Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for English teachers explores the potato's surprising impact on world history. This B2 ESL class material uses a video and engaging exercises to practice grammar and vocabulary for discussing historical events and consequences. Students will speculate about the past using the third conditional and learn phrases for **cause and effect**, culminating in a group discussion about historical 'what if' scenarios.
Activities
- Start with a warm-up discussion to activate students' prior knowledge about potatoes, their origins, and their importance, encouraging initial conversation on the topic.
- Introduce key vocabulary related to history and agriculture, such as "staple," "cultivate," and "famine," through a clear matching exercise before watching the video.
- Watch an engaging video about the potato's global journey and historical impact, followed by comprehension questions to check understanding of key facts and events.
- Practice speculating about alternate histories with a focused grammar exercise on the third conditional, completing sentences related to the events discussed in the video.
- Conclude with a "what if" group discussion activity where students use the third conditional and cause-and-effect phrases to explore how history might be different without other key items.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson focuses on vocabulary for discussing history and agriculture. Key terms include nouns like staple, dominion, tuber, famine, and spud, as well as the verb cultivate. It also introduces phrases for describing cause and effect, such as "led to," "as a result," "played a significant role in," and "can be attributed to."
Grammar focus
The main grammar point is speculating about the past using the third conditional (If + past perfect, ...would have + past participle). This structure helps students discuss hypothetical past situations and their imagined consequences, such as how European history would have been different without the potato.
