion (answer to the question) and a summary of both the pro and con arguments from the sources you read/viewed, noting which arguments most helped you arrive at your conclusion and why. Be sure to include URL links (copy and paste from your browser address line) to the sources you are referencing so your group mates can check them out for themselves and make clear which of the sources are "pro" and which are "con".

For this assignment you are going to write a skills lesson plan for a pre-intermediate listening lesson using the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. To find the song lyrics, go to page 22 in the following link: (Methodology Resources booklet). You can also find this booklet in the Resources unit at the end of the course. Remember that we use a skills lesson structure to practise listening, so make sure you have all of the headings and activities below in your lesson plan. See below to find out more about what should be included. 1. Lead-in Here we introduce the theme of the lesson – you don’t need to focus on listening yet. 2. Pre-teach vocabulary Choose a few words from the song that are crucial to the understanding of the song or that can’t be figured out from context and teach them here. Please list the words you would pre-teach and explain how you would teach meaning. 3. Predictive skills Set a predictive task for the students to do before they listen to the song. They should predict something they think they will hear in the song. You can use the title or the theme here to generate ideas about vocabulary, or set some questions and get the students to predict the answers. Don’t forget to follow up on this after the main listening tasks to see if their predictions were correct. 4. Listening for gist Here you want to check students have a general understanding of the song. Set students a task that focuses on the mood, the theme or the general feelings. (This is the first time you play the song). NOTE: provide students with only about 2 mins to do this, so you force them to listen for gist and not detail. 5. Feedback Elicit answers and/or get pairs to share answers then elicit. 6. Listening for specific information Now check students understand things more explicitly. Set students a task to listen for specific pieces of language within the song and detailed meaning of the song. (This is the second time you play the song – you may need to play the song twice here, as the detailed listening is more difficult). NOTE: provide students with more time here as they need to listen for detail, say about 10 mins. 7. Feedback Now check the students’ answers to the listening tasks you set. They could compare their answers first to increase STT, or get them discussing why they chose their answers or give alternatives. 8. Follow-on activity Now sets a speaking or writing activity that continues the theme of the lesson.