Do you think that you would be happy if you had a lot of money?
And I mean, a lot! Imagine you could buy anything you wanted to, do anything you wanted to, go anywhere.
You wouldn’t think ‘Oh, wait, I can’t afford it!’ You would be able to afford anything!!
But would you be happy? Read on!
This lesson contains 5 steps and an evaluation.
Work them through step by step.
Step
Activity
Introduction
Find out what you already know.
Step 1
Speaking
Questions about giving and receiving presents.
Compare and discuss with classmates.
Step 2
Reading
A text about how money can buy happiness.
Match the study to the findings. Answer the questions.
Answer more questions together with a classmate and discuss.
Step 3
Grammar
About the 2nd conditional. Complete the rule.
Complete sentences in exercise.
Step 4
Song
Listen to 'Money' from Pink Floyd. Name aspects of wealth.
Put the song lines in order. Give your reasons to the statement.
Step 5
Task
Look at the schedule of 'experience' presents.
Discuss advantages and disadvantages.
Choose in pairs the best present. Make a farewell speech.
Evaluation
Reflecting on what you have learned.
Step 1 - Speaking
Speaking
Read the questions about giving and receiving presents. Think about your answers (make notes).
Then compare your answers with a classmate and discuss about the differences (about 10 minutes).
What was the last present you received?
Who was it from and what was it?
Do you still use it? Why/why not?
Have you ever received a present that was an ‘experience’. Describe it.
Did you enjoy it? Why/why not?
Do you prefer to give presents or to receive them?
Step 2 - Reading
Reading: How money can buy happiness
Read the article quickly. Match the dates to the findings.
by Graham Witcomb
Money can buy happiness, to a point. As a child, you were probably told that money doesn't buy happiness. It turns out that this wise advice is wrong, sort of. Many studies have found that wealth is significantly correlated with subjective well-being, but only up to a point.
In 2010, a Princeton study by Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that earning more than $US75,000 per year won't significantly increase your day-to-day happiness. But don't worry. The fact that your financial achievements no longer fill you with undiluted pleasure may mean something else – that you're spending it wrong.
Most of us make the seemingly logical assumption that as material things last longer than one-time experiences, they should also make us happier for longer. A weekend getaway, we reason, is only good for a few days. A new TV, however, will give us years of enjoyment.
It turns out we have it backwards. We quickly adapt to ever-present material goods so their ability to make us happy diminishes over time. That new TV quickly becomes a "new normal".
A 1978 study found that even lottery winners get used to their new wealth and eventually revert back to their pre-win level of happiness. So, scratch that scratchie? Not just yet.
A 2016 study by Thomas Gilovich found that spending money on experiences, rather than goods, provides a much greater and longer lasting sense of wellbeing. The reason, Gilovich concluded, is that: "(1) Experiential purchases enhance social relations more readily than material goods; (2) Experiential purchases form a bigger part of a person's identity; and (3) Experiential purchases are evaluated more on their own terms and evoke fewer social comparisons than material purchases. "Gilovich is suggesting that buying "stuff" to keep up with the Joneses won't make you happy but buying experiences might. And it turns out that one of the most satisfying experiences is spending the money not on oneself but someone else.
In 2013, researchers at Harvard University approached people on campus and gave them either $5 or $20 and told them to spend it by the end of the day. Half the participants were asked to spend it on themselves; the other half were told to spend it on someone else. When asked what would make them happiest, most participants predicted that spending more money ($20 versus $5) and spending it on themselves would do more for them than giving it away.
However, when the researchers checked up on their subjects that evening, those who had spent the money on someone else or donated it to the homeless reported feeling significantly better. But there's a final twist: no difference in mood was found between those who spent $5 or $20 – which reinforces the idea that it isn't how much money you have to spend, but how you spend it, that has the biggest effect on your happiness.
De onderstaande antwoorden moet je zelf nakijken; vergelijk jouw antwoorden met de goede
antwoorden, en geef aan in welke mate jouw antwoorden correct zijn.
Song
Listen to the song 'Money' from Pink Floyd.
The video shows many aspects of wealth.
Do the exercise.
Step 5 - Task
Task
A friend of yours, Ella, is leaving your school because her parents are moving to a different town.
You want to give her an ‘experience’ present. Look at the following presents.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Then in pairs choose the best present.
Look at the activities.
Note down the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Then talk to your classmate. Talk together about the advantages and disadvantages.
Then try to agree on one activity together.
Besides the pictures of page 1 you can also think of other ideas,
like a photoshoot, a wellness treatment or your own ideas.
Then together prepare a farewell speech for Ella.
In the speech you describe the 'experience' present, you have chosen for her.
Evaluation
Fill in the schedule and answer the questions below.
Activity
easy
difficult
known
new
Step 1 - Speaking
Step 2 - Reading
Step 3 - Grammar
Step 4 - Song
Step 5 - Task
What have you learned in this double period?
Answer the following questions:
What was the easiest part of this lesson?
How well do you understood the lesson? What was the most difficult part?
Which lesson was the most interesting? Why?
What do you wish you could have done differently?
What do you still need help with? What do you have to ask your teacher?
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Van dit lesmateriaal is de volgende aanvullende informatie beschikbaar:
Toelichting
Deze les valt onder de arrangeerbare leerlijn van de Stercollectie voor Engels voor havo, leerjaar 4 en 5. Dit is thema 'Money'. Het onderwerp van deze les is: Money = happiness. In deze les staat de vraag centraal of geld gelukkig kan maken. Hierbij wordt gekeken naar het geven en krijgen van cadeaus. Aan de hand van een liedje worden verschillende aspecten van rijkdom behandeld. In de grammaticaopdracht wordt de 2nd conditional behandeld.
Deze les valt onder de arrangeerbare leerlijn van de Stercollectie voor Engels voor havo, leerjaar 4 en 5. Dit is thema 'Money'. Het onderwerp van deze les is: Money = happiness. In deze les staat de vraag centraal of geld gelukkig kan maken. Hierbij wordt gekeken naar het geven en krijgen van cadeaus. Aan de hand van een liedje worden verschillende aspecten van rijkdom behandeld. In de grammaticaopdracht wordt de 2nd conditional behandeld.
The title of this lesson is 'Money = happiness'.
Speaking
by Graham Witcomb
Grammar
Song
