Planning an outing with friends or family

This ESL lesson plan is designed to equip learners with the practical language skills needed to plan a social outing in English. Targeted at beginner to intermediate learners, the lesson focuses on essential vocabulary, useful phrases, and realistic conversational practice related to organizing activities such as picnics, movie nights, or beach trips.

By engaging with visual aids, role-plays, and interactive activities, students will build confidence in suggesting plans, asking for opinions, and discussing details like time, place, and transport. The lesson emphasizes natural, polite communication and cultural sensitivity, allowing learners to adapt the content to their own preferences and contexts.

Basic vocabulary

Introduce essential words related to planning an outing. These should be simple, commonly used, and relevant to the context of organizing a social activity.

Vocabulary list

• Outing: A trip or activity with others (e.g., a picnic, a movie night).
• Plan: To organize or arrange something (e.g., plan a day out).
• Friend/family: People you go out with (e.g., my friends, my sister).
• Place: Where the outing happens (e.g., park, restaurant, beach).
• Activity: What you do during the outing (e.g., hiking, shopping, watching a movie).
• Time: When the outing happens (e.g., morning, afternoon, evening).
• Day: Specific days for the outing (e.g., Saturday, tomorrow).
• Food/drink: Items to eat or drink (e.g., pizza, juice).
• Transport: How to get there (e.g., car, bus, walking).
• Money/cost: The expense involved (e.g., tickets, free entry).
• Fun/enjoy: To describe enjoyment (e.g., a fun day, enjoy the park).
• Weather: Conditions that might affect the outing (e.g., sunny, rainy).

Vocabulary for extension

• Invite: To ask someone to join (e.g., invite a friend).
• Meet: To come together at a place (e.g., meet at the café).
• Time: Specific hours (e.g., at 3 p.m., in the evening).
• Event: A special activity (e.g., a concert, a festival).
• Group: A number of people going together (e.g., a group of friends).
• Decide: To choose something (e.g., decide where to go).
• Bring: To take something along (e.g., bring snacks).
• Reserve: To book a spot (e.g., reserve a table at a restaurant).
• Clothes: What to wear (e.g., casual clothes, a jacket).
• Map: A guide to find a place (e.g., use a map to get to the park).
• Schedule: A plan for when things happen (e.g., check the movie schedule).
• Ticket: An entry pass for an event or transport (e.g., buy a concert ticket).
• Funfair: A fair with rides and games (e.g., go to a funfair).
• Outdoor/indoor: Describing the location type (e.g., an outdoor picnic, an indoor museum).
• Relax: To rest or enjoy calmly (e.g., relax at the park).
• Budget: The amount of money available (e.g., a small budget for the outing).
• Camera: To take pictures during the outing (e.g., bring a camera).
• Game: An activity for fun (e.g., play a board game or soccer).
• Crowd: A large group of people (e.g., avoid the crowd at the festival).
• Path: A route or trail (e.g., a path in the park for hiking).

Teaching tips

• Use visuals like photos of outings (e.g., a picnic, a movie theater) to connect vocabulary to real-life scenarios.
• Practice pronunciation of words like “outing” (OUT-ing) or “reserve” (ri-ZERV).
• Create flashcards with words on one side and examples or pictures on the other for quick recall.

2. Useful Phrases

Teach simple sentence structures for planning an outing. These phrases should be versatile and easy to adapt.

Key phrases

1. Suggesting an outing
   • “Let’s go to [place/activity].”
   • “How about [activity] on [day/time]?”
   • “I want to plan a [outing] with [friends/family].”
2. Asking for opinions
   • “What do you want to do?”
   • “Where should we go?”
   • “Is [place/activity] okay with you?”
3. Making plans
   • “We can meet at [place/time].”
   • “Let’s bring [food/drink/things].”
   • “It costs [money/free] to go there.”
   • “We’ll go by [transport].”
4. Checking details
   • “What time should we meet?”
   • “Do we need to reserve anything?”
   • “What’s the weather like?”
   • “Should we bring [item/clothes]?”
5. Expressing preferences
   • “I’d like to [activity/place].”
   • “I think [place/activity] sounds fun.”
   • “I don’t want to [activity/place].”

Teaching tips

• Write phrases on a board or handout and model their use (e.g., “Let’s go to the park on Saturday.”).
• Have learners practice by substituting their own ideas (e.g., “Let’s go to [their chosen place].”).
• Emphasize polite forms like “How about…?” or “Is it okay…?” for natural conversation.

Example conversations

Provide short, realistic dialogues to model how to plan an outing. These progress from basic to more detailed exchanges.

