IELTS Lesson Plans

Aims

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Describe the format of Part 2: the cue card, the 1-minute preparation, and the 1–2 minute long turn.
Use the 1-minute preparation to make trigger notes, not full sentences.
Structure a long turn with a clear beginning and end using the four-bullet walk (What → When/Where → Why it matters → How I felt).
Sustain a long turn toward the full two minutes using at least two extension moves, without drying up.

Assumed knowledge: Students completed Lesson 1 (Part 1). They can produce a 2–3 sentence answer with the Answer → Reason → Detail frame and match a question's tense. The new demand here is sustaining talk alone, under a clock, with no examiner to prompt them.

Anticipated problems and solutions

Problem	Solution
Students write full sentences in the prep minute, then read them flat	Cap notes at 5 words per bullet; show a sparse note-card beside a bad essay-card in Stage 4
Students dry up at 40–50 seconds	Teach the extension toolkit in Stage 5; drill with a deliberately thin card so they must stretch
Students ramble but ignore the bullets and never end	The four-bullet walk gives a route; the peer sheet forces a check for a clear ending
Students race through the four bullets as a checklist	State it: bullets are prompts to lean on. Spend longest on the last two
A student freezes in the prep minute	Give “start anywhere” permission: begin with the bullet you have most to say about
Stronger student dominates	Nominate by name; keep speaking in pairs, not open class

Materials

Cue cards (Appendix A), Sets A–D for Stages 3–6, Sets E–G held back for Stage 7, cut up, one per pair. Peer feedback sheets (Appendix B), 2 per student. Blank paper for prep notes. Board/markers. Timer, visible to the room. Optional: phone to capture one long turn.

Timing map

	Stage	Min
1	Recap and the bridge to Part 2	10
2	Cue-card anatomy	10
3	Diagnostic + the hinge	20
4	Core fix: the prep minute + four-bullet walk	25
	Break	10
5	Not drying up: extension moves	20
6	Grammar that lifts a story	15
7	Full practice + peer assessment	20
8	Wrap-up and homework	5
	Total	135

Same shape as Lesson 1: receptive and modelling up front, then talk, talk, talk. The load is heavier per student — one person speaks for two minutes while the rest wait — so Stage 7 pairing matters. Keep pairs, never go round the open class for long turns.

Procedure

Stage 1: Recap and the bridge to Part 2 (10 min)

Interaction: T-S, S-S

In short: Quick recap of last week's homework, then board the difference between Part 1 and Part 2 so they know the two new challenges (1-min prep, 2-min solo).

Ask for the filler-word number from last lesson's homework. One number each, no discussion.
Revisit the self-diagnosis sentence from Lesson 1. Is it still true after a week of noticing?
Elicit the four marking headings from Lesson 1 — Part 2 is scored on the same four; only the task changes.

	Part 1	Part 2
Length	~30 seconds, per answer	1–2 minutes, one long turn
Shape	dialogue, examiner prompts you	monologue, you are alone
Prep	none	1 minute, with the card and paper

Stage 2: Cue-card anatomy (10 min)

Interaction: T-S

In short: Show a real cue card, name its parts, and kill three myths — the bullets are prompts not a checklist, it needn't be true, and reaching 2 minutes is the goal.

Describe a person who taught you something.
You should say:
  - who this person is
  - what they taught you
  - when and where this happened
and explain why it was important to you.

The last line, “and explain why…”, is the one they most often skip and the one that carries the marks.
1 minute of prep with paper, then speak 1–2 minutes; the examiner may ask 1–2 short follow-ups.

Check questions

How long do I prepare? (1 minute)
Do I have to answer all four bullets? (No, they are prompts)
Is a short, perfect turn better than a longer one? (No, length matters here)

Stage 3: Diagnostic + the hinge (20 min)

Interaction: S-S, with T monitoring

In short: Students try a 2-minute turn cold in pairs while you note what breaks. Then play one weak turn and let the class diagnose why it fails — don't tell them.

