Teach 3 Levels with 1 comic strip

Jan 2
3 min read

Updated: Jan 23

These particular lesson plans focus on speaking activities. For grammar lesson plans, check out the other posts in the Teacher Blog.

Topic: Packing for a trip

Objective: Fluency.

Students will speak in complete sentences at the complexity level that is appropriate for their current level. They will recall vocabulary and grammar forms that they have previously learned with minor prompting from the teacher.

Vocabulary for beginner level:

Mom (n)
Girl (n)
To put (v)
Bag (n)
Shoes (n)
Hat (n)
Clothes (n)
To finish (v)
To throw (v)
Surprised (adj)
Small (adj)

Vocabulary for intermediate level:

To pack (v)
Suitcase
To close (v)
Wardrobe
Glove
To climb
To travel
Stripes
Look at (v)

Vocabulary for advanced level:

luggage
Curtain
tiny
To point (v)
To go on a trip
To hang (v)
To zip up (v)
Ponytail
To kneel (v)

**The vocabulary lists are not set in stone and may need to be adapted to your students’ particular needs

Outline:

Pre-reading Discussion	What is the name of this comic?Does this comic strip have a title? If yes, what is it? Have you seen these characters before? What are their names?	This is a chance for the student to become familiar with the comic and characters
Main Task Instructions	You are going to tell ME a story today! Tell me at least one sentence for every picture.This story happened yesterday, so remember to use the past tense! (or is happening right now, or will happen later, etc)	Clear instructions help the activity to run more smoothly
Speaking Task	(“And then what happens?” “He see it or he sees it?” “Don’t forget the third picture!”)	Scaffolding helps keep the student on track
**This activity can be done individually, or in pairs with students taking turns, or it can be done as a whole class. One picture can have multiple sentences that focus on the action, clothes, facial expressions, objects, setting/background, etc.
Post-speaking Analysis and reflection	Apply to the student’s lives Do you have a suitcase (or “bag” if they are not advanced enough for the word “suitcase”) like this? What color is your suitcase? What did you pack (or “put”) in your suitcase? Where did you travel before? How do you feel when you go on a trip? Did you go on an airplane before? A train? A boat? Make predictions Why do you think they are packing? Where do you think they are going? The suitcase is large, how long do you think they will travel? Do you think Peanut the hamster will go with them?	Further speaking practice, a way to connect the story with the student’s own life, and for you as the teacher to check if they understood the story

What is “minor prompting?”

This looks different for every teacher, but my go-to hints often look like this:

Making the first sound of the word (“Sssss…”)
Telling the student the first letter of the word (“It starts with k!”)
Telling them what it is not (“It’s not a boat, what’s the other word for that?”)
Telling them the context of when they would see this word (“What’s that thing you use to brush your hair?”)

What verb tense should the student use?

This depends on what your goal is. If your goal is to practice present continuous or past continuous or whatever tense it may be, tell the student that before they begin! However, if your goal is purely for the student to speak as much as possible, you don’t have to specify the time and allow the student to use whatever tense comes naturally. I find that most students naturally fall into using present simple and present continuous.

Add a Hands-on activity

Pack a suitcase for a trip

This can be with real items or with printed pictures
Decide where you are traveling
What items are good to bring and what are bad to bring for that particular place? This is a great review of clothing and accessories!