1st Lesson Esl Stuff

1st Lesson - Introduction Lesson
Lesson Procedure:
Warm Up and Maintenance:

1. Greetings
Greet the students by name as they enter the classroom and gesture for them to sit
down. It's a good idea to have a cushion for each student (and parent if also taking part) as
this makes sitting arrangements easy to organize. Try and arrange the cushions beforehand
spaced out in a fan-shape around you.
2. Name Tags
Before class prepare some name tags (stickers or pin-on tags)

with each student's name written on in lower case letters. Sit down with your students and
lay out the name tags in front of you. Pick up each tag and call out the name. Try and
encourage each student to put their hand up and say "yes". Hand over the tags and help to
pin / stick on.
In later lessons, once your students can recognize their written name, you can have them
pick out their own name tags.
1
New Learning and Practice:
1. Play "Ball Pass" and say names
Take a soft ball and pass it to your nearest student, saying "Pass". Have each student pass
the ball around the circle. Next, hold the ball and say your name. Have each student say
their name as they pass the ball to each other. Make sure they pass, not throw, roll, etc. If a
student doesn't pass make sure s/he does it again until done properly.
2. Introduce glove puppet - greetings and introductions activity
Your students will love this. Get hold of a glove puppet (I use Cookie Monster bought from
Toys 'R' Us) and put it in a bag before class. Bring out the bag, open it enough to see in and
shout into the bag "Hello!". Then move your ear to the opening to listen - nothing. Go to
each student and encourage them to shout "Hello" into the bag - each time nothing
happens. Finally, get all the students together to shout "Hello!" at the same time. This time
the puppet wakes up and jumps out of the bag! Then model the role play with the puppet:
Teacher: "Hello", What's your name?"

Puppet: "My name is...".
Then move onto the first student and say "Hello". Encourage him/her to say hello back. Let
the students touch, cuddle and stroke the puppet. My puppet also likes to nibble their feet
and arms. Next, the puppet asks each student: "What's your name?". If they are old enough
try and encourage "My name is..." but for the really little ones (3 and under) just saying their
name is fine. Finally, go around saying "Goodbye" and "See you" before going back into the
bag and back to sleep.
3. Sing the "Hello Song"
Sit in a circle and listen to the song (clap along or pat

knees). Play it once more emphasizing "Hello". Your students will pick up the words
surprisingly quickly.
Alternatively, you can sing the "Hello, Hello" song following the tune of Frere Jacques:
Hello, hello, Hello, hello,
How are you? How are you?
I'm fine, thank you, I'm fine, thank you,
We're ok, We're ok.
Lyrics for "The Hello Song"
2
Hello, hello,
How are you today?
Hello, hello,
How are you today?
I’m fine, thank you,
And how about you?
Hello, hello,
How are you today?
And how about you?
(download MP3 here)
Gestures for "The Hello Song"
These are quite straight forward. First time you play the song do the gestures and
encourage everyone to do them with you.
 Wave as you sing the "Hello, hello" parts.

 Gesture to others as you sing "How are you today?"
 Point to yourself as you sing "I’m fine, thank you"
 Hand gesture towards another student as you sing "And how about you?".
We also have a video that you can stream in class to sing along with (Internet connection
required):
4. Do "Exercise Routine" activity

Time for some action. Say the following and have the students follow your lead:
3
 "Stand up (T stands and so does everyone else)
 "Hands up / hands down" (do 4 or 5 times)
 "Jump" (4 or 5 times)
 "Run! / Stop!" (4 or 5 times)
 "Turn around! / Stop!" (4 or 5 times)
 finally "Sit down".
5. Name writing practice
In this lesson your students are going to practice writing their names. For really young ones,
this may be their first time to do so - don't worry if their first effort is a scrawly mess - always
encourage and praise.
You will need to prepare a writing sheet for each student before class with their name
written in dots for them to practice tracing their names (also prepare one for yourself so you
can model the task). You can either make these yourself (hand draw the dots for each
name) or use a font typed into a Word document - we like to use the "National First Font
Dotted" font (you can download it for free here:
http://www.fontspace.com/roger-white/national-first-font-dotted).
Prepare the sheets something like this:
4
TIP: Make a few extra copies of each student's name writing sheet so you can use them in
future lesson or for homework.
Get everyone to sit at a table with you. You are going to give clear instructions on getting
ready for written work so everyone understands what to do in future lessons: first, tell
everyone to get their bags (you do the same so they can see what to do). Then say "Take
out your crayons" - take out your crayons and have everyone follow you.
Take the sheets of paper and read the names - encourage each student to put their hand
up and say "Yes". Give out the sheets to each student and give one to yourself.
Next, say, "Take out a crayon" and have the students follow you as you take out your
crayon. Any color will do. Model tracing your name, slowly and carefully, saying your name
as you trace. Then have everyone trace the first name. Then put the crayon back into your
pencil case and take out a different color. Each time, use a different color. As the students
trace their names, circulate, help and give lots of praise. Finally, have everyone write their
names on the bottom lines.
When everyone has finished, get each student to hold up their sheet so you and everyone
can see. Give lots of praise to each student - you can even put stickers on each student's
sheet as a prize (they will love this) or even a simple drawing of a smiley face will do!
5
6. Do the Name Flower Craft activity
Now that everyone has had a chance to practice

writing their name you can do the name craft activity.
Before class print out the "Name Flower Craft" sheet and copy / cut out the flower shapes
so that there are enough to give one to each student (do a few extra in case of
emergencies!).
Get each student to write their name on the line and then color in their flower. Students can
now decorate the classroom by sticking their name flowers on the walls. Alternatively, have
students make a name poster by sticking all of the name flowers onto one large piece of
construction paper (I like to make a tree shape out of brown card for students to stick their
flowers on).
7. Teach Colors: red, blue, green
A great lesson to follow this one is the "Colors Lesson"

(you can download it for free at our website). In this lesson you can start by teaching the
first 3 colors (red, blue and green) and then in the next class you can continue with the
other colors (yellow, pink, purple, orange).
Origami paper is great for this, or just some colored paper/card cut into squares. Sit
everyone in a circle and hold up the first colored paper and elicit the color (e.g. red). Chorus
and practice saying the color. Do this for the rest of the colors.
8. Play "Color Pass", "Color Touch" and "Color Hold Up"
Now take each color and pass it to your nearest

6
student. Say "red" as you pass red, etc. The students pass the colors round the circle. Next,
lay the 3 colors in the middle of the circle. Say "Hands up". Students raise their hands. Then
say "Touch.....red!" and the students should all try and touch the red colored paper. Do for
all of the colors. Finally, give each student one of the colored papers. Say "Hold up....blue!"
- the students holding the blue papers raise them into the air.
NOTE: for these games you'll probably have to give lots of help and encouragement. For
example, if one of your students doesn't hold up the colored paper when asked look at
him/her and gesture what to do. If their mothers are with them have them help.
9. Play "Find the Color"

Now get each student to give you back their colored paper by saying "Give me (blue)".
Collect all the colors. Then place the colored papers on the floor around the room. First
model by saying "Touch blue". Then stand up, go to a blue paper, touch it and say "blue"
and go back to your place. Now say to one student "(Miki), touch green" and that student
should stand up, find the correct color and touch it. Get everyone to have at least one go.
Finally, get students to stand up and give you back the colors as you say them (e.g. Paulo,
give me red").
10. Play "Balloon Kick"