Give each pair a Set A card and blank paper. 1 minute prep, silent. A gives the long turn while B times it and notes when they started and when they dried up. Swap with Set B.
Circulate and capture what happens, verbatim. Don't correct yet.

Then, the hinge (8 min):

Replay one weak turn. Ask: “Why does this one feel like it's going nowhere?” Board what they find under the four marking headings. Then each student writes privately: “In a long turn, the thing most likely to break me is ______.”

Stage 4: Core fix: the prep minute + four-bullet walk (25 min)

Interaction: T-S then S-S

In short: Teach the four-bullet frame, show trigger-notes vs full sentences, then drill turns from notes — correct structure and length only, never grammar.

What → When/Where → Why it matters → How I felt

“Describe a person who taught you something.”

[What / who] “The first thing that comes to mind is my aunt, who taught me to drive.

[When/Where] This was the summer I turned eighteen, on the empty roads outside my hometown early in the morning.

[Why it matters] What made it matter wasn't the driving — she was patient in a way no one else in my family is, and I saw a different side of her.

[How I felt / close] Looking back, those mornings are when we actually became close. So whenever I drive now, I think of her.”

The first two bullets are quick; the last two carry the marks. Show a good note-card beside a bad one:

GOOD (triggers, ~5 words a line)     BAD (sentences, read flat)
  aunt - driving                       So, my aunt is someone who
  summer 18, hometown, mornings        taught me how to drive when I
  patient / diff side of her           was eighteen years old, and it
  became close - think of her now      was the summer in my hometown...

Give Set C. 1 minute, silent, notes only. Then a controlled drill: nominate a student, they give the long turn from notes; the rest put a hand up the moment it dries up or wanders. Correct for structure and length only.

Stage 5: Not drying up: extension moves (20 min)

Interaction: T-S then S-S

In short: Give the toolkit to fill two minutes — extension moves plus openers, natural phrases and closers. Drill on a deliberately thin card so they stretch it with phrases, not more facts.

Move	Sounds like
Tell a small anecdote	“I remember one time when…”
Compare it to now	“Back then… whereas these days…”
Look to the future	“In future I'd love to… / I can see myself…”
Go hypothetical	“If I hadn't… I probably would've…”
Add sensory detail	“I can still picture… / it smelled of…”
Say why, then why again	“…which mattered because… and that in turn meant…”

Give Set D — a deliberately thin card. In prep, they mark where they'll use two extension moves, then reach two minutes on a topic that “should” only last thirty seconds.

Openers (say one, word-for-word, to start):

“The first thing that comes to mind is…”
“There are a few I could choose, but the one that stands out is…”
“Funnily enough, I was thinking about this just the other day.”

Reflect / go deeper (where the marks are):

“looking back on it now…” · “it taught me a valuable lesson about…” · “I didn't appreciate it at the time, but…”

Close strongly:

“so all in all, that's why it means so much to me” · “and that's something I'll never forget”

Stage 6: Grammar that lifts a story (15 min)

Interaction: T-S then S-S

In short: Part 2 is nearly always a story about the past, so a few grammar tools do most of the work. Teach four, show each in one example, then have students upgrade a flat all-present-tense story. This is the one stage where you do correct grammar.

Tool	What it does	Example
Narrative tenses	what happened, and what happened before it	“I was waiting when I realised I had left it at home.”
used to / would	a repeated action in the past	“We used to go every summer.”
Relative clauses	join two ideas into one longer sentence	“my aunt, who taught me to drive”
2nd / 3rd conditional	reflect or imagine — perfect for the ending	“If I hadn't gone, I would've missed it.”

Board a deliberately flat all-present-tense story; in pairs, students rewrite it using at least three of the four tools. Take one or two versions — here you correct the grammar.

Flat: “My aunt teaches me to drive. It is summer. I am eighteen.”
Lifted: “My aunt, who was always the patient one, taught me to drive. We used to go out early. If she hadn't been so calm, I would've given up.” — a whole band higher, same content.

