English Firsthand 1

Basic lesson plans
Marc Helgesen (march@mgu.ac.jp)
These plans are for 15 classes per term, covering 1/2 of the book in the term.
In most cases, it allows for two lessons per unit. These are the basic plans I wrote for my own classes. I have limited myself to activities that appear in the Students’ book or the Teacher’s Manual. In my own classes, I sometimes expand the lesson plans to include Innervoice activities (those that get the students thinking about what people – characters in the book or the students them selves are thinking). I also frequently include activities, especially warm-ups that include physical action. For a list of techniques for each, see these web pages:
Innervoice: http://www.mgu.ac.jp/~ic/helgesen2/paper2.htm
Physical: http://www.mgu.ac.jp/~ic/helgesen/physical/physical_-prehtml.htm

This is the basic format of each unit lesson:

Unit lesson one:
1. Warm-up: (10-15 minutes)
2. Listening: (20-25 minutes)
(Getting ready – 5 min., Listening task 1* (5-7 minutes). Listening task 2 (5-7 minutes), About you (5 minutes). (*Some teachers prefer to do task 1 and 2 for each item in sequence -- e.g., #1 task 1, #1 task 2, #2 task 1, #2 task 2, etc. Others prefer to do the entire task 1 before starting task 2. Either way is fine.)
3. Conversation: 10 minutes:
(Conversation practice – 5 minutes. 3-Minute task – 5 minutes [if time permits, have them change partners and do the 3-minute task again].
In the Student’s book, the 3-minute conversation task does not appear unit 6. In these lesson plans, a possible task is given from Unit 1. You’ll need to decide when you want to introduce the feature. (Before unit 6, just write it on the board.
4. Duet: (pairwork) 30-40 minutes
a. pronunciation work with Language map (3-5 minutes)
b. Instructions and “Plan ahead” time (2-3 minutes – (note that the last 3 tracks on the Classroom CD have background music to use during “Plan ahead”.
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Language Check

Unit lesson two:
1. Warm-up: (10-15 minutes)
2. Conversation: 10 minutes:
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson OR
Go directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
3. Ensemble (groupwork) 30-40
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page.)
OR
4. Expansion: (remaining time – These usually take 10-20 minutes. If you don’t have that much time, it is usually better to use on or more of the “Finished, choose one” tasks.). COPY means there is photocopiable material in the Teacher’s Manual that needs to be copied before class. If the word
COPY does not appear, no copies are needed.
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Solo

Note that complete lesson plans, including a “teacher’s script” appear in the Teacher’s Manual. They are not repeated here. A section called options and variations appears after each lesson plan in the Teacher’s Manual.
Because so many students are “false beginners” – those who have studied for years and have a lot of knowledge of English but haven’t used it much – some teachers like to have them do the “homework pages” (Language Check and Solo) early, to have them “activate” the language they have studied before. In that case, Language Check is usually done before the first lesson on a given unit. Solo is done before the second. Note that both pages can be done on-line at www.efcafe.com. Students can check the activities themselves and print them out already corrected. In these lesson plans, the Language Check and Solo are assigned to correspond to their positions in the Student’s Book.

There are also Self-study cloze exercises in the Teacher’s Manual. These make use of the listening exercises on the Student CD. Some teachers assign these as homework. Others use them for extra credit work. They are on pages SS1-6 (SS = Self-Study) in the Teacher’s Manual.
If you want to use the quizzes (see “unit tests” in the Teacher’s Manual, EV pages), do them after the warm-up in the class following the completion of a unit. It probably means you will have to move the listening to the following class (which may mean eliminating the expansion due to lack of time).
Doing regular quizzes rather than and end of term tests means students have to study throughout the semester rather than just at the end. Some teachers find giving quizzes about every other unit provides enough information for grades, especially when combining scores with other data (homework, attendance, speaking tasks, etc. See Teacher’s Manual page EV2).
In these lesson plan, activity types and names are written blue, homework is is purple and tasks that need to be copied before class are in pink. Other notes and explanations are in black. The color coding is to make it easier to scan the lesson plan during class. Page numbers from the Teacher’s Manual indicate the type of page: p.T1 (T= Teacher’s notes page 1 – the page opposite the Student book page 1. CO1 = Classroom Orientation page 1 (these are special notes about using the CD and www.efcafe.com. SS1= Self-Study page 1, TS1 = Task Sheet 1 (Task sheets are the photocopiable expansion tasks for each unit), EV1 = Evaluation page 1. Page numbers with not special code are from the Student’s Book.
I hope you find these lesson plans useful and that you and your students enjoy using English, firsthand.
Marc Helgesen


