Elephants: one of nature’s largest, most intelligent and most well-known creatures in the animal kingdom. Teach your students about the first elephants to come to the United States!

Type: Listening and Vocabulary

Level: Intermediate+

Lesson Aims: Learners will develop listening skills and develop their ability to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary from context.

Approximate Timing: 45 – 60 min.

Notes to the teacher: This lesson covers a very short history of one of the first elephants to live in the United States. The listening is divided into two parts, a small introduction to the topic, and a larger text in which the students listen for gist and detail. Following the listening skills work students can develop their vocabulary skills by focusing on the selected items taken from the text. The speaking task at the end of the lesson includes a moral debate about the situation of elephants in captivity.

 

Download the lesson materials and lesson plan here: Elephant Appreciation Day

Photo Credits: Larry Li, Becky Phan