USEFUL LESSON PLANS

ESL Vocabulary Lesson Plan - Opposites for Beginning Level Learners
By Kenneth Beare, About.com
Learning new vocabulary often requires "hooks" - memory devices that help students remember the words they have learned. Here is a quick, traditional and effective exercise focusing on pairing opposites. The opposites have been divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced level lessons. The exercise can be done as a matching exercise, or, for a greater challenge, students can be asked to come up with the opposites themselves. Both types of exercises are included in the resource section of this lesson.
Aim: Improving vocabulary through the use of opposites
Activity: Matching opposites
Level: Beginner
Outline:
· Divide students into small groups and distribute the opposites worksheet.
· Ask students to either match the opposites (exercise 1) or write the opposites (exercise 2). If you have more time, you can ask students to first match the opposites and then write out the opposites individually. Alternatively, you could give exercise as follow-up homework.
· Correct in class. Expand the exercise by asking students to provide synonyms.
Lesson Plan - ESL Vocabulary Lesson Plan - Opposites
Exercise 1 - Match the Opposites
boy speak old right far foot sister wife black cool buy clean small woman begin drink full fat stand up father short hard cold light
big, largebrotherdark, heavydirtyeatemptyendgirlhead, handhothusbandleft, wronglistenlong, tallmanmothernear, closenew, youngsellsit downsoft, easythinwarmwhite
Exercise 2 - Fill in the Opposites
boyspeakoldrightfarfootsisterwifeblackcoolbuycleansmallwomanbegindrinkfullfatstand upfathershorthardcoldlight
Learning new vocabulary often requires "hooks" - memory devices that help students remember the words they have learned. Here is a quick, traditional and effective exercise focusing on pairing opposites. The opposites have been divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced level lessons. The exercise can be done as a matching exercise, or, for a greater challenge, students can be asked to come up with the opposites themselves. Both types of exercises are included in the resource section of this lesson.
Aim: Improving vocabulary through the use of opposites
Activity: Matching opposites
Level: Intermediate
Outline:
· Divide students into small groups and distribute the opposites worksheet.
· Ask students to either match the opposites (exercise 1) or write the opposites (exercise 2). If you have more time, you can ask students to first match the opposites and then write out the opposites individually. Alternatively, you could give exercise as follow-up homework.
· Correct in class. Expand the exercise by asking students to provide synonyms.
Lesson Plan - ESL Vocabulary Lesson Plan - Opposites
Exercise 1 - Match the Opposites
deep win, gainmaximum succeedwide shallowask rewardactive releasefail quiet, silentlove pastdefend passivetrue on purpose, deliberatelytogether nonecheap narrowfuture minimumall manyhelp interestingreturn innocentboring hurtfriend hateincrease forgetnoisy falseaccidentally expensivecapture enemylose depart, leavego decreasechild cowardlybrave comepunishment boilingfreezing attackremember apart, separatefew answer, replyguilty adult
Exercise 2 - Fill in the Opposites
deepmaximumwideaskactivefaillovedefendtruetogethercheapfutureallhelpreturnboringfriendincreasenoisyaccidentallycapturelosegochildbravepunishmentfreezingrememberfewguilty
Recipes for English learning - Chicken Kiev
Writing recipes help English learners in a lot of areas: Food related vocabulary, giving instructions, discussion of ideas - and having a meal together as a class! The following recipe is for Chicken Kiev with a follow up guide to the basics of writing and sharing a recipe. Cook together as a class and enjoy some good food while learning English!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
· 4 whole chicken breasts
· 1/2 cup bread crumbs
· 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
· 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano leaves
· 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
· 1/4 teaspoon pepper
· 4 tablespoons softened butter
· 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
· 4 ounces cheese (any sharp cheese) cut into strips
· 5 ounces melted butter
Preparation:
