Valentine's Day ESL Lesson Plan

OBJECTIVE & OVERVIEW

This Valentine's Day ESL lesson plan contains activities, worksheets, and digital materials for pre-intermediate A2 - B1 students. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to use the past simple to describe a Valentine's Day or another special day they experienced. They will also learn some important Valentine's Day vocabulary and gifts in the lesson and be able to use it in context.

PREVIEW & DISCUSSION

In this first phase of this Valentine's Day ESL lesson plan, students discuss some questions about Valentine's Day. Then, there are some images that students match Valentine's Day vocabulary words to. They use these vocabulary words to make sentences about Valentine's Day.

VIDEO & LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Students watch a video of twins playing and singing a song about Valentine's Day. In the video, one of the twins has a valentine (as she refers to as a "bae"), while her twin sister is without a valentine. They talk about what their Valentine's Day looks like with and without their "bae". In the first lesson activity, students match sentences with the correct Merrell twin. In the second activity, they fill in the missing song lyric they hear. 

DISCUSSION & PAST SIMPLE

This section of the lesson plan on Valentine's Day involves some follow-up discussion about the twins' experience of Valentine's Day, as well as some ideas for Valentine's Day gifts. Then, there is an activity for students to choose which song lyrics are written in the past simple. There are some questions students answer about the use of the past simple in the song lyrics. The final activity on this page features a dialogue. The theme of the dialogue is one person asking another about their Valentine's Day using the past simple. In the activity, students fill in the correct form of the past simple, depending on whether it's a question or a negated sentence.

PAST SIMPLE CHAT CHALLENGE: TALK ABOUT A SPECIAL DAY

In this "Past Simple Chat Challenge" activity, students pick a memorable day, like Valentine's Day, a birthday or holiday, and describe what happened. It can be a day they actually experienced, or an imaginary one. Then, they take turns pretending it's the day after and ask each other questions about their experiences using the past simple tense. This activity provides a fun way to practice the past simple and share stories.

Benefits of using this Valentine's Day ESL lesson plan:

Engaging Music Video: The inclusion of the song adds an interactive and engaging dimension to the lesson, capturing students' attention and interest in the topic of Valentine's Day.

Grammar Practice: The activities focusing on past simple tense usage provide valuable practice in applying grammar in context, helping develop students' understanding and proficiency in this aspect of English grammar.

Interactive Role-Play: The "Past Simple Chat Challenge" activity promotes interactive communication and collaboration among students as they engage in role-play scenarios, encouraging peer interaction and language exchange.