Dynamic ESL Lesson Plans for Core Grammar Structures

Posted on Oct 5, 2025 in English

Objective: To express daily routines and discuss scientific facts.

Engagement: Watch a trailer featuring Walee.
Presentation: Use a PowerPoint presentation detailing Walee’s routine.
Practice: Listen to a dialogue and write down the verbs in the present tense. Students then make six sentences using the verbs heard and read them in front of the class.
Production: Write your personal daily routine.
Wrap Up: Read the written daily routine aloud.

Objective: To express things students like or hate doing when they are with friends.

Engagement: Show a video clip about friendship.
Presentation: Match the verbs with their definitions.
Practice: The teacher reads a text about funny moments with friends. Students categorize the verbs heard into ‘hate’ or ‘like’ categories (e.g., I hate dancing).
Production: Write six sentences about funny moments with friends.
Wrap Up: Provide feedback on the activity.

Objective: To use the Present Continuous (P.C.) to talk about actions happening in a specific moment.

Engagement: Watch a video about Cinderella. Ask: What is she doing? What is she eating?
Presentation: Using a ‘magic box,’ students describe what a person is currently doing.
Practice: Listen to a recording about Cinderella’s life and write down the verbs using the -ing form.
Production: Create a dialogue using the Present Continuous.
Wrap Up: Present the dialogue to the class.

Objective: To use tag questions when students are fairly certain that someone will agree with them.

Engagement: Watch the Ratatouille trailer.
Presentation: Use character masks and ask questions like: He is Ratatouille, isn’t he? He is hidden in a hat, isn’t he?
Practice: Find the tag questions used in a video clip.
Production: Use finger puppets to talk with a partner about their favorite movie using tag questions.
Wrap Up: Write tag questions on balloons. Pass a balloon to a classmate who must answer the tag question. Repeat this process across the class.

Objective: To express ideas using future tenses (will and going to).

Engagement: Watch a video about mass media in the last century.
Presentation: Discuss the difference between will and going to. Listen to a dialogue about mass media and write down the sentences containing will and going to.
Practice: Match the person with the description of what they said about mass media.
Production: Write a paragraph addressing the future of mass media:
- How is mass media going to be in 10 years?
- Will you use it?
Wrap Up: Present the paragraph to the class.

Objective: To comprehend when and how to use the Passive Voice.

Engagement: Use flashcards about a movie. Students guess which movie it is.
Presentation: The teacher writes three sentences in the Active Voice (A.V.). Students must convert them to the Passive Voice (P.V.).
Practice: Distribute a handout with two kinds of film-related activities:
- Four sentences to be converted to P.V.
- Four sentences to be corrected.
Wrap Up: Provide feedback on the practice activities.

Objective: To express what students were doing the day before at a specific time.

Engagement: Ask students what they did yesterday and specifically what they were doing at 8 o’clock last night.
Presentation: Use a ‘magic box’ containing flashcards of painters and their paintings. Students take a flashcard and talk about what the person was doing.
Practice: In groups, use cards with actions to create six sentences in the Past Continuous tense.
Production: On a piece of paper, students write their daily schedule. They exchange the paper with a partner and write on the back three things their classmate did at a specific moment the day before.
Wrap Up: Ask: What can you tell me about your partner? What was he doing yesterday evening?

Objective: To express personal experiences using the Present Perfect Simple.

Engagement: Watch a video about sports.
Presentation: Show a picture of people doing sports. Ask: What are they doing? Have you practiced this sport? Have you practiced any sport?
Practice: Listen to a dialogue between Massu and Carvallo and discuss their experiences doing sports with a partner.
Production: Write a paragraph about good and bad experiences doing sports, including:
- Where have you been?
- Have you chosen the sport, or did your parent influence you?
- Have you known a famous person who practices the same sport?
Wrap Up: Play a memory game focusing on the structure. Provide final feedback.