Activity 1: Warm-up · 5 minutes
Family Rules Brainstorm
a) Aims
Ss activate prior knowledge about family rules and obligations and become familiar with the topic of the generation gap.
b) Content
T shows a picture of a family dinner with a teenager and parents, then asks: 'What rules do your parents give you at home?' Ss think for 1 minute and share 2 rules with a partner, using the sentence pattern: 'We must / have to / should ...'.
c) Expected outcomes
A list of 4 to 6 family rules on the board, for example:
- We must come home before 9 p.m.
- I have to help with the housework on Sundays.
- We should talk to parents before going out.
The list is kept on the board for reference in the lesson.
d) Organisation
Teacher's activities
Students' activities
Teacher
Step 1: Task delivering
T shows the family picture and asks: 'What rules do your parents give you at home?' T gives a 1-minute think time and models one example: 'My parents say I must finish my homework before playing games.'
Students
Ss listen to the question and think silently about their own family rules.
Teacher
Step 2: Task performance
T asks Ss to share their rules with a partner and walks around to monitor and help with vocabulary.
Students
Ss work in pairs, sharing 2 rules each, for example: 'I have to clean my room every weekend.' Partner responds: 'I think you should ask for more free time.'
Teacher
Step 3: Report and discussion
T invites 3 to 4 pairs to share their rules and writes the key modal verbs on the board. T asks: 'Which rule is a strong obligation? Which one is just advice?'
Students
Ss report their examples. Expected answers: 'We must come home before 9 p.m.' (strong obligation); 'I should talk to my parents before going out.' (advice).
Teacher
Step 4: Conclusion and assessment
T confirms that must expresses a strong obligation the speaker feels, have to expresses an external requirement and should gives advice. T introduces the lesson's aim: contracted forms and the modal verbs of obligation.
Students
Ss copy the lesson title and listen to the lesson objectives.