Jobs Vocabulary Introduction Lesson – Lesson Plan

Class level: Elementary – High school Lesson Time: 60 minutes

English level: Beginner to Advanced Expected number of students: 20 - 40

Context: Understanding and recognizing selected Jobs.

Teaching aids: Teaching aids: White/chalk board. Jobs diagram page (this can be reused on subsequent
lesson as a learning reference), job flashcards, and a soft foam ball for playing conversation hot-potato
Learner objectives: Teacher aims:
For all students to speak in English using the jobs studied and for Involve all students in an engaging lesson.
advanced students to also use English to describe how the jobs are
Teach a fun lesson with a game that
done, when they are done and who does them. Students should also
adapts to the learner’s abilities.
have the opportunity to practice correct pronunciation.

Procedure Phase Timing

Before class starts, the teacher will need to write the names of the
jobs to be used during the lesson. The teacher should cover the
words and reveal them as they are introduced during the lesson.
The teacher begins by asking the students what jobs they know.
Also ask them to describe the jobs. Engage 5 minutes

Review the jobs flashcards one job at a time with the class to draw
upon prior knowledge of jobs for this lesson. Study 15 minutes
(1) Ask the class to say the job displayed.
(2) The teacher models the correct pronunciation by reading the
job.
(3) The class re-reads the job.
(4) The teacher asks the class as a whole or calls one student to
demonstrate the job. (For students who need a lot of attention from
their classmates or adults, this is a great way to have them focused
on the lesson, yet at the same time get the individual attention they
crave.)

The diagram activity:

Distribute the diagram to the students. Begin by asking the Activate 20 minutes
students what jobs in the drawings they recognize. As the students
say what actions they think the pictures are of the teacher will
acknowledge answers by confirming correct answers and exploring
with class other terms for the pictures which are also used, such as
“taking a picture” or the act of “photography” being the same to
“photograph” something.

1. Ask the class to work in pairs to complete the diagram by

writing the number of the picture in the box next to the
correct corresponding label and on the blank space the
students will write the translation of the job in their own
language. (You should ask your mentor/co-teacher teacher
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 or other teacher to write the correct words in the native
language where you are teaching. So you will know.) *
Even if you do not know the words in the student’s native
language, the students will correct each other.

2. Next have the students report their findings. Assign each

pair of students one or two job vocabulary words to translate
until all of the jobs have been translated.

3. Have four students, one from each pair, come to the board
at once to write their translations next to the jobs in English
that you wrote before class began.

4. Once all of all of the jobs have been translated on the board,
the teacher will review the list with the class. Have the
students read the job in English and then in their native
language.

 It might be that the majority of the students in the class

will say a few of the words have been incorrectly
translated. If the majority of the class feels a word has
been translated incorrectly, ask a student who disagrees
with the original translation what he/she feels it should
be. Ask the class if they agree. If the majority of the
students agree that the translation is not correct have the
student who gave the correction come to the board and
write the correction.

Once all of the words have been reviewed do the following:

+ For beginner classes: have the class look at the job diagram and
report on what is happening in the scenes (“The woman is eating
lunch,” “The man is reading the newspaper”) If the students cannot
make their own simple sentences the teacher will explore the
diagram with the students and make the sentences while
explaining slowly and clearly what is happening in the diagram.
The students repeat the descriptive sentences that the teacher
constructs.
+ For intermediate classes: Have the students make short
sentences with the class using the jobs studied.
+For advanced classes: Make a short chain story. The teacher
leads by saying something such as “Yesterday I had a very strange
day. I walked to school, but as soon as I got to there I had to
jump… (ask any student to make up the rest of the sentence where
the vocabulary job left off. They will say one or two sentences and
leave off in the middle of a sentence with a vocabulary job for the
next student to continue the chain story.

Closure/ 20 minutes
Closing Activity
Study
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1. The teacher demonstrates a verb studied by holding up a job
flashcard and asks the class “What is s/he?”
2. The teacher, gently toss the foam ball to a student to answer
the question.
3. The student who caught the ball answers by identifying the job
flashcard held by the teacher. The student responds “S/He is a
__(job displayed on the flashcard held by the teacher)_.
4. After answering, he teacher changes the card, the student
tosses the foam ball to another student and the student who
previously had answered the question now asks the second
student, “What is s/he?”
5. The student who caught the ball answers by identifying the job
flashcard held by the teacher. The student responds “S/He is a
__(job displayed on the flashcard held by the teacher)_.
6. The process repeats itself with the responding student taking a
turn at asking the question to the next student.
Continue to toss the ball until all students have taken a turn

The point of the activity is to have students attempt speaking in

English and become familiar with the verbs studied. If the students
do not respond correctly it is still okay as long as they are gently
corrected and the class can hear the correct answer.

+If students decide they want to do an action not in the cards

(actor, principal, athlete, etc.) that is okay also. Just inform the
class that there are many jobs that people do throughout the world.

See next page for Job Diagram Resource and Activity Page.

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