Blizzard ESL Lesson Plan

OBJECTIVE & OVERVIEW

This ESL lesson plan on blizzards provides activities, worksheets, and digital materials tailored for intermediate B1 students. By the end of this lesson, students will understand the impacts of blizzards and other extreme weather events. Students will also be able to use the present perfect simple to describe past weather events with an impact on the present.

PREVIEW & DISCUSSION

This ESL lesson plan about blizzards starts by students discussing questions about blizzards. They’ll explore what blizzards are, how to stay safe and prepare for blizzards, as well as any personal experiences with blizzards. Then, students explore the impacts of blizzards on different parts of a city or community. Finally, students match some verbs and phrases related to blizzards with their definitions. These include verbs like “shut down”, “to dig out”, and “to pound”. They make some sentences about blizzards using these vocabulary terms.

VIEWING ACTIVITY

Students watch a news report about a blizzard in California. On the weekend of March 2, 2024, over 3 meters of snow fell in the California mountains. In the video, people are interviewed and they show the impacts on transportation and local communities. In the activities, students answer some questions about the video, as well as mark what activities they did or didn’t see in the video. Finally, students choose the correct word they hear the reporter use.

DISCUSSION & GRAMMAR

In the viewing follow-up phase, students reflect on the blizzard that hit California. They analyze two quotes from the reporter in the present perfect simple tense. After that, students answer some short questions about the use of the present perfect simple and its structure. The main function in the video is to describe past events with an impact on the present. Then there are some sentences about weather impacts. In them, students must choose the correct verb and form the present perfect simple.

WEATHER STORIES: DESCRIBING THE IMPACTS

In this activity, students explore the impacts of extreme weather events. In the firs step , they choose a weather event such as a blizzard, thunderstorm, flood, heatwave, or wildfire. In the second step, they write sentences describing the effects of the chosen weather event in the area. Finally, in Step 3, students take on roles as a local resident and a weather reporter. They engage in a role-play scenario where the resident describes the impacts of the weather event, while the reporter asks questions to gather information.

There are some additional weather discussion questions as a second option. These questions are in the present perfect simple and explore students’ own experiences with the weather.

BENEFITS OF USING THIS BLIZZARDS ESL LESSON PLAN

Engaging Topic: The lesson plan is likely to engage students because it shows a detailed report of a blizzard, which is an interesting topic and can capture students' interest and encourage active participation.

Grammar Focus: Through the analysis of quotes and grammar exercises related to the present perfect simple tense, students gain a deeper understanding of grammar structures while also learning how to describe past events with present relevance.

Critical Thinking: Activities such as exploring the impacts of extreme weather events require students to think critically and analytically about cause-and-effect relationships.