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Short forms of the verb to be

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Low-resource ESL lesson plan
Beginner+/A1
Low-resource ESL lesson plan
Grammar
Low-resource ESL lesson plan
45-60 min
Low-resource ESL lesson plan
Low-Resource
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Overview

In this beginner-level ESL lesson, students will learn the contracted forms of the verb to be. Mastery of these contractions is essential for natural-sounding speech. By the end of this lesson, students will be familiar with forming simple sentences using these short forms, paving the way for fluid and more colloquial-sounding conversations.

This lesson plan begins with a recommended boardwork example, highlighting one way to teach the target language. Following this introduction, students will be engaged in several low-resource activities, prompting them to write statements about themselves using the newly learned contractions. Concluding the lesson, we've incorporated a classroom game. This game aims to reinforce the contracted forms and make learning engaging and memorable for every student.

Lesson Outline
Activities
Low-resource ESL lesson plan
Boardwork
1Short form drill
2Why so negative?
3Who am I?
4Who is he?
Games
1Charades
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Classroom activities

Low-resource ESL lesson plan

Use of the board

Students learn how to form simple sentences with the contracted forms of the verb to be.

Use these diagrams to demonstrate how the verb 'be' is contracted in the affirmative and negative. When finished, elicit some example sentences from your students. If you can, use the students' L1 to translate some examples back and forth.

Low-resource ESL lesson plan
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Low-resource ESL activity

Short form drill

The students learn a quick revision drill for practising the conjugations of the verb to be.

Low-resource ESL lesson plan
This lesson plan is exclusive to TEFLHandbook members. Join today and get instant access to our expanding library of teaching resources.
Low-resource ESL activity

Why so negative?

For this writing activity, the students have to rewrite sentences to their negative form using the target language for the lesson.

Low-resource ESL lesson plan
This lesson plan is exclusive to TEFLHandbook members. Join today and get instant access to our expanding library of teaching resources.
Low-resource ESL activity

Who am I?

The students will use the contracted versions of the verb 'to be' to write a few statements about themselves.

Low-resource ESL lesson plan
This lesson plan is exclusive to TEFLHandbook members. Join today and get instant access to our expanding library of teaching resources.
Low-resource ESL activity

Who is he?

Students swap notebooks with a partner and answer questions in the third person singular.

Low-resource ESL lesson plan
This lesson plan is exclusive to TEFLHandbook members. Join today and get instant access to our expanding library of teaching resources.

Classroom games

Low-resource ESL activity

Charades

Players mime simple activities while their teammates have to form a statement that describes what they are doing.

Low-resource ESL lesson plan
This lesson plan is exclusive to TEFLHandbook members. Join today and get instant access to our expanding library of teaching resources.