Class 1
Unit zero goal: The students will:
• meet their classmates and the teacher
• talk about their reasons for studying English
• talk about ways the can and will work on improving their English.
• find out about class requirements/expectations.
Unit Zero lesson:
1. Warm-up: Find someone who, p.8.
2. Getting started – Thinking about your learning, ,p.9.
3. It’s up to you, p.10
Hint: See the variation expansion activity on Teacher’s Manual, p.T10. The photocopiable version of the activity is on page TS15.
4. Get to know the teacher, p.11.
Homework: Have them do the idea they decide to do on page 10.
We hope your students make use of www.efcafe.com. If they are new to the idea of using websites in English, you may want to have the do the lesson “Using efcafe.com” from copiable pages C0 01-02 in the Teacher’s Manual. COPY
We hope you’ll join the Teachers’ discussion page of efcafe.com, too!
In my own classes, I have students keep an “It’s up to you” log. It is a report of what they do outside of class. I collect the logs about once a month. I give extra points for outside of class activities. Here is the top part of the log I use (the boxes with space to write are copied and cover most of both sides of a piece of paper.). If this is useful, please copy or modify it for your students.
It’s up to you learning log.
Name Student number:
Please try to do (at least) one “It’s up to you” activity each week (see page 10) for each class
Write • When you did it, • what you did and • your feelings/ideas about it.
When: What you did: Feeling/ idea:
(example) Went to karaoke with my friends. This was really fun.
Sang 3 songs in English: I’ll do this again
4/12 Yesterday, Top of the world, and again.
one more (forgot the name)
Talk to myself in English. This got easier
Mon-Thurs On the bus I looked out the window. I each day. Good
4/14-17 said the names of things (silently). practice.
1
(etc.)

Class 2
Unit 1 goal: The students will introduce themselves and find out about classmates
Unit 1 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: An introduction to remember. Teacher’s Manual, p.T8 and TS0
2. Listening: Meeting new people.
Getting ready
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs.
3. Conversation: At a party
a. Conversation practice
b. 3-Minute conversation task. Write the following on the board:
Close you book.
Have a conversation. English only.
Introduce yourself.
c. Have them do this with several partners.
4. Duet: Personal information
a. pronunciation (Stress that pronunciation work is not just mechanical practice. Learners need to be able to hear pronunciation “in their minds” before they can say it correctly. That’s the reason for the “repeat silently” step.)
b. Instructions and “Plan ahead” time (Classroom CD tracks 53-55 have background music to use here.)
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 1. Solo. Do step 2 on a separate sheet of paper, not in the book.

Class 3
Unit 1 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: Use the homework (Solo) as the warm-up. Collect the papers. Redistribute them. Students need to stand and circulating, asking questions to find the owner. (Students may need to cover up their names). When they find the writer, they ask more follow-up questions. Then they give the paper back to you, get another one and continue.
OR What’s that mean? Teacher’s Manual, p.T12
2. Conversation: At a party
Conversation variation: See the innervoice activity suggested in the Teacher’s manual variation, p.T14
3. Ensemble Cave art.
If possible, you might want to bring large sheets of paper (A3 or B4) to give students more room to draw.
If the students are good at drawing, it is useful to not allow erasers. Students want the pictures perfect so they take too long. Cave art should be simple.
5. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page. Especially notice the back-of-the-book task My name is special, p.120).
OR 4. Expansion: Personal Information Survey, Teacher’s Manual, p.T14 and p.TS1. COPY
V. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 1, Language Check (in this unit, the order of homework is reversed so you can use the Solo for the class 3 warm-up.
Optional: Have them bring a photo of their family next class.

Class 4
Unit 2 goal: The students will practice
• describing people (physical appearance and personality)
• talking about their families
Unit 2 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Use the Getting Ready, p.20, as a warm-up. Follow-up by having them think of people I the room. They describe them using three of the words. Partners guess.
2. Listening: Describing people.
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Students see if they can remember the questions by looking at their answers.
You may want to make copies “Using the English Firsthand CD on your own. “ page C03-4. There are also short Self Study cloze practice activities (SS1-6) They can be assigned as homework or for extra credit.
3. Conversation: Do you want to see some pictures of my family?
a. Conversation practice
b. Write the following on the board:
3-Minute conversation task.
Close you book.
Have a conversation. English only.
Tell about your family. If you brought a picture, use it.
c. Have them talk with several partners.
3. Duet: Bank robbers.
IV. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 2. Language Check