Stage 7: Full practice round with peer assessment (20 min)

Interaction: S-S

New pairs, not the diagnostic partner.
Full simulated long turn on fresh cards: E, F and G.
One student is examiner: reads the card, gives 1 minute prep, times the turn, calls stop at 2 minutes, asks one follow-up. No reacting.
Listener completes the feedback sheet (Appendix B). Swap. Feedback: one praise, one fix.

Stage 8: Wrap-up and homework (5 min)

Interaction: T-S

Recap by eliciting:

Prep = triggers, not sentences.
Walk the four bullets; spend longest on the last two; end on purpose.
Reach two minutes with extension moves, not more topics.
Lift the grammar: mix past tenses, reach for one conditional or relative clause.

Homework: Record yourself giving one long turn on a card. Listen back once. Mark the exact second where you dried up, wandered, or ran out. Write it down and bring it. Do not re-record. Awareness first.

Teacher Notes

Do not teach cue-card topic lists. At this level the problem is sustaining and structuring a turn, not a shortage of topics. A student who can walk the four bullets and extend two of them can handle any card.

The prep minute is the hidden skill. Most of the visible failure in the long turn was decided in the silent minute before it. Spend your monitoring there, watching for full sentences.

Resist correcting grammar in Stages 4 and 5. Same rule as Lesson 1's fluency drill. Grammar comes back in Stage 6, once the two minutes are stable.

Appendix A · Cue Cards

Cut along the lines. One card per pair. Give each student blank paper for prep notes. Prepare for 1 minute (~5 words a line), then talk for 1–2 minutes.

Set A · Describe a person

Describe a person who has had an influence on you.

You should say:

who this person is
how you know them
what kind of person they are

and explain why they have influenced you.

Set B · Describe a place

Describe a place you like to spend time in.

You should say:

where it is
how often you go there
what you do there

and explain why you like it.

Set C · Describe an event

Describe a day that was special to you.

You should say:

when it was
where you were and who you were with
what happened

and explain why it was special.

Set D · Describe an object(thin card, for the extension drill)

Describe a small object you own that means something to you.

You should say:

what it is
where you got it
how long you have had it

and explain why it matters to you.

Set E · Describe an experience(hold back for Stage 7)

Describe a time you learned something new.

You should say:

what you learned
how you learned it
how long it took

and explain how you felt about it.

Set F · Describe a person(hold back for Stage 7)

Describe someone in your family you get along well with.

You should say:

who they are
what you do together
how you are similar or different

and explain why you get along.

Set G · Describe a place(hold back for Stage 7)

Describe a place you would like to visit in the future.

You should say:

where it is
how you know about it
what you would do there

and explain why you want to go.

Set H · Describe an activity(spare / fast finishers)

Describe something you enjoy doing in your free time.

You should say:

what it is
when and where you do it
who you do it with

and explain why you enjoy it.

Appendix B · Peer Feedback Sheet

Listen to the whole long turn. Judge the shape of the turn, not the grammar.

Check	Your tap
Did they reach about 2 minutes?	under 1 min · 1–1.5 min · ~2 min
Did they get to “why it mattered / how they felt”?	✓ / ✗
Did the turn have a clear ending (not just stop)?	✓ / ✗
Did they read stiffly from notes, or speak freely?	read · mostly free · free

Extension moves heard(tick any): anecdote · compared to now · hypothetical · sensory detail · why-then-why. Strongest moment ____ · one thing to fix ____

Appendix C · Board Plan

LEFT (Stage 1, then keep):
  PART 1  vs  PART 2
  ~30s, dialogue   |  1-2 min, alone
  no prep          |  1 MIN PREP

CENTRE (Stage 4 on, keep):
  WHAT -> WHEN/WHERE -> WHY IT MATTERS -> HOW I FELT
   quick     quick       <-- spend longest here -->   + END

RIGHT (Stage 5):  DON'T DRY UP (use 2+)
  anecdote · compare to now · look ahead · hypothetical · sensory · why-then-why
  START: "The first thing that comes to mind is..."
  END:   "so all in all, that's why it means so much to me"

RIGHT (Stage 6):  LIFT THE GRAMMAR (use 3+)
  narrative tenses · used to/would · relative clause · conditional