CEP Lesson Plan

Teacher: Laurel Dispenza Level: Upper Intermediate 2

Objectives: Theme:
1. SWBAT critically evaluate voluntourism in a positive and negative light Alternative
2. SWBAT understand and begin to use phrases with ‘mind’ travel
3. SWBAT effectively give and follow directions

Aim / Skill / Micro-skil Activity / Procedure / Stage T/S Min.

Preview Write agenda on board.

!. Voluntourism
2. Unusual places to stay
3. Couch Surfing
4. Getting/giving directions.

Use note cards with conversation starters and have one student pick a card and pick a question Ss-Ss 5min

Activity 1:
Mega-activity: 1.1 Pre-Activity: Have you thought any more about voluntourism? I know some of you have been investigating. Talk with T
Reading/video/advice your partner about some pros and cons about voluntourism that you thought about for homework. Write them down. 5min
Share out. write on board. Ss-Ss

Language Focus: Reading/evaluating 1.2 Activity: S-S

Voluntourism: Pass out benefits of voluntourism article. Just skimming the headings and the first and last paragraph, predict what this 10-
claims to be… article is about. Read it with your partner and see if your predictions were right. See if it matches anything on your pros 15min
supporting facts… and cons list. Discuss with your partner. T-S
contradictory facts... Do you remember when we evaluated the proposals? What did we want to include when writing it? When evaluating it?
Now we’re going to take a look at some claims and justification of voluntourism.

‘If you…., then you should….’ Voluntourism:

claims to be…
supporting facts…
contradictory facts...

With your partner, write some of the things voluntourism claims to be and any supporting facts provided by the article or S-S
your personal knowledge. Do you believe it?
Now we’re going to watch a video (Kate discovered it yesterday and most have watched it once already) about the other
side of voluntourism. Instead of spending a great deal of time breaking this video down, I want you to listen for the main
Assessment / Outcome: Students
can listen for the gist/main idea and
critically evaluate the topic, then
applying that evaluation in the form
of advice.
Activity 2: mini-Mind activity
Language Focus: Word Focus: Mind
Assessment / Outcome: Students are 2.3 Post-Activity: Do you have phrases like this in your language? What do you call the place where all your thoughts and
beginning to use ‘mind’ phrases worries are located?
ideas. Listen for these three things (on board), writing notes as you listen. Watch once. Then watch again answering these 15min
questions.
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6noWoS6QXw
● Stop at 5 seconds: Predict what she will say in the video
● Stop at 15 sec: outdated stereotypes about developing countries-
● 34 sec: Maher’s whatsapp message
● What can you do if you really want to make a difference?
● Replay last 15 seconds. What does the speaker say is most important? S-S
Talk with your partner about the main ideas you saw in that video. Did they match the claims of voluntourism? We’ll
watch it again and this time pay attention for any contradictory facts. With your partner, write down some contradicting T
facts. 10min
If your friend told you they want to go voluntouring for their next vacation, what advice would you give them? S-S
Elicit a few answers and then write ‘If you…., then you should….’
Take a few minutes with your partner and come up with some advice you would give your friend before they choose a
company and go voluntour.
1.3 Post-Activity:
What are some important elements to keep in mind if you want to go voluntouring? Is it worth it to voluntour? T-Ss-T 10min
Has anyone ever heard of WOOFING or Work Away? Those are two longer-term sustainable ways to volunteer. Hosts seek
out help, so you know you’re helping where the community wants/needs it. Feel free to look into them and report back
what you found. I can send you the links in our WhatsApp group.
Transition: This video really reminds us to be mindful of our impacts on the communities we visit or are a part of.
2.1 Pre-Activity: When you’re mindful of something, what are you doing? T-Ss-T 5min
What are some other phrases you have heard that include ‘mind’? Write on board and have Ss discuss whether they’ve
heard them or not and what they’d guess they mean. Then discuss together (they can use book for extra support)
2.2 Activity:
Think of another way to say these things and ask your partner these questions.
Do you change your mind a lot? Ss-Ss 10min
What can you accomplish when you put your mind to it?
What do you have on your mind today?
When has your mind gone blank? What do you do when your mind goes blank? (discuss which part is conjugated)
(of two minds about….teach but mention that I’ve never heard it used)
5min
T-Ss-T
correctly and answer questions Now that you’ve learned/reviewed these phrases, what can you do to help you truly learn them? Use them, listen for
using ‘mind’ phrases. them, etc.

