Don’t eat too much
fast food!
Aims
Learning goals:
Expressing opinions
Expressing choices and preferences (I'd
prefer… and I'd rather… )
Contents
Year 8
Lesson 57
Grammar and
functions
Keywords
cafeteria, canteen, fast food, hungry,
I‘d rather …, I’d prefer …, lunch,
packed lunch, school dinner, survey,
thirsty
Language Analysis
Expressing choices and preferences
I’d prefer …
I’d rather ...
Both words are used to express choice from other options. These words can be used interchangeably
with only small differences in their forms:
We use I'd rather + verb
I'd rather have a take away than school dinners.
We use I'd prefer + to + verb
I'd prefer to have school dinners in the winter.
Note: The present tense is I prefer …. We only use I'd rather … in the conditional form, not in the
present tense.
cafeteria /ˌkæfəˈtɪəriə/
canteen /kænˈtiːn/
Cafeteria and canteen have a similar meaning. Cafeteria is on the KET wordlist, but canteen is more
usual in school context.
fast food
‘Fast food’ rather than ‘take away’ is on KET vocab list but teacher’s guide could mention both as ‘take
away’ is useful for students who might study in the UK over the summer.
Hungry /ˈhʌŋɡri/
I‘d rather … /ˈrɑːðə(r)/
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
I’d prefer … /prɪˈfɜː(r)/
Lunch /lʌntʃ/
Children refer to lunch at school as school dinner in the UK.
packed lunch /pækt lʌntʃ/
school dinner /skuːl ˈdɪnə(r)/
survey /ˈsɜː(r)veɪ/
thirsty /ˈθɜː(r)sti/
Everyday English:
What do you do for lunch?
I have a packed lunch, but I’d prefer to have school dinners.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Procedure
Lead-in
Key:
1 have a packed lunch
2 have a cafeteria meal
3 go home for lunch
4 eat fast food
Ask students to label the meals. Ask: What do
you usually have for lunch?
Extension:
Start a short discussion about lunch and whether
students think it is important. If appropriate ask
students if they think a chocolate bar is good for
lunch, why not, what is better etc.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Main input
Audio:
William: Can you help me with my survey?
Harry: OK.
Emma: Sure, what’s it about?
William: School dinners. What do you do at lunch
time Emma?
Emma: I have a packed lunch, but I’d prefer to
have school dinners in the winter when the
weather is cold.
William: And what do you do Harry?
Harry: I go home for lunch.
William: What do you do Kate?
Kate: I have a packed lunch. So what do you do
William?
William: I have school dinners but I’d rather have
a take away!
Key:
Ask students to listen and choose. Continue with
a question: What do the school children do for
lunch?
Note:
Children refer to lunch at school as school dinner
in the UK.
Extension:
Focus on the grammar box and study ways of
expressing preferences with student. Ask a few
students to provide sample sentences with the
use of I’d rather and I’d prefer.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 1
Key:
1 True
2 False
3 False
4 True
5 False
6 True
7 False
8 True
Ask students to read and choose True or False.
Extension: Ask students to work in pairs and act
out the dialogue.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 2
Audio:
1.
I’d rather … .
2.
I’d prefer to … .
Key:
1 prefer
2 rather
3 prefer
4 rather
5 prefer
6 prefer
7 rather
8 prefer
Ask students to complete the sentences and use
rather or prefer.
This exercise makes students focus on the form.
Extension:
Point out to students the grammar box which
explains that do you prefer is present tense and
would you prefer is the conditional. Rather is only
conditional, never Do you rather …?
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 3
Audio:
Do you want egg sandwiches today?
Would you like an omelette?
Do you often eat fast food?
Do you want salad?
Key:
1 No, I’d rather have cheese.
2 No, I’d rather have pizza and chips.
3 No, I’d prefer to go home for lunch but I don’t
have time today.
4 Yes, I’d prefer to eat something cold today.
Ask students to read and complete. Then tell Ss
to work in pairs and practise the dialogues.
Distribute Handouts. Ask students to make
sentences about their preferences.
Students should use I’d rather and I’d prefer.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 4
Audio:
1 I’d rather have cheese.
2 I’d rather have pizza and chips.
3 I’d prefer to cook at home.
4 I‘d prefer to eat healthy food.
5 I’d rather take a packed lunch to school.
6 I’d prefer not to eat fast food.
Key:
1 I’d rather have cheese.
2 I’d rather have pizza and chips.
3 I’d prefer to cook at home.
4 I‘d prefer to eat healthy food.
5 I’d rather take a packed lunch to school.
6 I’d prefer not to eat fast food.
Ask students to put the words in order. Then tell
students to listen and check.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
English to take away
Key:
Students’ own answers.
Ask students to work in pairs and take it in turns
to answer the lunch survey.
Use I’d prefer to or I’d rather.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Handout
coffee / tea
____________________________________________________________
theatre / cinema
____________________________________________________________
sea / mountains
____________________________________________________________
cakes / ice cream
____________________________________________________________
London / New York
____________________________________________________________
watch TV / listen to music
____________________________________________________________
learn English / learn German
____________________________________________________________
pizza / hamburgers
____________________________________________________________
trains / cars
____________________________________________________________
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide