Second Conditional
upper intermediate level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To introduce and practice the second conditional and alternatives to if (e.g., suppose, providing, assuming, imagine) in the context of moral dilemmas and hypothetical situations.
Subsidiary Aims
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Speaking & Fluency – To encourage students to discuss ethical dilemmas using the second conditional in a meaningful and interactive way. 2. Vocabulary – To reinforce key vocabulary related to crime and law (e.g., theft, shoplifting, speed limit). 3. Pronunciation – To help students recognize and practice sentence stress and weak forms in second conditional structures. 4. Listening & Reading for Meaning – To guide students through understanding conditional structures in context via a questionnaire and discussion-based activities.
Procedure (33-41 minutes)
To introduce the topic of laws and moral dilemmas, ask students, “Why do we use street bumpers in Latin America?” This question will prompt students to think about the importance of laws and regulations for safety, which ties into the lesson’s theme. Following this, introduce the term law-abiding by explaining its meaning: “A law-abiding person is someone who follows the rules and regulations of their country.” Provide an example, such as: “A law-abiding citizen would never steal or break the speed limit.” This sets the context for the lesson’s focus on moral decisions and the second conditional.
Aim: To introduce the second conditional through a questionnaire on moral dilemmas, getting students to consider and discuss hypothetical situations. 1. Instructions: • Introduce the activity by asking students to reflect on different situations related to law and ethics. • Distribute the questionnaire (via Google Forms) 2. Questions for Discussion: • Imagine you were driving and you were late for an appointment, would you exceed the speed limit? • Suppose a cash machine gave you twice as much money as you asked for, would you keep it? • Imagine you saw a ten-year-old boy shoplifting, would you tell a security guard? • Supposing your friend asked you to download a film illegally for him/her, would you do it? • If you were driving and your mobile phone rang, would you answer it? 3. Focus: • Encourage students to explain their reasoning for their answers and to ask follow-up questions to each other. • Monitor and provide feedback on their use of second conditional structures. 4. Follow-up: • Go over answers as a class for 2-3 minutes, focusing on correct use of the second conditional and alternatives to “if” like suppose, provided, assuming. • Highlight common mistakes or interesting responses and discuss them briefly.
Aim: To clarify the meaning of the highlighted sentences from the text, focusing on understanding the second conditional and alternatives to if. 1. Instructions: • Introduce the activity and explain the focus on understanding the highlighted sentences. • Explain to the students that they will work in two teams, using the Google Slides to answer questions about the sentences from the reading. • Team 1 and Team 2 will be assigned different slides and work in breakout rooms to answer the questions. Breakout Room Activity (4 mins): • In the breakout rooms, students will answer the following questions for each of the highlighted sentences on their Google Slides: Assuming you lost your wallet while traveling, what would you do? •Q1: Did the person actually lose their wallet? • Answer: No, it’s hypothetical. They haven’t lost it yet. • Q2: What does “assuming” mean here? • Answer: Assuming means imagining a situation as if it were true, even though it might not be. If you were driving and your mobile phone rang, would you answer it? • Q1: Are we talking about a real or imaginary situation? • Answer: Imaginary. It’s a hypothetical situation. • Q2: Does this describe a past or possible future action? • Answer: Possible future. It’s a situation that could happen in the future. Suppose a cash machine gave you twice as much money as you asked for, would you keep it? • Q1: Did the cash machine actually give extra money? • Answer: No, it’s hypothetical. The situation hasn’t happened yet. • Q2: What does “suppose” mean here? • Answer: Suppose means imagine a situation as if it were true. It’s similar to assuming. Imagine you saw a ten-year-old boy shoplifting, would you tell a security guard? • Q1: Is this a real or imagined situation? • Answer: Imagined. It’s a hypothetical scenario. • Q2: What does “imagine” mean here? • Answer: Imagine means to think about a possible situation, not something that has already happened. Provided there weren’t any police cars around, would you exceed the speed limit? • Q1: What does “provided” mean? • Answer: Provided means only if. It’s a condition for the situation to happen. • Q2: Is this situation real or hypothetical? • Answer: Hypothetical. It depends on a condition that may or may not be true. • Team 1 and Team 2 will collaborate to answer these questions. 