1. Pound chicken breasts until 1/4 inch thin
2. Mix together in a bowl bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of oregano, crushed garlic, and pepper.
3. In small bowl, stir together 4 tablespoons of melted butter, parsley and 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
4. Spread melted butter mixture across the middle of each chicken breast
5. Lay a strip of cheese into the mixture
6. Fold the edges of the chicken breast over and roll the chicken breast
7. Dip each chicken breast into the melted butter
8. Roll each chicken breast in the bread crumb mixture
9. Place chicken breasts in a 9 by 13 inch baking pan
10. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours
11. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 425° oven for 20 minutes
Important Vocabulary and Measurements
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters Bake = cook in ovenCook Time = time needed to cook mealCuisine = which country or tradition the meal comes fromCup = 250 mlDip = put into liquidGrated = in tiny little flakesMix = usually with dry ingredients, combining ingredientsOccasion = appropriate time or mealPound = beat flatPrep Time = time needed to prepare mealRefrigerate = put into refrigeratorSpread = put onto with a knifeStir = usually with liquid ingredients, combining ingredientsStrip = thin, long pieceTablespoon = 15 mlTeaspoon = 5 mlType of Preparation = how to cook meal
Lesson Outline:
· Start the lesson off with an informal discussion about food and eating. You might want to describe a visit to one of your favorite restaurants and describe what you age there. Comparative discussions about the differences between national dishes also helps students get thinking in the right direction.
· Have students get into small groups of three or four students.
· Ask students to use the worksheet and brainstorm on the various categories of food and things related to food.
· Once students have completed the task, gather as a class and compare notes on the vocabulary generated. Alternatively, you can ask the students to get together in pairs and compare their work.
· Using one of your favorite recipes (for example this Chicken Kiev recipe), discuss the important aspects of recipes: layout into 'ingredients' and 'preparation', the use of the imperative for instructions, and measurement issues
· Ask students to breakup into small groups again and have them develop a recipe.
· If time allows, ask students to prepare an entire meal giving a dish to each of the students to prepare by him or herself. After students have written the recipe, they can get together and discuss their work before presenting it to the class.
· Ask each group to present their recipe to the rest of the class.
· For those of you who want students to learn the difference between the metric system and the US system , I have included a conversion table.
· One tip! It's best not to do this lesson immediately preceding lunch or dinner :-)
(re)Introducing Phrasal Verbs to ESL Students
Getting students to come to terms with phrasal verbs is a constant challenge. The fact of the matter is that phrasal verbs are just rather difficult to learn. Learning phrasal verbs out of the dictionary can help, but students really need to read and hear phrasal verbs in context for them to be able to truly understand the correct usage of phrasal verbs. This lesson takes a two pronged approach to helping student learn phrasal verbs. It begins with a reading comprehension which can also serve to introduce some interesting student stories for discussion. This comprehension is peppered with phrasal verbs which can then be discussed as a class. The second part of the lesson includes a brainstorming session for students to create lists of phrasal verbs to share with one another.
Aim: Improve phrasal verb vocabulary
Activity: Reading comprehension followed by brainstorming session and discussion
Level: Intermediate to upper intermediate
Outline:
· Have the students read the short story full of phrasal verbs.
· Ask them some general comprehension questions about the text. Once they have read the text, ask them to tell a story of their own from their youth.
· Now that you have discussed the text, ask the students to find the phrasal verbs from the list which occur in the reading selection. Once the students have found these phrasal verbs, ask the students to provide synonyms for the phrasal verbs.
· Tell the students a little bit about what you have done that teaching day:
Example: I got up at seven this morning. After I had breakfast, I put together tonight's lesson plan and came to school. I got into the bus at X square and got off at Y square....
· Ask students which of the verbs you used were phrasal verbs and ask them to repeat those verbs. At this point, you might want to ask them if they have ever taken a look under the heading 'get' in a dictionary. Ask them what they discovered.
· Explain that phrasal verbs are very important in English - especially for native speakers of the language. You can point out that it might not be important for them to be able to use a lot of phrasal verbs if they use their English with other non-native speakers. However, it is important that they have a passive knowledge of phrasal verbs, as they will need to understand more and more phrasal verbs as they become used to reading, listening, seeing and exploring authentic materials in English. Obviously, if they are going to use their English with native speakers, they will really need to buckle down and get used to using and understanding phrasal verbs.
· Write a list of common verbs that combine with prepositions to make phrasal verbs. I would suggest the following list:
· Take
· Get
· Make
· Put
· Bring
· Turn
· Be
· Carry
· Divide students into small groups of 3-4 each, ask students to choose three of the verbs from the list and then brainstorm to come up with as many phrasal verbs using each of the three verbs that they can. They should also write example sentences for each of the phrasal verbs.
