Lesson Plan

School: Nicolae Bălcescu

Teacher: Popa Serban-Mihai
Time: 50 minutes
Grade: VIII
Target group profile: 17 students, aged 14, below average level
Textbook : High Flyer –Upper Intermediate
Lesson : Don’t judge a book by its cover, Unit 7
Language focus/teaching point: Defining relative clauses
Communicative area: Expressing opinions about books; recommending books; giving
reasons for recommending certain books

Aims of the lesson:

- by the end of the lesson Ss will be better able to talk about book preferences
- by the end of the lesson Ss will be better able to ask and answer simple informal
questions about books
- by the end of the lesson Ss will be better able to use adjectives for describing books
- by the end of the lesson Ss will be better able to give reasons for their choices
- by the end of the lesson Ss will be able to give information by using defining relative
clauses (without prepositions)
- by the end of the lesson Ss will be better able to find specific information in a text

Teaching aids : worksheets, textbook, pictures

Skills: speaking, reading, writing
Interaction: T – Ss, Ss – T, S – S
Class management: whole class activities, pair work
Anticipated problems: explanations in Romanian may be needed

Procedure

Lead in: 4 min

Procedure
T: We’ll talk about books today. Do you like books? What books do you read? T shows
the class front covers of books (“The Invisible Man”, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”,
“Dracula”, “Love Story”). T: Look! These are book covers. What kind of book is this?
(The question is repeated for each cover to elicit the types of books -science fiction,
adventure books, horror books, romance novels). T writes the types of books on the
board. T asks Ss to repeat them in chorus . Ss repeat the words describing types of books.
Activity 1
Aim: to introduce adjectives: interesting/ good- boring, sad, useful, scary, humorous
Time: 4 min
Procedure: T asks : Why do people like books? Ss: Because they are interesting/they
are fun/people learn new things. T: So, books can be interesting, good, humorous, or
useful. T: But books can also be boring, sad or scary. T writes the adjectives on the
board, in two columns (positive and negative). T asks Ss to repeat them in chorus. Ss
repeat.
Interaction: T-Ss, Ss-T; whole class activity

Activity 2
Aim: to provide reading practice and to introduce information that will be further
necessary; to provide practice in finding requested information in a text
Time: 5 min
Procedure: : T hands out worksheets with descriptions of six books. T: Now, look! Here
you have the descriptions of six books. Read the descriptions out loud!. Ss take turns in
reading them (the texts are divided in short sequences to give all Ss the possibility to
read). T corrects pronunciation.
Interaction: T – Ss , Ss – T; whole class activity

Activity 3
Aim: to provide speaking practice, to provide practice in giving reasons for choices,
using positive adjectives
Time: 4 min
Procedure: T: Look at ex. 1 on your worksheet ! Practise this dialogue with your desk
mate. Use only positive adjectives! T (pointing to Ss): You are A, you are B.
A- Which of these books would you like to read ?
B- I’d like to read …(title)…
A- Why?
B- I think it is … (interesting, good, humorous, useful).
Ss take turns to practise the dialogue.
Interaction: T-Ss, S-S, pairwork

Activity 4
Aim: to provide speaking practice, to provide practice in giving reasons for their choices
using negative adjectives
Time: 4 min
Procedure: T: Now look at ex. 2 on your worksheet ! Practise the dialogue with your
desk mate. Use only negative adjectives! T (pointing to Ss): You are A, you are B.
A- Which of these books wouldn’t you like to read ?
B- I wouldn’t like to read…(title)…
A- Why?
B- I think it is …(boring, sad, scary).
Ss practise the dialogue.
Interaction: T-Ss, S-S, pairwork

Activity 5
Aim: to provide Ss with practice in looking for requested information in a text
Time: 5 min
Procedure: T: Look at ex 3c, page 30 in your book! Read the task! (Read the
descriptions of the people. Which book would make the best present for each? Why?)
Anticipated problem: explanations in Romanian may be necessary.
T: Deci, va fi vorba despre 6 copii. Citiţi din carte informaţiile despre ei şi decideţi care
dintre cele 6 cărţi despre care aţi citit s-ar potrivi fiecăruia dacă le oferiţi cărţile drept
cadou! Motivaţi alegerea!.

T: Read about Tomek!

S: “Tomek has just got a fantastic new mountain bike”.
T: Which book would you give Tomek?
S: I would give him Mountain Bike Repair.
T: Why?
S: Because he has just got a new mountain bike.

T: Read about Rosalie!

