Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan helps B2-C1 students discuss their bucket lists and life goals. It's a great ESL class material for practicing speaking about future plans and dreams, suitable for intermediate learners. The engaging lesson starts with vocabulary matching, then moves to a video for listening comprehension, identifying people's bucket list items. It includes a clear grammar focus on expressing desires and intentions, followed by extensive speaking practice where students create and share their own bucket lists and finally collaborate on a shared goal.
Activities
- Students begin by matching key vocabulary for common bucket list activities, such as skydiving and backpacking, with their definitions. This prepares them for the video and subsequent discussion tasks, ensuring they have the necessary language.
- The core of the lesson is a video listening task where students identify various life goals mentioned by speakers, followed by a comprehension check that involves categorizing these goals into different life areas like travel and adventure.
- A dedicated speaking section provides useful phrases for sharing ideas and reacting to others, guiding students to create their own bucket lists and discuss them in pairs. This structured practice helps to improve conversational fluency and confidence.
- The lesson culminates in a collaborative task where partners find a shared goal from their lists and create a simple three-step action plan. This applies the language learned in a practical, engaging way and encourages teamwork.
- [Man] What's on your bucket list?
- Well this is something that should be a lot harder than it is currently, but like, punching a Nazi in the face.
(soft music)
- [Man] What's on your bucket list?
- My bucket list?
- My bucket list?
- A bucket list?
- Ah, boy, let's see.
- I always wanted to, like, go and ride a whole bunch of roller coasters from around the United States.
- I wanna do Burlesque one day.
- Learn how to swing dance.
- I'd like to get a tattoo.
- I wanna ride a donkey down the Grand Canyon. I think that would be a fun adventure.
- Have an orgy.
- [Man] Own an orchard?
- No, have an orgy.
- [Man] Oh, have an orgy.
(laughing)
- I would like a foursome. Ghetto, like, hood rat, business woman, like a older cougar, freak.
- [Man] What's on your bucket list?
- Really wanna be in a bar fight.
- I wanna break a law.
- I would like to see a million dollars. I wanna touch it. I wanna bathe in it.
- I wanna be in a Fast and Furious movie.
- Be a movie star.
- Like to make a, - Big Hollywood, - Movie one day. With Michael B. Jordan, Taraji P. Henson, and David Boreanaz.
- I have strange ones, like I have this whole list of celebrity females that I wanna get a picture of getting kissed on the cheek by.
- I wanna meet Will Farrell.
- Bette Middler.
- Jackie Chan. - Yoko Ono.
- I wanna touch Nicki Minaj's butt.
- Be in a Justin Bieber music video.
- Make out with Jason Momoa.
- [Man] Is he single?
- No, he has a wife. So it's sad.
- [Man] I mean, they might be open.
- Yeah.
- I really wanna go backpacking in Outer Mongolia.
- Traveling to Paris.
- The Great Wall of China.
- Spain. - Greece.
- I wanna see, like, the crystal blue waters and, like, the buildings and the cliff-side.
- Really, really, really badly.
- I've never been.
- I wanna live in New York. I wanna live in Manhattan.
- Try, like, all the different food and just, like, see all the different shit.
- Seeing the Seven Wonders before they're all gone.
- Ride across the Czech Republic on a motorcycle. That's my thing.
- [Man] Why the Czech Republic?
- Dracula country.
- [Woman] What's on your bucket list?
- I wanna perform somewhere.
- Maybe, like, Lollapalooza or some type of crazy event.
- Perform in a well known play.
- Publish a successful book.
- I really wanna go LARPing. Being surrounded by castles in, like, some Renaissance gear and just tackling the next person that I see like a princess or something.
- Well I wanna try 'shrooms.
- I've always wanted to build a time machine.
- Probably get a colonic.
- Hang gliding naked over a volcano.
- Touch lava.
- Touch a penis.
- Touch a polar bear.
- Touch a shark.
- Get locked in a cage with every big cat.
- Get as close to the animals as I can but not die.
(laughing)
- [Man] What's on your bucket list?
- Seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers is number one. I love them.
- I really wanna go to Korea and get tattooed.
- Tea in China.
- Tea ceremony in Japan.
- Parasailing in Peru.
- Go to space.
- I wanna go to Michael Jackson's Neverland.
- I wanna go to London to visit Amy Winehouse's grave.
- And drive on the wrong side of the road.
- I wanna go to Alaska.
- See the Northern Lights.
- Go to every major tennis Grand Slam.
- Travel the world.
- Trying to put a piece of gum on all of the world wonders.
- I want to see Niagara Falls again. Dad took me there when I was young.
- I want to own my own business.
- I wanna buy a house.
- I wanna get married.
- Yeah, I would love to get married.
- Having kids.
- That'd be dope, like have two minions of me.
- I want to own and operate, - A farm full of animals - Start an orphanage.
- Swim with dolphins. Like on its back, like, you know what I'm saying?
- I wanna have a cat room in my house.
- I wanna own a otter. His name would be Felix.
- Do a crazy stunt, like, maybe like jumping out of a car.
- Fly, like, a jet fighter.
- Go fast. Really fast.
- I really wanna jump off the tallest building in Dubai.
- I wanna try scuba diving. Cause I'm just terrified of water and I really wanna get over it.
- I wanna cross one of the scariest bridges in the world.
- Skinny dipping.
- Being in one of those clear pools.
- Swim through something that isn't water, like kool-aid, like pudding, like syrup.
- Run a marathon.
- Hike to the back of the Hollywood sign.
- Hike the Pacific Coast trail. That's the one that goes from California up to B.C.
- I do wanna climb a mountain but I don't want to actually climb. I just wanna appear at the top cause I've seen people climb mountains and that's shit's not for me.
- I've never really thought about this. I like, really scared of my mortality so I never, like, think about, like, well what if I die?
- I don't wanna die. Is that an option? Does it have to be?
Vocabulary focus
This lesson focuses on vocabulary related to life goals and adventurous activities. Key terms include: "bucket list," "go backpacking," "run a marathon," "go skinny dipping," "try scuba diving," "go hang gliding," "write a bestseller," and "go skydiving." These phrases help students articulate their dreams and ambitions.
Grammar focus
The main grammar point is expressing desires and future intentions. The lesson focuses on the use of infinitives after key phrases like "I want to...", "I'd like to...", "I hope to...", and "I'm planning to...", providing clear examples and a practice exercise for students to apply the structures in a personalized way.