Class 5
Unit 2 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: Take a good look. Teacher’s Manual pages T24 and TS2. COPY.
2. Conversation: Do you want to see some pictures of my family?
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson OR
Go directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
Conversation variation: Have them use real pictures of their families. If pictures are not available, have them draw a quick illustration. (Stick figures are fine).
3. Ensemble : Tell us about your family.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page. Especially notice the back-of-the-book task Family Tree ESP, p.120).
OR 4. Expansion: Blindfold descriptions. Get blindfolds for half the class. Half the students are blindfolded. They each get a partner – someone who they do not know. That partner describes his or her family (like they did with the ensemble). Then the blindfolded partner says what he/she imagines the speaker looks like. Then they check. Change partner and the other person has a turn. (This sounds strange but it is a great activity!)
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 2, Solo

Class 6
Unit 3 goal: The students will talk about:
• routines
• how often they do things.
Unit 3 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Use the Getting ready, p.28 as the warm-up. You might want to give students large sheets of paper (A3 or B4) and magic markers. After they write as many verbs as they can in pairs, they join another pair to compare lists.
2. Listening: Talking about daily activities.
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs.
3. Conversation: What are you doing tonight?
a. Conversation practice
b. Write the following on the board:
3-Minute conversation task.
Close you book.
Have a conversation. English only.
Tell about your schedule this weekend.
c. If time permits, have them talk with several partners.
4. Duet: How often?
The pronunciation task serves two purposes. It helps learners practice pronunciation. It also focuses them on the forms they will need to do this task. A couple minutes of practice can make it possible for them to notice the structures they’ll need for the main task.
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 3. Language Check

Class 7
Unit 3 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: Frequency circle game. Teacher’s Manual, p.T28. (I used stuffed animals when I do this. Stuffed animals don’t bounce away when missed.)
2. Conversation: What are you doing tonight.
Conversation variation: They are on the phone. Have the students stand back-to-back.
3. Ensemble : Talking about yourself.
Encourage l—o—n—g answers, extra information and follow-up questions. The ability to “keep going” in English is what separates good speakers from weak ones.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page.)
OR
4. Expansion: Discussion round, Teacher’s Manual, p.T32 and p.TS3. COPY.
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 3, Solo

Class 8
Unit 4 goal: The students will
• describe household objects
• state locations.
Unit 4 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: I remember. Start of have the student look at the front of the room for 30 seconds. Then ask them to close their eyes. Ask questions about the room. What can they remember? (How many colors of chalk are there? Where is the light switch? What colors are the books on my desk? etc.). Then have them work in pairs. The face each other (if there happen to be windows on both sides of the room, have partners face opposite windows. They look at their wall and out the windows for about a minutes, trying to remember everything. Then the switch seats. Partners quiz them about what they saw.
2. Listening: Describing locations
Getting ready
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs.
3. Conversation Can you help me?
a. Conversation practice
b. Write the following on the board:
3-Minute conversation task.
Close you book.
Have a conversation. English only.
Tell about a mistake you made.
4. Duet: What’s the difference?
a. pronunciation work with language map
b. Instructions and “Plan ahead” time
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 4. Language Check

Class 9
Unit 4 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: Chinese characters (you’ll need toothpicks) OR Kim’s game. (no preparation needed)Teacher’s Manual, p.T40.
2. Conversation: Can you help me?
Conversation variation: Have the students stand and act the conversation out as they practice. Use a book for the bowl that is dropped.
3. Ensemble : A special place
As students imagine, you may want to use background music (Classroom CD tracks XX-XX).
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page.)
OR
4. Expansion: Which picture? Teacher’s Manual, p.T38 and p.TS4. COPY.
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 4, Solo
If you haven’t had time to do It’s up to you lately, today would be a good time to review it. These strategies only work if students do them regularly.