· As a class, ask students to take notes while you write the phrasal verbs down that each group provides. You should then give a spoken example or two for each of the phrasal verbs so that students can understand the phrasal verbs from the context of what you are saying.
· Once you have provided the students with examples, ask the students to read their own examples and check to make sure that they have used the phrasal verbs correctly.
NOTE Don't introduce the idea of separable and inseparable phrasal verbs at this point. The students will already be dealing with almost too much new information. Save that for a future lesson!

Adventures Growing Up

I was brought up in a small town in the countryside. Growing up in the countryside offered lots of advantages for young people. The only problem was that we often got into trouble as we made up stories that we acted out around town. I can remember one particular adventure in particular: One day as we were coming back from school, we came up with the brilliant idea to make out that we were pirates looking for treasure. My best friend Tom said that he made out an enemy ship in the distance. We all ran for cover and picked up a number of rocks to use for ammunition against the ship as we got ready to put together our plan of action. We we were ready to set off on our attack, we slowly went along the path until we were face to face with our enemy - the postman's truck! The postman was dropping off a package at Mrs. Brown's house, so we got into his truck. At that point, we really didn't have any idea about what we were going do next. The radio was playing so we turned down the volume to discuss what we would do next. Jack was all for switching on the motor and getting away with the stolen mail! Of course, we were just children, but the idea of actually making off with a truck was too much for us to believe. We all broke out in nervous laughter at the thought of us driving down the road in this stolen Postal Truck. Luckily for us, the postman came running towards us shouting, "What are you kids up to?!". Of course, we all got out of that truck as quickly as we could and took off down the road.
Phrasal Verbs
· to make out
· to make off with
· to drop off
· to set off
· to get out of
· to get into
· to get ready
· to be up to
· to take off
· to grow up
· to make up
· to set off
· to turn down
· to get into
· to bring up
· to break out
There are at least 7 other phrasal verbs in the text. Can you find them?
Chunking or Building Vocabulary Skills with Set Phrases
This upper level reading comprehension is provided as a means for students to learn chunks of relevant language as well as appropriate vocabulary.
Aim: Learning Vocabulary Chunks
Activity: Reading comprehension with follow-up chunking exercise
Level: Upper Intermediate to Advanced
Outline:
· Start off the lesson by asking students to write down phrases related to the enviornment and pollution in particular.
· As a class, write these phrases on the board (remember, students are to provide phrases not single words).
· If you have a monolingual class, ask students to come up with a few related phrases in their mother tongue.
· Quickly discuss the idea of langauge chunks and how useful learning set chunks of language can be especially when writing.
· Give each student the worksheet.
· Check answers (see following page for some suggestions to possible answers).
· Build on this exercise by asking students to find articles in newspapers, magazines or on the Internet. Have students repeat the exercise for the individual articles.
· Build vocabulary as a class by asking students to share their vocabulary chunking sheets and articles with the rest of the class.
Pollution
Western countries are currently rethinking their attitudes towards the environment. Water, air and noise pollution are continually becoming more of a threat to the environment. Further, there is increasing evidence that the ozone layer is being slowly threatened by the ever-increasing output of carbon monoxide which, in turn, has begun to play havoc with world weather patterns. El Nino is just one example of these changes to our environment.
Governments are now beginning to combat these problems with a series of different measures. They are increasingly regulating industry and employing sophisticated scientific research to develop new solutions to the threat of pollutants. Recently, noise pollution has also begun to be noticed, as it has become increasingly difficult to escape the noise of the city. There are also conferences being held on a world level to combat these serious problems. Working together, governments hope to soon find solutions.
Which phrases express the idea that there are problems with our world?
ANSWER:
______ ___
Which phrases express governments' reaction to these problems?
ANSWER:
_________
Which words or phrases express types of pollution?
ANSWER:
_________
Here are suggested answers to the worksheet
Which phrases express the idea that there are problems with our world?
ANSWER:
Water, air and noise pollution ozone layer is being slowly threatenedone example of these changes
Which phrases express governments' reaction to these problems?