Transition: Have you ever gone out or gone on vacation and encountered something unusual that blew your mind? T nil
What did you think about the descriptions of the four unusual places on page 75?

Activity 3: Unusual places to stay- 3.1 Pre-Activity: Have you ever stayed somewhere unusual? Where is the most unusual place you’ve stayed? Talk to your T 5-
Reading they did for homework partner and compare stories. Ss-Ss 10min

Language Focus: Speaking-reasons 3.2 Activity: Discuss with your partner your comments about the four places. Did you feel the same way? Support your
justification answers with explanations,details, and experiences. Be sure to include why it’s unusual and why someone would want to Ss-Ss 10min
go there.

Assessment / Outcome: Students 3.3 Post-Activity: If you had to choose, which one would be your first choice? Would you and your partner visit the same
have discussed their opinions of the one? T-Ss-T 10min
unusual places to stay and provided
justification for their answer

Transition: T announces break. T nil

Break Break n/a 10-15

Pull up my couch surfing profile during the break but turn the TV off
Let’s take a minute and review the different kinds of alternative travel we have talked about so far?
Write on board. Staycations. voluntourism. Can you think of any other examples of unique, alternative travel? Has T-Ss-T 5min
anyone heard of AirBnB?
Now we’re going to look at another example of alternative travel.

Activity 4: Couch Surfing short 4.1 Pre-Activity: Who can describe to me what a couch is? Who can show me what surfing is? Remember the last unit T-Ss-T
reading, then listening when we talked about compound nouns that we create to name new concepts? Talk with your partner about what you
think couch surfing means. Come back together and share. Has anyone ever gone couch surfing? (I believe one student
1. fill in #4, go through it has). Would you ever go couch surfing? Who in the world would come up with an idea like this. 15min
2. listen, take notes on things Talk with your partner and discuss how you think couch surfing began. Share with the class. Ss-Ss
you think are important, Now read the paragraph in orange on page 76 to see if you guessed correctly.
compare notes w partner Are you surprised?
3. give map. follow the Talk with your partner about what you think some of the challenges a couch surfer would face.
directions, marking If I’m visiting Brazil for the first time, finding my way to Nina’s house from the airport could be very challenging. Talk with T-Ss-T
 important things
Language Focus: Receiving
directions-what’s important? Notes
and key things to listen for
Assessment / Outcome: Students
can listen to directions and take
notes that will help them
successfully arrive after they hang
up.
Activity 5: You’ll be the host
your partner about a time when you asked for directions in NYC? Do you remember what was said? It’s important to
know how to listen to directions and remember them. Now we’re going to listen to a recording of a host calling the couch
surfer who will stay with him to give him directions.
4.2 Activity: Listen to #4 on page 76, asking students to fill in the blanks for #4. Go over them. Address by bus, by train,
by plane, on foot, by car…
possibly mention If I get held up, I’ll…..1st conditional. if+simple present, will+base. possible future action or situation 20-
Sometimes talking on the phone can be challenging because we don’t have the nonverbal cues we sometimes rely on T-Ss-T 25min
because can’t see the other person. Getting directions over the phone can be even more difficult. Have you asked for
directions over the phone? What did you do to help yourself remember where to go?
Now we’re going to listen again, but this time I want you to take notes as if you were the couch surfer and you needed
these directions to arrive at your host’s house.
Listen again with students taking notes. Compare notes with your partner and see if you took the same notes.
What kinds of notes did you take? We’re going to listen to it one more time, but this time I’m going to give you a map. It’s
your job to follow the route the host gives you, marking any important places with an X and writing any other important
notes.
4.3 Post-Activity: Have you ever given directions to someone who was coming to your house? Are the directions you T-Ss-T 10min
would give to your NYC home the same kinds of directions as you would give if someone came to your country? Do people
give directions in the same way? Draw on students cultures-in Costa Rica there are no house numbers. Everything is
described by landmarks.
Transition: You may never couch surf, but it’s always possible that Google Maps will fail us and we need to ask for real T nil
live directions. Now we’re going to practice getting and giving directions, because that’s a very important skill to have no
matter where you are
5.1 Pre-Activity: When you go home to visit your country, how do you get home from the airport? What about when you
fly back to NYC? When you go home from class?
Maybe none of you will go couch surfing in real life, but we’re going to pretend to be a couch surfer and a host right here
in NYC. Take a few minutes to think about two ways you can tell that couch surfer to get to your place/house from the T-Ss-T 5-
airport (or TC if the airport is too confusing...play it by ear). Look at the vocabulary on page 76, #4, and try to incorporate 10min
that into your interactions, being clear and detailed enough but not overwhelming (Language focus for host)
When you’re listening for directions, whether in person or on the phone, what can you say when you didn’t understand
where their directions? Write on board (this will be the language focus of the couch surfer). When you need clarification
or have a question? To show you understand? If you don’t understand, but you say things that indicate you do, what
happens?
Before we start, let’s talk about some prepositions. Use map to ask If I want you to go this way on Kings Street, what
could I say?
 Turn right on Kings Street
If I should use a bus to get there, what could you tell me?
Get on/off a/the bus

