The Teachers' Lounge

Advanced English Lessons

Click on the lesson your students are studying.

1 - Greetings	9 - Sports
2 - School	10 - Shopping
3 - People	11 - Transportation
4 - Work	12 - Health
5 - Family	13 - City
6 - House	14 - Animals
7 - Food	15 - Weather
8 - Clothes	16 - Future

Greetings - Lesson 1

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Greetings and introductions

Follow-up activities - Have students make up a new imaginary identity (they could pretend they are a famous person). Have students walk around the room and introduce themselves and each other using their "new" identity.  

Grammar

Language Focus - Present perfect, irregular verbs, for/since

Follow-up activities - Present perfect bingo - Select the table below and paste it into a word processing program so that you can print it out for the students. When you say "Go!" the students will go around the room and ask people "Have you ____?" (the thing from one of the squares in the grid goes in the space). If the student says "Yes," they write their name in the space. If they say "No," they move on to another student. When they get four in a row (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally) they win.

HAVE YOU ________?
been to another country _________	seen a movie this week _________	met a famous person _________	exercised this week _________
played a sport this week _________	gone to a shopping center this week _________	been to the supermarket today _________	talked on the phone today _________
drunk milk today _________	watched TV today _________	eaten a vegetable today _________	done your homework everyday _________
bought something today _________	given a gift this month _________	washed dishes today _________	come to class early this week _________

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Two old friends talk on the phone

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Read an e-mail from one of the friends from the dialogue

Follow-up activities - Have students imagine that they are writing a letter to a friend they haven't seen in ten years.  In the letter write what you've done over the past ten years.  (Of course not EVERYTHING that you've done, just a short letter updating the friend.)

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Crossword with irregular verbs

Follow-up activities - none

 

School - Lesson 2

Vocabulary

Language Focus - School subject, Irregular verbs

Follow-up activities - (1) Have students write out their class schedule and compare it with other students. Which students are studying the same subjects? (2)Have students write sentences using the irregular verbs.

Grammar

Language Focus - used to vs. would

Follow-up activities - Have students describe a typical day when they were little using "used to" or "would."  (eg.  I used to get up early and walk to school.)

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - An elderly woman explains what it was like attending school in a one-room schoolhouse

Follow-up activities - (1) Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out. (2) For homework, have students interview their parents, grandparents, or any elderly person that they know about how schools were different when they were young. Students present their information to the class at a later date.

Reading

Language Focus - 1872 Rules for Teachers

Follow-up activities - Have students discuss if they think that teachers today should have rules of behavior.  If so, what should they be. Make a list of modern rules for teachers. (Activity described in "More Practice" section on reading page.)

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Match retired people with descriptions of what they used to do.

Follow-up activities - For homework, have students interview a retired person about what they used to do at their job.

 

People - Lesson 3

Vocabulary

Language Focus - personality words, irregular verbs

Follow-up activities - (1) In class discuss if each personality word is a positive personality characteristic or a negative one in the students' opinions. (2) Have students select five personality words to describe themselves. (3) Have students write sentences using the irregular verbs.

Grammar

Language Focus - so/neither

Follow-up activities - The Bomb Game - Select some object to be "the bomb" (I use a Nerf ball). The students sit in a circle. I set a timer for three minutes. The first student makes a statement such as, "I like pizza." and then passes the ball to the next student. The next student needs to answer with a true response (either "So do I." or "I don't." in this example) and then passes the ball to the next student. The next student makes another statement and passes the ball to the next student who also responds with so, neither, or a short answer. If a student makes a mistake (for example, they try to respond "Neither am I." to the statement "I don't live in Los Angeles.") I let them know that their response was not correct and they need to hold on to the ball until they say the correct response (I help them remember the correct answer if they get stuck). After three minutes the "bomb" goes off and whoever has the ball loses.

Note: Although my classes have always had fun with this game, if you think that it would not be appropriate to play games with a "bomb", you could do the same game just don't identify the ball as a bomb, but rather simply as a "hot potato". 

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - A dialogue between a man and woman who discover that they have a lot in common (many sentences with so and neither).

Follow-up activities - (1) Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out. (2) Have students work in pairs to figure out what things they have in common.  Then have them tell the class what they found out.

Reading

Language Focus - Personal ads

Follow-up activities - (1) Have the students decide which (if any) of the people would be a good couple and discuss why. (2) Bring in a real newspaper with personal ads. Try to match up couples. Single students in the class could pick ads of people that they would be interested in meeting.  (3) Have the students write a personal ad.

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Match couples based on their personal ad info.