ANSWER:
beginning to combat increasingly regulating industrydevelop new solutions
Which words or phrases express types of pollution?
ANSWER:
Air, water, and noise pollutionCarbon monoxide pollutants
Match-Up! Grammar Review Game
By Kenneth Beare, About.com
Match-Up! is a grammar review game that helps review basic sentence structure and match these structures to grammar concepts / structures / forms.
On a piece of paper, match the sentence halves to make correct sentences. Once you have matched-up the sentences find the correct grammar form and match it to the sentence.
Sentence Beginnings
Andy would have enjoyed coming He's always getting How about going to I might be able to I wish she had If he were in chargePeter will have She'll be late She can't have flown to New York because That house is being They're going to studyThey were discussing the new accountWe'll be giving the We usually sleep We would have brunch on Sundays
Sentence Endings
when he burst into the meeting to tell them the news. unless she hurries up! the concert next week? she telephoned me from her home in Austin. presentation this time tomorrow. into trouble at school. in on Sundays. if he had been invited. he would fire a few people. finished the report by next Friday. decided to stay longer. computer sciences at university. built by Anderson Inc. attend the conference next week. after going to church.
Grammar Reasons
First or real ConditionalFuture continuousFuture intentionFuture perfectFuture possibilityInterrupted past actionPassive voice in the continuousPast habitual actionPast modal verb of probabilityPast unreal conditionalPast wishPresent habitual annoying problemRoutineSecond or unreal conditionalSuggestion
Match Up! Grammar Review
Here are the answers to the Match Up! grammar review quiz:
Andy would have enjoyed coming if he had been invited. - Past unreal conditional
He's always getting into trouble at school. - Present habitual annoying problem
How about going to the concert next week? - Suggestion
I might be able to attend the conference next week. - Future possibility
I wish she had decided to stay longer. - Present wish about a past action
If he were in charge he would fire a few people. - Second or unreal conditional
Peter will have finished the report by next Friday. - Future perfect
She'll be late unless she hurries up! - First or real Conditional
She can't have flown to New York because she telephoned me from her home in Austin. - Past modal verb of probability
That house is being built by Anderson Inc. - Passive voice in the continuous
They're going to study computer sciences at university. - Future intention
They were discussing the new account when he burst into the meeting to tell them the news. - Interrupted past action
We'll be giving the presentation this time tomorrow. - Future continuous
We usually sleep in on Sundays. - Routine
We would have brunch on Sundays after going to church. - Past habitual action
Spelling / Vocabulary Game for ESL Classes
This spelling game helps ESL classes and students learn and / or review new vocabulary that may be learned during a unit, or a given period of time such as a week or a semester. Students work in groups and are rewarded based on the number of vocabulary words / phrases that they can come up with in short periods of time. The directions for this spelling game follow below:
Aim: Spelling - New Vocabulary Learning and Review
Activity: Spelling Game
Level: All levels
Outline:
· Write up a list of target vocabulary for the game. 50 - 100 vocabulary items work well for this game.
· Create (collect together) appropriate cards for review. Cards should be created using prefixes, suffixes, first two letters, last two letters, etc. as in the example cards below. Phrases can use the beginning (or ending) letters of each word of the phrase.
· Copy one group of spelling game cards for each group. Distribute to each group with the picture side down.
· Instruct groups to have a separate sheet for each card.
· Use a watch or timer to time each spelling game card (3 minutes for each card generally works well).
· As the game begins, each group turns over the top card (as in Go Fish, Uno, etc.) and begins brainstorming on all the words they have learned using the prefix, suffix, first two letters, last two letters, etc.
· Shout out "stop" and continue to the next card. Repeat until all cards have been used.
· Use the vocabulary list created for review to check answers as a class. The group with the most correct vocabulary words or phrases wins.
Example Cards
di-
-ment
l.., c.., a..
-tion
s.. m..
-ph
sc-
-or
t.. A.. A..

ANSWERS

director, dialogue, direction
entertainment, arrangement, management
lights, camera, action!
promotion, direction, action
stunt man
autograph, photograph
script, screen
actor, author
the Academy Awards

Building Character Adjectives Vocabulary
By Kenneth Beare, About.com
This intermediate level lesson employs a fun questionnaire to focus on developing personal description vocabulary. Students can practice conversation skills while also focusing on improving their command of refined character description. This first phase is then followed by a vocabulary development exercise sheet.
