Road-trip

The objective

To plan a road trip itinerary using a roadmap in a mono-lingual class

The language

First or Second Conditionals: If they go... or If they went...

To be: It´s...

Have/has: They have...

Past simple: I went there...years ago.

Modals: They should..., They could..., They can...

Adjectives: beautiful/interesting/fun/boring/etc.

The set-up

Find a large road map of the country and post it on the wall. Or print out a couple of copies of some smaller scale ones off the internet. Make sure major as well as minor cities or towns are legible.

The low-down

Tell the class you´re planning a road trip and you´d like some advice (if you don´t drive, tell them someone else is driving). First, ask them to decide what information they need to know about your trip (for example, budget, interests, time, etc.). Randomly call on groups/pairs to ask you questions (if they need to, give them time to prepare the questions beforehand). Answer the questions (make sure you´ve prepared your answers) until everyone is satisfied they have enough information to begin planning. Now ask them to plan the route, including stops and what you can do or see.

Now what?

When they´ve finished. Ask them to present their ideas to the rest of the class. Then ask the class to vote on the best planned route (they can´t vote for their own).

Time to teach

Ask groups to come up with a summary of different ways we (choose one or all):

• make suggestions
• make plans
• agree/disagree

More talk-time

What was the last road trip you took? Where did you go?

Do you like taking road trips?

What do you do in the car on long road trips?

Alternative

A walking tour of the city