Last summer: Did you have a whale of a time?

/ A2, B1, B2, Grammar training, Lesson tips, Speaking and Conversation, Teachers

A first lesson after a long summer break should be about discussing what you and your students have done since last time you met. It’s a great opportunity to exchange experiences, create a great group dynamic and revise simple past forms in positive, negative and interrogative sentences. So, here’s a quick idea for a welcome-back lesson:

Questionnaire about your last summer:

Ask your students to complete this questionnaire about their summer. Every positive answer earns a point for them.
At the end, they should award themselves with an extra point for each point which they did more than once over the summer. Here is the form:

Ask them to discuss their experiences in pairs or in open class before you move onto the next page. Once finished, you can ask them to click onto NEXT and read the evaluation of their answers. I copy the three categories here:

Did you have a great summer?

IF YOU SCORED BETWEEN 21-30, your summer was amazing. You took care of your family and friends, but you also looked for new experiences. You were open and brave and you enjoyed the moment. Now, it’s time that you tell us about your best summer moments!

IF YOU SCORED BETWEEN 11-20, your summer was not bad at all, you did some great things, but did not adventure many others. Either you stayed in your comfort zone with your family and friends, but you didn’t try anything new or you looked for new inspiration, but didn’t enjoy little moments like watching your child/love/pet sleep or talk to an old friend. You could do it now!

IF YOU SCORED BETWEEN 1-10, you should definitely stop doing what you usually do every day and take a week off to tick off some of the things in the list. Your work won’t take care of you when you are old and sick, your family and friends will and you cannot tell your grandkids about your work, but about a trip or a great chat with a new friend yes. So start living the moment until it lasts!

Finally, you can ask them to comment if they agree to their results. If so/not, why?

At this point, it’s on to you to decide whether to go through simple past forms again or move onto the next topic.