Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for English teachers explores birthday traditions. A great ESL resource, this lesson uses a video and speaking tasks to teach vocabulary and future tenses for making plans.
This engaging lesson helps students discuss birthday celebrations and traditions. Activities include a warm-up discussion, a vocabulary matching exercise, and a video comprehension task where students watch people in London talk about their birthdays. Learners will practice useful phrases and review future forms (will, be going to, present continuous) in a grammar exercise. The lesson culminates in a collaborative speaking activity where students plan a surprise party, applying all the language they've learned.
Activities
- Students begin by discussing their own birthday customs. They then build their vocabulary by matching key terms like "gathering," "occasion," and "cuisine" to their definitions, preparing them for the main topic.
- Learners watch an authentic street interview video about how people in London celebrate birthdays. They test comprehension with a true/false exercise and practice using useful phrases from the video in a gap-fill task.
- The lesson focuses on using future forms (will, be going to, present continuous) for plans and arrangements. After a grammar exercise, students apply everything in a fun speaking activity where they plan a surprise party.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson introduces vocabulary related to social events and celebrations. Key terms include: a party, a gathering, an occasion, to have friends over, to invite someone, and cuisine. Students also learn common phrases like "cook something special" and "enjoy the occasion" to describe traditions.
Grammar focus
The primary grammar focus is on talking about future plans. Students review and practice the differences between using "be going to" for intentions, the present continuous for fixed arrangements, and "will" for spontaneous decisions. The lesson includes a clear explanation and a contextualized practice exercise.