You need three balloons - a red, a blue and a green one. Take one balloon and elicit the
color. Then chorus "(blue) balloon" x3. Now blow up the balloon (little kids love watching
this) and tie the end. Pat the balloon to one student and encourage him/her to say its color
as they catch it. Let the student pat it back to you and repeat the color with all
students. Then do the same for the other 2 balloons. Finally, line the balloons up, have the
students stand up and model the activity: "Ok, (your name) kick the (blue) balloon!", then
run up to the (blue) balloon and kick it. Now instruct one student to kick a balloon, give
loads of help and encouragement and then do with all the other students.
Wrap Up:
7
1. Assign Homework: "Color the Balloons"
Hold up the homework worksheet and model coloring in the 3 balloon pictures (in red, blue
and green). Elicit each color as you go. Give out the worksheets and say "Put your
homework in your bags" and help them to do so - this is important as they will probably want
to start coloring them right away.
2. Say Goodbye to glove puppet
Take out the bag again and get everyone to wake up the glove
puppet by shouting its name into the bag (e.g. "Cookie Monster!"). Bring out the puppet and
go through the same routine - go to each student and say hello, ask their name and the say
goodbye / see you. Then put the puppet back in the bag (back to sleep).
3. Sing "Goodbye Song"
The "Goodbye Song" is a great way to sign off the class. Sit together in a circle and sing
and clap along.
Lyrics for "The Goodbye Song"
Goodbye, goodbye,
See you again.
Goodbye, goodbye,
See you again.
It’s time to go,
It’s time to go,
It’s time to go,
See you next time.
Goodbye, goodbye,
See you again.
It’s time to go,
See you next time.
(download MP3 here)
Gestures for "The Goodbye Song"
These are quite straight forward. First time you play the song do the gestures and
encourage everyone to do them with you.
 Wave as you sing the "Goodbye, goodbye" parts.
8
 Hold your hand above your eyes (as you would when you are looking into the distance and
keeping the sun out of your eyes) and look at another student as you sing "See you again".
 Tap watch (or imaginary watch) and then point to the door as you sing "It’s time to go".
 Point towards another student as you sing "See you next time".
required):
Alternatively, you can sing the "Goodbye Goodbye" song following the tune of Frere
Jacques:
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye,
See you soon, see you soon,
Come back again, come back again,
Goodbye, goodbye.
4. Do "Quick Check" and say Goodbye

Time to leave the class. Make sure everything is put away and the students have gathered
their belongings. Have them line up at the door and place yourself between the door and
the students. For each student check one new word (e.g. hold up a color and ask "What
color is this?"). For very young kids you can hold up the three colored papers you used
earlier and have them touch one that you say (e.g. "Touch green"). When they give you the
correct answer say goodbye and let them leave. If their answer is wrong, have them go
back to the end of the line - they will have to try again once they reach the front!
9
Lesson Procedure:
1. Greetings & names

Greet the students as they enter the classroom and gesture for them to sit down.
When everyone has sat down and is ready say, "My

name is ..." and give your name. Then tell everyone to stand up. If there is room, have
everyone form a circle. Take a ball and hold it and say your name. Then throw the ball to
one student and they say their name. Students throw the ball around randomly, saying their
name each time they catch the ball.
Then, play the same throwing game, but instead of saying your name, say the name of the
person who threw the ball to you - start by asking one student to throw the ball to you and
as you catch it say their name. Then throw to another student and they should say your
name as they catch it. If anyone gets a name wrong (or can't remember) they have to sit
down for 3 throws. By the end of the activity everyone should have a good idea of everyone
else's names!
2. Name Tags
Before class prepare some blank name tags (stickers or pin-on tags). Give these out and
have everyone write their names and put their tags on. If you use pin-on tags, you can keep
and give out every class. For students who use a non-roman alphabet (e.g. Japanese), they
should write they name in English letters - if they have never done this before you may have
to help (possibly prepare their names on paper to copy).
1. Do the "Ask Me" activity.

On the board draw a little stick man / woman and write your name under it.
Then write some answers to the following questions (just the answers) around the board:
10
 Age: How old are you?
 Hometown: Where are you from?
 Pets: What pet do you have?
 Food: What is your favorite food?
 Drink: What is your favorite drink?
 Color: What is your favorite color?
 Brothers / Sisters: How many brothers and sisters do you have?
For example:
The idea is to try and have your students guess what the answers relate to and the what the
question is for each answer. Start by writing on the board:
 Name: What is your name?

Then point to your name on the board.
Next, point to your hometown on the board and try to elicit the question "Where are you
from?". As you elicit and help, write the questions on the board until all the questions are
there.
11
2. Practice asking and answering questions
Have your students draw a stick man / woman on a piece of paper with their name
underneath, and write down their answers to the questions on the board - basically doing
the same thing as you did on the board. Then put students in pairs and have them practice
asking and answering the questions about themselves. As they do this circulate and
monitor, helping out with mistakes and pronunciation, and always give lots of praise.
3. Do a class survey
Give out the survey sheets to each student. Go through the column headers and make sure
everyone understands that they have to ask questions to 8 other students to complete their
survey. Just to make sure, model the activity with a student, asking the questions and
showing writing the answers. Then allow everyone to get up and mix around as they
complete their surveys.
4. Create a Classroom Rules poster

Setting rules and boundaries is extremely important in your kids lessons - kids can feel
comfortable knowing what is and isn't accepted and having this clearly stated at the
beginning of the course will really help with classroom management. This part of the lesson
can be enjoyable and is a good way to practice modals "can", "can't", "must", "mustn't".
Firstly, prepare your board as shown below:
12
For each column explain and elicit:
 We can = it is ok for us to do. E.g. "We can ask our teacher questions"

 We can't = it is not ok for us to do. E.g. "We can't talk while our teacher is talking"
 We must = very strong - things we have to do. E.g. "We must do our homework"
 We mustn't = very strong - things we never do. E.g. "We mustn't take things without
asking"
Next, put your students into groups of 4-6 students.

Give each group a large sheet of paper and colored marker pens to create their rules
poster. Have them copy what you have on your board. Then explain that they must write
down as many ideas as they can on their rules poster - they can even include some strange
rules if they wish!
NOTE: If your student's level is too low to write sentences, they can draw their ideas
instead.
Some ideas:
13
As the groups are making their posters, circulate and help with grammar, vocab, spelling.
Also, make sure the rules you want are on each poster. Allow students to use different
colors and draw pictures - the posters should be attractive and fun.
When the posters are finished, get everyone in the group to sign it. This helps to reinforce
the rules as a kind of classroom "contract"- if any rules are broken in future lessons you can
point to the rule which the offending student has signed.
Finally, get your students to pin their posters to the wall. Groups can then present their rules
poster to the class - this should bring up some good discussion as well as the use of
modals.
5. Classroom stationery quiz

We will finish the lesson with a fun activity based around the vocab of classroom stationery.
Before class, prepare a box of loads of different classroom stationery (pen, pencil, eraser,
crayon, ruler, stapler, staples, glue, paper, folder, hole punch, pencil sharpener, white out,
scotch tape, pencil case, marker, calculator, etc.).
Put students into teams (of 4-6) and tell them that you are going to show them some objects
that they must write down on a piece of paper. Points will be given for each correct answer
as follows:
14
 perfect answers (correct word and spelling): 3 points
 nearly perfect answers (correct word but incorrect spelling): 2 points
 slightly correct (e.g. "pencil sharp" instead of "pencil sharpener"): 1 point
Explain that the winning team will win a prize

(prepare some stickers or candy)!
Take out each object and teams work together to write down the answers - some they will
probably know and some not.
At the end, get each team to swap papers and go through the answers as teams mark the
answer sheets. Present the prize to the winning team.
6. Play "What's missing?"

Finally, line up all of the stationery so that everyone can see. Tell everyone to close their
eyes - then remove one item. Say "Open your eyes" and everyone must shout out the
missing item. Do this for all of the items.
Wrap Up:
1. Assign Homework: "Classroom Objects" worksheet

Hold up the homework worksheet and model what to do. Give out the worksheets and say
"Put your homework in your bags".
2. Do "Quick Check"
Time to leave the class. Make sure everything is put

away and the students have gathered their belongings. Have them line up at the door and
place yourself between the door and the students. For each student check one new word
(e.g. hold up a stationery item and ask "What's this?"). When they give you the correct
answer say goodbye and let them leave. If their answer is wrong, have them go back to the
end of the line - they will have to try again once they reach the front!
15
1. Teach the actions vocab

Start with flashcards of the actions in the song (jump, run, swim, hop, stomp my feet, turn
around). Have all your students stand up and pull out the first flashcard (e.g. "Jump"). Get
the students to do the action as soon as you reveal the card. Shout out the word as you are
all doing the action and encourage everyone to shout the word as well. Do this for all 6
cards.
2. Play "Quick flashcard actions"
Lay the flashcards face down on the ground and mix them up. With your students still
standing, quickly turn over one card for all to see and shout
out the action (e.g. jump). Everyone jumps for a second or two. Then turn over another card
and shout the action for everyone to do. This should be quick paced with actions changing
frequently.
After a few rounds mix the cards up again and pick up one card. This time don’t show it to
everyone – look at it yourself and then shout out the word (e.g. "Run!") and see if everyone
does the right action. If they are having problems show the card. Do this for all of the cards
until everyone is getting the actions right.
3. Play "Teacher Says"

