B1 – Heatwave advice from a doctor

Summer is here and what goes with it – the unbearable heat is here too! To keep things topical and your students engaged in studying even during the summer, you can talk about ways students can stay cool during this hot summer time.

It feels like every year we are heading towards another heat record. In Spain, where I currently reside, the temperatures were already reaching 40-45 degrees in some parts of the country. Naturally, this was the number one topic on the news and in small talk. Now the temperatures are a bit lower, but for sure the heat is going to make a comeback any time soon! Instead of focusing on the environmental side of this issue, I concentrated on ways in which you can deal with the temperatures while discussing B1-level grammar of modals of advice.

All you need for this lesson is a presentation and a worksheet with the teacher’s notes, available at the end of this post. So scroll until the end of the post to get your copies.

Introduce the topic by talking about the hottest weather the students have ever experienced in their lives. Compare the temperatures and the places affected by them. High temperatures are difficult to deal with, especially for people coming from northern countries, therefore such weather episodes are usually quite memorable. We all have our own tips and tricks for handling the heat, so share them as a group.

Show a list of things that can be done to deal with the heat. Discuss which ones seem to be good ideas and whether students use any of them in their lives. This activity serves as a pre-listening and will be used in the first watch of the video. Say that you are going to watch a news report titled Heatwave Advice from a Doctor: How to Stay Cool by NBC10 Philadelphia. During the first watch, tick the tips mentioned in the video.

I started dabbling in ChatGPT and its many uses in lesson planning. Before planning video lessons, I always watch the clips and assess whether they can be used in the classroom. I’ve always had a problem with getting a transcript quickly and efficiently. This time, I copied the YouTube transcript with all the timestamps and asked ChatGPT to remove the timestamps. It was an incredible idea, as I was able to get a clear text and didn’t have to rewatch the video many times. Using the transcript, I asked ChatGPT to form comprehensive questions, which are used in the next part of the lesson – listening for detail.

Before rewatching the video, go over the questions and write down what you remember from the first listening. Watch the clip and check or write the full answers. Correct and discuss them together as a group.

Introduce the grammar topic by analysing a sentence from the recording that uses the modal verb of advice should – You should never leave your children alone unattended in a car. Underline the modal verb and analyse its use in this particular sentence. Ask a few CCQs to check their understanding of this relatively easy grammar topic, for example, Does should express a good or a bad idea?, or What verb form is after this modal verb?

Using the ideas from the pre-listening discussion, write a few sentences using should and shouldn’t, for instance, You should take breaks at work. and You shouldn’t drink alcohol. As you are on the topic of should and shouldn’t, you can introduce their synonyms (ought to and ought not to), as well as other ways of expressing good and bad ideas, such as I think that it’s a bad idea to eat heavy food when it’s hot outside.

Focus on the way questions are formed with the modal verbs of advice. Using one of the previous sentences, you can draw a classic arrow indicating inversion – You should stay hydrated. – Should you / I stay hydrated? and short answers that usually follow these questions. Students work individually and write eight questions following the structure mentioned before. This activity is an introduction to the final speaking task.

The final speaking activity consists of putting students into pairs. Student A imagines that they are going to a hot country, and Student B imagines that they are going to a cold one. Students ask each other questions about what they should do on their holiday and their partners give them advice using short answers and supporting them with reasons. Monitor this activity and finish it with general speaking feedback.

How are you dealing with the heat? What is the highest temperature you have experienced in your life?