Competency: Understand How to Describe People
Lesson Overview: The purpose of this lesson is for the student to understand how to make
basic descriptions of people.
This lesson includes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Describing People Vocabulary Flash Cards
Describing People PowerPoint Presentation
Describing People Sentence Completion
Describing People Grammar Worksheet
Approximate Time: 1 hour
Prerequisite Skills: Students must be able to read and write simple sentences, and have a
basic understanding of color, gender and ages.
Prerequisite Vocabulary:
height
man/men
old
size
weight
woman/women
year(s)
Vocabulary:
adult(s)
attractive
average height
average weight
cute
elderly
handsome
hearing impaired/deaf
heavyset/fat
middle-aged
2002-2003 ESL Special Project
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
Basic Skills Department
Competency: Understand How to Describe People
physically challenged/handicapped
pregnant
senior citizen(s)
short
tall
teenager(s)
thin/slim/skinny
toddler(s)
visually impaired/blind
young
Page 1
Materials Needed: Whiteboard or flip chart, erasable markers, flash cards, and handouts.
Equipment Needed: Multi-media laptop computer, LCD projector, Describing People
PowerPoint presentation.
Activities:
1. Explain the purpose of the lesson.
2. Review prerequisite vocabulary as needed.
3. Use the Describing People Vocabulary Flash Cards to practice pronunciation.
Just practice pronunciation at this point. Pronounce the words and have students
repeat the words as a group and then individually.
4. Show students the Describing People PowerPoint Presentation. Ensure that the
students are reading after you read to them. Discuss each slide as necessary for
comprehension. Ask students questions about each slide.
5. Use the Describing People Sentence Completion and review pronunciations
again. Have students read completed sentences to the class. Review answers
orally.
6. Reinforce basic grammar and new lesson content with the Describing People
Grammar Worksheet. Have students work individually or in pairs on this exercise.
Review answers orally.
7. Have the students describe one another using complete sentences. Stress the
proper usage of commas when stacking adjectives.
8. Use the students’ sentences in a dictation exercise. Read their sentences out loud
and have them write them down. Ask for volunteers to write sentences on the board
and correct them as a class.
Assessment/Evaluation of Learning:
1. Instructor evaluation of students’ participation.
2. Evaluation of student worksheet.
2002-2003 ESL Special Project
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
Basic Skills Department
Competency: Understand How to Describe People
Page 2
Optional/Follow-up Activities:
1. Bring in magazines and have the students write complete sentences describing
various people found in various pictures.
2. Discuss why it is important to be able to describe people.
3. Hold up various pictures of people (actors and actresses) and ask for their height,
weight, hair color, age description etc.
4. Oxford Picture Dictionary by Oxford University Press, “Age and Physical Description”,
page 22.
5. Oxford Picture Dictionary Intermediate Workbook by Oxford University Press, “Age
and Description”, page 22.
6. Have students write their own dialogues using the information from this lesson.
2002-2003 ESL Special Project
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
Basic Skills Department
Competency: Understand How to Describe People
Page 3