OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES

This ESL lesson plan on time and money offers engaging activities, PDF worksheets, and digital materials designed for advanced C1 students. In this lesson, students will:

• Share opinions and engage in discussion around everyday choices involving time and money.
• Learn and practice vocabulary related to well-being, priorities, and financial trade-offs.
• Watch a thought-provoking video that explores how valuing time over money can improve life satisfaction.
• Practice advanced verb patterns using key vocabulary to describe habits, tendencies, and intentions.
• Create and present a campaign that encourages time-affluent habits and personal well-being.

PREVIEW & DISCUSSION

Students begin this ESL lesson on time and money by reading and discussing two real-life decision-making scenarios involving trade-offs between time and money. They must decide which option they'd choose and explain their reasoning, reflecting on how such choices affect happiness. They then complete a set of comparative statements linking time, money, and happiness using key phrases, and analyze a series of opinion statements using nouns such as “affluence” and “outsourcing.” Finally, students discuss whether they feel more ‘time-poor’ or ‘time-affluent,’ building personal connections with the topic and laying a strong foundation for the upcoming video-based activities in this time & money ESL lesson plan.

VIEWING ACTIVITY

The video students watch features a researcher who discusses the concept of time poverty and explores how valuing time over money can lead to greater happiness and lower stress. The speaker contrasts two personality types—Taylor, who values time, and Morgan, who prioritizes money—and presents research findings on their well-being. In Part 1 of the activity, students describe these characters and summarize the study’s results. In Part 2, they identify key time management strategies discussed in the video, such as time blocking and outsourcing disliked tasks. In Part 3, students answer short questions about examples from the video, including how students on tight budgets managed to gain more time in their lives. These activities help deepen understanding of the video’s core message and introduce practical strategies for achieving time affluence.

DISCUSSION & VERB PATTERNS

Students begin this section by reflecting on their own values in relation to Taylor and Morgan’s profiles, comparing their thoughts with those shared earlier in the lesson. They then discuss the feasibility of implementing strategies like time-blocking or outsourcing in their own lives and share potential changes they could make to become more time-affluent. Next, students complete sentences using full verb pattern phrases with high-frequency C1 nouns such as “habit,” “guilty,” “tendency,” and “intent.” In the final task, students apply these phrases to their own lives, discussing how their routines, values, and behavior align with the concepts explored in the video, reinforcing both language and content understanding from this time & money ESL lesson plan.

#TRENDSETTER CHALLENGE: CRAFT YOUR WELL-BEING MESSAGE

To wrap up the lesson, students take on a creative campaign challenge where they imagine launching a viral social media movement promoting time-affluent lifestyles. Working alone, with a partner, or as a class, they select or create a hashtag such as #JoyOfMissingOut or #GratitudeGlowUp. They then write a persuasive campaign message and invent a character like ‘Taylor’ or ‘Morgan’ to serve as a relatable face for their movement. Their message must use at least two to three verb pattern phrases learned earlier in the lesson. After preparing their campaign, students present their ideas to the class and discuss how their peers' character traits or habits resonate with their own experiences. Alternatively, students can reflect more personally through five guided prompts. This creative and collaborative activity brings together vocabulary, grammar, and key ideas while encouraging self-expression.

BENEFITS OF USING THIS TIME & MONEY ESL LESSON PLAN

This time & money ESL lesson plan helps teachers engage C1 students with highly relevant themes around time, values, and well-being. It encourages meaningful conversation with real-life situations and opinion sharing. The lesson builds confidence in using advanced verb patterns in a natural and purposeful way. The activities blend critical thinking with emotional intelligence while reinforcing listening skills and vocabulary retention. Teachers get a full cycle of comprehension, discussion, grammar, and creativity in one cohesive lesson package.