This is the game "Simon Says" but using the word "teacher", or your name, instead. Go
straight into the game (no explanations necessary) by saying "Teacher says (jump)". Do the
action and make sure everyone else follows along. Do a few more "run, turn around, swim,
etc." Then at some point give a command without the "Teacher says" part (e.g. "Jump!").
First time round, everyone will jump, so make it very clear that they shouldn’t do this when
you don’t say "Teacher says". After a while your students will get the hang of it. Play the
game faster and faster. When a student makes a mistake they have to sit the rest of the
game out. The last student standing is the winner.
4. Teach "Can you ..?", "I can …"
Take out two more flashcards for the actions "fly" and

16
"ride a bike". Have all your students sit down. Pull out the "Jump" flashcard. Say "I can
jump" – point to yourself and nod your head. Then jump and again say "I can jump". Do the
same for another flashcard (e.g. run). Then pull out the "fly" flashcard. Look surprised and
shake your head, saying "No. I can’t fly". Motion trying to fly but falling on the ground.
You can also ask some students "Can you fly?" – some are bound to say "Yes", but look
shocked and say "No. No I don’t think so.". Next do a few more actions (turn around, hop)
and then pull out the "ride a bike" flashcard. Again, say “I can’t ride a bike” and motion trying
to but falling off. Then finish with the remaining flashcards (you can choose whether to say
you can or can’t swim).
Now, pull out a flashcard (e.g. hop) and say to the class "Can you hop?". Encourage
everyone to say, "Yes, I can hop” and show you how. Do this with all of the flashcards – try
and encourage some to say they can’t do some actions (e.g. ride a bike, swim and
especially fly!).
5. Sing the "What Can You Do?" song

Place the flashcards on the board in order of the song, or pin up the "What Can You
Do?" song poster. Play the song and sing along – encourage everyone to sing and do the
actions with you. For the first time you use this song, play it a couple of times.
Lyrics for "What Can You Do?"

(Each verse gets faster and faster)
Verse 1:
What can you do? What can you do?
Can you jump? I can jump!
Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump,
jump, jump, jump, I can jump!
Can you run? I can run!
Run, run, run, run, run, run,
run, run, run, I can run!
Verse 2:
Can you swim? I can swim!
Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, swim,
swim, swim, swim, I can swim!
Can you hop? I can hop!
Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, I can hop!
Verse 3:
Can you stomp your feet? I can stomp my feet!
Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp,
stomp, stomp, stomp, I can stomp my feet!
17
Can you turn around? I can turn around!
Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn,
turn, turn, turn, I can turn around!
Verse 4:
(Let’s do all six!)
Let’s jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump.
Let’s run, run, run, run, run, run.
Let’s swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, swim.
Let’s hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop.
Let’s stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp.
Let’s turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn.
Lets jump, run, swim, hop, stomp, turn.
We can!
(download MP3 here)
Gestures for "What Can You Do?"
The actions to this song are simple – simply do each action as they come up in the song.
It’s probably best for everyone to do the actions on the spot otherwise things could get a bit
hectic!
required):
6. Do "Basic Actions Ability" worksheet

To finish off this section of the lesson, give out worksheets which have the vocab from the
song. As your students are doing the worksheets, ask questions (e.g. "What is this?", "Can
you swim?", etc.).
18
7. Read classroom reader "I Can"
To finish off this section of the lesson, we'll read a nice, simple story. Before
class, download and print off the reader "I Can". As you go through each page, point to the
pictures and elicit each key word, for example:
Teacher: What is this?

Students: It's a rabbit.
Teacher: And here the rabbit says "I can ..."
Students: Jump!
Teacher: (to students) Can you jump?
Students: Yes! (students start jumping)
Get the students really involved in the story by asking lots of questions (e.g. eliciting colors
and other objects) and getting them to do the actions in the story.
After reading the story, give out a reader worksheet to each student and have everyone
match the animals to the things they can do and write the words. Then go through the
answers as a class.
---
Alternatively, watch our video version of the reader (Internet connection required):
19
Morning Routines Lesson Plan
1. Teach the morning routines verbs

Start with a guessing game. Before class print out the flashcards for morning routines. Start
with an easy one – "brush my teeth" – look at the card but don’t show it to anyone. Do the
action for brushing your teeth and ask "What am I doing?". It’s ok if the students answer in
their first language – whoever answers first is the winner. Try and elicit the English or if not,
teach "brush my teeth". For the next card, the winner can look at the card and do the action.
Again, elicit / teach the English. Continue until all the cards / actions have been guessed.
2. Practice the morning routines verbs
Put the cards randomly on the board (stick

on with blue-tak or tape) and draw a circle around each card. Start by chorusing each card
quickly (Teacher: "wake up", Students: "Wake up"). Go through chorusing all the cards at
least three times, getting quicker and quicker as you go. Next, point to a card and say
"What’s this?". Get everyone to say the card together. Point to each card and get the class
to shout out the verbs together as you touch each card. Finally, remove one card from the
board – the circle it was in will still be there. Point to the empty circle and again say "What’s
this?" – get everyone to shout out together the missing card. Point to other cards and elicit
them, slowly removing all the cards from the board leaving just their circles. See if everyone
can remember the words without any cards being there!
20
3. Play "Flashcard touch" on the board
Put the cards back on the board, at a height that everyone can reach. Model the game first
– select a student and say "Touch put on my shoes". The student should go to the board
and touch the correct card. Then get the student to do the same for you. When everyone
has got the idea put them in pairs and get each pair to stand at the other end of the room. In
pairs, each student says a verb phrase as their partner runs to the board and touches the
right card.
4. Do "Morning Routines" Drawings
Give out a large sheet of paper (e.g. A3) to each student and model the activity. Draw
things you do in the morning (e.g. brush your teeth, eat toast, watch TV) – it doesn’t have to
be just the activities from the flashcards / song, anything that you do is good. Then
encourage each student to draw what they do. As they are drawing, go around the class
asking questions (e.g. What’s this? Do you really eat chocolate for breakfast?, etc.). At the
end, get everyone to stick their sheet of paper on the classroom walls. Pair up students and
get them to try and guess what the pictures are.
5. Sing "The Morning Routines" song

Put the morning routine flashcards up on the board in the order of the song, or alternatively,
use our song poster. Get everyone to stand up and teach the actions and gestures for the
song (see Gestures and activities to use with "The Morning Routines Song" below). Then
play the song and get everyone to sing and do the actions along with you. Play twice so
everyone gets the hang of it.
21
Lyrics for "The Morning Routines Song"
Chorus:
Good morning! Good Morning!
It’s time to wake up.
I have to get up.
Verse 1:
I wash my face (wash, wash, wash),
I brush my hair (brush, brush, brush),
I get dressed (dressed, dressed, dressed),
There’s such a lot to do!
Chorus:
It’s time to wake up.
I have to get up.
Verse 2:
I eat my breakfast (eat, eat, eat),
I brush my teeth (brush, brush, brush),
I put on my shoes (put on, put on),
There’s such a lot to do!
It’s time to go to school.
(download MP3 here)
Gestures for "The Morning Routines Song"
As you sing the song, follow these actions:
 "Good morning! Good Morning!" – stretch your arms up (as if just waking up)
 "It’s time to wake up" – point at imaginary wrist watch for “It’s time to” and open your hands
in front of your eyes for “wake up” (to gesture opening your eyes)
 "I have to get up" – do an energetic star jump on “get up”.
 "I wash my face (wash, wash, wash)" – gesture washing your face
 "I brush my hair (brush, brush, brush)" – gesture brushing your hair
 "I get dressed (dressed, dressed, dressed)" – gesture getting dressed
 "There’s such a lot to do!" – gesture wiping your forehead and looking tired out
22
 "I eat my breakfast (eat, eat, eat)" – gesture eating breakfast
 "I brush my teeth (brush, brush, brush)" – gesture brushing your teeth
 "I put on my shoes (put on, put on)" – gesture putting on your shoes
 "It’s time to go to school." – point at imaginary wrist watch for "It’s time to" and wave
goodbye for "go to school".
required):
6. Read classroom reader "Monster Mornings"

This reader follows on perfectly from the song and helps to reinforce the new vocab with a
fun story. Before class, download and print off the reader "Monster Mornings". As you go
through each page, point to the different actions that each monster is doing and elicit what
they are, for example:
Teacher: (point at page 2) What color is this monster?
Students: Blue!
Teacher: Yes, that's right. What a funny color! And what does he do every morning?
Students: Wash face!
Teacher: Yes, well done! (reading from page 2) “I wash my face”. Do you wash your face
23
every morning (directing question to a student)?
Student: Yes!
etc.
Continue through the story, eliciting the key vocab. Get

the students really involved in the story by asking lots of questions (e.g. about the colors on
the monsters, asking yes/no questions, counting arms and legs, etc.).
After reading the story, give out a reader worksheet to each student and read through the
story one more time (without stopping for questions, etc.) as students match the monsters
to their morning activities on their sheets. Then go through the answers as a class.
---
7. Do the "My Morning 1" worksheet

Give out the My Morning 1 worksheet to each student. Model the worksheet and then have
24
everyone work on the sentences. As everyone is working on their worksheets go around the
class and ask questions (e.g. What does that say? Do you take a shower in the morning?).
8. Play charades
To finish the class, get together the morning routines flashcards and also any other action
verb flashcards you have used in previous lessons. Divide the class into 2 teams. One
student comes to the front of the class and acts out the flashcard you show to him/her. The
first person to shout out the correct answer wins a point for his/her team.
Wrap Up:
1. Assign Homework: "My Morning 2" worksheet.

