Skip to content | Contact Us | Email | Site Map | Home

Texas Adult Education Standards and Benchmarks
for ABE ASE and ESL Learners

esl LESSON PLANS

---

Texas Adult Education Standards
Lesson Plan

Before you begin

Title: Initiate Small Talk: Tell Me What You Did over the Weekend

Setting: ESL

NRS Level(s): Level 2: Low Beginning

Open entry/exit: Yes

Context: Community

Standard(s): Speak so Others can Understand

Benchmark(s): 1.2, 2.2, 3.2

Objective: To gain skills and build confidence in holding short conversations with neighbors, co-workers, and/or customers.

Materials: Chalkboard, chalk, and Heinle Picture Dictionary (p. 34)

Estimated time needed to prepare for this lesson plan: 15 minutes

Estimated time needed to complete this lesson plan: 4 hours

The Lesson Plan

Introduce the lesson:
Explain to the class how certain responses and vocabulary are associated with less structured forms of conversation, such as making small talk with strangers or in any informal or formal setting. Point out how we often engage in certain topics such as the weather or other topics of general interest as a way of meeting people or showing a friendly nature.

Teach the lesson:
As an illustration, make the statement: Tell me what you did this weekend? to the class. Some responses students might give are: cleaned house, went shopping, washed car, watched TV, etc. Student responses can be written on the chalkboard. From these responses, create a vocabulary list. Some vocabulary words might include: weekend, week, on Friday, on Saturday, on Sunday, shopping, cleaning, washing, watching TV, attended, went out, fixed, and entertained. The entire class will work together repeating the words that are written on the blackboard. For this lesson students should be encouraged to respond in English. The Heinle Picture Dictionary might be used as a reference and to find additional vocabulary words related to this lesson.

Practice the lesson:
As an out of class assignment, have each student record their activities for the upcoming weekend. When students report back to class, they should work in pairs to practice asking their partner what they did on the weekend. Students should change partners several times during this reporting back session.

Assess the lesson:
Each student will turn in their written record of weekend activities to the teacher. The teacher will correct and return to student for revisions.

Apply the lesson to the real world:
Students should develop greater confidence in initiating conversation outside the classroom with a co-worker, neighbor, or customer.

Submitted by: Ernie Salcedo

---

Table of Contents