Class 10
Unit 5 goal: The students will practice
• giving and understand directions
• describing places in their area
Unit 5 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Where’s the bank rhythm chant (Like a Jazz Chant) Teacher’s Manual, p.T44 and p.TS5. COPY
2. Listening: Giving directions.
Getting ready
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Ask follow-up questions.
3. Conversation; Is there a bookstore near here?
a. Conversation practice
Conversation variation: Do a gesture for each line.
b. Write the following on the board:
3-Minute conversation task.
Close you book.
Have a conversation. English only.
Give your partner direction to your house (or another place you like)
4. Duet: How do I get to…?
If at all possible, get or make copies of a map of the area the students live or study in. Have them think of places and give their partners directions. Partners guess the places. (The Internet can be a good source of maps. Go to www.google.com and search for “(place name) map”.
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 5. Language Check


1.Warm-up.Option 1: Have them review the Slap game from page 60.
Option 2: Compliments Write a few compliments on the board.
You’ve got a beautiful smile.
You are really good at English.
That’s a beautiful shirt.
Your handwriting is so neat.
You are always on time.
Your are really smart.
You’re a really nice person.
That bag is really cool.
Students work in groups of 4-5. If possible, they sit in a circle. Tell them to think of one true, nice thing they can say to each partner. Then they say the sentences. The partner being complimented simply says, “Thank you.”
(This is a positive self-esteem exercise –always a good idea just before a test. This might seem silly or simplistic. But try it. It feels great [and too bad we often think saying something nice is a simplistic waste of time.])
2. Semester test, Teacher’s Manual, photocopiable page EV16-17. COPY
3. You may want students to correct their own or a partner’s test. If you have an OHP available, you may want to make transparencies of the Answer Key on pages EV 18-29.
Please collect the test after students take it. If students keep copies of the test, it is difficult for teachers to use the same test in other classes.
4. If students didn’t talk about It’s up to you – p.65 – during the last class, this would be a good time to do so.
If you were giving quizzes throughout the semester, you may not need to give the semester test. For suggestions of what to do with the final class, see the ideas suggested for lesson 15 (the last class of first semester).
I hope these lessons were useful to you. If you have suggestions, I would love to hear from you. Email me at the address below.
Marc Helgesen march@mgu.ac.jp

English Firsthand 1

Basic lesson plans

Class 11
Unit 5 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: Review: Where’s the bank rhythm chant Teacher’s Manual, p.T44 and p.TS5. COPY. Because chants are like a cross between a drill and a song, they are easy to learn. And this one contains most of the language they need for directions.
2. Ensemble : My city.
This is a match game. To do as a competitive game, they get 1 point for each partner who lists the same answer as they do. The person with the most points has the most universal ideas. The person with the least has the most original answers. To do as a cooperative game, just have them compare answers. It is a good idea to have them give reasons.
3.Duet review – How do I get to…
Review the “language map” from the Duet page. then have them continue practicing giving directions in their own city.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page.)
OR
4. Expansion: Teacher’s Manual expansions: Directions with your eyes closed, p.T46 or My neighborhood, p.T47.
6. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 5, Solo

Class 12
Unit 6 goal: The students will talk about past experiences.
Unit 6 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Your past. Teacher’s Manual, p.T56 and p.TS6 COPY
2. Listening: Talking about past activities.
Getting ready
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs.
3. Conversation: How was your weekend?
a. Conversation practice
b. 3-Minute conversation task. (This is the first time the book introduces this task. If you haven’t been using the ones from these lesson plans, introduce the idea here).
4. Duet: Where did you go?
This is really a mind-map. We strongly suggest you draw your own mind-map on the board and talk about a vacation you took. Students will understand the idea of mind-mapping easily.
5. If time permits, have students change partners and talk about their vacation again.
Homework: Unit 6. Language Check

Class 13
Unit 3 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: D-I-Y F-S-W (Do It Yourself Find Someone Who), Teacher’s Manual, p.T52
2. Conversation: How was your weekend?
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson ORGo directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
Conversation variation: Have students practice in groups of 3: A, B and “the human recording.” Only “the recording” has his/her book open. He/she whispers the lines to the other partners.
3. Ensemble : Tell about a time.
• Encourage l—o—n—g answers, extra information and follow-up questions.
• An alternative way do Step 1: Plan ahead is to have the students rate each question by drawing a face in the circle: J = interesting, K= so-so, L = not interesting. Then they do the task starting with the smiles.
5. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page. Especially notice the back-of-the-book task Invisible photo gallery, p.122).
OR
5. Expansion: Tic-tac-tense, Teacher’s Manual, p.T56.
6. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 6, Solo

Class 14
Review Unit 1 goal: The students will review vocabulary, grammar and functional language from units 1-6.
Review Unit 1 lesson:
1. Warm-up: Slap, Student Book page 60.
To give it a more game-like atmosphere, you may want to make large (A3 or B4) copies of the page. Players put the sheet in the middle of the group. COPY optional
2. Find the mistakes, p.63
3. Duet: What we’ve learned together, p.61-62
Students work through these six mini-tasks. If there are any they find difficult, those would be good ones to study before the semester test.
4. Let’s talk – a conversation game, p.64
5. It’s up to you. p.65. If students will have a vacation where they would normally not have much contact with English, it would be a good idea to focus attention of what they can be doing during the break.

