Learn the names of the different parts of the body
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Week of Sept. 28/26
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Lesson plan overview
| Task | To learn the names of some parts of the body |
| CLB level | CLB Stage I (CLB 1-3) |
| Delivery method | Online |
| Class size | 10-15 students (vary the number of activities according to your class size) |
| Estimated time | 1.5 to 3 hours (depending on class size and whether you complete the activities in all parts of the lesson) |
| CLB Skills and Competencies | Speaking: Interacting with others Sharing information Listening: Interacting with others Comprehending information Reading: Comprehending information |
| Language focus | Learn the vocabulary needed to understand this topic. Learn the vocabulary needed to describe some problems with specific parts of the body. Complete the optional “Building Sentences” activities below to help your students move from understanding vocabulary to using that vocabulary to create simple sentences. Use the appropriate grammar structures and vocabulary to respond personally to the reflection questions. (Encourage students to respond in full sentences.) |
| Cultural focus | Students discuss the importance of healthy eating and exercise. |
| Specific task learning objectives | Students learn vocabulary for many parts of the body. Students learn ways to describe problems with various parts of the body. |
| ESL Directions original video (🎥) and audio (🔊) activities? | This lesson plan includes video (🎥) and audio (🔊) activities. |
| Resource attribution | ESL Directions original resources are marked below with an asterisk (*). Feel free to use these, but please give credit to ESL Directions. |
Part A: Vocabulary acquisition and practice
This is a self-contained, complete lesson plan (about 1.5 hours) focused on vocabulary.
Part B: Building sentences
Part B takes your students further by giving them some tools to build simple sentences (using the vocabulary they learned in Part A).
Use Part B if you want to focus on sentence production, teach for a longer time (1 to 1.5 additional hours), or break your lesson into two related parts.
Part C: Reflection Questions
These questions work at the end of either part A or B.
Lesson plan
Part A: Vocabulary acquisition and practice
Warm-up: Introducing the topic and defining our terms
- Today, we’re going to talk about parts of the body.
- What is a body?
- Can you name some parts of the body?
Skill-building activities
- Body parts: Match the image and word*
- Identifying parts of the body* (Video.) 🎥
Skill-using activities
- Guess the parts of the body* (Click on the stars to see the answers.)
- Parts of the body: Labelling activity*
- What can go wrong?* (For your more advanced students who want to explore the correct phrases for problems with parts of the body.)
Assessment/review tasks
- Open the box*
- Speaking cards* (Ask students to tell you where each part of the body is and what they know about that part of the body. If you’ve completed the “What can go wrong?” activity above, ask them to describe a possible problem with each body part.)
Part B: Building sentences
Warm-up: Introducing the topic
In this part of the lesson, we’re going to work on creating short sentences from the vocabulary we learned in Part A.
Skill-building and skill-using activities
Verb tenses
English uses verbs (action words) to talk about the past, present, and future.
Today, we’re going to talk about the present simple of the verb “to have.” This verb tense describes things that are usually true, happen often, or that are part of your daily life or routine.
- Learn the present simple form of the verb “to have”*
- Present simple verb tense of “to have” explainer* (A more detailed explanation that you can teach in class or send home with your students.)
Parts of speech
What is a noun? What is a singular noun? What is a plural noun?
Most nouns become plural by adding an “s” at the end, but some nouns are a bit trickier!
- Fill in the plural nouns*
- Singular and plural noun explainer* (A more detailed explanation that you can teach in class or send home with your students.)
Word order in English sentences
Today, we’ll also look at three important parts of English sentences.
- What is a subject?
- What is a verb?
- What is an object?
Let’s practice!
- Quick definitions: Subjects, verbs, and objects*
- Unjumble the sentences* (Try to identify the subjects, verbs, and objects in each sentence. Use these to create sentences in subject/verb/object order.)
- Create a sentence in subject/verb/object order* (Try to identify the subjects, verbs, and objects in each sentence. Use these to create sentences in subject/verb/object order.)
- Subject/verb/object explainer* (A more detailed explanation that you can teach in class or send home with your students.)
Assessment/review tasks
- A morning walk: A story about our bodies in motion*🎥 (Watch a story using the lesson vocabulary.)
Part C: Reflection questions
- Can you name three parts of the body?
- How can you take care of your body to keep healthy?
- Are there things you do to keep your body in shape?
- Are there things you would like to do to keep your body in shape?
- Are healthy eating and exercise important in your home countries?
- Note: If you can see all of your students in an online class, play a game of “Simon Says,” using the parts of the body discussed during the lesson.
RELATED PAGES
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Keep readingHEALTH YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
Click on the small right arrow at the top of this video to watch the videos or go to the YouTube Health Playlist.
HEALTH WORDWALL ACTIVITIES
Wordwall is a very useful interactive lesson-creation site. If you sign up for a free Wordwall account, you will be able to see our “Health” folder, which includes ESL Directions activities that you can add to your lessons.
ABOUT ESL DIRECTIONS
Kathy Garnsworthy, the creator of ESL Directions, is an ESL teacher, movie buff, constant reader, and former editor and communications pro. Now a graduate of the Teaching English as a Second Language program at the University of Manitoba and an ESL teacher in Edmonton, Alberta, she specializes in teaching online classes of beginner ESL students.
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