My reading lessons are for advanced and proficiency level ESL. This lesson plan is about lying, and is based on an article that discusses the ethics of lying. When and when is it not okay to lie? There is plenty of scope for discussion, with vocabulary and idioms for the students to learn as well.
There is a free download of this lesson plan at the bottom of this page.
Write the following words onto flashcards, and place them facedown on the table:
Get each student to choose one, and show the rest of the class what their topic is. The students then need to take turns asking each other questions about their topic e.g. Where did you go on your last holiday? Where would you most like to go on holiday? etc. Each student needs to lie once during their turn. The other students need to guess which was the lie.
Get the students to discuss the following and then get feedback from them:
Have you ever lied about any of the following:
Get the students to read the following article entitled 'Lying' by Tim Lazur:
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v6n1/lying.html
and answer the following questions:
While reading through the article, get the students to underline any words they don't understand, and go through this vocabulary with them once they have completed the comprehension exercise.
Cut up the following idioms and defintions and get the students to match them. Once they understand the idioms, get them to ask each other questions with them.
a white lie | an innocent harmless lie |
nothing could be further from the truth | a lie |
to lie through one's teeth | a blatant lie |
to be economical with the truth | to be deceitful by withholding the truth |
a pack of lies | a story that has been invented in order to deceive people |
Get the students to fill in the missing words in order to make up phrasal verbs that match the definitions (answer key in the downloadable lesson plan):
out, along, up, in, with, away, up, out
Cut out the following headlines and distribute them amongst the students. Without telling the other students what their headline is, they need to make up and tell the story behind the headline. The other students need to make up possible headlines for the story using the phrasal verbs, and see who can get the closest to the real headline.
DNA evidence bears out previous suspicions
Top level government cover up leads to arrests
President levels with public about covert operations
Photos give away secret honeymoon location
New studies show: confiding in someone brings greater happiness
Celebrity plays along with game show host
Disgruntled workers hushed up with extra incentives
Finance minister makes out economy has never been better
If you enjoyed this lesson, why don't you try some of my Reading Lessons, Grammar Lessons or Business English Lessons.
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