Follow-up activities - none

 

Work - Lesson 4

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Resume "power words", Irregular verbs

Follow-up activities - (1) Have students describe their responsibilities at previous jobs using some of the power words. (2) Have students write sentences using the irregular verbs

Grammar

Language Focus - Tag questions

Follow-up activities - The Bomb Game - This game is similar to the game from the previous lesson.  Select some object to be "the bomb" (I use a Nerf ball). The students sit in a circle. I set a timer for three minutes. The first student makes a tag question such as, "You like pizza, don't you?" and then passes the ball to the next student. The next student needs to answer with a true response (either "Yes, I do." or "No, I don't." in this example) and then passes the ball to the next student. The next student makes another tag question and passes the ball to the next student who also responds with a short answer. If a student makes a mistake (for example, they try to respond with "No, I'm not." to the question "You live in Los Angeles, don't you?") I let them know that their response was not correct and they need to hold on to the ball until they say the correct response (I help them remember the correct answer if they get stuck). After three minutes the "bomb" goes off and whoever has the ball loses.

Note: Although my classes have always had fun with this game, if you think that it would not be appropriate to play games with a "bomb", you could do the same game just don't identify the ball as a bomb, but rather simply as a "hot potato".

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Two friends discuss how to create a resume

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - How to Write a Resume

Follow-up activities - Have the students write a resume

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Who would you hire?

Follow-up activities - As a class come up with a list of interview questions and write them on the board (What kind of experience do you have?, What are your strengths?, etc.).  Have the students do mock interviews in pairs using the questions from the board.  

 

Family - Lesson 5

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Household chores vocabulary, Irregular Verbs

Follow-up activities - (1) Have students discuss in small groups what household chores they do and when they do them. (2) Have students write sentences using the irregular verbs.

Grammar

Language Focus - had to

Follow-up activities - Have students make a list of things that they had to do to help their parents when they were little.

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Two mothers talk about family rules

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Family Rules 

Follow-up activities - Have students write a family rules list. For each rule explain why it is important and outline any rewards or punishments.

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Family rules matching activity

Follow-up activities - none

 

House - Lesson 6

Vocabulary

Language Focus - housing problems vocabulary, irregular verbs

Follow-up activities - (1) Have students discuss problems that they have had in their house or apartment. (2) Have students write sentences using the irregular verbs.  

Grammar

Language Focus - Verbs used with the infinitive and verbs used with the gerund

Follow-up activities - Have students write their own sentences using each verb.  

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Tenant reports problems to landlord

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Letter to the landlord

Follow-up activities - Have students write a letter to their landlord describing problems they are having in their apartment or house (real or imaginary problems).

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Scrambled words with vocabulary from the lesson

Follow-up activities - none

 

Food - Lesson 7

Vocabulary

Language Focus - ingredients, cooking verbs, measurement vocabulary, irregular verbs

Follow-up activities - (1) Charades - Have students act out one of the cooking verbs and the other students guess what the verb is.  (2) Have students write sentences using the irregular verbs. 

Grammar

Language Focus - make vs. do

Follow-up activities - For homework have students write sentences using each of the make and do expressions. Have them underline the verb used in the sentence (make or do). The following day in class have students work in small groups. They will take turns randomly reading one of their sentences substituting the word "blank" for the verb make or do. The other students in the group need to guess which verb (make or do) goes in the blank.

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Banana Nut Bread Recipe

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Brownies recipe

Follow-up activities - Have students write out their favorite recipe. Compile all of the recipes into a class cookbook.

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Put the recipe instructions in order.

Follow-up activities - none

 

Clothes - Lesson 8

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Types of clothes, Luggage vocabulary

Follow-up activities - (1) See if you can get a floor plan of a local department store.  Look at the department names and discuss what is in each section.  (2) Discuss what kinds of luggage the students have.

Grammar

Language Focus - used to/be used to/get used to

Follow-up activities - Students discuss answers to the following interview questions.

1. What is something that you used to do when you were younger that you don't do now?
2. What is something that you didn't use to do when you were younger that you do now?
3. What was something that was difficult to get used to about living in a foreign country? (if your students are living in what for them is a foreign country)

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Packing for a trip

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - High-Tech Fashion

Follow-up activities - Have students discuss and/or write about what they think clothes will be like in the future. 

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - "What's in the suitcase?" Wordfind

Follow-up activities - Bring in a real suitcase with ten items in it.  Tell your students that you are going to _______ (name a place).  Have them guess what you packed for your vacation.

 

Sports - Lesson 9

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Olympic Sports Vocabulary

Follow-up activities - Pictionary - Have students select one word and quickly draw a picture to communicate to the class what the sport is.  

Grammar

Language Focus - Confusing Sensory Words (look/see/watch/say/tell/listen/hear)
Adjectives with -ing vs. Adjectives with -ed

Follow-up activities - Have students practice writing sentences with each of the sensory words and adjectives to see if they use them correctly.

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus -Interview with Olympic gold medalist

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - History of the Olympic Games

Follow-up activities - Have students research in the internet the history of their favorite sport and present it to the class.

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - "What's the sport?"

Follow-up activities - Have students write a description of another sport and read it to the class.  The class guesses what the sport is.

 

Shopping - Lesson 10

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Shopping verbs

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences with each of the verbs.