3. Review and Check Answers (1 min): • Bring students back to the main room and go over the answers as a class. • Use CCQs (Concept Checking Questions) to confirm understanding of the vocabulary and second conditional structure: Form Activity (B) Time: 5 minutes Format: Fill-in-the-blanks activity in Google Slides (4 min) Task: Students will move each missing word into the correct sentence structure. Sentences with Blanks: 1. Suppose your best friend _______ you to lend them your car for the weekend, would you agree? 2. If it _______ tomorrow, we would _______ inside and play games. 3. Providing you _______ your work early, _______ you _______ to the party? 4. Imagine you _______ a wallet on the street with ID and money in it, would you _______ it or would you return it to the owner? 5. Assuming she _______ about the surprise party, would she _______ not to? Answer Key: 1. Suppose your best friend asked you to lend them your car for the weekend, would you agree? 2. If it rained tomorrow, we would stay inside and play games. 3. Providing you finished your work early, would you come to the party? 4. Imagine you found a wallet on the street with ID and money in it, would you keep it or would you return it to the owner? 5. Assuming she knew about the surprise party, would she pretend not to? discuss the answers as a class for 1 min Pronunciation Time: 5 minutes Objective: An audio recording will be played for each sentence, leaving space for students to listen before any discussion. After listening, students will see the sentence and analyze the pronunciation before breaking it down into stressed and weak words. instructions Listen to the sentence . Pause and try to repeat it naturally. Look at the sentence and identify stressed (🔹bold🔹) and weak words. Sentences for Pronunciation Practice: If you 🔹hit🔹 a parked car at 3 a.m., would you 🔹leave🔹 a note with your phone number? • Stressed words: “hit,” “parked car,” “leave,” “note” • Weak words: If, you, a, at, would Imagine you 🔹found🔹 an expensive camera on a park bench, would you 🔹hand🔹 it in to the police? • Stressed words: “Imagine,” “found,” “expensive camera,” “hand,” “police” • Weak words: you, an, on a, to the If you 🔹got🔹 home from the supermarket and 🔹realised🔹 that they hadn’t charged you for something, would you 🔹take🔹 it back? • Stressed words: “got home,” “realised,” “charged,” “take” • Weak words: If, you, from the, that they, for
Students read the questions and answers carefully. They decide if both words/phrases are possible or select the correct one. After answering, students check their responses Questions: A: Suppose/Provided you found a lottery ticket and it had the winning number, would you collect the money? B: Yes, I would, imagine/assuming I couldn’t find the owner. A: Imagine/As long as you saw a man being attacked in the street, would you try to help him? B: Yes, I might, suppose/provided I wasn’t alone. A: If/Suppose some friends asked you to look after their four cats for a month, would you agree to do it? B: No, I wouldn’t, even if/provided they offered to pay me! A: Imagine/If your best friend had nowhere to live, would you let him/her come and live with you? Answer Key: 1. Suppose – assuming 2. Imagine – provided 3. If – even if 4. Imagine after answering there will be a quick check for mistakes in the main room The purpose of this activity is to reinforce the vocabulary in context, help students see how different words are used together, and ensure they understand the meaning aBy the end of this activity, students should be able to confidently use these words in sentences
Time: 6-7 minutes (4 min breakout rooms + 2-3 min whole-class feedback) Instructions: Students will be divided into breakout rooms to discuss the following real-life situations using the second conditional. They should share their opinions, justify their choices, and react to each other’s answers naturally. After the discussion, we will regroup for 2-3 minutes to check answers, clarify doubts, and reinforce understanding of the second conditional. Discussion Questions: 1. If you hit a parked car at 3 a.m., would you leave a note with your phone number? 2. Imagine you found an expensive camera on a park bench, would you hand it in to the police? 3. If you got home from the supermarket and realized that they hadn’t charged you for something, would you take it back? 4. Imagine you borrowed a friend’s laptop and dropped it on the way home, would you tell your friend what happened? Follow-Up (Whole-Class Discussion) • Do you think your classmates would really act this way in real life? • Which situations were the hardest to answer? Why? • Can you think of another real-life situation where you would use the second conditional?