Autonomous Learning Projects

1. You are a wealthy person who lives a very comfortable life. You have just

woken up and are getting ready to start the day. You are also on vacation in a

well-known city somewhere in the world. It’s time to plan your activities for the

rest of the day. Keep the following questions in mind: What are you going to

do? How did you get so famous? What popular tourist sites will you visit?

What would you do if you needed help during the day?

2. Form groups of four or five students. One student is a radio show host

interviewing people on the street. Two of the remaining students in the group

are people on the street, and the final student(s) is the radio show audience. It

is important to find out who are the people on the street, what are their wishes

and likes in life, and if something were to happen to them what they would do.

The radio show host then reports his/her findings to the audience and the

audience asks questions.

3. Students create a poster with a story line. The poster outlines a day in the

life of somebody wealthy. The layout is similar to a board game with important

events in the day highlighted. Students report to class what happened to the

person and what the person was thinking as they moved from one activity to

another during the day.

4. Students role-play an emergency. The emergency could be an earthquake, a

flat tire, a robbery, an automobile accident, or any relevant emergency situation

approved by the teacher. From two to four students are involved in the role-

play, whose outcome is influenced by the characteristics and the desired

outcomes of the participants. Some participants want to help, others want to

take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain, and others are

victims. The participants can be wealthy, famous, ordinary, and poor.

5. Research white lies from around the world in pairs or groups. Find out how

white lies vary from country to country. How do white lies told in Peru differ

from white lies told in the U.S., the U.K., and Hong Kong, for example? Collect

samples of white lies from as many different countries as possible. How is

honesty interpreted from one culture to another? Report your results to the rest

of the class.