2. Wrap up the lesson with some ideas from our "Warm Up & Wrap Up" page.
25
Daily Routines & Times of the
Day Lesson Plan
1. Introduce 4 times of the day: morning, afternoon, evening and night

Quickly introduce the 4 words by drawing a picture on the board:
 Draw a simple house with a tree next to it and a horizon.
 Then draw a sun just rising over the horizon. Teach/Elicit "morning" and chorus 3 times.
 Next, erase the sun and draw the sun high up in the sky and teach/elicit/chorus "afternoon".
 Then draw the sun low in the sky on the other side of the house for "evening"
 And finally a moon and stars for "night"
Next erase the moon and starts and invite a student up to the board. Say, "Draw afternoon".
Help if necessary and have the student draw the sun high in the sky. Erase the sun and
invite other students to draw the other times of the day.
2. Play "Times of the day boxes" game

You will need to prepare 5 cardboard boxes and print the flashcards for morning, afternoon,
evening, night, wake up, get up, eat breakfast, eat lunch, eat dinner, go to school, start
school, go home, arrive home, watch TV, do homework, go to bed. You can also add some
other flashcards for daily routines, such as brush teeth, play video games, etc. The more
flashcards, the better.
On 4 of the boxes, stick one of the morning, afternoon, evening and night flashcards on the
outside of each and place in different corners of your classroom. In the remaining box put
lots of small objects, e.g. balls, bean bags, blocks, etc. and place in the middle of the
classroom.
26
Model the activity: hold up one of the flashcards (e.g. "get
up") - say the word "get up". Then pick up an object from the object box and point to the 4
boxes around the room. Ask "Which one?" and then go and drop the object into the morning
box. Say "morning" as you drop the object into the box.
Now let's start the game. Hold up a flashcard (any from the daily routines set) and shout out
the verb (e.g. eat dinner). Get everyone to come up together, pick up an object and drop it
in the correct box (make sure they say the time of the day word as they drop). Then
proceed through all of the flashcards quickly as students rush around the classroom putting
objects into the correct boxes. It may be the case that some students will need to visit two
boxes for some activities (e.g. watch TV could be morning and evening) - this is fine.
Finally, ask everyone to guess which box has the most objects - then count out the objects
in each box to see which is the winning time of the day!
3. Create a "Times of the Day" chart on the board

If you don't have a board, you can use a large sheet of paper stuck to your wall. Draw a
vertical and horizontal line to create 4 equal squares and title each square with "in the
morning", "in the afternoon", "in the evening" and "at night" (see image below).
Have your students copy the chart into their notebooks or onto a sheet of paper.
Next, your students are going to stick the daily routines flashcards onto the board. First
model: take a random flashcard and show it to the class. Elicit the word (e.g. "wake up")
and stick it into the "in the morning" section of your board. Write "I wake up" next to it. Have
your students write "I wake up" into the corresponding square on their charts.
Then have different students come up to you and select a card

(hold face down, fanned out, like a card trick). Have them stick the cards onto the board in
the right section. For more advanced students you can help them write each sentence,
otherwise the teacher can write the sentences next to the cards. Each time, have students
copy onto their charts. Continue until all of the cards are on the board with sentences:
27
4. Add times to the "Times of the Day" chart"
Your students will have studied telling the time in a previous lesson (see our Telling the
Time lesson plan). We are going to add times to the chart.
Again, first model: point to "I wake up" on the chart. Do the gesture for
waking up (stretching, yawning, rubbing eyes) and then look at your watch. If you have a
clock (either real or a craft clock - we have a great clock craft sheet on our crafts page:
https://www.eslkidstuff.com/craftsheets.htm) you can hold this up. Set the time to 11:00 and
say "I wake up ... at 11 o'clock?". Make sure everyone says "Noooo!". Then ask someone to
move the clock hands to a more realistic time, such as 7:00. Write on the board, "at 7
o'clock" after "I wake up". Chorus "I wake up at 7 o'clock in the morning". Get everyone to
write the time that they wake up on their charts.
Now have students come up to you, change the time on your clock and write times on the
board next to each flashcard (e.g. I eat lunch at 12 o'clock in the afternoon), and make sure
these are being chorused and times are being written on the students' charts.
NOTE: For times that are not hourly (e.g. 6.30, 9.55, etc.) you need to decide whether to
teach the full times (e.g. half past six, five to ten) or the digital version (six thirty, nine fifty-
five).
28
5. Play the "Daily Routines Memory Game"
Erase the chart from the board and take off the flashcards. Put students in pairs and get
them to swap charts. Students are going to test each other on the times they do things.
Make sure you model with 2 students first:
Student A: selects a sentence on Student B's worksheet (e.g. I

do homework at 6 o'clock). S/He does the action of doing homework (e.g. writing in an
imaginary notebook).
Student B: must guess the action and say the exact sentence on their chart (e.g. "I do
homework at 6 o'clock in the evening").
Then it is Student B's turn to select a sentence and do the action. Pairs keep going until
they have done all of the sentences on their charts. Make sure students don't allow their
partners to get away with mistakes - if they get the time wrong, make them guess again!
6. Do the "What time do you ...? (Survey)" exercise

Give each student the survey worksheet and explain that they are going to ask 6 people in
the class (or less, depending on class size) about their daily routines on school days. Before
starting, go through the survey sheet with everyone and make sure they write an additional
activity on the last row. Then model with a student, showing writing their name at the top of
the column and asking and answering questions using the following structure:
Student A: What time do you (wake up)?
Student B: I (wake up) at (7 o'clock) (in the morning).
Have students stand up and mingle, filling in their surveys.
29
7. Daily Routines Theater
Now let's do a fun activity - your students will make a short theater play! Pair up students
but make sure each pair has surveyed the other in the previous activity. They are going to
use their survey sheets to make a short play.
For each pair, one student will act out their day whilst the other is the narrator (using the
survey to make the narration). Give each pair 5 minutes to practice before coming up to the
front of the class and acting out their daily routines, for example:
Ken (narrating): Hello, my name is Erika!

Erika: (waves to audience)
Ken: I wake up at 7 o'clock in the morning.
Erika: (Pretends to sleep, wake up, stretch and yawn, etc.)
Ken: I eat breakfast at 7:30 in the morning.
Erika: (Pretends to eat cereal, drink juice, etc.)
etc.
Encourage students to make their plays funny and also allow them to add extra parts (e.g.
play video games, read a book, ride a bike, etc.).
At the end, get everyone to vote for their favorite play.
8. Read classroom reader "Tom's Cat"

Let's end with a nice story which reinforces the lesson vocab and structures. Before
class, download and print off the reader "Tom's Cat". As you go through each page, point to
the pictures, elicit each routine action, elicit times on the clocks and times of the day and
ask if your students do those things at that time or time of day, for example:
30
Teacher: What time is it? (pointing at the alarm clock on page 3)
Students: 8 o'clock!
Teacher: Yes, 8 o'clock! At night?
Students: No, in the morning!
Teacher: And what does Tom's cat do at 8 o'clock in the morning?
Students: He sleeps!
Teacher: Yes, how about you Hugo? Do you sleep at 8 o'clock in the morning?
Student (Hugo): No, I don't.
Teacher: Look at Tom. What does he do at 8 o'clock in the morning?
Students: He wakes up!
Teacher: That's right! And what does he do next?
Students: He eats his breakfast and brushes his teeth ...
etc.
Get the students really involved in the story by asking lots of

questions and getting them to tell you about their daily routines.
story one more time (without stopping for questions, etc.) as students fill in the missing
verbs and write the times. Then go through the answers as a class.
---
31

Wrap Up:
1. Assign Homework: "My Day 3" worksheet.

