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Vocabulary Grammar Reading Listening Speaking Writing

Section 1

Teacher's Lesson Plan

Confidential

Lesson Overview

Topic

Describing People. Students write a short "Who Am I?" profile for the school noticeboard — describing themselves or a friend. The class reads the profiles and guesses who each one is about. Along the way, students learn the five key grammar structures for basic description, build vocabulary for appearance and personality, and practise the order of adjectives in noun phrases.

Level

A1–A2

Duration

90 minutes

Skills

Vocabulary · Grammar · Reading · Listening · Speaking · Writing

Grammar

G1 — to be (am / is / are) — She is tall. They are twelve years old.
G2 — Present Simple (has / have, lives, likes…) — He has brown eyes. She lives in London.
G3 — Order of Adjectives — She has long, curly, brown hair. He is a tall, young man.
G4 — there is / there are — There is a new girl in our class. There are two brothers in my family.
G5 — can / can't — She can swim. He can't speak French.

Vocabulary

12 words (A1–A2): tall · short · slim · curly · straight · wavy · blonde · fair · dark · friendly · shy · clever

Materials

Student Handouts 1–6 (printed); whiteboard; coloured pencils (optional)

Key Grammar — Teaching Notes

G1 — to be: the most important structure at A1

Board the full present tense with the class before the lesson:
I am / You are / He·She·It is / We·They are
Contractions for speaking: I'm · You're · He's · She's · It's · We're · They're
Common errors: "She have tall" → She IS tall · "He are friendly" → He IS friendly
Key drill: board a picture, point, elicit: "What is she like?" → "She IS tall. She IS friendly."

G2 — Present Simple: has / have for appearance

At A1–A2 the key structure for describing appearance is have/has + article + adjective(s) + noun:
She has long brown hair. · He has blue eyes. · They have a big family.
Common error: "She has a brown long hair" → She has long, brown hair (no article with plural/uncountable hair; adjective order matters)

G3 — Order of Adjectives (simplified for A1–A2)

At this level, teach just four positions with the acronym OSCA:
Opinion → Size → Colour → Age / shape
She has beautiful [opinion], long [size], dark [colour] hair.
He is a nice [opinion], tall [size], young [age] man.
In practice, students rarely need more than two adjectives at once. The key rule: size before colour (long brown hair, not brown long hair) and opinion first (beautiful blue eyes, not blue beautiful eyes).

G4 — there is / there are

There is a girl → singular · There are two boys → plural
Board: There is a new student in our class. · There are twenty students in my class.
Common error: "There is two boys" → There ARE two boys (plural).

G5 — can / can't

She can swim. · He can't play the guitar. · Can you speak French?
Structure: can + bare infinitive — NO -s, NO to: "She cans swim" ✗ · "She can to swim" ✗
Drill: "What can you do?" — quick whip around the class.

Lesson Procedure

Time

Stage

Skill

Teacher does

Students do

0–8 min

Lead-in

Speaking

Show a picture of a famous person. Ask: "Can you describe this person? What does he / she look like?" Board students' answers. Introduce the lesson: "Today we are going to describe people!"

Look at the picture. Say words for appearance. React to each other's answers.

8–18 min

Vocabulary

—

12 A1-A2 words for appearance and personality. Part A: read + check. Part B: match to pictures. Part C: gap-fill.

Read vocabulary. Match. Gap-fill.

18–46 min

Grammar

—

to be → Present Simple (has/have) → Order of Adjectives (OSCA rule on board) → there is/are → can/can't. Exercises 1–5.

Study grammar cards. Exercises 1–5. Pair-check.

46–58 min

Reading

Three "Who Am I?" profiles. Gist: "Can you guess who each person is?" Tasks 1–2.

Read profiles. Guess the person. Answer questions.

58–70 min

Listening

Two students, Sam and Lucy, describe their best friends. Read TWICE at a clear A1–A2 pace.

Listen. Circle. Complete notes. Check.

70–82 min

Speaking

"Who is this?" guessing game + "My best friend" pair talk. Monitor G1–G5.

Describe and guess. Talk with a partner.

80–90 min

Writing

Write a "Who Am I?" profile: 60–80 words. All 5 grammar structures. Draw a picture or stick a photo.