Class 15 - Semester test
1.Warm-up.Option 1: Have them review the Slap game from page 60.
Option 2: Have everyone write 3-4 positive sentences about themselves:
I’m learning a lot of English.
I am really making progress.
My friends know I am kind.
I am good at trying new things.
Then they spend 1-2 minutes simply repeating the positive sentences to themselves. Or they close their eyes and a partner reads them over and over to the person who wrote it. You might want the listener to repeat the sentences. Even when the partner is reading, leave the sentences in the 1st person (“I am…” not “You are….”) (This is a positive self-esteem exercise –always a good idea just before a test.)
2. Semester test, Teacher’s Manual, photocopiable page EV16-17. COPY
3. You may want students to correct their own or a partner’s test. If you have an OHP available, you may want to make transparencies of the Answer Key on pages EV 18-29.
Please collect the test after students take it. If students keep copies of the test, it is difficult for teachers to use the same test in other classes.
4. If students didn’t talk about It’s up to you – p.65 – during the last class, this would be a good time to do so.
If you were giving quizzes throughout the semester, you may not need to give the semester test. There were probably some activities you didn’t have time for during the semester. You can do them in the final class.
OR Have students make a mind-map like the one they did on page 56. Have it be about their plans for the vacation.
OR Have them choose any activity they enjoyed during the term. They do the activity again, this time with new partners.
OR Have them choose any of the back-of-the-book Ensemble expansion activities (pp.120-122) that they didn’t do before. They do them now.
Second semester - Unit 16 lesson two:
Because this is the first class after the vacation and many students will have had limited contact with English during the break, it is aimed at “reactivating” their English. The content is their own vacation. It is almost like starting with a review activity to get their English back to the level it was before the break.
If this lesson is too open-ended or challenging for your students, skip to lesson 17. Expand one of the other units to include 3 lessons (see the idea for an “English through magic” lesson following lesson 26.

Second semester
Class 16
Unit 6
1. Warm-up: My vacation:
a. Students make a mind-map (see pages 56/57) about their vacation. They can use the pairwork page they did not use when doing unit 6.
b. Then they take a few minutes to “mentally rehearse” what they will
say about it.
c. They work in groups of 2-4. Each shows his/her mind-map and talks about the vacation. Partners ask questions.
d. If possible, have everyone change partners and explain their mind-map again. (This kind of task recycling increases fluency, complexity and, often, accuracy).

2. It’s up to you. Review the out of class practice strategies from page 10.
In pairs or small groups, they talk about:
a. What they usually do.
b. Strategies they used during the vacation
c. Strategies they want to try.
You may want to use the expansion activity described on Teacher’s Manual, p.T10.
3. Fluency workshop (This is from the Teacher’s Manual, p.T11.)
a. Write 2-3 topics on the board.
Possible topics:
The best thing I did during the vacation
The job I want
My future plans
Learning English
A time I was very happy
b. Students work in pairs (AŇB).
Round 1. A speaks for two minutes.
B listens. Then B asks one (or more) question.
Then B speaks, A listens and asks questions.
c. Round 2. Change partners (AŇC).
As in round one but a 90 second time limit. They try to say the same
“mini- speech, but more quickly.
d. Round 3. Change again (AŇD).
As in round one but a 75 second time limit.
Speaking time for each round can change, but we find the 120/90/75-second time ratio to work well.
4. (If there is remaining time), Students review Let’s Talk – a conversation game, p.64. Encourage l—o—n—g answers.

Class 17
Unit 7 goal: The students will talk about:
• jobs
• skills and abilities
• work interests and preferences
Unit 7 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Jobs on their backs Teacher’s Manual, p.T66. (This is easiest if you have a roll of cellophane tape).
2. Listening: Who’s talking.
Getting ready
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs.
3. Conversation: What are you interested in?
a. Conversation practice
b. 3-Minute conversation task.
4. Duet: Who does what?
See the idea in the Teacher’s Manual, p.T69 for practicing the Language Map as if it were a rhythm chant (like a Jazz Chant). It is in the left column, next to the diamond.
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 7. Language Check

