Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for English teachers helps B1 ESL students discuss online scams. This essential class material uses a video about AI scams to teach key vocabulary and grammar for staying safe online. This lesson on online safety engages students with a warm-up discussion about spotting scams. Activities include a vocabulary matching exercise, watching a news report on AI scams, and completing a comprehension check. Students practice useful phrases, master the third conditional for talking about past hypothetical situations, and apply their learning in a final role-play activity where they must identify a potential scammer.
Activities
- Students begin by discussing their personal experiences with online scams and identifying common red flags in suspicious messages, activating their prior knowledge on the topic.
- Watch a real-life news report about a sophisticated AI scam where a woman's image was used to trick her friends. This video serves as the basis for comprehension and language practice.
- Learners practice the third conditional to discuss what could have happened differently in the scam scenario, mastering the structure "If + had + pp, would have + pp".
- The lesson concludes with a practical role-play where students act out a scenario involving a suspicious text message, using phrases and strategies for verifying someone's identity.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson focuses on essential vocabulary for discussing online fraud. Key terms include verbs like 'scam', 'swindle', 'trick', and 'verify', alongside the informal adjective 'legit'. Students also learn practical phrases such as 'trick someone out of money', 'something is off', and 'safeguard yourself' to describe suspicious situations and protective actions.
Grammar focus
The grammar section concentrates on the third conditional. Students learn to use the "If + had + past participle, would have + past participle" structure to talk about hypothetical situations in the past. This is applied directly to the lesson's context, allowing students to speculate on what would have happened if the victim of the scam had acted differently.
