Big city or quiet village? — ready-made English lesson, B1

Lesson goal: Students can describe their neighbourhood and compare life in the city and in the country using comparatives and (not) as ... as.

Add the lesson to get your own copies of the word set and exercises; the lesson opens in the builder, where you can adjust the steps and teach it.

Lesson plan

1
Warm-up
Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.
- Where did you grow up: in a city, a town or a village?
- What can you hear when you open your window at home?
- How long does it take you to get to the city centre?
2
New words
Meet the words and practise them in games.
FlashcardsWordsearch
traffic jam · suburbs · crowded · rush hour · public transport · pedestrian · neighbourhood · noisy · nightlife · skyscraper · city centre · pavement · rent · cost of living · lively
All words in the set
3
Exercises
The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.
1. Fill the gap
  We left at eight to avoid the ___ hour, but the roads were still full.
  Answer: rush
2. Fill the gap
  There's been an accident, so we're stuck in a traffic ___.
  Answer: jam
3. Fill the gap
  Living in the centre is exciting, but the ___ of living there is much higher.
  Answer: cost
4. Fill the gap
  The suburbs aren't as ___ (lively) as the city centre, but they're much quieter.
  Answer: lively
5. Multiple choice
  Life in a village is ___ than life in a big city.
  more slowslowerslowestthe slower
6. Multiple choice
  A very tall building in a city is a ...
  pavementskyscraperneighbourhoodsuburb
7. Multiple choice
  The metro was so ___ that I couldn't find a seat.
  crowdedquietlivelyspacious
8. True / false
  Read: "Two years ago we moved from a flat in the city centre to a house in the suburbs. The rent is lower and the neighbourhood is quiet, with parks for the kids. The only problem is the journey to work: I spend over an hour on public transport every morning." The family pays less for their home now.
  Answer: True
9. True / false
  Read the text again. The writer can walk to work in ten minutes.
  Answer: False
10. Discussion question
  Describe your neighbourhood. What do you like about it, and what would you change?
  Sample answer: I live in a quiet neighbourhood near the river. There are lots of trees and a nice park, but it's quite far from the city centre. I'd like more cafés and a better bus service, because during rush hour the buses are always crowded.
4
Speaking
The student answers using the new words.
- Would you rather live in a skyscraper in the centre or in a house in the suburbs? Why?
- What's the nightlife like where you live?
- How could your city make public transport better?
- Is a big city a good place to bring up children?
- Where would you like to live when you're seventy?
5
Review
A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.
Quiz

Lesson plan

Warm-up

Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.

Where did you grow up: in a city, a town or a village?
What can you hear when you open your window at home?
How long does it take you to get to the city centre?

New words

Meet the words and practise them in games.

FlashcardsWordsearch

traffic jam · suburbs · crowded · rush hour · public transport · pedestrian · neighbourhood · noisy · nightlife · skyscraper · city centre · pavement · rent · cost of living · lively

All words in the set

Exercises

The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.

Fill the gap
We left at eight to avoid the ___ hour, but the roads were still full.
Answer: rush
Fill the gap
There's been an accident, so we're stuck in a traffic ___.
Answer: jam
Fill the gap
Living in the centre is exciting, but the ___ of living there is much higher.
Answer: cost
Fill the gap
The suburbs aren't as ___ (lively) as the city centre, but they're much quieter.
Answer: lively
Multiple choice
Life in a village is ___ than life in a big city.
more slowslowerslowestthe slower
Multiple choice
A very tall building in a city is a ...
pavementskyscraperneighbourhoodsuburb
Multiple choice
The metro was so ___ that I couldn't find a seat.
crowdedquietlivelyspacious
True / false
Read: "Two years ago we moved from a flat in the city centre to a house in the suburbs. The rent is lower and the neighbourhood is quiet, with parks for the kids. The only problem is the journey to work: I spend over an hour on public transport every morning." The family pays less for their home now.
Answer: True
True / false
Read the text again. The writer can walk to work in ten minutes.
Answer: False
Discussion question
Describe your neighbourhood. What do you like about it, and what would you change?
Sample answer: I live in a quiet neighbourhood near the river. There are lots of trees and a nice park, but it's quite far from the city centre. I'd like more cafés and a better bus service, because during rush hour the buses are always crowded.

Speaking

The student answers using the new words.

Would you rather live in a skyscraper in the centre or in a house in the suburbs? Why?
What's the nightlife like where you live?
How could your city make public transport better?
Is a big city a good place to bring up children?
Where would you like to live when you're seventy?

Review

A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.

Quiz