Dan Price/Simple Life Lesson (90 min, A2-B2)

 T asks SS, “What makes your life easier/convenient?” T can choose wording based on SS level.

 T boards some ideas and then elicits and boards ideas from SS after SS have discussed in groups. Eg:
Running water, electricity, cell phone, toilets, public transportation

 T boards and asks SS, “What would you do if you didn’t have these things? SS talk in groups and then
T elicits ideas for class discussion. (T could take this time to ask concept check questions and explain
2nd conditional if needed.)

 T tells SS that he/she is going to show them a person who doesn’t have many of these things. T plays
the powerpoint backwards, starting with the last slide and elicits vocab and information from the SS.
Eg: What is this guy’s name? Where does he live? What is he doing? Where is he going? You can
decide what questions to ask your SS on the different slides. This part could be skipped if short on
time.

(Pictures and information from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/photo/what-choosing-poverty-looks-n75796)

 T tells SS that he/she will tell them who this person really is. Tell SS to listen carefully and that they will
be expected to retell the “story” about Dan Price. Read the following text with the corresponding slide
and try to elicit the bold words by using gestures to get the SS more involved (I usually rewrite this
based on the level of the SS. You also might want to explain and board difficult vocab as you go):

Slide 1: This is Dan Price. He lives on only $5000 a year. He lives in an underground “hobbit hole” that he
built from scrap wood. He built it in a hillside in Oregon and it only cost him $75.

Slide 2: His living room is 8ft across and shaped like a circle with a 4ft high ceiling. Dan Price has adopted a
life of radical simplicity. He said that all he needs is food, clothing, and shelter. He has only one spoon, one
fork, and one knife, and he prepares very simple meals.

Slide 3: He doesn’t have a washing machine or a dryer. He does his laundry in the river that runs through his
property and he dries his clothes on a line.

Slide 4: This is the property where he has lived for 23 years. He rents the property for $100 a year.

Slide 5: For exercise, he uses homemade weights that he made from scrap material and concrete.

Slide 6: He also rides a tricycle (recumbent bike) for exercise and for transportation. He doesn’t own a car.
One time he rode his bike all the way across the U.S. from Oregon to Florida. (a map helps here)
Slide 7: Before he lived in his “hobbit hole,” he lived in a teepee. He respects the Native American lifestyle
and tries to live like them.

Slide 8: He used to work a part-time job taking care of this cemetery. He still likes to visit the gravestones,
which he calls “a person’s entire history.”

 SS retell the bio of Dan Price in groups or pairs. T listens and collects errors.

 Error correction slot

 Discussion in groups or open class (T could also re-enforce 2nd conditional. Eg: “I wouldn’t want to give
up my car because if I did, I would have to walk 3 hours to work”)

What do you think about Dan Price?

What could you give up for a week? A month?
Would you want to? Why or why not?

 Possible alternatives or extensions:

o Video listening activity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITgqHkQkHY8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9cTmH-8fOo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2u4HTjqv8M

o SS could then make a video where one SS plays Dan Price and the other SS interview
him. Or SS could design their own simple houses and make a video describing their
house/shelter.