32
Actions - Present Continuous Lesson Plan
1. Introduce the actions vocab: play "Slowly reveal the flashcard"

Your students should know some of these actions from previous lessons and possibly your
warm-up routine (the "Exercise Routine" activity). This will be a good review and an
introduction to some more common verbs.
Before class prepare the following flashcards: run, cook, eat, swim, walk, drink, draw, sleep.
You can also add some more action flashcards to this list for more practice.
Start with the "run" flashcard – place it

behind the pack of the other flashcards so your students can’t see the picture. Slowly push
the flashcard up, revealing a little of the picture. Encourage students to shout out what they
think it is. Keep slowly revealing the image until someone shouts our the correct word (or for
new words you will have to tell them the answer). Then chorus the word 3 times. Finally,
shout "Ok, everyone run for 5 seconds … 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – Stop!" and have everyone run
around as you count five seconds.
Then do the same routine with the other flashcards.
2. Play "Teacher Says"

This is the same as the game "Simon Says" but with the word "teacher" instead of "Simon".
Line everyone up in front of you and say "Teacher says drink" and have everyone do the
drinking action. Go through a few more verbs with everyone doing the actions. Then say
"sleep" without the "Teacher says" part – anyone who does the action is out! First time, you
can give a warning but after that any mistakes result in the student sitting out the round.
3. Introduce the structure – do "Marching Chant"
After playing "Teacher says", keep everyone standing in a line facing you. Place the
33
flashcards on the board in the order of the song (or use the song poster). Model marching
on the spot and clapping a slow rhythm and get everybody to copy you – marching on the
spot and clapping at an easy pace. Then start the chant in time with the clapping: "What are
you doing? – What are you doing? – What are you doing?, etc". Make it so that everyone
echoes your chant:
Teacher (chanting): What are you doing?
Students (echoing): What are you doing?
etc.
Next, insert the first action into your chant and have everyone echo as they march and clap
along:
Teacher (chanting): I am running.

Students (echoing): I am running.
Then add more actions into the

chant:

Teacher (chanting): I am running.
Students (echoing): I am running.
Teacher (chanting): I am cooking.
Students (echoing): I am cooking.
etc.
You can have some fun by going fast and slow, adjusting the pace of the marching and the
chant.
34
4. Play "What are you doing?" actions
Start by modeling the activity. Get a volunteer to help you. Start running on the spot and
have your volunteer say "What are you doing?" and reply "I am running!". Then start doing a
cooking action and have the student ask again "What are you doing?". Reply "I am
cooking!". Continue this for all of the verbs, in the order of the song, using the flashcards on
the board (or the song poster) as prompts.
Next, pair up your students. Have one doing all of the actions and the other asking "What
are you doing?". Once finished, students swap roles.
5. Sing the "What are you Doing?" song

By now, you will be ready for the song. Play it through one time and have everyone do the
actions and encourage them to sing along (see Gestures for the "What are you doing?"
song below). Use the flashcards on the board or the song poster for prompts.
Then play the song once more for fun.
Lyrics for the "What are you

Doing?" song
Chorus:
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
What are you doing right now?
35
Verse 1:
I am running (running!)
I am cooking (cooking!)
I am eating (eating!)
I am swimming (swimming!)
Running, cooking, eating, swimming!
Chorus
Verse 2:
I am walking (walking!)
I am drinking (drinking!)
I am drawing! (drawing!)
I am sleeping! (sleeping!)
Walking, drinking, drawing, sleeping!
Chorus
Verse 3:
I am running (running!)
I am cooking (cooking!)
I am eating (eating!)
I am swimming (swimming!)
Running, cooking, eating, swimming!
Chorus
Verse 4:
I am walking (walking!)
I am drinking (drinking!)
I am drawing! (drawing!)
I am sleeping! (sleeping!)
Walking, drinking, drawing, sleeping!
(download MP3 here)
Gestures for the "What are you Doing?" song
Have everyone stand up for the song. We are going to do all of the actions as we sing, so it
will be help to have the song poster or flashcards on the board so everyone can see what
actions to do:
 during the chorus have everyone march in time with the song (either on the spot or around
the classroom, depending on how much space you have available)
 during the verses do the actions of the song
required):
36
6. Read classroom reader "What are you Doing?"
Let's follow the song with a reader which uses the structures from the
song. Before class, download and print off the reader "What are you Doing?". As you go
through each page, point to the pictures and ask your students what they think the people in
each picture are doing, for example:
Teacher: (reading from page 1) "What are you doing, Sally?". What do you think Sally is
doing?
Student A: Riding a bike?
Student B: Taking a bath?
Teacher: Hmm, well let's see ... (turning the page) ... She's running! (Reading) "I'm
running".
Some of the pictures are quite straight forward and your students shouldn't have any trouble
guessing but others are not so obvious. Get lots of predictions before checking the answers.
write what each person in the story is doing. Then go through the answers as a class.
---
37
7. Do the "What are you Doing 1?" worksheet
Give out the worksheets and circulate as your students match the sentences to the pictures.
8. Teach "I am, He is, She is, They are"
Start by teaching the following structures on the board:
 I am running (draw a stick man / woman running and

write your name under the picture)
 He is running (draw a stick man running)
 She is running (draw a stick woman running)
 They are running (draw some stick people running)
38
Chorus the sentences. Then ask students to come up to the board and draw stick men
doing other actions (e.g. "She is drawing", "They are sleeping", "He is swimming", etc.).
9. Do "Magazine cut and paste activity"

Before class you will need to prepare some old magazines, catalogues or newspapers.
Anything with pictures of people doing things which you can cut out. The more you can get
the better. You’ll also need some large sheets of construction paper.
Start by modeling: hold up a magazine and flick though some pages asking questions about
what the people are doing E.g. "What is he doing?" and elicit "He is walking", etc. Feel free
to choose pictures with other verbs your students might know (e.g. "She is talking"). For
each picture you choose, cut it out and stick onto a large piece of construction paper with
the following written in marker pen in the middle: "What is he doing? What is she doing?
What are they doing?".
After demonstrating with a few pictures, split your class up into groups – the same number
of groups as the number of magazines that you have (3-4 students per group is ideal). Give
each group a large sheet of construction paper with the same text written in the middle
("What is he doing? What is she doing? What are they doing?"). Have the groups go
through the magazines to cut out and paste pictures of people doing things onto their
construction paper. As they are doing so encourage everybody to use the key structures.
When everyone has finished get one or two students from each group to join a new group.
They will then ask questions about the people in the pictures (e.g. "What is she doing?")
and the other members need to reply (e.g. "She is riding a bike".).
39
Finally, end this activity by asking questions to each group about their pictures.
Wrap Up:
1. Assign Homework: "What are you doing? 2" worksheet.

Print Outs / Worksheets:
40
Past Tense Activities - Regular
Verbs Lesson Plan
See our "Warm Up & Wrap Up" page.