Class 18
Unit 7 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: One minute each, Student book page, 123
2. Conversation: What are you interested in?
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson OR
Go directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
Conversation variation: Write the following emotions on the board:
nervous, excited, confident, jealous, angry
Also rite this conversation:
A: By the way, you seem .
B: I guess I am.
(or) Not really, I am rather .
The students doing the part of the job seeker choose and emotion. They try to make their voices show it. Partners try to guess the emotion, using the script you wrote on the board.
3. Ensemble: What’s the job?
The pronunciation task serves two purposes. It helps learners practice pronunciation. It also focuses them on the forms they will need to do this task. A couple minutes of practice can make it possible for them to notice the structures they’ll need for the main task.
Note that the background music tracks on Classroom CD2 (tracks 66-68) are different than those on CD1. These tracks can be very useful during the Step 1: Plan ahead tasks.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page.)
OR 4. Expansion: Occupations crossword puzzle. Teacher’s Manual, p.T68 and p.TS7. COPY.
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 7, Solo

Class 19
Unit 8 goal: The students will practice:
• making, accepting and refusing invitations
• talking about preferences.
Unit 8 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Body clocks Teacher’s Manual, p.T74. To save set-up time, copy these times: COPY optional
A: 12:00, 3:30, 8:45, 7:15, 1130, 2:45, 8:15, 6:00, 10:14, 1:45
B: 3:00, 3:45, 7:30, 6:00, 3:15, 4:45, 12:15, 8:30, 9:15, 11:45
2. Listening: Getting information
Getting ready (If you did Body Clocks, above, you can skip Getting Ready)
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs.
3. Conversation: Let’s go to a movie.
a. Conversation practice
b. 3-Minute conversation task.
If an English language Entertainment guide is available for your area, make copies for the students. If not, have a short brainstorm to list movies, music and other entertainment options available. List them on the board.
4. Duet: That sounds interesting but…
The Teacher’s Manual, p.T77 gives a series of 10 questions to use for a “scanning quiz.” This is useful in getting the students familiar with the entertainment options listed in the pair work. You might want to make copies and do it in small groups. One person, the quizmaster, reads the questions. The others try to be the first to find the answers. COPY optional
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 8. Language Check

Class 20
Unit 8 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: Rock, scissors, invitations. Teacher’s Manual, p.T78.
2. Conversation: Let’s go to a movie.
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson OR
Go directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
Conversation variation: Work on intonation and stress by having the students practice the dialog in nonsense syllables. See the Teacher’s Manual, practice plan variation.
3. Ensemble: How about a movie?
Be sure students choose the time for each item during Step 1: Plan ahead. That makes finding a partner for each (someone who checked the same time) more challenging and more interesting.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page. Especially notice the back-of-the-book task Would you like to…?, p.123).)
OR 4. Expansion: Role play, Teacher’s Manual, p.T76 and p.TS7. COPY.
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 8, Solo

Class 21
Unit 9 goal: The students will talk about future plans, events and predictions.
Unit 9 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Around the world, A to Z. Teacher’s Manual, p.T86 and TS9. COPY optional. If you don’t want to bother with copies, just write the target form on the board. I usually have student stand a face each other. They slap hands with each round.
2. Listening: Talking about plans
Getting ready
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs. They ask follow-up questions.
3. Conversation: I’ll probably visit my parents.
c. Conversation practice
b 3-Minute conversation task.
4. Duet:
Be sure to spend some time on the language map so the students notice the forms they’ll be using. Otherwise they often just do the task using only short bits of vocabulary rather than the target structures.
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 9. Language Check

Class 22
Unit 9 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: And after that. Teacher’s Manual, p.82.
2. Conversation: I’ll probably visit my parents.
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson OR
Go directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
Conversation variation: Innervoice. Have them decide what the characters might really be thinking (see notes in the Teacher’s Manual).
3. Ensemble: Predictions.
We strongly suggest you actually have the student cut or tear out the cards on page 127. While it is possible to play the game without the cards, it just works much more smoothly if they have the cards to match.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page. Especially notice the back-of-the-book task In my opinion, p.124).) Or, if students haven’t tried “Free discussion in English” often, the highly personalized nature of the topic here might be a good one for them to challenge themselves.
OR
4. Expansion: You won the lottery. Teacher’s Manual, p.T84.
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 9, Solo

Class 23
Unit 10 goal: The students will
• practice shopping routines
• compare items
• talk about shopping preferences and experiences
Unit 10 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Match game, Teacher’s Manual, p.T90
2. Listening: Let’s go shopping
Getting ready
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs.
3. Conversation:
a. Conversation practice
b. 3-Minute conversation task.
Some students will do the 3-minute task as a discussion about shopping. Others will continue with a shopping role play. Either is fine.
4. Duet: Shop ‘til you drop
• You may want to copy the game board (p.94) on to a large sheet of paper to make it feel more like a board game. COPY optional.
• Since shopping language is really a set of fairly fixed forms, you’ll probably want to focus their attention on the language map for pronunciation work.
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion, or have them continue with the game, seeing how many different items they can buy (in that case, they can’t buy anything their partner has already bought. The store is “sold out.”
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 10. Language Check