Grammar

Language Focus - Real & Unreal conditional

Follow-up activities - Write several conditional discussion questions on the board and have students discuss them in small groups. ("What would you do if . . .?"-type questions)

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - A reporter asks people what they would do if they won the lottery.

Follow-up activities - (1) Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.  (2) Students discuss what they would do if they won the lottery.

Reading

Language Focus - Compulsive shopping

Follow-up activities - Have students role play in pairs.  One person is a compulsive shopper who is in denial about their problem.  The other student is a friend trying to give them advice about how to control their shopping addiction. 

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Match the beginning and end of conditional sentences

Follow-up activities - none

 

Transportation - Lesson 11

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Airplane/Airport Vocabulary

Follow-up activities - Have students write a description of one of the words (without mentioning the word). Have students read their description and the other students what the word is.  (eg. "This is the person who serves the food on the airplane.")

Grammar

Language Focus - Reported Speech/Reported Questions

Follow-up activities - Have students work in pairs. The pair selects a famous person who they would like to interview then write a list of five questions they would like to ask that person.  Then one student pretends that they are the famous person and the other is the reporter. The reporter reads the questions to the "famous person" and he/she answers them. Instruct them to give brief yet full sentence answers to the questions because they will be changing it to reported speech later. Finally the students write a report of the questions and answers from the interview which they will later read to the whole class. (eg "I asked Cher where she was born and she said she was born in _______.)  If they don't know the answers to the questions, they can use their imaginations to answer.  For example, I have no idea where Cher was born but I could guess a state.

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - A police officer interviews a witness to an accident.

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Police Report

Follow-up activities - Have students describe an accident (not necessary a car accident) that they say that they saw or happened to them. The other students guess if they are telling the truth or if they made up the story.

Spelling

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Match the reported question with the reported answer

Follow-up activities - None

 

Health - Lesson 12

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Learning the names of emergency situations and the names of treatments

Classroom activities - Have someone from the Red Cross come in and teach the students first aid.

Grammar

Language Focus - should/ought to/had better

Classroom activities - Bring in the advice column from a newspaper in English (like "Dear Abby"). Cut to separate the advice from the letter. Have students first read the letter and come up with their own advice using the verbs from this lesson. Then, after discussing their advice, have them read the advice from the columnist (Abby).

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Conversation about a First Aid class

Classroom activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - "How to make an emergency kit"

Classroom activities - Have students put together their own emergency kit. Have them bring it in, show it to the class, and explain what is in it and what each item is for.

Expressions

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Review of first aid vocabulary

Classroom activities - none

 

City - Lesson 13

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Miscellaneous vocabulary

Classroom activities - none

Grammar

Language Focus - The Passive Voice

Classroom activities - none

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - A tour guide provides information about tours of the city of Chicago.

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Article describing attractions in the city of San Diego

Classroom activities - Have students write a similar article describing attractions in their city.

Expressions

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Review of passive voice

Classroom activities - Have each student write one history question in the passive voice (like the ones from the "History Quiz.") Each student reads their question and the other students guess the answer.

 

Animals - Lesson 14

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Classes of animals, review of animals

Classroom activities - Have students try to put all of the animals from the list into the five classes.

Grammar

Language Focus - Restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses

Classroom activities - none

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Dialogue describing strange animals

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Article about animals that can do amazing things

Classroom activities - Have students write about an animal that they know or have heard about that can do something amazing.

Expressions

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Animal crossword

Classroom activities - none

 

Weather - Lesson 15

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Extreme weather conditions

Classroom activities - Have students talk about extreme weather that they have experienced.

Grammar

Language Focus - Rules for Comma Use

Classroom activities - none

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Dialogue about personal experiences with tropical storms and hurricanes

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Article describing how to prepare for extreme weather

Classroom activities - Students discuss what they have done or plan on doing to prepare for extreme weather.

Expressions

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Review of extreme weather vocabulary

Classroom activities - Password game - Students draw the name of an extreme weather condition and give one word clues as their classmates try to guess which it is.

 

Future - Lesson 16

Vocabulary

Language Focus - Space vocabulary

Classroom activities - Students visit the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) website (www.nasa.gov) and read one article or watch one video and write up a summary of what they learned.

Grammar

Language Focus - Future continuous

Classroom activities - Have each student write one sentence in the future continuous describing what they will be doing 10 years from now.

Listening/Dialogue

Language Focus - Dialogue about time travel

Follow-up activities - Have students read the dialogue in pairs and/or act it out.

Reading

Language Focus - Article about space tourism

Classroom activities - Have students discuss if they would be interested in space tourism. Why or why not? Where would they go?

Expressions

Language Focus - Common American English expressions

Follow-up activities - Have students write sentences using each of the expressions.

Dictation

Language Focus - spelling

Follow-up activities - Have students write any words they misspelled in the dictation in their notebook five times to practice spelling it.

Game

Language Focus - Review of space vocabulary

Classroom activities - none