1. Teach "today", "yesterday" and "tomorrow"

The lesson is based around what your students did yesterday so we will begin with three
important time words.
Take a calendar and sit down with your students

looking at it … it won't be long before everyone takes an interest in what you are doing. If
you have already taught days of the week and months, point to different days and months
and ask what they are. You can also ask students to show you on the calendar when their
birthdays are, Christmas and other holidays.
Next, point at today's date on the calendar and ask, "What day is this?". As well as the
actual day (e.g. Wednesday) teach "today". Then point to the days before and after today's
date and teach "yesterday" and "tomorrow".
2. Play "Days Rope Jump"

You'll need a length of rope, long enough to lay along the length of your classroom. Lay the
rope on the floor and stand facing the rope, so it is horizontal to you. Get all the students to
stand on the rope, facing you.
Now demonstrate: jump one step back and shout "yesterday". Jump one step forward onto
the rope and shout "today". Then jump one step forward, in front of the rope and shout
"tomorrow". Then get everyone jumping, backwards and forwards as everybody shouts
together "yesterday – today – tomorrow – today – yesterday – today – tomorrow – today –
etc.". Keep going, getting faster and faster until it gets too quick to keep up.
41
Next, you are going to do the same thing, but the
teacher is going to say the days randomly. Everyone has to listen carefully and jump into
the correct position according to the day the teacher shouts:
 yesterday = behind the rope

 today = on the rope
 tomorrow = in front of the rope
As you do this, try and trick people by saying the same day twice and go at different
speeds. As students make mistakes they have to sit out of the game until there is only one
left, who is the winner. It’s a really fun game and you can play this a few times.
3. Teach vocab for verbs and the regular past tense form
Get everyone to sit down. On the board write

"Yesterday, I …". Look like you are thinking and say to yourself "Hmm. What did I do
yesterday?". Then draw a few things which you (may or may not) did yesterday, e.g.
watched TV, kicked a ball, played a video game, etc. Make sure they are regular verb
activities and try and use some from the song. As you are drawing the pictures get students
to shout out what they think each one is and write the simple tense form under each picture
(watch TV).
When you have 3 or 4 pictures on the board take a different colored marker pen/chalk.
Underline "Yesterday" and write "ed" onto the end of the verbs (e.g. Yesterday, I watched
TV). Then chorus each of the sentences (e.g. "Yesterday, I watched TV").
4. Practice saying past tense regular verbs

Before class, print off as many flashcards as you can for regular verbs. Make sure you
include the flashcards for the verbs in the song.
42
Spread the flashcards out, face up, on the floor or a table and get everyone to gather round.
Start off by saying, "Yesterday, I …" and select a flashcard and stick it to the board. Then
get each student to pick a flashcard of something they did yesterday and also stick to the
board – if you have a small class, get students to choose more cards – try and aim for about
10-15 cards and make sure the cards for the song vocab have been selected.
Your board should now be full of flashcards. Your students will probably know some of the
verbs from previous lessons and other words they can now learn. Start by touching one
card and elicit or teach the verb with the "ed" ending and write the word under the card.
Chorus the word 3 times and then move onto the next card. Go through all the cards, at a
brisk pace so no one gets bored.
Next, give out the "What did you do yesterday?

Survey" worksheet. On each line, get everyone to copy 12 verbs in the past form from the
board (e.g. "painted a picture", "watched TV"). This sheet will be used in the next stage of
the lesson.
Finally, with all of the cards and words on the board, point at a card randomly and get
everyone to shout out the word. Go quickly through all of the words. Then, have everyone
close their eyes. Remove a card and erase the word. Then shout "Open your eyes!" and
ask the first student who puts their hand up to say what the missing verb is. If correct, that
student can come up to the board and remove the next card (while everyone else closes
their eyes), say "Open your eyes!" and select the first student who puts their hand up.
Continue until all of the cards have been removed from the board.
5. Do the "What did you do yesterday? Survey" worksheet
Everyone will have filled in the verbs column of their

worksheet from the previous activity. Get everyone to stand up and mingle around the
classroom so they can fill in their survey. Be sure to model first so that everyone is clear of
what to do. The conversations should be as follows:
43
Student A: Ana, what did you do yesterday?
Student B: Yesterday, I watched TV, played a game, kicked a ball, etc. (Student A circles
the corresponding cells in the survey worksheet).
When everyone has completed their surveys, pool the answers to find out which of
yesterday’s activities were the most common.
6. Sing "Yesterday was a Great Day!"

The first time you play the song, put up the Yesterday was a Great Day! song poster on the
board. Quickly elicit the vocab. Play the song and sing along doing the gestures, as
described below in "Gestures and activities for "Yesterday was a Great Day!". Play 2 or 3
times.
Lyrics for "Yesterday was a Great Day!"

Chorus:
Yesterday, yesterday, yesterday
It was a fantastic day!
Yesterday, yesterday
It was a great day!
Verse 1:
I played with my friends (played!)
I painted a picture (painted!)
I walked in the park (walked!)
I watched TV (watched!).
Yesterday, it was a great day!
Chorus:
Yesterday, yesterday, yesterday
It was a fantastic day!
Yesterday, yesterday
It was a great day!
Verse 2:
I jumped in puddles (jumped!)
I played a game (played!)
I kicked a ball (kicked!)
I danced and danced (danced!)
Yesterday, it was a great day!
(download MP3 here)
Gestures and activities for "Yesterday was a Great Day!"
The gestures are simple and fun to do, matching the verbs in the song.
44
Chorus:
 "Yesterday, yesterday, yesterday": stand with feet together and raise your hands up into the
air (up and down) on each "Yesterday" (so to form a "Y" shape for "Yesterday"
 "It was a fantastic/great day!": put your hands over your heart
Verse:
 I played with my friends: put your arms around your closest partners
 I painted a picture: pretend to paint a picture
 I walked in the park: walk on the spot
 I watched TV: fold arms and pretend to watch TV
 I jumped in puddles: jump
 I played a game: pretend to hold and play with a GameBoy (pressing buttons)
 I kicked a ball: pretend to kick a ball
 I danced and danced: dance!
required):
7. Read classroom reader "Silly Willy's Great Day"

fun story. Before class, download and print off the reader "Silly Willy's Great Day". As you
go through each page, point to the different things Silly Willy did yesterday and elicit the
past tense verbs, as well as eliciting what is strange about each activity he does, for
example:
45
Teacher: (reading from page 2) "What did you do, Silly Willy?" Look at
the picture. What did Silly Willy do yesterday?
Students: He watched T.V.!
Teacher: Yes, that's right. (reading) ... "Well, first of all, I watched T.V.". Good! But what is
strange about this? (teacher making confused expression while pointing at the picture)
Students: He watched T.V. upside down!
Teacher: Oh yes! Silly, Silly Willy! (Turning to page 2) ... Oh, look! What else did Silly Willy
do yesterday?
Students: He painted a picture!
Teacher: Yes, he did! But look, what happened?
Students: He painted the picture on his walls!
Teacher: Yes, silly, Silly Willy! Look, he even painted over his cat!
etc.
Continue through the story, eliciting the key vocab. Get the students really involved in the
story by asking lots of questions (e.g. about the colors and objects on each page).
story one more time (without stopping for questions, etc.) so students can put the pictures in
the order of the story and write the missing verbs. Then go through the answers as a class.
---
46
8. Play "Past Tense Slap"
This is a very simple activity to conclude the lesson. Put your students into teams. Hold up a
verb flashcard everyone have to slap the table if they know the verb. The student who slaps
the table first to give his/her answer with the correct "ed" ending wins a point for their team.
Wrap Up:
1. Assign Homework: "Past Regular Verbs" worksheet.

47
Past Tense - Irregular Verbs: Part
2 Lesson Plan
Review and Practice:
1. Review past tense irregular verbs – play "Flashcards washing line"

In your last class your students learned 12 past tense irregular verbs – let’s start by
reviewing these.
You’ll need some string or rope (a washing line) and 12 clothes pegs (you can also use
large paper clips). String the rope across the classroom so it is at head height. Take the 12
flashcards from last lesson (wake up, eat, drink, go to school, sing, swim, star jump (we’ll
use this for "have fun"), go home (use for "come back home"), ride a bike, do homework,
put on, sleep) and hold up the first card. Elicit the verb and the past tense version (e.g.
"wake up – woke up") and peg it onto the washing line. Continue with all of the other 11
flashcards.
NOTE: You can also use the flashcards past regular verb flashcards from the previous
lesson "Past Tense Activities - Regular Verbs" (the flashcards are play with friends, paint a
picture, walk in the park, watch TV, jump in puddles, play games, kick a ball, dance)
Next, place your students into 2 teams and form 2 lines in front of the washing line, with
each student standing behind the other. You will therefore have two students at the front of
their teams. The idea is for those two students to race to the washing line and grab a
flashcard, but only using their mouths! They then race on to the other end of the classroom.
The winner will score 1 point for their team. Start by shouting out two verbs in the past tense
(e.g. slept and rode) and the first 2 students race, grab one of those cards in their mouths
and race to the finish. They should then replace the card onto the line again. The next two
students race for 2 new verbs, and so on, until everyone has had a turn. It is a really fun
activity!
2. Sing "What did you do Yesterday?"

