Summary
This ESL lesson plan for B1 intermediate students focuses on teaching the use of "used to" and "would" to describe past habits and states. Through nostalgic topics like childhood memories and life before smartphones, students will engage with the grammar in a meaningful context. The lesson incorporates listening, reading, and interactive vocabulary exercises to provide a comprehensive learning experience and help students talk about the past with more accuracy and fluency.
Activities
- A warm-up discussion where students share memories about their childhood and past routines, activating prior knowledge and introducing the target language.
- A listening comprehension task where students fill in the blanks in a short text about past family life while listening to an audio recording.
- A reading activity based on a blog post about life before smartphones, followed by multiple-choice questions to check comprehension.
- An interactive drag-and-drop vocabulary exercise focusing on words related to memory and the past, such as "nostalgia," "reminisce," and "on demand."
Vocabulary focus
The vocabulary section introduces words and phrases useful for talking about the past and making comparisons with the present. Key terms include "meet up," "browse," "on demand," "nostalgia," "reminisce," and "back in the day."
Grammar focus
This lesson focuses on the distinction between "used to" and "would" for describing past habits. Students will learn that "used to" can describe both past actions and states, while "would" is used for repeated past actions, often in a narrative or nostalgic context, and cannot be used for states.
