White lies and second helpings: moral dilemmas at the holiday table
An ethics column on a Thanksgiving dilemma about honesty and family loyalty opens a lesson on moral reasoning; students analyze how the columnist weighs competing duties, then decide eight holiday-table dilemmas in groups, record their reasons and objections, and defend their choices to the class.
C2Adults60 minProblem solving
About this lesson
A C2 speaking lesson (problem solving). Warm-ups, role plays and discussion tasks — get the whole class talking.
- Level
- C2
- Skill
- Speaking
- Type
- Problem solving
- Students
- Adults
- Time
- About 60 minutes
- Topic
- Thanksgiving
- Activities
- Key words, Speaking / writing task, Reading text, Multiple choice, Matching, Table to fill in
- Key words
- a white lie, to be torn between, the lesser of two evils, to draw the line at, to err on the side of, a matter of principle, to keep the peace, to put someone on the spot
- Access
- Premium
By the end, students can
- Weigh competing duties such as honesty, kindness and loyalty in precise, nuanced language
- Reach and defend a group decision on a dilemma, conceding and qualifying where necessary
- Write a short ethics-column reply that balances principle and tact