Solar eclipses and other natural phenomena
Lesson plan overview
This ESL lesson plan is dedicated to solar eclipses, and the total solar eclipse that occurred on April 8, 2024, as well as other natural phenomena. Students will learn expressions to talk about things that amaze and impress them, will talk about natural phenomena, and will learn a few irregular plurals. You might also like the lessons “Travel destinations” and “Winter festivals“.
The lesson starts with a few discussion questions about solar eclipses. After that, students learn vocabulary relevant to solar eclipses (e.g. totality, total solar eclipse, path of totality, eclipse glasses, solar corona). Students match the words to their definitions.
Video: Students watch a video called “Millions gather to watch solar eclipse” and answer 8 comprehension questions. Then, they engage in a post-listening discussion.
Next, students look at different natural phenomena (e.g. the Northern Lights, meteor shower, rainbow) and answer a few questions.
Functional language: Students learn different expressions they can use to talk about things that amaze them (e.g. I’m in awe, it’s mind-blowing, it’s breathtaking, it is beyond words), they look at different examples and then come up with their own sentences.
Grammar: The grammar point of this lesson is irregular plurals (e g. phenomena, bacteria, crises, dice, mice, etc.). Students need to guess which is the plural and which is the singular form of the noun. To practice, they complete 11 sentences with the correct form.
Finally, students are asked to describe a natural phenomena of their choice.
For more speaking practice, you can use the conversation cards.
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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:
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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.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
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