GOLD COSTS MORE THAN MONEY by Kieran Donaghy

This is a summary of Kieran Donaghy's lesson plan "Gold costs more than money"

The full, excellent lesson plan can be found here.
Thank you so much for this and all your impressive work

Step 1

Write down any expressions or idioms in your own language which contain the words “gold” or “golden”.

Step 2

Compare the expressions and idioms you have written, and try to translate them into English.


Step 3

Read out some of the expressions and idioms you have translated into English .


Step 4

Some  expressions:
to have a heart of gold
to be golden hearted
to be as good as gold
to be worth its weight in gold
to go for gold
a golden rule
a golden opportunity
a golden girl
a golden boy
a golden handshake
a gold digger
fool’s gold
all that glistens is not gold
In pairs, try and work out the meaning of each expression or idiom.

(You can check the meanings on The Free Dictionary by Farlex)
(List of 90 Colour Idioms, including GOLD)

Step 5

What does each expression and idiom mean?


Step 6

Choose 6 expressions or idioms, and write 6 true sentences which illustrate the meaning of them, such as:

“My sister Sheila has a heart of gold – she’d do anything for anybody.”
“Going to the conference in Uruguay to do a plenary session was a golden opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”



Step 7

Compare and comment on your sentences in small groups.



Step 8

What is the figurative meaning of gold or golden is in the expressions and idioms?



Step 9

Come up with as many pieces of jewellery which are made of gold as you can think of.
Here are some 



Step 10

What symbolism  has gold got in our culture?

Step 11

You are going to watch a short video titled “Gold costs more than money”. What do you think the video will be about?



Step 12

As you watch , try to answer the following questions:
What’s the message of the video?
Who made the video?

Let's see the film until 01:27 when you see the caption “Gold costs more than money”:

Step 13

Discuss the two questions in small groups.



Step 14

Discuss the two questions with the whole class.


Step 15

keep watching the video. Go through each line. Do you understand what they mean?



Step 16

Now you  have watched and discussed the whole film:
What’s the video’s message?

Who made the film? 

Let's visit the website The No Project, and discuss the objectives and actions of the project.

Extra!: Find out as much as they can about ethical gold, jewellery and electronics, and report back on it in our next class.

Guide to greener electronics 2017