Write profile. Self-check.

Listening Script

Read at a slow, clear A1 pace. Pause between sentences. Read twice.

Sam:

My best friend is Jack. He is fourteen years old. He is tall and slim. He has short, dark hair and brown eyes. He is very friendly and funny. Jack can play football really well. He can also play the guitar. He can't swim, but he wants to learn. There is one thing about Jack that everyone knows — he is always happy!

Lucy:

My best friend is called Mia. She is thirteen years old. She is not very tall — she is quite short. She has long, curly, blonde hair and green eyes. She is a clever, kind girl. Mia can speak French — her mother is from France. She can also draw very well. There are lots of things I love about Mia, but the best thing is that she is always there for you.

All 5 structures in the script:
· G1 to be: He is fourteen. / She is not very tall. / he is always happy
· G2 Present Simple: He has short, dark hair. / She has long, curly, blonde hair.
· G3 Order of adj: short, dark hair · long, curly, blonde hair · a clever, kind girl
· G4 there is/are: There is one thing about Jack · There are lots of things I love about Mia
· G5 can/can't: Jack can play football · He can't swim · Mia can speak French · She can draw

Answer Key

Handout 1 — Vocabulary

Part C: 1. tall 2. slim 3. curly 4. straight 5. blonde / fair 6. dark 7. friendly 8. shy 9. clever 10. wavy 11. short 12. kind

Handout 2 — Grammar

Ex 1 (is/are): 1. is 2. are 3. is 4. am 5. are 6. is 7. are 8. is

Ex 2 (has/have): 1. has 2. have 3. has 4. has 5. have 6. has

Ex 3 (order of adj): 1. long, brown hair 2. short, dark hair 3. a tall, young man 4. beautiful, big, blue eyes 5. curly, red hair 6. a kind, old woman

Ex 4 (there is/are): 1. There is 2. There are 3. There is 4. There are 5. There is

Ex 5 (can/can't): 1. can 2. can't 3. Can, can 4. can't 5. can, can't

Ex 6 (errors): 1. She IS (not have) tall 2. He has short, dark hair (order: size then colour) 3. There ARE (not is) three (plural) 4. She CAN swim (not cans) 5. She has long, straight, brown hair (size→shape→colour)

Handouts 3 + 4

Reading: 1 — Emma (curly red hair, glasses, clever) 2 — Tom (tall, football) 3 — Lily (shy, wavy blonde hair, can draw)

Listening Task 1: 1-b 2-a 3-c 4-b
Task 2: Jack: 14, tall, slim, short dark hair, brown eyes, friendly, funny, can play football + guitar, can't swim · Mia: 13, short, long curly blonde hair, green eyes, clever, kind, can speak French + draw

Describing People

Student Handouts

Name:

Date:

Class:

Handout 1

Vocabulary

Part A — Key Words

Word

What it means / example

tall

high · He is very tall — he is 1.90 m!

short

not tall · She is quite short — not very tall.

slim

thin in a healthy way · She is slim and tall.

curly

hair with lots of curves · She has curly hair.

straight

hair with no curves · He has short, straight hair.

wavy

hair with gentle waves — not straight, not curly · She has long, wavy hair.

blonde

very light, yellow hair · She has long blonde hair.

fair

light-coloured (hair or skin) · He has fair hair and blue eyes.

dark

black or very brown hair · He has short, dark hair.

friendly

kind to everyone, easy to talk to · She is very friendly.

shy

quiet and nervous with new people · He is a bit shy at first.

clever

good at learning, intelligent · She is very clever at maths.

Part B — Describing Appearance

Look at the word groups. Add two more words you know to each group.

HEIGHT & BUILD

tall
short
slim
medium height
________________
________________

HAIR

long / short
curly / straight / wavy
blonde / fair / dark
black / brown / red
________________
________________

PERSONALITY

friendly
shy
clever
funny
________________
________________

Part C — Fill in the Gaps

Use the words from Part A.

1.My brother is very __________________ — he is nearly two metres tall!

2.She doesn't eat much. She is very __________________ .

3.He has __________________ hair — it goes round and round in circles.

