Shopping Nation

Introduction

This lesson has a number of activities related to the topic of shops and shopping. Choose tasks according to the age / level of your students and the time available. 

Task 1 is a simple vocabulary task. Task 2 is a ‘find somebody who’ activity where students ask each other questions related to shopping. In Task 3, students read comments which lead into discussions about issues such as out of town shopping, 24-hour shops, online shopping etc. Task 4 is a short reading activity about Buy Nothing Day, an event celebrated around the world to raise consumer awareness. In Task 5, students work together to create a presentation about an ideal shop and think about how shops can attract and keep business. 

Teachers can use a student worksheet or presentation for this lesson. The texts for Task 3 can be copied; a no-printing alterative is suggested. 

Learning outcomes

Depending on tasks chosen, students will:

• Use vocabulary related to shops and shopping
• Ask and answers questions about shopping using a variety of tenses
• Express opinions and describe personal shopping experiences
• Identify specific information in an article about Buy Nothing Day
• Create and give a presentation about an ideal shop

Age and level

13-17, Adults (A2 / B1)

Time

Varies according to tasks chosen. Full lesson takes approximately 80-95 minutes. 

Materials

Materials can be downloaded below. 

• Lesson plan
• Presentation
• Student worksheet
• Reading texts (Task 3)

Task 1: Your local shops (Vocabulary) (10 mins)

• Show slide 2 of the presentation or refer students to Task 1 in the student worksheet. 
• Individually or in pairs, students write the names of six different types of shop (they can write the name of the shop, or the generic word e.g. clothes shop). They write the names of three things they can buy in the shop. 
• Students compare their lists with a partner or another pair. 
• Ask students to give the names of the shops / items and write any new vocabulary on the board. Check pronunciation of any new words. 
  Tip: If your class enjoys playing games, you can set this up as a competition. When students compare their answers, they win a point for each word that others have not written. This is likely to produce more unfamiliar and new vocabulary. 

Task 2: Find someone who... (Speaking) (10-15 mins)

• Show slide 3 of the presentation or refer students to Task 2 in the student worksheet. 
• Give instructions for the activity. 
  o    Students must ask questions to find classmates who have done the things in the first column. 
  o    They must ask different people the questions, and they should try to write different names in the second column. 
  o    Once they find somebody, they should ask a follow-up question to get more information. 
• Before students start, check that they know how to form initial questions, and ask for / give some examples of follow-up questions. Focus on the use of tenses if necessary: 
  o    Did you buy something new last week? What did you buy?
  o    Do you hate shopping? Why?
  o    Are you going shopping next weekend? What are you going to buy?
  o    Have you ever worked in a shop? Did / do you enjoy it?
  o    Would you like to work in a shop? Why?
  o    Do you have a favourite shop? What is it? What do you like about it?
  o    Do you buy more things online than in shops? Why?
• Demonstrate what students need to do if necessary by asking some students the first question. When one answers ‘yes’, note their name then ask a follow-up question. 
• Students walk around the classroom and ask classmates questions to complete the table. If you have a large class, students can stay where they are and ask questions in groups. 
• End the activity when some students have completed the table. Ask one or two students to give information about each question, e.g. Maria bought something new last week. She bought a new bag for school / work. 

Task 3: Shopping nation (Discussion) (15 mins)

• Put students into pairs or small groups. Explain that they are going to read some different people’s opinions about shops and shopping. 
• You can either make copies of the texts and questions in the Reading texts for Task 3 or use the presentation for a no-printing option. If you use copies of the texts, cut them up before the lesson. 
  Option 1 (with Task 3 worksheet cut-ups) 
  o    Depending on the time available and level of your students, give each group 1, 2 or 3 texts. Alternatively, give each pair / group one text, and then another as they finish their discussion. 
  o    Set a time limit. After the time limit, put pairs / small groups together to share their ideas about their discussions. Invite some pairs / groups to share summaries of their discussions with the class. 
  Option 2 (with presentation)
  o    Show slide 4. Give students some time to read and discuss the questions. Give a time limit, then invite some pairs / groups to share summaries of their discussions with the class. 
  o    Depending on the time available, repeat with slides 5-7. 
  Tip: If you like, you could walk around as students discuss and make notes of good examples of language used / common errors. You could review these at the end of the task. 

Task 4: Buy Nothing Day (Reading) (15 mins)

• Write ‘Buy Nothing Day’ on the board. Explain that is celebrated in November in many countries around the world. Ask students to say what they think the day is about, why it is held, and what happens on the day. You can find information about it here: https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/buy-nothing-day/
  http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/
• Show slide 8 of the presentation or refer students to Task 4 in the student worksheet. 
• Give students a few minutes to read the text and ask them to say if their ideas about the day were correct. 
• Then show slide 9 or refer students to questions 1-6 below the text. Put students into pairs or small groups and ask them to discuss the questions. If students are using the presentation, they can try to answer as many questions as they can then look at slide 8 again to check their answers.
• Check answers with the whole class.
  Answers: 1. (Depends), 2. People buy nothing for 24 hours; 3. People need to think about the effects of the things they buy on the environment (e.g. using Earth’s resources) and developing countries (e.g. who made the product? Were they treated well?)
  Questions 4-6: Answers vary. You could encourage students to research Buy Nothing Day in their country; and / or experiment with buying nothing for 24 hours. Higher-level students may like to discuss the topics of consumerism and globalisation. 

Word game (10 mins)

• Give instructions for the game. 
  o    Students must make pairs and sit facing each other. 
  o    You will give the name of a type of shop e.g. sports shop. Students take turns to say as many items as possible that you can buy there, for example:
  Student 1 – “trainers”
  Student 2 – “football”
  Student 1 – “tennis racket”
  Student 2 – “swimming costume”
  Student 1 – “tracksuit” 
  o    The loser is the one who either repeats an item or can’t think of one. Students get a point for each round they win and at the end each pair declares the winner.
• It may be useful to demonstrate the game first. 
• Once students are ready, call out the names of shops or write them on the board, so pairs can play without stopping. 

Task 5: My ideal shop (Presentation) (20-30 mins)

• Ask students to say which shops they like and why. Write ideas on the board and encourage them to think about unusual / interesting things that shops do to attract and keep customers e.g. have a loyalty card, host events, use social media, reward customers, host giveaways, have interesting displays / personal shopper etc. 
• Put students into small groups. Explain that each group should design an ideal shop. Show slide 10 or write these questions on the board:
  o    What is the name? 
  o    What does it sell?
  o    Where is it?
  o    How will you attract customers to the shop?
  o    How will you keep customers?
• As students work, walk around and help where necessary. Encourage them to be creative. Explain that they will need to present their ideal shop to the class. 
• Depending on time available, groups could simply make notes, create a poster, or make a digital / online presentation. 
• Groups present their ideal shops to the rest of the class. If you have a large class, they could present their shops in large groups. 
  Tip: For younger learners this can be extended into a project that could be presented on large cardboard. If you have the space, time and freedom to do so you could make it into a craft project and have students produce a mini model of their ideal shop in a shoe box.