Note : All Viralelt posts share the same structure. Teacher’s notes appear only on How to use Viralelt. This is done to keep “teacher text” to a minimum and avoid repetition.
Before projecting the videos below, show your students the photo on the left and ask them the following question, “What would you do if you were visiting a natural park with three friends and you came across this spectacular rock formation?”. You might also like to ask them what they think it looks like or reminds them of.
Video 1 : Taken in September 2016, this 7-second video shows a group of people toppling “the Duckbill” – the iconic rock formation shown in the photo above. “The Duckbill” was a sandstone rock pedestal which had stood in Oregon’s “Cape Kiwanda” natural park for hundreds of thousands of years.
Video 2 : A similar incident occurred in October 2013. This time, two former Boy Scout leaders toppled a rock formation dating back to the Jurassic Period at “Goblin Valley” state park in Utah.
Video 3 : A news report featuring both of the above cases.
- If you had seen somebody trying to topple “the Duckbill”, what would you have done? What about if you witnessed a different act of vandalism such as somebody spraying graffiti on a wall?
- Why do some people commit acts of vandalism? What type of people commit these acts?
- Do you think graffiti is art or vandalism? When is it considered art, and when is it considered vandalism?
- Have you ever written, drawn or sprayed something on a wall, desk, bench, toilet door etc?
- Is vandalism a big problem where you live? What can be done to prevent vandalism?
- Which of the following cases of vandalism are the most and least serious? What sort of punishment should they receive?
> Scratching somebody’s car with a key
> Toppling an iconic rock formation in a natural park
> Defacing a famous painting
> Spray-painting the side of somebody’s house
> Destroying cultural heritage, e.g. statues, temples etc
> Smashing a shop window
> Setting fire to a forest
> Destroying a cash machine or bus stop
> Carving your name into a tree - Why do some people video themselves committing acts of vandalism and other petty crimes?
- Do you think people are generally more respectful of private property than public property? Why? / Why not?
- Has vandalism always been a problem or is it a new phenomenon?
- Some people say that humans enjoy breaking things. Do you agree? Why might this be the case?
Which two of the above questions are being discussed?
Download “Question time” and the “Sitting comfortably?” script in an editable Word document here.
Student photos of vandalism and/or graffiti
Ask your students to take some photos of graffiti and/or vandalism in their local area for use in the following lesson.
Possible tasks
a) Mingling : students show and discuss their photos.
b) Writing : letters of complaint to the local council.
c) Roleplay : graffiti artist versus unhappy local resident.
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