Mixed-Ability ESL Lesson Plan: 45-Minute Trip Task
This 45-minute mixed-ability ESL lesson keeps one shared communication goal: recommend a class trip, support the choice with two reasons, and agree on a plan that meets a budget and return time. Everyone reads the same original text. Optional scaffolds change the support; extension questions deepen the reasoning without removing learners from the shared discussion.
Designed for teenage or adult learners who can read a short everyday text and make simple suggestions with support. Check those prerequisites first; this is not a formally levelled or classroom-validated course. For complete beginners, teach the task language beforehand or use a shorter teacher-led version. All places, prices and schedules below are fictional.
Ready to use: 5-page printable pack, with all teaching content also available below. No account is needed.
Download the lesson and student handouts (PDF)Original classroom materials. You may print or adapt them for your own classes. Keep the source credit when sharing an adapted copy.
Preparation and success criteria
Print PDF pages 2-4 for learners; keep pages 1 and 5 as teacher notes. Alternatively display the reading and let learners write in notebooks. Materials: a timer, pens and the reading/task cards. No app, account or travel research is required.
- Shared language: I suggest ___ because ___. It costs ___. We will be back at ___. One drawback is ___. What do you think?
- Success for every learner: make a choice, give two accurate reasons, ask or answer a relevant question, and check the budget and return time.
- Flexible support: allow the glossary, teacher read-aloud, highlighted facts, sentence frames or extra thinking time. Record support when using the task for assessment.
- Grouping: start in pairs; switch proposer/listener roles so one fluent learner does not do all the reasoning. Offer task cards privately or as a choice, not as fixed “weak” and “strong” labels.
The 45-minute lesson sequence
| Minutes | Stage | Teacher and learner actions |
|---|---|---|
| 0-5 | Set the shared goal | Introduce the budget, return time and weather. Ask pairs what makes a trip a good choice. Model one reason with because. |
| 5-10 | Read the same text | Read silently or hear the teacher read it. Highlight prices, return times and indoor/outdoor details. Explain the six glossary items. |
| 10-18 | Prepare a recommendation | Offer the support, core and extension cards. Learners choose or receive a starting card privately; they can change cards. All still prepare a choice and reasons. |
| 18-28 | Negotiate in pairs | Each learner proposes a plan, asks one question and responds. Agree on a plan. Use two rounds of three minutes each, then four minutes to complete the joint decision. |
| 28-35 | Compare and challenge | Pairs join another pair. Each explains its choice; listeners check the three constraints and ask about one trade-off. |
| 35-41 | Improve and share | Pairs revise the decision. Invite a few reports, then let every learner rehearse their own reason with a partner. |
| 41-45 | Complete the common exit check | Each learner independently writes or tells you a choice, two reasons and one drawback or condition. Use the same criteria for all. |
If reading takes longer, reduce whole-class reports at 35-41 minutes before cutting the individual exit check. In a large class, listen to a planned sample of pairs during negotiation; collect an exit response from everyone. Do not claim to have assessed every speaking dimension in every learner from a brief scan of the room.
Student reading: choose our Saturday trip
Our English group is planning a Saturday trip. We can spend at most EUR 18 per person, including travel, and everyone must be back at the learning centre by 17:00. We will bring packed lunches, so we do not need to buy food. The forecast says that rain is likely after 13:00. We want time to talk together as well as see something interesting.
The Riverside Trail costs EUR 9, including the bus. We leave at 10:00 and return at 15:30. The visit includes a 90-minute walk and an outdoor picnic area. There is no indoor shelter. The organiser can cancel the walk before departure if heavy rain is forecast, but cannot promise another activity that day.
The City Museum costs EUR 16, including the bus. We leave at 10:00 and return at 16:30. Its history exhibition and lunch room are indoors. Groups can use the lunch room for their own food. There is an optional guided talk at 14:00; we can also explore in pairs.
The Discovery Lab costs EUR 18, including return travel. We leave at 09:30. The normal return is 17:20, after the final demonstration. We can instead take an earlier bus and arrive back at 16:50, but we would miss that demonstration. Both buses are included in the ticket. The exhibits and lunch area are indoors.
Glossary: at most = no more than; forecast = a prediction of the weather; shelter = protection from weather; optional = you may choose it; demonstration = someone shows how something works; drawback = a disadvantage.
Check the important facts
- What is the maximum cost per person, including travel?
- What time must everyone be back?
- Which place has no indoor shelter?
- Which option costs EUR 16 and returns at 16:30?
- Why does the normal Discovery Lab schedule fail the group's rule?
- What must the group give up to visit the Discovery Lab and still arrive on time?
Support, core and extension task cards
All three routes lead back to the same pair recommendation. Learners may borrow support or move to an extension when ready. The extension is a new reasoning demand, not simply a larger quantity of the same work.
Support card: find and build
- Underline the return times and circle the three prices. Put a tick beside indoor places.
- Answer the six fact questions. Compare answers with a partner before planning.
- Choose an option. Use: I suggest ___. It costs ___. We return at ___. It is a good choice because ___. Another reason is ___. One problem is ___.
- Ask your partner: Which option do you prefer? or Can we get back by 17:00? Respond with one reason. Use the glossary and text throughout.
