Explore our lesson plans
Standard Lesson 60 min
Waste less (First Conditional)
Global IssuesIn this lesson students practise the use of First Conditional, watch a video about grocery shopping and discuss how we can waste less.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Can stay interviews keep employees from leaving?
BusinessIn this lesson, students discuss the idea of stay interviews in depth and learn phrases which are useful to talk about employer-employee relationship.
Standard Lesson 90 min
Why do we like horror films?
GeneralIn this lesson, students learn vocabulary useful when talking about fear or relief, watch a video about horror films, and describe situations in which they felt uneasy or scared.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Let me tell you how I feel
GeneralWith this lesson plan, students watch a funny video about a girl who feels different emotions and learn adjectives to describe feelings. Students also get plenty of opportunities to speak about how they feel in different situations.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
AI supporting mental health therapy
TechnologyIn this lesson students discuss using AI in areas such as mental health therapy and the justice system, complete the summary of the article they read at home, and share their thoughts on the future of AI.
Flipped Lesson 60 min
Where are all the aliens? (writing an essay)
Global Issues TechnologyIn this lesson,students discuss alien life and the possible first contact scenario and write an essay about different aspects of space exploration. The lesson also includes two videos about extraterrestrials.
Standard Lesson 45 min
Slow or slowly? – adjectives and adverbs
General GrammarIn this lesson students learn the difference between adjectives and adverbs and learn how to create adverbs of manner. They also practise their use in several controlled and free activities.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Unconventional business model
BusinessIn this lesson, students learn about furniture retailer IKEA and discuss its business model. Then, they come up with their own business idea for a shop.
Standard Lesson 60 min
What motivates you at work?
BusinessIn this worksheet on employee benefits, students learn vocabulary and watch a video about companies offering cool perks. They also have plenty of opportunities to discuss benefits and other things which motivate them at work.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Curious questions about curiosity
GeneralIn this lesson, students discuss the topic of curiosity in humans, practise collocations from the article, and reflect on how curiosity has shaped their lives.
Standard Lesson 75 min
How to start a conversation with a stranger
LifestyleIn this lesson, students learn and create different conversation starters. They also watch a video about a man who talked to 100 strangers and do a role-play activity.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Chasing the birds away (phrasal verbs with away)
GeneralIn this lesson students learn and practise phrasal verbs with away, watch a video about a dog working at an airport and discuss the jobs dogs do.
Standard Lesson 75 min
The art of giving feedback
BusinessIn this lesson, students discover a formula to help them give great feedback and learn some useful phrases for giving and receiving feedback in English. They also watch a video about giving feedback and learn vocabulary related to it.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Is there an ‘a’ in ‘weak’? (spelling games)
GeneralIn this lesson, students learn how to ask for spelling clarification and get a lot of practice through several spelling games.
Flipped Lesson 45 min
What’s in your calendar? (prepositions of time)
GeneralIn this lesson, students learn prepositions of time and get plenty of practice with this aspect of grammar. They use the prepositions in different contexts in both oral and written tasks.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Presentation: putting skills into action
BusinessWith this lesson plan, students practise giving a presentation in English by doing a lot of different speaking activities. The lesson is the third of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Our lives rely on social media more than we think
Lifestyle TechnologyThis lesson plan is based on an article about a social media outage which students read at home. In the lesson, students learn some useful vocabulary and discuss possible consequences of all social media ceasing to exist.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Rethinking your mindset
Business LifestyleWith this speaking lesson plan, students watch a video about growth and fixed mindsets and get plenty of opportunities to discuss them. They also learn some collocations referring to challenges and development, as well as practise word formation.
Standard Lesson 75 min
Moving through your presentation
BusinessWith this lesson plan, students learn plenty of useful phrases for presentations in English. They also prepare presentation excerpts, and learn how to start a presentation. The lesson is the second of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Could a bossless workplace work?
BusinessWith this lesson plan, students discuss how they feel about a bossless workplace. They also learn some useful vocabulary related to worker cooperatives and the hierarchical structure of a traditional workplace.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Those who influence us the most online
Lifestyle TechnologyIn this lesson, students work with some easily confused words, practise the use of prepositions, and watch a video about micro-influencers. They also have a discussion about the effect, impact and influence that we experience in different areas of life.
Standard Lesson 60 min
How to nail that presentation
BusinessIn this lesson about business presentations in English, students discuss presentation structures in depth, watch a video with tips on giving presentations, and learn useful words and phrases related to the topic. The lesson is the first of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
To shuffle or not to shuffle?
LifestyleIn this lesson students discuss the article they read at home about Adele’s request to remove the shuffle button on her album. They also study collocations with the words album and track.
Standard Lesson 75 min
Your smartphone is a library and Google is a librarian (verb-noun collocations)
TechnologyIn this lesson students learn verb-noun collocations related to searching and sharing information online, compare how information exchange is different now than it was 20 year ago, and watch a video about libraries.
Standard Lesson 60 min
I wish I could but I don’t want to
GeneralIn this lesson students watch a video about strategies for saying ‘no’ in English and discover some useful phrases to say ‘no’ politely. They also put them into practice through a role-play.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Why eating locally is not enough
Global IssuesIn this worksheet students practise some language related to food’s carbon footprint. They also discuss their food choices and the factors that influence them.
Standard Lesson 45 min
Let’s go hiking!
LifestyleIn this lesson students learn hiking vocabulary, read some tips, watch a video about hiking and decide what they would and wouldn’t take on a hike.
Standard Lesson 60 min
The things that we do when nobody is looking – defining relative clauses
General GrammarWith this lesson plan students learn and practise using defining relative clauses. They also watch a short animated video and talk about the things that people do when they are alone.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
The gig economy: good or bad for workers?
BusinessThis lesson plan gives students the opportunity to learn and practise words related to freelance work and discuss pros and cons of the gig economy.
Standard Lesson 45 min
Can you figure it out? ESL vocabulary puzzles
BusinessThis is a set of ESL vocabulary puzzles rather than a typical ESL Brains lesson plan. Each of the puzzles can be used separately as a time filler, a warm-up, etc.
Standard Lesson 60 min
The best food is in…
LifestyleThis lesson plan includes tasks on food-related words and a lot of activities for talking about food. Your students will also watch a video about dishes from different countries and discuss their eating preferences.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Why do people cheat in online games?
LifestyleIn this lesson, students practise some language related to breaking and following rules, and discuss the reasons behind cheating in online games.
Standard Lesson 60 min
What makes you laugh? (synonyms for laugh)
GeneralIn this lesson students study advanced synonyms for laugh, watch a video about laughter and discuss different aspects of laughter.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Layoffs and cutbacks can lead to start-ups (phrasal nouns)
BusinessIn this lesson, students read a short article about a start-up surge and learn some phrasal nouns by working out their meaning from the context. They also use the phrasal nouns in a discussion and a crossword.
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Bitcoin goes mainstream! Is cryptocurrency here to stay?
BusinessIn this advanced lesson, students learn some language related to money and cryptocurrencies and discuss what the fact that Bitcoin has gone mainstream entails.
Standard Lesson 60 min
Will your future clothes be made like this?
Lifestyle TechnologyIn this lesson students practise their listening skills while watching a video about 3D printed clothes. They also work with advanced synonyms for make and discuss the implications of 3D printing technology.