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Vocabulary lesson plan about marriage for intermediate students

Marriage

This vocabulary lesson plan is for teenage and adult students at an intermediate level. It is based on the theme of marriage problems that lead to a divorce. Students will develop their vocabulary and fluency through a range of reading, vocabulary and writing activities.

Throughout the lesson, learners are guided to discover word forms and their meanings as well as their collocates.

The lesson is for:

  • intermediate students

It is divided into:

  1. a reading activity;
  2. vocabulary work;
  3. and a follow up that consists of a writing activity.

Vocabulary lesson plan (marriage problems)

Mary’s marriage story

Before reading ask the students to read the title of the passage and predict what the text will be about. Then ask them to skim the text and check their predictions.

Asking for divorce

I met my ex-husband on January 1st, 1995 at a birthday party. We fell in love at first sight. We had a fantastic relationship for three happy years. Then, on the third anniversary of our first meeting, he proposed and we got married six months later in London. At first, everything was perfect; he was flawless. We did the housework together; I did the washing-up and made the beds and he did the cooking and the shopping. He always made a mess when he did the cooking, but I didn’t mind because the dishes were always delicious.

Everything changed after a few years when he got a new job in Manchester; we made the decision to move there, so he wouldn’t have to take the train to work every day. He became workaholic and started working late at night and paying less attention to me. He stopped helping me with the housework, so I had to do all the chore by myself. Then, when he started getting drunk after work, he started beating me. I got depressed and ended up asking for divorce which occurred six months later.

Comprehension (reading & comprehension activities)

Answer these questions

  1. When did Mary and her ex-husband meet for the first time?
  2. Who used to do the housework at the beginning of their marriage?

Are these statements true or false?

  1. Mary’s ex-husband was not a good cook.
  2. They got married in 1995.
  3. She asked for a divorce because she got depressed.

Vocabulary work

Noticing

Read the text and try to understand the meaning of the underlined words from the context.

Checking

Match the words with their definitions:
Words Definitions
1. Sight a. An unpleasant or burdensome task.
2. Flawless b. Addicted to work
3. Mess c. Miserable
4. Workaholic d. The act or fact of seeing.
5. Chore e. Perfect
6. Depressed f. A dirty or untidy state of things or of a place.

Vocabulary practice

What parts of speech are these words:
Words Parts of speech
1. Sight Noun
2. Flawless …….
3. Mess …….
4. Workaholic …….
5. Chore …….
6. Depressed …….
Match these words to form collocations:
Words definitions
1. catch a. a mess
2. make b. sight (of)
3. look c. house chores
4. do d. depressed
5. fall e. in love
Complete the following text with words from the above exercise:

Mary suddenly caught …… of her would-be husband at a birthday party. They fell .……. immediately. They got married, but they didn’t have any children. He used to help her with the housework, but later when he started drinking, Mary had to do all the …………by herself. Mary’s husband stopped being nice to her. That’s why she looked……

Expanding

Task A

Use 5 of the words from the text to write true sentences about you.
Work in groups and share your sentences.
Groups decide about the best examples
The representative of each group reports 2 examples.

Task B

Write a story of the marriage of one of your relatives to your pen friend.

How did they meet?
How did they fall in love?
Do they have children?
Does the husband help with the house chores?
Are they happy?

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