Aim: Developing and broadening knowledge of character adjective vocabulary
Activity: Questionnaire followed by vocabulary matching activity
Level: Intermediate
Outline:
· Ask students to describe a family member, write descriptive adjectives on the board.
· Distribute questionnaire and ask students to pair up and ask each other questions contained in survey.
· Have students report back to the class on what they have learned about their partner's best friend.
· Divide students up into small groups and ask them to complete the adjective worksheet.
· Check worksheet as a class.
· Ask students to provide the opposite of each adjective listed on the worksheet - this activity can be done as a class or in small groups.
· As a follow-up exercise, have students write a description of one of their family members, friends or relatives with special emphasis on using the adjectives discussed during the lesson.
What kind of best friend do you have?
Exercise 1: Ask your partners the following question about his/her best friend. Make sure to listen carefully to what your partner has to say.
1. Is your friend usually in a good mood?
2. Is it important for your friend to be successful in whatever he/she does?
3. Does your friend notice your feelings?
4. Does you friend often give presents, or pay for lunch or a coffee?
5. Does your friend work hard?
6. Does your friend become angry or annoyed if he/she has to wait for something or someone?
7. Can you trust your friend with a secret?
8. Does your friend listen well when you are speaking?
9. Does your friend keep his/her feelings to him/herself?
10. Is your friend usually not worried by things, no matter what happens?
11. Does your friend think the future will be good?
12. Does your friend often change their opinion about things?
13. Does your friend often postpone things he/she has to do?
14. Is your friend happy one moment and then sad the next?
15. Does your friend like to be with people?
Exercise 2: Which of these adjectives describes the quality asked about in each of the survey questions?
· generous
· easygoing
· ambitious
· cheerful
· hardworking
· trustworthy
· impatient
· optimistic
· sensitive
· moody
· sociable
· indecisive
· reserved
· lazy
· attentive
Descriptive Vocabulary for Cinema, Movies, and Stars
By Kenneth Beare, About.com
Speaking about various actor and actress and the films they have appeared in provides an ideal opportunity for students to use "bigger than life" descriptive adjectives - thus widening their the descriptive vocabulary skills.
Aim: Improve vocabulary skills used when speaking about the cinema, films and movies
Activity: Matching exercise combining descriptive adjectives and famous actors and actresses
Level: Intermediate
Outline:
· Ask students to name some of their favorite actors and actresses. Encourage them to use descriptive adjectives to describe them.
· Have students pair up and use the activity. Ask them to choose one or two descriptive adjectives that they feel describes the actor or actress best. Students should feel free to discuss their opinions.
· As a class, go through the list of actors and actresses and discuss which adjectives they have chosen to describe the various actors and actresses.
· As a follow up activity, ask students to choose an actor or actress that they are very familiar with and write a description of the various films that he/she has done using the various descriptive adjectives from the list, as well as others that they know or look up in a dictionary.
How would you describe your favorite actor or actress?

· Handsome
· Comely
· Plain
· Overrated
· Impeccable
· Boring
· Extrovert
· Sophisticated
· Agile
· Sinister
· Multi-talented
· Beautiful
· Absurd
· Versatile
· Ironic
· Glamorous
· Idiotic
· Woody Allen
· Marilyn Monroe
· Roberto Benigni
· Anthony Hopkins
· Judy Foster
· Dustin Hoffman
· Jim Carey
· Demi Moore
· Arnold Schwarzeneger
· Sophia Loren
· Bruce Willis
· Will Smith
· Meg Ryan
· Tom Hanks
· You choose!
· You choose!
· You choose!
ESL Tic-Tac-Toe - Conditional Forms
Tic-Tac-Toe games are a fun way for students to practise their English while enjoying some competition. The exercise is rather intuitive:
· Distribute the tic-tac-toe sheet.
· Students complete the sentence with one of the conditional forms.
· Students score an X or O for each sentence that is grammatically correct and makes sense.
· This game is best played as a class with the teacher checking answers. However, with larger classes, the game can also be played in pairs while the teacher goes around the room checking answers.

Conditional Tic-Tac-Toe