Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for B1 ESL students uses Beyoncé's song "If I Were a Boy" to teach the second conditional. A great piece of class material for an engaging English lesson on grammar and relationships. This ESL lesson is built around the song "If I Were a Boy" by Beyoncé. It starts with a warm-up discussion about hypothetical situations, followed by a vocabulary preview. Students then watch the music video, complete the lyrics, and analyze the song's use of the second conditional. The lesson culminates in grammar practice exercises and a speaking activity where students use the target structure to discuss various imaginary scenarios, making it a comprehensive and engaging class.
Activities
- Listening and comprehension: Students watch the music video for Beyoncé's hit song "If I Were a Boy" to answer comprehension questions. They then listen again to complete a gap-fill exercise in the lyrics, focusing on the verbs used in the second conditional structure.
- Grammar explanation and practice: The lesson provides a clear explanation of the second conditional for talking about unreal situations. Students then apply this knowledge through controlled exercises, such as completing sentences and creating their own conditional statements from prompts.
- Speaking production: The lesson concludes with a communicative speaking activity where students work in pairs. They ask and answer a series of "What would you do if...?" questions, encouraging fluent and creative use of the second conditional to discuss imaginative scenarios.
Vocabulary focus
The vocabulary section pre-teaches key phrasal verbs and expressions from the song's lyrics. This includes terms related to relationships and actions, such as 'to chase after someone,' 'to get confronted,' 'to stick up for someone,' 'to take someone for granted,' and the adjective 'faithful'.
Grammar focus
The primary grammar point is the second conditional, used for hypothetical or imaginary situations in the present or future. The lesson focuses on its structure (If + Past Simple, ... would + base verb) and the common use of 'were' for all subjects (e.g., 'If I were a boy...'). Students practice forming and using this structure in context.
