Using 'to be going to' for Intentions: An ESL Lesson Plan

Learning Objective

Total Time: 1 minute

Students will be able to accurately use the structure 'to be going to do something' to express future intentions and provide evidence for those intentions.

Assessments

Total Time: 1 minute

The student will create three sentences using 'to be going to' that illustrate intentions, accompanied by brief explanations or evidence supporting each intention.

Key Points

Total Time: 2 minutes

  • Structure: Subject + 'to be' + going to + base verb (e.g., I am going to travel).

  • Usage: Expressing plans or intentions that are decided before the moment of speaking.

  • Evidence: Providing reasoning or evidence to support the stated intentions.

Opening

Total Time: 3 minutes

  • Begin with a conversational prompt: 'What are your plans for the weekend?'

  • Encourage the student to share personal plans, guiding them to use 'to be going to' where applicable.

  • Discuss the importance of intentions in communication.

Introduction to New Material

Total Time: 4 minutes

  • Present the grammatical structure of 'to be going to' on a whiteboard or screen.

  • Explain the use of 'to be going to' in expressing future intentions, using examples relevant to the student's life (e.g., work, personal interests).

  • Discuss common misconceptions: Clarify that it indicates a future intention rather than a spontaneous decision.

Guided Practice

Total Time: 5 minutes

  • Engage in a role-play where the teacher asks the student about their future plans, prompting them to respond using 'to be going to.'

  • Provide prompts such as 'What are you going to do tomorrow?' and 'What are you going to achieve this month?'

  • Encourage the student to elaborate by providing evidence or reasoning for each intention.

Independent Practice

Total Time: 3 minutes

  • Have the student write down three intentions using 'to be going to,' followed by a sentence providing evidence for each intention (e.g., 'I am going to start a new project because I want to improve my skills.').

  • Encourage attention to detail in both form and content.

Closing

Total Time: 2 minutes

  • Review the sentences created by the student, providing constructive feedback on the correct usage of 'to be going to' and the evidence supporting their intentions.

  • Wrap up with a brief recap of the lesson's key points.

Extension Activity

Total Time: 0 minutes

If time permits, encourage the student to think of two more intentions they might have in a different context and share them.

  • Suggest they prepare for a future conversation where they can use 'to be going to'.

Homework

Total Time: 1 minute

Ask the student to write a short paragraph about their plans for the next week using 'to be going to,' ensuring they include evidence or reasons for each of their stated intentions.

Standards Aligned

Total Time: 1 minute

  • Aligns with ESL proficiency standards focusing on speaking and writing skills (e.g., CEFR B1) regarding future language usage.


Introduction to Evidence Presentation

Total Time: 20 minutes

  • Emphasize the importance of using 'to be going to' to present evidence for future intentions.

  • Provide practical examples where evidence is observable, such as:
      - "Look at the sky - it is going to rain," which illustrates intention based on current evidence.
      - Other examples could include:
        - "She is going to start a garden because the weather is getting warmer."
        - "They are going to go for a walk as the sun is shining."

  • Encourage students to observe their environment and come up with their own examples.

  • Engage students in a discussion about how observing evidence can strengthen their intentions and help them articulate their plans more convincingly.
      - Ask questions such as:
        - "What other signs can you see that indicate future events?"
        - "Can you think of a time when you made a plan based on current evidence?"

  • Use role-play and modeling to demonstrate how to express intentions inferences, leading the students to incorporate evidence in their responses.


  1. Future Plans Interview
       - Total Time: 10 minutes
       - Pair students and have them interview each other about their future plans. Each student must ask questions starting with "What are you going to…" and respond using the structure 'to be going to.' For example, "What are you going to do during the summer?" This encourages spontaneous speaking and reinforces the grammatical structure through meaningful conversation.

  2. Intentions Role-Play
       - Total Time: 15 minutes
       - Assign roles (e.g., teacher, student, parent) and create scenarios where students must express future intentions while incorporating specific contexts (e.g., planning a birthday party, discussing career aspirations). They must use 'to be going to' in their responses, offering reasons or evidence for their intentions. This adds a fun, imaginative layer to practicing the structure.

  3. Group Discussion Activity
       - Total Time: 10 minutes
       - Divide students into small groups and provide them with topics related to future events, such as technology advancements, travel destinations, or upcoming holidays. Each group has to discuss and come up with a shared plan using 'to be going to' for each topic. For instance, "We are going to travel to Japan because we want to experience its culture." After discussing, groups can present their findings to the class, fostering public speaking and collaboration.


Future Plans Interview
    - Total Time: 10 minutes
    - Conduct a personalized interview where the teacher asks the student about their future plans. The teacher can start with prompts like, "What are you going to do during the weekend?" The student must respond using 'to be going to,' encouraging spontaneous speaking and reinforcing the grammatical structure in a meaningful context.

Intentions Role-Play
    - Total Time: 15 minutes
    - Together, the teacher and student can role-play different scenarios where they discuss future intentions. The teacher can create contexts such as planning a special event or setting personal goals. The student must respond using 'to be going to' while providing reasons or evidence for their intentions, making the lesson interactive and engaging.

Personalized Discussion Activity
    - Total Time: 10 minutes
    - The teacher can introduce a topic related to future events based on the student's interests, such as future travel plans or career aspirations. The student will discuss their ideas and plans using 'to be going to,' articulating their thoughts and reasons. After the discussion, the teacher can provide feedback and ask follow-up questions to further develop the conversation.