Class 24
Unit 10 lesson two:
(See the note on “4.Expansion” about reordering activities if you want to use that role play)
1. Warm-up: My numbers, Teacher’s Manual, p.T96
OR Memory game. Students work in groups of 2-4. Books are closed. They see how many shopping routine phrases they can remember from the last class. Then they compare with the book (pages 92 and 93) to check for accuracy.
2. Conversation: May I help you.
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson OR
Go directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
Conversation variation: See the variation in the Teacher’s Manual. Write phrases like Pardon?, Excuse me?, Could you repeat that?, etc. on the board. Students pretend the store is very noisy so they have to ask their partner for repetition.
3. Ensemble: Shop talk.
• Encourage l—o—n—g answers, extra information and follow-up questions.
• An alternative way do Step 1: Plan ahead is to have the students rate each question by drawing a face in the circle: J = interesting, K= so-so, L = not interesting. Then they do the task starting with the smiles.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page.)
OR
4. Expansion: The shopping game. Teacher’s Manual, p.T94 and p.TS10 COPY. This is a really good shopping role play but can take quite a bit of time. If you want to use it, consider reordering the lesson plan. Do this first, then decide which of the other activities you want to/ have time to use.
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 10, Solo

Class 25
Unit 11 goal: The students will give and follow instructions.
Unit 11 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: This is how you… Teacher’s Manual, p.T100. If you don’t have time to make cards before class, have students list processes on the board (list at least 8 or 10). If you have a large class, have at least two groups work on each topic. They compare results with each other, rather than the full class.
2. Listening: Following instructions
Getting ready
Tasks 1 and 2.
About you. Compare answers in pairs.
3. Conversation: How does this work?
c. Conversation practice
b. 3-Minute conversation task.
4. Duet: Following instructions.
• If possible, provide real origami paper for this. It is easier to use that notebook paper.
• If your students know origami, have them continue with other items. Since partners will probably know how to make the items, they should focus on how to give the instructions in English.
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 11. Language Check

Class 26
Unit 11 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: Pizza toast, Teacher’s Manual, p.T98 and p.TS12.
2. Conversation: How does this work?
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson OR
Go directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
Conversation variation: Students act out the process they are talking about.
3. Ensemble: First… then…and after that
• We strongly suggest you have students cut out the process cards on page 129. The hints are sequenced form vague to specific so it is more of a game.
• You may want to copy the game (p.104) on to a large sheet of paper to make it feel more like a board game. COPY optional.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page.)
OR
4. Expansion: Really notice food, Teacher’s Manual, p.T102. This is a great activity but it takes some preparation and quite a bit of time (See the note below about using three class periods for this unit).
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 11, Solo
Three class periods for this unit?
In the note at the beginning of lesson 16 (the first lesson of second term), I suggested that if that lesson plan was too challenging for your students, you might want to expand unit 11 to include three class periods.
If you want a lesson plan that only includes items from the book, you could use this one:
1. Warm-up: Modern Art, Teacher’s Manual, p.T102
2. Conversation: How does this work.
Have them go directly to the 3-minute conversation task.
3. Expansion: Really noticing food, Teacher’s Manual, p.102 (This requires preclass teacher preparation)
4. What are you talking about?Student book p.125
However, if you want to try something very different (and a bit challenging), consider this idea.
Many discounts shops and toy stores sell magic tricks. (I live in Japan where ¥100 shops are very popular. These are similar to one-dollar shops in the USA. I checked the Internet and it seems that similar shops are popular in many countries where English Firsthand is used.).
I have classes of about 50 students so I went to a discount shop and bought 25 magic tricks. Some tricks listed the difficulty. I went with those that were “easy” through “moderate.” It isn’t important that they all be different. If there are at least five or six different tricks, that is enough. Note that they come with instructions in the learners’ first language so students can easily learn the trick. Their task is to figure out how to explain it in English.
Here is the lesson plan I use. You might want to print it out as a handout.
It’s magic
1. Work with a partner. Learn the magic trick.
2. Write the instructions in English.
Each instruction must have one of these words:
First, next, then, after (that), finally
3. Grammar check. With your partner, read your instructions again.
Check grammar, spelling, etc.
4. Practice the trick.
5. Join another pair. Show them the trick. Then teach them how to do it.