Language Focus: Giving/listening to 5.2 Activity:

directions
I’m sorry, could you repeat that?
I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.
Repeating the statement with a
rising intonation for confirmation
mhmm, okay, got it, etc
Now we are going to do an interaction line style activity where partner A is the host first and partner B is the couch surfer.
Partner A is the taller person in the pair. Partner B has never been to your house. What will they need to do? Partner B
calls the host to find out how to get there. Let’s practice. How can I get to TC from here? What directions would you give Ss-Ss 20-
me? I take notes on the board, modeling notes and asking for confirmation. Then I ask them if I understood correctly. 25min
Now it’s their turn.
Partner A will explain two ways of getting there and partner B will take notes as if they were going to use them to arrive
when they get to NYC. What can you say when you didn’t understand the directions? repeat it or confirm you understood
correctly. Then Partner B will compare notes with Partner A to see if they understood correctly. Switch roles.
Time permitting, have them actually call each other from opposite sides of the room for the last one-real life practice.

Assessment / Outcome: Students 5.3 Post-Activity: Do you know how to get to your partners house? What were the key notes/things/turns/directions.
can successfully direct someone Do you find this useful? What’s something you can use/try out next time you ask for directions? When giving directions? T-Ss-T 5min
from TC to their house (or We’ll come back to the prepositions we use when giving directions in the next unit.
somewhere else if they don’t want
anyone to know where they live)
and successfully receive directions

Wrap-up Now let’s practice noticing errors, like we talked about yesterday, and see if we can identify and explain the errors here.
Talk with your partner. Error correction on the board: write a few key sentences/phrases with grammatical errors I T-Ss-T 10min
heard, a few pronunciation issues, ask students to talk with a partner to determine where the error is and why it should
be changed.
Just like yesterday, we did a lot today. Can you believe the test is tomorrow? What did we talk about today? We’ll do an
activity that brings alllll of unit 6 together first thing tomorrow, then we’ll have time for you to ask any questions/review,
and the test will be the last part of class.
What’s one thing we learned/reviewed this week that you want to practice today? Tell your partner.

T assigns the following for homework: Review for the test. You can complete pages 34-38 for practice. I’ll send the
answers, then we can answer any questions you may have before the test.

Materials:
● Dry-erase markers and eraser
● Benefits of voluntourism paper-Ss read to see volunteerism from a positive light
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6noWoS6QXw-Ss watch to see volunteerism from a negative light
● Map handout-to use during the listening activity.

Anticipated Problems & Suggested Solutions:

 ● The voluntourism activity has the potential to go very long, so try to keep it focused
● Some students may not know how to give directions at all, in which case we’ll have to go back to the beginning and explain elements of direction-giving.

Contingency Plans:
● Finishing early – If more than 10min, try giving directions from an airport to their house in their country. Think of your favorite spot in NYC. Try giving directions from your
house or TC to your favorite place. If less than 10 min, discuss the final presentation-teaching us something
● Running out of time – Only have students give directions to their house once or twice.