LESSON OVERVIEW

In this lesson students get an opportunity to learn phrasal verbs and practise their listening skills (listening for gist and details) by watching a funny video about how to cope with a bad day.

LEAD‐IN & PHRASAL VERBS

To get students interested in the theme of the lesson, the worksheet starts with three pictures showing people in situations associated with having a bad day such as being late for work. Students identify the problems and then look at gapped questions about bad days in their lives. Before discussing them in pairs, they have to add the missing prepositions (e.g. out of order). The aim of the next task is to pre-teach students some phrasal verbs which they’ll later hear in a motivational video about coping with a bad day (e.g. let it out, get through, cheer up). Students then put the phrasal verbs into practice and engage in another discussion.

VIDEO & DISCUSSION

In the second part of the lesson, students look at three comments posted on a social media website. Their task is to guess who knows what to do when we’re having a bad day. They watch the video for the first time to check if their ideas were right. Listening for gist is followed by listening for details. First, students look at eight phrasal verbs and mark the ones they hear in the video. Afterwards, they listen again, this time focusing on five gapped statements which they need to complete with the missing words. The lesson finishes with a discussion during which students agree or disagree with the motivational statements from the listening task and give reasons for their opinions. Including a few additional questions about grandparents and their role in students’ lives will make this final activity more memorable and personal.