Is a vegan diet the best?
Lesson plan overview
This intermediate ESL lesson plan will encourage your students to discuss diets, with a focus on a vegan diet. It’s great to teach in January to present your students with the Veganuary challenge. Other interesting food related lessons are: “Superfoods”, and “Idioms: eating and drinking”. In the lesson the topic of climate change is also touched upon, and other related lessons are: “Stop food waste”, “Climate refugees”, and “Earth Day”.
The lesson starts with a few conversation questions about different diets. Then, students take a look at a list of different diets and discuss what they know about each one. Next, they read descriptions of each diet and match the diets to the correct description. After that they discuss a few conversation questions.
Vocabulary: There are 2 vocabulary activities to introduce key vocabulary related to vegan diets (e.g. plant-based, meatless, vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, factory farming, nutrient deficiency). To practice, students complete 6 questions with the correct word,and ask and answer the questions in pairs or small groups. Students then brainstorm different things related to veganism (e.g. factors that may influence someone’s decision to adopt a vegan diet, potential nutrient deficiencies, and new products that are being introduced as a result of the growing popularity of vegan diets).
Listening: Students watch 2 videos. The first one, called “What if everyone in the world went vegan?” deals with the environmental aspect of veganism. The second one, called “Vegans vs meat-eaters: who will live longer?” deal with the purely nutritional aspect of vegan diets.
Finally, students engage in a post-listening discussion about veganism.
For more speaking practice, and to review key vocabulary from this lesson, you can use the printable conversation cards.
Unlock these resources with one of our subscription plans
Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Pre-class activities
All video-based ESL lesson plans include online pre-class activities, which are FREE and can be completed without registration. Perfect for teachers who wish to embrace the blended learning approach. By providing students with resources and engagement opportunities before the actual class session, educators can foster active participation, enhance comprehension, and optimise in-class discussions.
The pre-class activities are optional: if you choose not to assign them, or your students don’t complete them, it will not disturb the flow of the class. You can find and review the pre-class activities for this lesson plan here:
To send the pre-class activities to your students, copy the link below.
In-class activities
Additional resources
Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.
Unlock these resources with one of our subscription plans
Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Not sure yet?
Try one of our FREE lessons plans
Share this lesson plan with someone who will find it useful