Core card: compare and agree
- Answer the six fact questions, then compare two options using price, return time and weather.
- Recommend one option with two reasons from the text. Explain one drawback or condition.
- Ask a follow-up question about your partner's suggestion. Do not repeat a question they have already answered.
- Agree on a plan. Prepare a four-sentence report: recommendation, two reasons and one trade-off.
Extension card: defend and adapt
- Prepare a recommendation that meets the budget and time limit. Explain why a reasonable person might choose a different option.
- New condition: one person must be back by 16:00. Reconsider all three options. Decide whether a safe, reliable plan can be guaranteed from the information given.
- If no option meets all requirements reliably, explain the conflict and propose what information or new arrangement you would need. Do not invent a bus, discount or indoor shelter.
- Join the shared discussion. Summarise your partner's point before you challenge it, and give space for their reply.
The joint decision sheet
Before joining another pair, prepare the following together. Each learner should be ready to explain at least one reason and respond to a question.
- Our choice: __________________________
- Reason 1, using a fact from the text: __________________________
- Reason 2, using a different fact: __________________________
- Cost per person / return time: __________________________
- One drawback or condition: __________________________
- Question we asked / what we learned: __________________________
Give each listener a specific job: check whether the proposed cost includes travel, whether the time is arrival back at the centre, and whether the weather creates an unresolved problem. A different preference is acceptable if the reasons and conditions are accurate.
One common exit check for everyone
Individually complete: “I recommend ___. My two reasons are ___ and ___. One drawback or condition is ___.” Add the cost and return time. Learners may write a short response or give the same response orally to the teacher under an agreed access arrangement. Retain any normal language support and note its use.
| Criterion | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Choice and reasons | A named option and two different, accurate reasons from the reading. |
| Constraints | No more than EUR 18; return by 17:00, with any required condition made explicit. |
| Trade-off | An accurate drawback or condition, rather than an invented fact. |
| Understandable message | The reader or listener can understand the recommendation despite language errors. |
These are lesson checks, not a proficiency score. If a learner gives a persuasive reason but misreads 17:20, teach timetable reading next. If the facts are accurate but the recommendation is hard to follow, model a short choice/reason/condition structure. Pair success and individual evidence can differ.
Answer guidance and possible recommendations
Reading answers
- EUR 18. Food is brought from home, so do not add an invented lunch charge.
- 17:00 at the learning centre, not 17:00 at the attraction.
- The Riverside Trail.
- The City Museum.
- It returns at 17:20, twenty minutes after the latest acceptable time.
- The final demonstration. The early bus returns at 16:50 and is already included in the ticket.
There can be more than one defensible plan
- City Museum: EUR 16, back at 16:30 and indoors. A sound default for likely afternoon rain. A learner might prefer another topic to history or mention the EUR 7 extra cost compared with the trail; those are reasonable trade-offs, not proof that the museum is wrong.
- Discovery Lab with the early bus: EUR 18, back at 16:50 and indoors. Meets the original rules only if the group explicitly chooses the early return and accepts missing the final demonstration. The normal 17:20 return does not meet the rule.
- Riverside Trail: EUR 9 and back at 15:30, but the activity is outdoors with no shelter. A recommendation must acknowledge likely rain and the risk of cancellation. Do not award a fully resolved weather plan for an invented indoor picnic area.
- Extension condition, back by 16:00: the museum and both lab returns are too late. Only the trail meets that time in the text, and its weather problem is unresolved. “We cannot guarantee a reliable trip from these choices” is a valid reasoned answer. Request a verified earlier indoor visit, change the day, or propose an indoor class activity instead; do not pretend those arrangements are already available.
Model exit response: “I recommend the City Museum because it is indoors and costs EUR 16 including the bus. We return at 16:30, before the deadline. One drawback is that it costs more than the trail.” Another recommendation can succeed if it meets the criteria and explains its conditions.
Adapt the lesson without splitting the class into separate lessons
- For more reading support: read each paragraph aloud, pause to highlight one price and one return time, and let learners keep the text during speaking. Give a keyword bank rather than replacing the shared goal with copying.
- For more challenge: ask learners to rank the constraints, paraphrase a partner’s argument and negotiate a change. Avoid using the most fluent learner as the permanent tutor.
- For online teaching: share the text and cards, use pairs in breakout rooms where available, and ask each learner to submit the same exit response. Keep instructions visible and provide a whole-class alternative if rooms are unavailable.
- For the next lesson: regroup briefly around the evidence: reading time information, giving reasons or responding to a partner. Let learners change support as their needs change.
For a fuller observation of pair interaction, use the four-dimension speaking rubric and observer sheet. If you want to follow up with digital practice, review how to set ESL assignments online and choose work that addresses the exit-check evidence. The full lesson above is usable without the platform.
Source notes and authorship
British Council TeachingEnglish’s mixed-ability guidance describes common aims, varied task demands, extension work and flexible grouping. Those principles informed this resource. The trip text, timings, task cards, answers and exit check are original materials by The Kingdom of English; this is not a British Council lesson or an endorsed or classroom-tested resource. Source checked October 3, 2026.