Class 27
Unit 12 goal: The students will talk about music and music-related images and eClass 27
Unit 12 goal: The students will talk about music and music-related images and experiences.
Unit 12 lesson one:
1. Warm-up: Use the Getting ready, Student book p.106 as the warm-up.. You might want to give students large sheets of paper (A3 or B4) and magic markers. After they write as many verbs as they can in pairs, they join another pair to compare lists.
2. Listening: I love that tune.
Tasks 1 and 2.
• This is a rather different type of listening. The time they are listening to the CD is mostly about imagination. The “listening to English” part comes after the second listening when thy are comparing answers.
•Encourage students to be specific. How are the products advertised? What images to the see (mentally)?
About you. Compare answers in pairs. Ask follow-up questions.
3. Conversation: What did you think of it?
a. Conversation practice
b. 3-Minute conversation task.
4. Duet: My music.
Almost everyone likes some kind of music. But if you have any students who really don’t, have them modify the questions to talk about something they are interested in (sports, food, movies, etc.).
5. If time permits, use the Challenge! (bottom of Duet page) for expansion.
Or have students do or check Language Check or Solo together.
Homework: Unit 12. Language Check

Class 28
Unit 12 lesson two:
1. Warm-up: Sounds around us, Student book ,p.125.
2. Conversation: What did you think of it.
Choice: review conversation from previous lesson OR
Go directly to the 3-Minute conversation task. They may want to do this with 2-3 different partners.
Conversation variation: Encourage students to stress the “emotion” words: great, boring, just so-so.
3. Ensemble: The soundtrack of your life.
If possible, have students change partners 2-3 times and explain what they wrote/drew each time. This “task recycling” encourages fluency, complexity and accuracy.
4. Finished? Choose one (from bottom of Ensemble page.)
OR
4. Expansion: Who wrote that, Teacher’s Manual, p.T109 and p.TS10 COPY or Fan Mail (p.T108) or Musical match game, (p.T106)
5. Last five minutes: It’s up to you (Solo page – in pairs or groups, students talk about what they are doing outside of class to improve their English.)
Homework: Unit 12, Solo

Class 29
Review Unit 2 goal: The students will review vocabulary, grammar and functional language from units 7-9.
Review Unit 1 lesson:
1. Warm-up: Slap, Student Book page 114.
To give it a more game-like atmosphere, you may want to make large (A3 or B4) copies of the page. Players put the sheet in the middle of the group. COPY optional
2. Find the mistakes, p.117
3. Duet: What we’ve learned together, p.116-117
Students work through these six mini-tasks. If there are any they find difficult, those would be good ones to study before the semester test.
4. Let’s talk – a conversation game, p.118
5. It’s up to you. p.119. If the school year is ending or students will have a vacation where they would normally not have much contact with English, it would be a good idea to focus attention on what they can be doing to maintain, improve their English after the class ends.

Class 30 - Semester test
1.Warm-up.Option 1: Have them review the Slap game from page 60.
Option 2: Compliments Write a few compliments on the board.
You’ve got a beautiful smile.
You are really good at English.
That’s a beautiful shirt.
Your handwriting is so neat.
You are always on time.
Your are really smart.
You’re a really nice person.
That bag is really cool.
Students work in groups of 4-5. If possible, they sit in a circle. Tell them to think of one true, nice thing they can say to each partner. Then they say the sentences. The partner being complimented simply says, “Thank you.”
(This is a positive self-esteem exercise –always a good idea just before a test. This might seem silly or simplistic. But try it. It feels great [and too bad we often think saying something nice is a simplistic waste of time.])
2. Semester test, Teacher’s Manual, photocopiable page EV16-17. COPY
3. You may want students to correct their own or a partner’s test. If you have an OHP available, you may want to make transparencies of the Answer Key on pages EV 18-29.
Please collect the test after students take it. If students keep copies of the test, it is difficult for teachers to use the same test in other classes.
4. If students didn’t talk about It’s up to you – p.65 – during the last class, this would be a good time to do so.
If you were giving quizzes throughout the semester, you may not need to give the semester test. For suggestions of what to do with the final class, see the ideas suggested for lesson 15 (the last class of first semester).
I hope these lessons were useful to you. If you have suggestions, I would love to hear from you. Email me at the address below.

Marc Helgesen march@mgu.ac.jpxperiences.