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House rules

CEFR: A2 11 slides 45 min Whole class

In the slide deck

A comparison

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House rules — Preview: the first 3 slides, as your students see them on the board.

Preview: the first 3 slides, as your students see them on the board.

Objective & content

Who should make the rules at home? This 45-minute discussion lesson is the lighter one of the set, at A2, for younger or less confident classes. It follows one path: the pupils first, then two stories about rules and habits at home, then what the class thinks. The first story is Tiago, 14, who learns the rules and habits of his new family in California (Golden Bay). The second is Kemi, 12, and her sister Amara, 14, who share a bedroom for the first time: a short story written for this lesson. By the end, pupils can talk about house rules, habits and sharing a space, compare two stories, give an opinion and write five fair rules together.

Documents to download (2)

Pupil sheet In your teacher account
Colour version In your teacher account

Pedagogical guide

Every slide asks the class to do something: choose two rule cards, read four characters' words and say who they agree with, pick three feeling words, compare Kemi and Tiago in three boxes, choose three things to buy for a shared room, stand on a line from 1 to 5, write five room rules in pairs. The lines are short and the words come before the talking, and each question has an A2 version for everyone and a B1 one for stronger pupils. The pupil sheet follows the slides, so every pupil leaves with something written. The subject needs a little care: the questions are always about Tiago, Kemi and Amara, never about a pupil's real home or family. The sisters' story ends open, so the class writes the rules.

Suggested procedure45 min

2 min
Show the cover and read the big question: "Who should make the rules at home?" No answers yet.
8 min
Good house rules: pairs choose two cards each and say why. Then read the eight words and their examples together, and mime "messy", "tidy" and "noisy".
10 min
Tiago's new house and the four voices: read the three lines and Stella's quote, then the bubbles aloud; pairs choose the voice they agree with most.
13 min
One room, two sisters: read the story and check the four facts, choose three feeling words for Amara, then compare Kemi and Tiago in the three boxes on the pupil sheet.
7 min
Shopping for the room, then "Where do you stand?": pupils choose alone, explain to a partner, then stand on the line from 1 to 5. Come back to the big question.
5 min
Our room rules: pairs write five fair rules, read them to another pair, and the class votes for the fairest rule.

Adaptations

SupportKeep the word slide on screen during the voices and the shopping slide, and accept one-sentence answers built on the useful language. Pupils can draw or number their three choices instead of writing them.
ExtensionAsk stronger pairs the B1 question on the voices slide ("Should Tiago follow the rules, or help to change them?"), and have them argue for a place on the line from 1 to 5 that is not their own.

Materials & prerequisitesA projector or screen for the slides (one PDF page per slide, turned with the arrow keys) and one pupil sheet (two A4 pages) per pupil. The last slide is the teacher's notes, with the timed plan and a note of care, to read before the lesson rather than project. Nothing to install. It goes further after the Golden Bay episodes Room for One More, House Rules and Always.

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