We learned this song last in the last lesson so let’s sing it again as a fun review. Start by
eliciting the gestures and then have everyone do the gestures as they sing along.
48
(download MP3 here)
required):
3. Teach 4 more irregular verbs

Get everyone to sit down. Stick the 12 irregular verb flashcards randomly onto the board.
You will now teach 4 more verbs using a combination of actions and flashcards: give –
gave, write – wrote, read – read, run – ran. Start by looking at the first flashcard, but don’t
show it to the class. You are going to do the action and everyone has to shout out the
answer:
49
 give – gave: hold out hands and give things to students
(e.g. pens, crayons, books, etc.)
 write – wrote: write on the board or a piece of paper
 read – read: read a book, turning the pages
 run – ran: run on the spot
As you elicit / teach each verb, stick the card onto the board and write the forms under the
flashcard (e.g. give – gave) and chorus 3 times.
4. Do "Flashcard drill fun"
You should now have 16 cards on the board. We

are going to practice drilling these cards using fun methods. It is important to keep it fast
pacedand use a variety of methods so the drilling doesn’t get boring. Start by pointing at a
card and saying the infinitive form of the verb - and get your students shouting out the past
tense form, for example:
Teacher: (pointing to a card) eat.
Students: ate
Teacher: (pointing to another card) swim.
Students: swam
etc.
Continue at a fast pace and get faster and faster, making a game of it. Next, play some
variations of the drill, such as:
 say each verb in different voices (low, high, loud, quite, monster voice, singing voice, etc.)
and students have to reply in the same voice.
 split the class into 2 teams. The teacher points at a card – team A says the infinitive form
and team B says the past tense form.
 students all stand up. Each time the teacher points at a student to say the past tense form.
If s/he gets it correct s/he can sit down.
 students all close their eyes. The teacher removes a card and then says "Open your eyes!"
– the first student to shout out the missing card (in both infinitive and past forms) wins a
point for his/her team.
50
 students must do gestures as well as shout out the past tense form of each verb.
5. Sing the "Past Irregular Verbs Song"
The first time you play the song, put up the flashcards in order on the board or use the "Past
Irregular Verbs Song" song poster. Quickly elicit the vocab. Play the song and sing along
doing the gestures, as described below in Gestures and activities for "Past Irregular Verbs
Song". Play 2 or 3 times.
Lyrics for "Past Irregular Verbs Song"

La la la la la la - La la la la la la
Verse 1:
wake, wake, wake - woke, woke, woke
eat, eat, eat - ate, ate, ate
drink, drink, drink - drank, drank, drank
go, go, go - went, went, went
Verse 2:
sing, sing, sing - sang, sang, sang
swim, swim, swim - swam, swam, swam
have, have, have - had, had, had
come, come, come - came, came, came
Verse 3:
ride, ride, ride - rode, rode, rode
do, do, do - did, did, did
put, put, put - put, put, put
sleep, sleep, sleep - slept, slept, slept
Verse 4:
give, give, give - gave, gave, gave
write, write, write - wrote, wrote, wrote
read, read, read - read, read, read
run, run, run - ran, ran, ran
(download MP3 here)
Gestures and activities for "Past Irregular Verbs Song"
The song is quite fast so it may be difficult for students to keep up with gestures - you can
either just have everyone sing along (using the song poster) or doing gestures as well. The
4 verses are sung twice - the second time the past tense verbs are only whispered, so here
students can shout out the correct words.
 wake - woke: stretch and yawn

 eat - ate: pretend to eat with a spoon
 drink - drank: pretend to drink
51
 go - went: walking on the spot and waving goodbye
 sing - sang: arms outstretched in a singing position
 swim - swam: pretend to swim
 have - had: wave your hands in the air while smiling (meaning "have lots of fun")
 come - came: walking up to and knocking on an imaginary door (meaning "come back
home")
 ride - rode: do a cycling motion
 do - did: pretend to write (meaning "do homework")
 put - put: pretend to put on a pajamas top and button it up
 sleep - slept: do a sleeping gesture
 give - gave: hold out hands pretending to give a present
 write - wrote: pretend to write
 read - read: pretend to read a book
 run - ran: run on the spot
required):
6. Read classroom reader "Mr. Upside Down Man's Busy Day"

fun story. Before class, download and print off the reader "Mr. Upside Down Man's Busy
Day". Start by pointing to the picture of Mr. Upside Down Man on the cover and elicit/teach
the phrase "upside down". Then, as you go through each page, point to the different things
Mr. Upside Down did yesterday and elicit the past tense verbs, as well as eliciting what is
strange about each activity he does, for example:
52
Teacher: (pointing at the picture on page 3) What did Mr. Upside
Down Man do here?
Students: He drank!
Teacher: Yes, that's right. What do you think he drink yesterday morning?
Students: Coffee? Tea? Hot milk? Hot chocolate?
Teacher: Let's check ... (reading) ... "Then I drank a nice, hot cup of tea". So he drank tea!
And what is strange about the way he drank his tea?
Students: He drank his tea upside down!
Teacher: Yes, he did! Silly Mr. Upside Down Man!
etc.
Continue through the story, eliciting the key vocab. Get the students really involved in the
story by asking lots of questions (e.g. about the different objects in the pictures, etc.).
write the missing verbs in the blanks. Then go through the answers as a class.
---
53
7. Do the "Past Irregular Verbs 2" worksheet
Give out the worksheets and have everyone match up the pictures with the verb forms by
writing numbers in the boxes. Circulate as everyone is working away, and ask lots of
questions (e.g. What’s this?, Did you ride your bike yesterday?, etc.). When everyone has
finished, go around the class asking everybody to tell you some things they did yesterday.
8. Play "Pass the cards"
This is the same as pass the parcel but with flashcards instead of a parcel. Sit everyone in a
large circle (or for really large classes, in a few circles). Give everybody a verb flashcard –
give out all of the irregular verb cards first and then use the regular verb cards if you have
more than 16 students. Play some music (such as the song from this lesson or a previous
lesson) as everyone passes the cards around the circle. Suddenly stop the music. Students
should use the card that they are holding to make a sentence, such as "Yesterday, I read a
book". If you have a small enough class, each student can say the sentence to the teacher.
For larger classes this will take too long, so have students say the sentence to a person
sitting next to them. Then start the music and continue passing the cards, stopping from
time to time to say sentences.
9. Make a poster picture story

To finish the lesson, your students are going to make a simple story called "My Day
Yesterday" using pictures – and create a poster with it. You will need a large sheet of paper
(e.g. A3) or construction paper / card for each pair of students, as well as lots of old
magazines, catalogues, newspapers, etc. You’ll also need scissors and glue. It is
worthwhile making an example before class so you can show students exactly what to do.
54
Put your students into pairs and give each pair a sheet of
paper or card. On the board write "My Day Yesterday" and get everybody to write this at the
top of their sheet. Then tell everyone they are going to stick on pictures of things they did
yesterday and write sentences. Model this by taking a magazine and finding a picture (e.g.
someone riding a bike), then cut it out and glue it to your sheet. Under the picture write
"Yesterday, I rode my bike".
Now, leave everyone to get on with the activity. Circulate and help out with vocab – it is fine
for your students to use pictures requiring different verbs from the one learned in the last
few lessons (e.g. skiing, cook, etc.) – it is a chance to teach students new verbs! Give
students around 10 minutes to create their posters.
Finally, have each pair in turn hold up their posters and tell the class what they did
yesterday. You can pin the posters to the walls – this can be used for a review activity in
your next lesson!
Wrap Up:
1. Assign Homework: "My Day Yesterday" worksheet. Students will have to write about
what they did yesterday. This task may not be straight forward for everyone so it is worth
modelling – hold up the sheet and fill in the blanks with your own answers to show what to
do. An example answer is as follows:
I woke up at 7 o’clock.
I ate toast and jam for breakfast.
Then I went to school.
After school I came home.
In the evening I watched TV
55
and I did my homework
and I read a book.
For dinner I ate pasta.
I went to bed and I slept all night.
Future Plans using "going to" Lesson Plan
Lesson Procedure:
See our "Warm Up & Wrap Up" page.

