OBJECTIVE & OVERVIEW

This weekend ESL lesson plan provides activities, worksheets, and digital materials for intermediate B1 students. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to describe a variety of weekend activities and learn some tips on how to have both an enjoyable and productive weekend. They will also be able to describe their weekend and what they did using the past simple tense.

PREVIEW & DISCUSSION

In the first part of this ESL lesson plan about weekends, students watch a short video of an introverted young woman spending her weekend alone. In the video, the woman’s colleague asks her how her weekend was. Then, it shows her lying in bed, watching Netflix, and ignoring phone calls from others all weekend. She describes this type of weekend as “great”. Students react to this video, and use some adjectives to describe it. Students proceed to think and talk about the most recent weekend. They share what they did and use adjectives to describe it.

In the next part of the preview, students think about and discuss their weekends. They discuss their preferences, such as whether they prefer to be lazy or productive, or to sleep in or wake up early. There is a third part in which students match some phrases to images. Some of these images include people running errands, doing chores, and setting alarms. They talk about which of these activities they do on the weekends.

VIEWING ACTIVITY

In this part of the lesson, students watch a video of a young woman, Rachel, talking about how she spent her weekend. She gives some tips on how you can have an enjoyable and productive weekend. In the video, you can see her doing activities with her partner, Dan. Some of her activities include doing chores, waking up early, and going to the gym for a workout.

In the activities, students match the 5 tips Rachel recommends for a productive and enjoyable weekend. These tips include having a digital detox and making a to-do list. In the second part, students answer some questions about the video.

DISCUSSION & GRAMMAR

In the viewing follow-up phase, students discuss some questions. For example, they discuss how similar or different their typical weekend is to Rachel's.

The next two parts of this section focus on the past simple tense. Students write both questions and answers in the past simple about Rachel's weekend. They use some verbs according to the context. One example is:

Question: When did Rachel get up?

Answer: Rachel got up between 6 and 7 AM.

In the third part, students complete a dialogue using past simple verbs. Some of these verbs are in the irregular form. Students also get to practice asking questions in the past simple in this dialogue.

LIVING FOR THE WEEKEND: PLANNING & CHATTING

In this communicative activation "Living for the Weekend: Planning & Chatting," students get to either plan their upcoming weekend or reflect on past ones. In Option A, students write down 5-7 activities they're either obliged to do or excited about, like chores, hanging out with friends, or going to an event. Then, they take turns pretending it's Monday morning, chatting about each otherss weekend using the past simple. Students keep the chat going for a bit. In Option B, students think about and discuss memorable weekends and share what they're looking forward to for the upcoming one. This activation is all about chatting, sharing, and getting into that weekend vibe!

BENEFITS OF USING THIS ESL LESSON PLAN ABOUT THE WEEKEND

Practical Life Skills: The lesson plan helps students practice essential skills for describing weekend activities. It also helps them plan for productive and enjoyable weekends. This can prepare them for real-life situations where they need to discuss their leisure time and schedule activities.

Practical Tips for Productivity: Students benefit from practical tips provided in the video for having an enjoyable and productive weekend. It promotes personal development and self-management skills beyond language learning.

Communication Skills: The "Living for the Weekend: Planning & Chatting" activity provides a communicative platform for students to apply language skills in realistic scenarios. They are encouraged to participate actively, collaborate, and interact.