The empty flat
There is / there are
Flat 4B has a bed, a kettle and no curtains. They make two lists: what's there, and what they need.
- Level
- A1
- Length
- 50 min
- Exercises
- 4
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About this lesson
An A1 lesson about places. The first morning in flat 4B, above the shops on Mill Street: one bed, one kettle, an empty cupboard and no curtains. The class starts with a picture dictionary of eight things in the flat, then makes sentences out loud from a substitution table, from There is a kettle on the floor to Are there three bags upstairs?
In the third exercise students unscramble what Marta writes down, including questions with how many and any, and the demonstratives these and those. The lesson ends with noughts and crosses in two teams: a square is won only with There are, the right number in words and a place. A solo version works as homework. Afterwards students can say what there is and isn't in a room, where things are, and how many.
Say what there is and is not in a room, and where things are.
- Grammar
- There is / there are; prepositions of place; demonstratives.
- Function
- Understanding and using numbers.
- Words (10)
- kettlecurtaincupboardfloorupstairsnext tobetweenunderemptylamp
Why Polish speakers get this wrong
Polish has no articles. Jest łóżko needs nothing in front of the noun, so There is bed sounds complete to a Polish ear. The rule comes later, in A2.1. Here the article travels with the word. In the picture dictionary every item is written and said whole: a kettle, an empty cupboard, the stairs. In the substitution table There is a kettle is a single block.
A second habit gets the same treatment. Polish puts the place first (Na podłodze jest czajnik), so learners drop the opening There. The table and the game start every sentence with it. If someone asks about the small word in front of the noun, the answer is that it comes with the word.
Free guide: There is a bed, not “There is bed”: articles with there is and there are →
50 min · 4 exercises
- 1Flat 4B on the first morningPicture dictionary · Presentation10 min
- 2There is a kettle on the floorSubstitution table · Presentation8 min
- 3What Marta writes downSentence unscramble · Controlled practice12 min
- 4Two lists: what we have, what we needGame · Review15 min
What Marta writes down
Put the words in order and write one correct sentence. Some of them are questions.
- cupboard / in / an / there's / kitchen / empty / the
- water / in / is / any / kettle / there / the
- curtain / the / there's / in / bedroom / no
- there / rooms / flat / how / are / in / many / the
- upstairs / bags / these / go / three
As printed on the student sheet. Answers are in the teacher pack.
- 1Student pack6 pages · A4 PDF
- 2Teacher pack: plan, notes, answer key11 pages · A4 PDF
Questions about this lesson
How long is the lesson?
Fifty minutes, in four exercises: a picture dictionary (10 minutes), a substitution table (8), a sentence unscramble (12) and a game (15). The student pack has 6 A4 pages and the teacher pack 11, with keys for every exercise that has fixed answers.
The game needs two teams of three. What if my group is smaller?
The sheet has a second version of the same board for one player. The learner says each sentence aloud, checks that square against the answer sheet and counts the turns: twelve is a perfect board. The teacher notes suggest sending the board and the answers home for it.
Do I need to teach articles in this lesson?
No. Articles have their own lesson, A2.1. Here a, an and the arrive inside fixed phrases like there is a... If a learner asks, the notes tell you to say the small word comes with the noun and move on. The closing game doesn't score it.