The four burners theory

Title separator

Vocabulary - life balance

talk about life balance

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • learn and practise the vocabulary related to priorities and life balance,
  • understand and extract information from a video.

Students talk about life balance and issues related to it. They also learn useful phrases like ‘keep up with’ and ‘at full blast’. Students watch a vlog about the four burners theory and discuss putting the theory into practice. 

B2 / Upper Intermediate60 minStandard LessonUnlimited Plan

WARM-UP & VOCABULARY

In this ESL lesson students talk about life balance from the start. In a warm-up activity, they answer the questions and describe their life balance. After that, students work with vocabulary related to balance and priorities. First, students match the sentence halves. Then, they find the phrases in the sentences with particular meanings (e.g. struggle with, take up, fall apart, etc.). To practise the phrases further, students discuss the statements and say if they find them relatable. They have one more discussion activity in which they talk about different stages of life. 

VIDEO & DISCUSSION

In this part of the lesson, students watch the video and talk about life balance even more. First, they read a short paragraph about the four burners theory and complete the gaps with missing words. Then, students watch the first part of the video and check their answers. Students watch the second part of the video and answer the questions about the theory. After watching the video, students express their opinions about the theory and share their own experiences. At the end of this lesson, students look at different ideas on how to make their lives more balanced and discuss them. 

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students practise the vocabulary from the lesson by correcting mistakes. They also complete the statements with their ideas. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. [email protected]

    I won’t actually have a chance to use this lesson with the group until later this evening, but I can just look at the content, presentation of the content, density of the text, and video to believe that it will very likely succeed. Thank you for your help!

    1. Iulia

      Hi:)
      We’d be happy to hear how it went!

      1. [email protected]

        It went very well with the Friday group that I had mentioned. They are a very lively and diverse group. Then, on Sunday, I used it with an engineer who is rather serious and slightly less willing, which I had already sensed beforehand. Even so, I wanted to use this lesson again and presented it with a smile to this individual, and I would say, all things considered, he too played along with it pretty well. Thanks again! It is a teacher-friendly lesson in my opinion.

        1. Iulia

          Haha, it’s great to hear that even a less talkative student could enjoy it:) Thanks for the feedback!

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
ESL lesson about music festivals
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Music festivals and other outdoor events

Lifestyle

With this speaking lesson, students talk about festivals and other outdoor events. They read short texts, discuss music festival tips and watch a video about it. Students also talk about the use of technology and brainstorm useful gadgets for such events.

talking about pets
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

The petconomy boom

Lifestyle

With this lesson, students engage with the topic of petconomy through discussions on different perspectives of pets and pet care! They revise pet-related vocabulary, evaluate pet services, explore pet apps, and read about famous pets.

B2 / Upper Intermediate
Critical Reading Club 30 min
Loading

How smart should home appliances be

Lifestyle Technology

Engage students in a conversation about the advantages and disadvantages of smart appliances! With this lesson, students will also reinforce essential vocabulary such as adjectives and collocations to discuss the topic.

speaking lesson about shopping addiction
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

How does shopping make you feel?

Global Issues Lifestyle

As shopping is part of everyone’s life, this speaking lesson on shopping addiction won’t leave your students indifferent. Discuss whether it is a serious problem, discover hacks on how to control it and dive into how instant gratification works.

warm-up activity
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

How bad is a humblebrag?

Lifestyle

In this lesson, students discover what humblebragging is, watch an ad and do a multiple choice vocab task. They also write social media posts and have a discussion about bragging online.  

ESL lesson about running
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Is running your thing?

Lifestyle

In this ESL lesson about running, students have a chance to learn and practise some useful phrases, watch a video and discuss running. Students also read a short text and talk about motivation. 

ESL lesson about happiness
B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Happiness is…

Lifestyle

In this ESL lesson about happiness, students talk about the feeling, watch a video and discuss happiness myths. The teacher can also choose to do an optional vocabulary activity with students.  

B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Would you ever renovate a house?

Lifestyle

In this ESL lesson about houses and renovation, students learn some useful vocabulary related to the topic, watch a video and talk about house renovations. 

talk about challenges
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Stepping out of your comfort zone

Lifestyle

In this Speaking Class, students watch a video and talk about challenges, and how doing certain things makes them feel. There is also an optional vocabulary activity.

Show more lessons

Questions

Title separator

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there’s no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won’t be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).

Read more FAQ
Title separator

ESL Brains

Forgot password?
or continue with