4.Her hair is very __________________ — no waves, no curls at all.

5.She has __________________ hair — it is very light yellow.

6.He has __________________ hair — almost black.

7.She talks to everyone and always smiles. She is so __________________ !

8.He doesn't talk much in class. He is quite __________________ .

9.She always gets the right answer. She is very __________________ .

10.Her hair is not straight and not curly — it is __________________ .

11.She is not tall — she is quite __________________ .

12.She is always nice to people. She is very __________________ .

Handout 2

Grammar

Five Grammar Structures — Describing People

G1 — TO BE (am / is / are)
Use to be to describe who someone is and what they are like.
I am tall. · She is friendly. · They are fourteen years old.
He is not (isn't) shy. · We are not (aren't) very tall.
✗ "She have tall" ✓ "She IS tall"

G2 — PRESENT SIMPLE (has / have)
Use has / have to describe appearance features.
She has long brown hair. · He has blue eyes. · They have a big family.
I/You/We/They have · He/She/It has
✗ "She have brown eyes" ✓ "She HAS brown eyes"

G3 — ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
When you use more than one adjective, use this order: Opinion → Size → Shape/Age → Colour → Noun

Opinion
beautiful
nice · kind

→

Size
long · short
tall · big

→

Shape/Age
curly · wavy
young · old

→

Colour
brown · blue
blonde · dark

→

NOUN
hair
eyes

She has long, curly, brown hair. (size → shape → colour)
He has beautiful, big, blue eyes. (opinion → size → colour)
✗ "brown long hair" ✓ "long brown hair" (size before colour)

G4 — THERE IS / THERE ARE
Use there is for one person or thing. Use there are for more than one.
There is a new student in our class. · There is a girl with red hair.
There are twenty students in my class. · There are three brothers.
✗ "There is three boys" ✓ "There ARE three boys"

G5 — CAN / CAN'T
Use can to say what someone is able to do. Always use the base form after can.
She can swim. · He can play the guitar.
She can't (cannot) drive. · He can't speak Spanish.
Can you dance? — Yes, I can. / No, I can't.
✗ "She cans swim" · ✗ "She can to swim" ✓ "She CAN swim"

Exercise 1 — am / is / are

Fill in the gap with am, is, or are.

1.My sister ________ tall and slim.

2.My parents ________ very friendly.

3.He ________ thirteen years old.

4.I ________ not very shy.

5.You ________ really clever!

6.She ________ not very tall — she ________ quite short.

7.They ________ both funny and kind.

8.There ________ a new boy in our class today.

Exercise 2 — has / have

Fill in the gap with has or have.

1.She ________ long, straight, brown hair.

2.I ________ short, dark hair and brown eyes.

3.My teacher ________ wavy, red hair.

4.He ________ a big, friendly smile.

5.We all ________ blue eyes in my family.

6.My best friend ________ curly, blonde hair.

Exercise 3 — Put the Adjectives in the Right Order

Write the adjective phrase correctly.

1.She has (brown / long) hair. → She has ______________________ hair.

2.He has (dark / short) hair. → He has ______________________ hair.

3.He is (young / tall). → He is a ______________________ man.

4.She has (blue / big / beautiful) eyes. → She has ______________________ eyes.

5.She has (red / curly) hair. → She has ______________________ hair.

6.She is (kind / old). → She is a ______________________ woman.

Exercise 4 — there is / there are

Fill in the gap with There is or There are.

1.________________ a new girl in our class. Her name is Sofia.

2.________________ thirty students in my school year.

3.________________ a boy with curly, red hair in the photo.

4.________________ two brothers in my family.

5.________________ a very tall teacher in our school — he is nearly two metres tall!

Exercise 5 — can / can't

Fill in the gap with can or can't.

1.She ________ swim very well — she is on the school team.

2.I ________ drive yet — I am only thirteen!

3.________ you cook? — Yes, I ________, a little.

4.He ________ speak Chinese — it's too difficult for him at the moment.

5.She ________ play the piano, but she ________ play the guitar.

Exercise 6 — Find and Correct the Mistake

Each sentence has one mistake. Find it and correct it.

1. "She have tall and slim."