Lesson plan by Maria Esther Naranjo

Lesson Topic (45 minutes)

Excuses, excuses

Grade/Proficiency Level
Grades 1-2 beginners to intermediate ESL

Skills to be emphasized

Speaking, listening and grammar skills according to the topic.

Content Concepts/Skills
Observation; cooperation; participation

Target vocabulary

Back, stomach, foot, hand, eye, mouth, arm, throat, head, nose, leg,
ear, fever, headache, stomachache, sore throat, cold, cough.

Objectives

By the end of the class students should be able to:

• Give reasons why they can not do something.

• Describe some common health problems.

• Talk about parts of the body by using some new vocabulary.

• Give information about signs of specific health problems.

Materials

Pictures showing some common health problems, hand-outs about the

new grammar

Activity 1: warm-up: Simon says

(15 minutes) Imitation practice

Warp-up introduction

When we listen we often understand the main idea from key words
and images. “key words” are the important words. “Key images” are
actions and emotions that the speakers use. When students listen,
they pick out a few key words and images.

1. Introduce the topic

Tell students what they`re going to learn this class. Tell them that
they are going to imitate the actions you do while listening at the
same time.

2. Simon says

Students must do the actions you order them to do when listening the
introductory phrase “Simon says”

Example:

Simon says: raise your hands

The teacher must do the action while repeating the order (Imitation
task) in this task you introduce to the students new vocabulary.

3. Time to act

You will act some health problems: like a headache, a

stomachache, a fever or things like that in order to make your
students guess what these actions mean. This activity helps
them to “think in English”

4. Students participation

It is time to students to participate; they will show or act some

health problems in order to make them interact and get
engaged with the topic.

Warm up B

In this warm-up we are going to find different words related to the

topic and the new vocabulary. Find the words below.
Activity 2: Crossword puzzle

(10 minutes)

This activity will help students to remember or to memorize what they

have just learned. Think about memory techniques you use. Find the
meaning of these English words and try to memorize them using this
method or another memory technique.
Anwers across:

Back eye

Stomach mouth

Foot Hand

Ear

Answers down:

Arm head

Throat nose

leg

Activity 3: Introduce the grammar (hand-outs)

(10 minutes)

Conjunctions: and, but and so

Conjunctions connect various elements in a sentence.

Example:

Peter and Charles libros y revistas - books and magazines

After a bright explanation of the grammar that they have to use in this
topic, it is time to practice it.

Exercise
 1. Share an experience you have had with a health problem,
describe it using the grammar.

Example:

2 weeks ago I hurt my foot, so I couldn`t drive that day. It was

horrible, because I had to commute to work by bus. That day I
didn`t arrive on time for an important appointment.

2. After this, make students talk about their experiences with

health problems. With this action they will feel confidence while
they interact at the same time. Also they have the chance to
correct each other by being respectful.

3. Try to follow those conversations by asking follow-up questions.

This way the class won`t be tiring or stressful.

Activity 4: Practice (pictures)

(10 minutes)

In this task you`ll show to the students some people`pictures (who are
sick). Students have to recognize the health problem and describe it
by using the presented grammar.

Examples:

Eliza has a terrible headache, so she can`t go working.

He has a bad cold, but he doesn`t have a cough.

Diego has a bad cold, but he is going to work

today anyway.

Bibliography:

http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/

http://www.saberingles.com.ar/lists/body.html

http://www.ctspanish.com/words/conjunctions.htm