Conversation 1: Basic planning

Alex: Hey, Sarah, let’s plan an outing this weekend!
Sarah: Great idea! Where should we go?
Alex: How about the park?
Sarah: Sounds good! What time?
Alex: Let’s meet at 2 p.m. We can bring some food.
Sarah: Okay, I’ll bring sandwiches.

Conversation 2: Adding details

Maya: Hi, Tom, do you want to go out with friends on Saturday?
Tom: Sure! What’s the plan?
Maya: Let’s go to the beach. It’s sunny this weekend.
Tom: Nice! Should we bring anything?
Maya: Yeah, bring drinks and a towel. We can meet at 10 a.m.
Tom: Perfect. How do we get there?
Maya: We can take the bus.

Conversation 3: More advanced

Lila: Hey, Omar, I want to plan a family outing. Any ideas?
Omar: How about a movie night? There’s a new film at the cinema.
Lila: Good idea! What time does it start?
Omar: At 7 p.m. We should reserve tickets online.
Lila: Okay, I’ll book them. Should we eat dinner first?
Omar: Yeah, let’s meet at a restaurant at 5 p.m. I’ll invite everyone.
Lila: Great! I’ll check the weather and bring jackets if it’s cold.

Teaching tips

• Role-play these dialogues with the learner, switching roles to practice both suggesting and responding.
• Encourage learners to adapt the dialogues with their own ideas (e.g., their favorite place or activity).
• In group settings, pair students to create and practice their own dialogues Cinderella dialogues.

Teaching strategy

Here’s a 45-minute lesson plan to teach this topic effectively.

Step 1: Warm-up (5 minutes)

• Ask: “What’s your favorite thing to do with friends or family?” Write answers on the board (e.g., go to the movies, have a picnic).
• Show a picture of an outing (e.g., a group at a park) and describe it briefly (e.g., “They’re having a picnic. It looks fun!”).

Step 2: Vocabulary introduction (10 minutes)

• Present the vocabulary list using visuals or real objects (e.g., a bus ticket for “transport”).
• Practice pronunciation, especially for words like “reserve” or “festival.”
• Play a game: Say a word (e.g., “activity”), and learners suggest an example (e.g., “hiking”).

Step 3: Phrase practice (10 minutes)

• Display key phrases and model them (e.g., “Let’s go to the zoo on Sunday.”).
• Have learners fill in the blanks with their own ideas (e.g., “Let’s go to ____.”).
• Correct pronunciation and grammar gently, keeping the focus on fluency.

Step 4: Conversation practice (15 minutes)

• Read one example conversation aloud, emphasizing natural tone and pacing.
• Pair learners (or role-play with them) to practice the dialogues, using their own outing ideas.
• Encourage follow-up questions (e.g., “Why do you like that place?”).

Step 5: Wrap-up and personalization (5 minutes)

• Ask each learner to share a short plan (e.g., “I want to go to the mall with my friends on Saturday.”).
• Provide feedback on vocabulary use and clarity.
• Assign homework: Write a short plan for an outing or practice a dialogue with someone.

Additional tips

• Cultural sensitivity: Be mindful that some learners may have different cultural preferences for outings (e.g., family-focused vs. friend-focused activities). Encourage diverse ideas.
• Visual aids: Use images of activities (e.g., hiking, dining out) or a calendar to discuss days and times.
• Listening practice: Play a short audio or video clip of people planning an outing (e.g., from ESL resources) to expose learners to natural speech.
• Adapt for level: For beginners, focus on simple phrases (e.g., “Let’s go to the park.”). For intermediate learners, add details like weather or cost.
• Technology: Use a virtual whiteboard to write phrases or share a screen with images of outing locations.

Common mistakes to address

• Grammar: Learners may say “We go park” instead of “We go to the park.” Emphasize prepositions like “to” and “at.”
• Pronunciation: Words like “outing” or “reserve” may be mispronounced. Practice these explicitly.
• Word choice: Clarify words like “meet” (to come together) vs. “bring” (to carry something).

Example activity: “Plan an Outing” game

For group classes, try this interactive activity.

• Give each learner a card with an outing prompt (e.g., “Plan a picnic,” “Plan a movie night”).
• Learners work in pairs to create a short dialogue, including a place, time, and items to bring.
• Pairs perform their dialogues for the group, and others ask questions (e.g., “What food will you bring?”).

Homework or follow-up

• Writing: Write a 5-sentence plan for an outing with friends or family.
• Speaking: Record a 30-second audio or video planning an outing (e.g., “Let’s go hiking on Sunday…”).
• Research: Look up a local event or place (e.g., a festival or park) and describe it in 2-3 sentences in English.