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New Year is coming, and so do the wishes and resolutions that come with it! Encourage your students to express their resolutions for the year to come, while broadening their vocabulary and practising speaking skills!
New Year’s Resolutions: Turn them into a lesson!
LESSON PLAN
Aims:
– Improve speaking skills
– Practice grammar tenses
– Expand vocabulary
Level: B2-C2
Age group: 11-18
Pre-activity questions
Brainstorm with your students about New Year celebrations and resolutions. Here are some questions to consider:
– Is there anything you want to accomplish this year?
– Is it common for people in your country to create New Year’s resolutions?
– How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve in your country? Are there any traditions that your family follows?
Learn about New Year celebrations around the world!
– Write this quote on the board: Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.’ Yehuda Berg
Write the words of the sentence above in a mixed order and have students put them in the correct one. Once the sentence is formed, brainstorm together in the class about the power of words, their importance in our everyday interactions and how they can influence our mindset.
Main activities
Find the verbs in a printable pdf form here.
Activity 1: Making a story!
Hand the students the photocopy of the verbs. Ask your students to make a circle and each one should say a sentence that will form a story. The sentence should include at least one of the verbs from the photocopy. The goal is to use all the verbs from the list to craft a story. At the same time, write the sentences on the board so that, in the end, the students can see the story in its complete form.
Tip: Set a time limit for each student. It can vary from 1-2 minutes, depending on how much time the lesson lasts.
Activity 2: Discussion time!
Discuss in class what each student has accomplished throughout the year and what s/he considers a major accomplishment for her/him. Later in pairs or small groups, students should write their new year’s resolutions in a paper using the verbs above as an inspiration. Each photocopy can be posted on the well to act as a reminder for their new year’s resolutions.
A fun twist in this activity could be to ask students to guess what the resolutions of another fellow student could be!
Post-activity questions
Here are some questions to consider:
– Do you believe that resolutions are helpful?
– Do you follow the resolutions you set?
– How would you describe a good year?