1. Introduce the actions vocab: play "Actions Charades"

Your students should know most of these verbs from previous lessons, so this will be a
good review activity.
Before class, print cut out enough of the “Actions Charades Game Cards” sets for each
small group of students (you can find them at the end of the print version of this lesson
plan). Then in class, put students in groups of 3 or 4, seated around a table.
Start by modeling the activity. Look at a card (not showing the class) and act out the verb on
the card (e.g. kicking a ball, hitting a tennis ball, throwing a basketball, etc. for the “play a
sport” card) until someone shouts out the correct answer.
Groups now play charades – put the cards, face down, in the middle of the table. One
student picks up a card and acts out the verb. The first student in the group to guess the
answer wins a point. Continue with the next student until all the cards have been used up.
Make sure you are on hand during the game to help with any vocabulary issues. The player
with the most points at the end is the winner.
2. Introduce "going to” + infinitive verb

Write on the top, left-side of the board “This weekend” (or “Next weekend”, depending on
which day of the week it is). Pick one of the cards from the charades game and write the
words from it on the board, e.g. “go shopping” (see board layout below). Make it clear that
you are going to go shopping this weekend – point to yourself and the phrases on the
board, nodding you head and say “Yes”. Put a check mark (✓) next to the activity. Point to a
few students and ask, “go shopping?” and elicit “yes” or “no”.
56
Next, write “I am going to” on the board. Say “This weekend, I am going to go shopping”.
Point to one of the students who said yes, and ask “What are you going to do this
weekend?” Make sure the student answers “This weekend, I am going to go shopping”.
Next, ask a student who said no and elicit “This weekend, I am not going to go shopping”.
Write “I am not going to“ on the board.
Write two more activities (e.g. “eat out” and “sleep a lot”) on the board and follow the same
procedure, getting students to say the structure.
Next, on the right-side of the board write “During the summer”. Again, write three actions on
the board and ask students to say the structures.
3. Practice saying future plans

In the same small groups, get students to point to different cards and say sentences, such
as:
During the summer, I am going to go to the beach.
This weekend, I am not going to play video games.
etc.
Encourage students to give true answers. Finish by going around the class asking each
student to say one sentence.
4. Ask 5 “Wh” questions

We are going to get students extend their conversations by introducing questions. Wipe the
board clean and stick 2 photos of people on either side of board. As a class, you are going
to write a conversation (see the board layout below).
Start by drawing a speech bubble from the left person photo and inside write:
Elicit and write the missing words What are you going to do this weekend?

Then from the right person photo draw another speech bubble:
57
Again, elicit and write the missing words I am going to go shopping.
Now continue the conversation. Draw a large speech bubble from the left person photo and
write:
Have students copy the text from the board into their notebooks and then put into pairs to fill
in the blanks. After a few minutes, have different students come up to the board to fill in the
blanks.
Elicit an answer from the class for the first question (e.g. “I am going to go shopping with
my friend.”) and write it under the first question.
Students in pairs write their own answers to the questions in their notebooks. Then go
around the class asking everyone for their answers and writing one example below each
question.
By now, your board should look similar to this:
58
5. Do controlled conversations
Get everyone to stand up and find a partner. Your students are going to have multiple
conversations, each time with a different partner. Follow the below process, each time
telling students to find a new partner after each conversation:
 Conversation 1: Role play the conversation on the board.
 Conversation 2: Do the same conversation but using the answers in their notebooks.
 Conversation 3: Change the activity (e.g. play tennis, watch TV, etc.). Practice this with 2
different partners.
 Conversation 4: Change “This weekend” to “During the summer”. Practice this with 2
different partners.
Finally, get everyone to sit down and do a check by asking different pairs to stand up and
act out a conversation in front of everyone. Be sure to applause and give lots of praise, as
well as helping with any mistakes.
6. Play the “What are you going to do … ? True or False” board game

Now students will get the chance to use the structures they have just learned by playing a
fun board game. Before class, print out enough copies of the board game sheet and
instructions sheet for each group of 2-3 players. You’ll also need a dice for each group and
enough counters (anything small) so that each person has one.
Put students into groups of 2-3 around a table and give out the game boards, instruction
sheets, dice and counters. Read through the instructions as a class and make sure
everyone understands the game.
Then let everyone start playing. Circulate around the class checking that everyone is using
the correct structures and help out with any vocabulary issues.
When everyone has finished, ask who won in each group and find our something they
talked about.
59
7. Read classroom reader "Monster School Summer Plans"
This reader really helps to reinforce the new structures with a fun
story. Before class, download and print out the reader "Monster School Summer Plans". As
you go through each page, point to the pictures of each monster student and get everyone
to speculate what their summer plans are, for example:
Teacher: (reading from page 2) "Howzy, what are you going to do during the summer
vacation?”, asks Ms. Zarkov." Look at this picture (on page 3). What do you think Howzy is
going to do?
Students: He is going to play tennis!
Teacher: Ok, let’s check. (reading) ... "I’m going to play tennis every day. I joined a tennis
club and I have six tennis rackets. I’m going to play in some competitions!". You were right,
well done!
Continue through the story, getting everyone to speculate from the pictures.
After reading the story, give out a reader worksheet to each student and have them answer
the questions. Finally, go through the answers as a class.
---
60
8. Create your own monster story reader
Students can now have a bit of fun writing a monster story and making their own reader.
First, put students into pairs and give out the “Monster Story Planner’ worksheet. Students
work together to create their own characters. Have them draw their own monsters and
create names for them. Then have the students think of a summer plan for each monster
and write it briefly on the planner sheet (e.g. “throwing cars into space”).
Next, give out the reader templates. Before class, print the four sheets and compile them
into a reader, as you would one of our normal readers. Make enough for each pair in the
class. Then have pairs write their story using full structures and draw colorful pictures. Allow
10 minutes to complete their readers. As they are doing this, circulate around the classroom
checking for mistakes and helping out with questions.
When finished, have students swap and read each other’s readers. You can even have a
class vote for the best reader!
Wrap Up:
1. Assign Homework: "Weekend Plans Write" worksheet.

61

1st Lesson Esl Stuff

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

1st Lesson Esl Stuff

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1st Lesson - Introduction Lesson

Warm Up and Maintenance:

Before class prepare some name tags (stickers or pin-on tags)

Teacher: "Hello", What's your name?"

3. Sing the "Hello Song"

Sit in a circle and listen to the song (clap along or pat

 Wave as you sing the "Hello, hello" parts.

4. Do "Exercise Routine" activity

Prepare the sheets something like this:

Now that everyone has had a chance to practice

7. Teach Colors: red, blue, green

A great lesson to follow this one is the "Colors Lesson"

8. Play "Color Pass", "Color Touch" and "Color Hold Up"

Now take each color and pass it to your nearest

9. Play "Find the Color"

10. Play "Balloon Kick"

 Wave as you sing the "Goodbye, goodbye" parts.

4. Do "Quick Check" and say Goodbye

Warm Up and Maintenance:

1. Greetings & names

When everyone has sat down and is ready say, "My

New Learning and Practice:

1. Do the "Ask Me" activity.

 Name: What is your name?

4. Create a Classroom Rules poster

 We can = it is ok for us to do. E.g. "We can ask our teacher questions"

Next, put your students into groups of 4-6 students.

5. Classroom stationery quiz

Explain that the winning team will win a prize

6. Play "What's missing?"

1. Assign Homework: "Classroom Objects" worksheet

Time to leave the class. Make sure everything is put

1. Teach the actions vocab

3. Play "Teacher Says"

Take out two more flashcards for the actions "fly" and

5. Sing the "What Can You Do?" song

Lyrics for "What Can You Do?"

6. Do "Basic Actions Ability" worksheet

Teacher: What is this?

Alternatively, watch our video version of the reader (Internet connection required):

1. Teach the morning routines verbs

Put the cards randomly on the board (stick

5. Sing "The Morning Routines" song

6. Read classroom reader "Monster Mornings"

Continue through the story, eliciting the key vocab. Get

Alternatively, watch our video version of the reader (Internet connection required):

7. Do the "My Morning 1" worksheet

1. Assign Homework: "My Morning 2" worksheet.

1. Introduce 4 times of the day: morning, afternoon, evening and night

2. Play "Times of the day boxes" game

3. Create a "Times of the Day" chart on the board

Then have different students come up to you and select a card

Student A: selects a sentence on Student B's worksheet (e.g. I

6. Do the "What time do you ...? (Survey)" exercise

Ken (narrating): Hello, my name is Erika!

At the end, get everyone to vote for their favorite play.

8. Read classroom reader "Tom's Cat"

Get the students really involved in the story by asking lots of

Alternatively, watch our video version of the reader (Internet connection required):

1. Assign Homework: "My Day 3" worksheet.

New Learning and Practice:

1. Introduce the actions vocab: play "Slowly reveal the flashcard"

Start with the "run" flashcard – place it

Then do the same routine with the other flashcards.