Year 9
Lesson 43
Are you a couch
potato?
Keywords
Introducing further ways of making
suggestions and giving advice
Revising lexis related to health and
keeping fit
Contents
Aims
Learning goals:
Grammar
and functions
couch potato, keep fit, take exercise,
take up a sport, take the stairs
should
How about …
Why don’t you …
Language Analysis
Introducing further ways of making suggestions and giving advice
There are a few ways to give advice in English, e.g.:
You should + VERB (You should have a healthy diet.)
Why don't you + VERB (Why don’t you take up a sport?)
It's a good idea for people +TO + VERB (It’s a good idea for people to use the stairs.)
How about + VERB +ING (How about making it more fun to use the stairs?)
You ought to… (You ought to go home)
Please note students often confuse the words advice (noun) and advise (verb).
Revising lexis related to health and keeping fit
couch potato /kəʊtʃ pəˈteɪtəʊ/
Note:
Students may not know the word escalator or coach potato but the pictures should give them enough
clues. Teachers can concept check though. Couch is another word for sofa or settee.
give advice
healthy diet
healthy living
keep fit
make our lives better
play a sport
set up a company
take exercise
take up a sport
take the escalator
take the stairs
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Procedure
Lead-in
Audio 1:
Do you have a healthy diet?
Audio 2:
Do you take regular exercise?
Audio 3:
Do you play a sport?
Audio 4:
Do you take the stairs (rather than the lift)?
Audio 5:
Are you a couch potato?
Key:
Ask students to match the pictures with the
questions.
Then students answer the questions for
themselves.
Note:
Students may not know the word escalator or
coach potato but the pictures should give them
enough clues. Teachers can concept check
though. Couch is another word for sofa or settee.
Extension:
Put students in pairs and ask to practise asking
and answering the questions. Monitor the pairs.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Main input
Key:
1
2
3
4
False
False
True
True
Ask students to read and choose True or False.
Extension:
Exploit the screen by asking students to correct
the false sentences.
1 False
We hear advice about living healthily all the time.
2 False
The Fun Theory subway was in Sweden.
Ask follow-up questions: Would you like to walk
on these stairs? Do you think it is a good idea?
Extension:
Write the following words on the board and ask
students to make the correct phrases:
coach potato
give advice
healthy diet
healthy living
keep fit
make our lives better
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
play a sport
set up a company
take exercise
take up a sport
take the escalator
take the stairs
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 1
Key:
1
2
3
4
eat
play
to take
eating
Ask students to complete the sentence with the
correct form of the verb in the box (note that one
verb is used twice).
Extension:
Tell students to look at the vocabulary box and
put in pairs to make sentences with the following
phrases used for giving advice:
You should… Why don’t you… It’s a good idea…
How about…
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 2
Audio 1:
You should have a healthy diet.
Audio 2:
Why don’t you take up a sport?
Audio 3:
It’s a good idea for people to use the stairs.
Audio 4:
How about making it more fun to use the stairs?
Audio 5:
You ought to walk more.
Audio 6:
Start exercising more.
Key:
1
2
3
4
5
6
should
you
idea
about
ought
exercising
1
2
3
4
5
6
+ infinitive
+ infinitive
+to infinitive
verb +ing
+ to + infinitive
verb + ing
Ask students to complete the sentences offering
advice. Then students listen and check their
answers.
Ask students to complete the chart.
Extension:
Ask students to work in pairs and practise giving
advice and using the structures.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 3
Audio 1:
Why don’t you take up a sport?
Audio 2:
You should have a healthy diet.
Audio 3:
You shouldn’t become a couch potato.
Audio 4:
How about taking regular exercise?
Audio 5:
It’s a good idea to take the stairs.
Key:
1
2
3
4
5
Why don’t you take up a sport?
You should have a healthy diet.
You shouldn’t become a couch potato.
How about taking regular exercise?
It’s a good idea to take the stairs.
Ask students to put the words in order. Then
students listen and check their answers.
Extension:
Encourage students to listen and repeat the
sentences.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Practice 4
Audio 1:
Why don’t you cycle to school instead of getting
the bus?
Audio 2:
You should drink fewer sugary drinks.
Audio 3:
You shouldn’t play computer games every
evening.
Audio 4:
How about joining the swimming club?
Audio 5:
It’s a good idea to eat fruit instead of crisps and
fatty snacks.
Give the students these instructions for the
Memory game. The aim of the game is to make
pairs.
Key:
On the screen you will see two sets of cards ‘face
down’.
Click on one card from each set to make a pair.
If it is a pair, the cards will fly off the screen. If it is
not a pair, the cards will turn over again.
Choose two more cards to make a pair.
Continue until you have matched all the pairs.
Audio 1
Extension:
Give out Handouts. Ask students to make
sentences and give people advice. Encourage to
use the following phrases:
Audio 2
Audio 3
You should
Why don't you
It's a good idea
How about
You ought to
Make sure students use a variety of the phrases
and do not repeat the same for all of the
sentences. Monitor and encourage them to use
different structures.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Audio 4
Audio 5
Key:
Students’ own answers.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
English to take away
Audio 1:
Do you have a healthy diet?
Audio 2:
No.
Audio 3:
You should try to eat fruit and vegetables every
day.
Students’ own answers.
This is a ‘free practice’ stage. The aim is
personalisation. Give students the following
instructions:
Work in pairs. Take turns to ask the questions
and give advice if needed.
Extension:
Feedback all the answers – asking students A
what student B said etc. or you could arrange a
class survey in which all the students ask each
other the questions and present their finding in a
presentation or written report / summary.
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Handout
You should ● It's a good idea ● You ought to ● Why don't you ● How about
1
I have got a headache.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2
I eat too much chocolate.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3
My room is a mess.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
4
I am sad.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
5
My marks are poor.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
6
It’s a rainy day.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
7
I work too much.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
8
I do little sports.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
© Young Digital Planet 2015 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide