Lost Property Office – Lesson Plan

Level: Elementary

Communicative aim: Sts will be able to describe their possessions in a lost property office roleplay activity.

Target language: What’s it made of? It’s made of…; materials (leather, metal, plastic, etc)

Lesson structure: ESA (Engage Study Activate)

Source: Adapted from New Inside Out, pp. 81,82

Engage: Kim’s game

Put an umbrella on the table and say, What’s this? (drill pronunciation)

Then invite students to come up and each put an object on the table. And then hold up each object in turn and elicit the name.

E.g. What are these? Keys

E.g. What’s this?  Lipstick, mechanical pencil, hair band, pencil case, tissues…etc

Drill pronunciation and write new words on the whiteboard.

Cover the objects with a towel or a large piece of wrapping paper.

Pairwork: Remember the objects. Write a list. Model writing list on whiteboard: umbrella, keys …

Get feedback from each pair. (Give point).

Study:

Presentation 1 :

Elicit: I come home. I can’t open the door. Why not?

Because I ______ my keys.  (lose, lost)

Concept checking questions: Do I know where they are? Can I find them? What other things do people lose?

Elicit: Handbag*  (hold up a handbag or a flashcard of one)

What’s this? What colour is it? What’s it made of? (drill phrase and write up on the whiteboard)

What kind of bag is it? It’s a small handbag. (drill phrases and write up on the whiteboard)

You may wish to also teach other related words, e.g. beach bag, carrier bag, shoulder bag, bin bag, etc.

*Pronunciation note: If students are pronouncing “bag” like “bug”, you may want to point out the difference and drill the two words /ˈbæg/ vs /ˈbʌɡ/ You could also drill some other common minimal pairs like cap vs cup, cat vs cut, hat vs hut, etc 

Practice 1: In pairs, tell your partner about something you lost

For example, the other day I lost my sunglasses in the shopping centre (Mataró Park). I went back to the café and to two shops. I was very lucky. In one shop a man asked me, “Are these your sunglasses?”

Presentation 2:

Elicit: Where do people go when they lose something? (in England)

A Lost Property Office

(write it up as a title on the whiteboard and show a picture if possible)

Ask students to read the conversation: Judy and a lost property officer.

Focus questions: What colour is Judy’s handbag? What’s in it?

Judy and the lost property officer

LPO: Lost Property Office. How can I help you?

Judy: Hello, I’m calling because I lost my bag yesterday.

LPO: I see. Well, there are thirty-eight bags here. What _____  __ it? And what’s it made of?

Judy: Er… It’s black and it’s ______ ___ leather.

LPO: OK…black…leather… There are twenty-four black leather bags here. What ____ __ bag is it?

Judy: It’s a handbag. A small handbag.

LPO: __ ______ anything in it?

Judy: Yes, ______ ___ __ mobile phone, and some sunglasses. Oh, and Hissy.

LPO: Hissy?

Judy: Yes, Hissy the snake.

LPO: There’s a snake … in your bag?

Judy: Yes, but don’t worry, it’s ______ __ plastic. It belongs to my five-year-old son.

LPO: Right, I think we _____ your bag here. The office is open from nine in the morning until 5:00 pm.

Practice 2:

Pairwork:  Complete the conversation with the missing words: have, made of, Is there, there’s , kind of, colour is, made of.

Feedback: e.g. What colour is it? 

Practice 3: 

Pairwork: Match the questions with the answers.

E.g. a) ——————————————– 2)

Feedback: Drill useful phrases

Practice 4:

In pairs, write a conversation

Roleplay the conversation.

Activate:

Practice 5 (or extra backup activity):   

In pairs, describe an object to your partner. Partner guess what it is.

e.g. It’s round, it’s black and it’s made of plastic. What is it?

Lost Property Office roleplay

Put objects in 3 bags. Give the bags to 3 students and ask them to stand in separate places.

Instruct: You are lost property officers. Other students stand up, please. Go to a Lost Property Office. Describe your object.

E.g. It’s a small black umbrella. It’s made of plastic and nylon.

If time, you could have the students swap roles and repeat the roleplay.