Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:

• • – gain and use a C2 level of language on the topics of statistics, data analysis and critical thinking.
  • – improve one’s ability to speak about advanced ideas related to statistics, using a range of activities such as gap-fill exercises, reading comprehension and writing sentences.
  • – improve comprehension with a short video about ‘’How statistics can be misleading’’ and follow-up activities.

This C2 ESL lesson will help students to use an advanced level of language in the appropriate way on the topics of statistics, critical thinking and data analysis. In this way, they can improve their skill to speak easily about statistics in English in a succinct and natural manner.

Warm-Up

Students start with a ‘true or false’ game . . . they must guess which statistics are true or not.

Video

Learners watch an educational video titled “How statistics can be misleading.” Students follow up with an exercise to consolidate the content they have learned in the film. 

Exercises

Students complete a gap-fill story with the language already learned. Then, they do a sentence improvement exercise. This latter activity helps to develop their writing skills to become more coherent, succinct and logical.

Reading

Students read a short story about misleading data. This activity is followed up with a question and answer exercise. 

Discussion

During the final part of the lesson, students manage a natural, advanced conversation about statistics.