Future plans lesson
Beginner level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide clarification and practice of 'to be + going to' in the context of future plans (next week).
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide speaking practice in discussing future plans.
Procedure (39-47 minutes)
Because CELTA finishes today, the teacher tells the class that he wants to do fun things next week. He attempts to elicit relevant vocabulary from the class (e.g. play football, meet with friends, go to the cinema, visit museum, sleep). He writes the list of the vocabulary on one side of the board, under "plans for next week". Then ask: Is this past or future? Future. Then the teacher draws a timeline, marking a spot in the future 'next week', and points to one of the suggestions on the board, e.g. play football, asking: How can we say this? (if Ss say 'will', explain that we're looking for something else, a phrase we use for plans). To help Ss, the teacher can give part of the sentence and then use finger correction to elicit the target language. ( e.g., I … … … play football next week.) CCQ: Did I already play footbal[point to past on timeline]? No. Do I plan to play football[point to future]? Yes. Drill pronunciation (backchaining!; next week. play football next week, etc.) and then write it on the board. Then choose another suggestions and follow the same procedure (I … … … visit a museum next week.) The teacher makes sure to point out with the pronunciation that we (especially Americans) sometimes say 'gonna' for 'going to', but that this is more informal speech. If Ss can fill it easily, add another element, e.g: On Sunday we … … … see a movie. Once they understand this, point to the next suggestion, and elicit the entire phrase from the students. Use finger correction if necessary. Then ask individual students. Then elicit the form; “ 'I' is …? Subject. 'Visit' is ...? Verb. subject + 'to be' + going to + verb CCQs; I am going to play football yesterday; correct? No. I am going to play football tomorrow; correct? Yes. I am going to visit the museum next week. Did I already visit the museum? No. The teacher then writes the following sentence on the board: We're going to go to the cinema Saturday', and then crosses out 'go to', leaving 'We're going to the cinema Saturday.' With the verb 'go', we usually don't say 'going to go'. The teacher then provides the class with the grammar handout about how we use to be + going to, briefly going over it.
The teacher explains that they will look at John's plans for next week, showing an example on the board with the projector. Each student will get a different handout with John's plans for the week, with only one day filled in with an activity (e.g. play football). They need to ask each other questions to fill in the blanks. Ask other people: What is John going to do next week? Answer: On Wednesday he is going to play football. They need to fill in all the other days by finding the right people. The teacher demonstrates by putting one version on the projector which shows what John is going to do on Monday, and then asking the class: How can we ask about his plans for Monday (elicit: What is John going to do on Monday? Then write on the board "What is John going to do on ...? ) Make sure they understand how they should answer, e.g. see a movie ====> John is going to see a movie. He then has the class ask him about a specific day, giving them the answer and showing how the students should fill it in on the board. He then gives a copy to a strong student, and tells the class to ask what John is going to do next week. Then he gives two more copies to students, and has them ask each other, continuing this demonstrates a few time, from one student to the other, until someone at each table has tried it. He then gives a copy to each student and tells them to stand up and ask each other questions. ICQs: Are you going to show your handout [mime] or ask questions? Ask questions. Are you going to walk around or sit at your table? Walk around. Afterwards the teacher hangs answer keys around the room for the students to check.
The teacher shows three sentences on the board with the projector, telling the class that two are true and one is false. The teacher first demonstrates on the board: I am going to watch a movie next week. True I am going to visit friends next week. True I am going to play basketball next week. False He points to the first sentence, saying: How can you ask me? (Using finger correction to elicit the question from the class). He then gives the full answer, "Yes, I am going to watch a movie next week." Then he makes sure to point out the negative form for the false one (No, I'm not going to play basketball next week."). The teacher the instructs the class to do the same and write down three things that they are going to do next week, one false. ICQs: Are we writing or speaking? Writing. How many sentences? Three. How many false? One. Once the students finish writing, the teacher tells them to get up and ask each other questions. Find out which sentence is false by asking questions.
The teacher tells the students that they just won the lottery, 5 million lira (use example of Mili piyango). What are they going to do with the money? Write down four things you are going to do with the money (on the board: I am going to .. ). ICQs: Are you going to write or talk? Write. How many sentences? four. When they finish, the teacher tells the students to get up and ask each other about their plans (What are you going to do with the money?). If someone else has the same plan, they should write down their name next to it. Are you going to show your list or ask questions? Ask questions. Are you going to sit at your table or walk around? Walk around. The teacher then writes down a few plans that several students had, and has the class vote on the most popular one. If there is enough time, the teacher can do some error correction.