Teaching the Future with Will: A Lesson Plan for ESL Teachers

Learning about the simple future tense or the future with will can be a fun endeavor for ESL students because they love talking about their future plans. After all, they are learning English for exciting reasons. Teaching the simple future tense isn’t as difficult as other tenses. However, it’s important to keep it fun and engaging. Teaching the future with will can get a bit redundant, so Off2Class has put together an exciting lesson plan to introduce the simple future tense to your students.

Download your free, ready-to-teach lesson plan here: 

When to Teach the Future with Will

English language teachers usually teach the simple future tense after teaching the future with going to. It’s important to differentiate when we use will and when we use going to- this lesson does just that. This ready-to-teach lesson plan focuses on the positive form of will and even introduces the term shall. As well, students will learn about when to use will versus going to. Finally, you will teach students how to make predictions. This lesson is easy to follow and perfect as an introduction to the simple future tense. It is complete with picture-prompt activities and gap-fill exercises so your students will have ample opportunity to practice.

To Contract or Not to Contract? When to Teach Contractions

Some ESL teachers don’t to introduce contractions to their students. However, students must learn about contractions from day one! Contractions are widely used in most forms of English, especially spoken English. Therefore, students must practice contractions until they can use them naturally and fluidly. This lesson plan introduces the positive form of the contraction will and I encourage you to take plenty of time to practice it.

Teaching the Future with Will – Homework, Teacher Notes, and Other Tools…

If you want to assign homework to your students or if you need useful teacher notes for this lesson, be sure to sign up for your free Off2Class teacher account. The teacher notes take all of the guesswork out of your lesson and the homework allows your students to put their newly acquired knowledge into practice.

If you found this lesson plan helpful, you’ll find the other lesson plans in the Off2Class ESL Lesson Library helpful too. Off2Class has been creating and offering lesson plans since 2015. Off2Class has done all of the hard work so you can spend less time planning and more time teaching!

If you found this lesson plan helpful, be sure to comment below. I also encourage you to share it with your teacher friends because they will thank you for it!