S: “Rosalie likes reading and loves romantic novels”.
T: Which book would you give to Rosalie?
S: I would give her “Jane Eyre .
T: Why?
S: Because she loves romantic novels.

T: Read about Safiye!

S: “Safiye is feeling sad so she needs something to make her laugh”
T: Which book would you give to Safiye?
S: I would give her “Laughter, the Best Medicine”.
T: Why?
S: Because she is feeling sad.
Interaction: T-S, S-T, whole class activity. ( Ex 3c, just 1, 2 and 3)

Activity 6
Aim: to provide Ss with information that will be further necessary
Time: 1 min
Procedure: T: Now read about Max, Emilio and Jo! Ss take turns in reading the
information
S: “ Max wants to impress his friends but doesn’t know how”
S: “Emilio likes scary books with lots of action and mistery”,
S: “Jo is fourteen and wants to know about other girls of her age”).
Interaction: T-Ss , S-T

Activity 7
Aim: to provide Ss with practice in looking for specific information in a text and to
provide pairwork practice
Time: 5 min
Procedure: T:
T: Work in pairs! Ex 3c,4 . Ask questions about the best books for Max, Emilio and Jo!
(Instructions will be translated if necessary). Ss take turns in asking questions and giving
answers according to the information in worksheet 1.

T: A ask B about the book he would give to Max and why!

A- Which book would you give to Max?
B- I would give Max “Magic tricks”
A- Why?
B- Because he wants to impress his friends.

T: A ask B about the book he would give to Emilio and why!

A- Which book would you give to Emilio?
B- I would give Emilio “Dracula”
A- Why?
B- Because he likes scary books with lots of action and mistery.

T: A ask B about the book he would give to Jo and why!

A- Which book would you give to Jo?
B- I would give Jo “I was a teenage worrier”.
A- Why?
B- Because she is fourteen and she wants to know about other girls of her age.
Interaction: T- Ss, Ss-T, S-S, pairwork

Activity 8
Aim: to introduce defining relative clauses
Time: 4 min
Anticipated problems: T elicits as much as possible, but explanations in Romanian may
be needed as well
Procedure: T hands out Worksheet no 2. T: Look at ex 3a! Read and translate the last
sentence! S: “He lives in a country where the sun always shines”. T: Look at the first
part! Where does he live? S: “He lives in a country”. T: What country? S: We don’t
know. T: Do we know anything about the country so far? S: No. T: Read the second part
again! S: “…where the sun always shines”. T: Do we know anything about the country
now? S: Yes, that “the sun always shines” there. T: So, the second sentence gives
important information and makes the meaning of the first sentence clearer. What word
links the two sentences? S: where. (Questions are translated into Romanian if necessary
and explanations can be given in Romanian as well)
Interaction: T-Ss, Ss-T, whole class activity

Activity 9
Aim: to help Ss understand that the meaning of the main sentence is not complete
without the information in the defining relative clause; to enable them to identify the
linking word
Time: 4 min
Procedure: T: Read the first sentence in ex 3a ! S: “They live in a house whose roof is
full of holes”. T: Translate! S: “Ei locuiesc într-o casă al cărei acoperiş este plin de
găuri”. Which is the linking word? S: whose! Ss take turns to read and translate the
sentences. T gets the class to correct mistakes if possible.
Interaction: T-Ss; Ss-T, whole class activity

Activity 10
Aim: to provide practice in choosing the right linking word, according to the context
Time: 4 min
Procedure: T: read the sentences in ex 4, fill in the missing words (who, where, which)
and translate the sentences! (Instructions are translated if necessary). Ss take turns to
read, fill in and translate. T gets the class to correct mistakes if possible.
Interaction: T-Ss, Ss-t, Ss-Ss, whole class activity

Activity 11
Aim: to provide practice in linking two separate sentences and making the necessary
changes; to provide more practice in choosing the right linking word
Time: 5 min
Procedure: T: read the sentences in ex 5 and join them! Make the necessary changes! Ss
carry out the task:
1-This is the chair which my father repaired last week.
2-She married a man who is richer than her.
3-She is the friend who helped me with my homework.
4-That is the man whose wife is a famous actress.
5-A lion is an animal that/which lives in Africa.
6-She visited the town where she was born.

T: write the joined sentences on the board!

Interaction: T-Ss, Ss-T, whole class activity

Assesment T grades a few Ss

Time: 1 min
Homework assignment: T: turn your worksheet over and look at ex.6, which is going to
be your homework. T asks one S to read and translate the task to make sure everybody
understood that the task consists in matching column A with column B.
Time: 30”