Lesson plan

Phrasal Verbs with get

Topic
Phrasal verbs

Aims

• To learn the meaning of 10 phrasal verbs with ‘get’

• To provide written and then speaking practice of the ten phrasal verbs

Age group and level

Adults/ Teens Intermediate B1+

Time
60 minutes

Materials
Phrasal verbs with get student worksheet

Introduction
This lesson is a self-contained lesson which presents ten phrasal verbs in the context of a
dialogue. Students focus on the meaning of those phrasal verbs through a vocabulary and
meaning matching exercise. Students then do controlled and freer writing practice of the phrasal
verbs. In the speaking activity students use the phrasal verbs in a less controlled way.

Procedure
1. Lead-in (5 • Put 3 dashes on the board _ _ _. Tell student to guess the verb (get).
mins) Elicit an example of a ‘get’ phrasal verb that they know e.g. get on with.
Students then brainstorm phrasal verbs they already know with get.
Write these on the board.

Tip: Tell students there are around 10,000 phrasal verbs in the English
language and elicit from students why they are so important. Highlight
the following information:

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 Lesson plan
1) English speakers tend to use the phrasal verb rather than the Latin
based equivalent (e.g. give out /distribute, put up with/ tolerate etc) and
so they are high frequency.

2) Understanding phrasal verbs therefore is very important but often it is

difficult to understand the meaning of a phrasal verb from their individual
components e.g. put up with.

2. Reading • This activity will provide a context for ten phrasal verbs with get which
(5-10 mins) the students will use in later stages of the lesson. The dialogue on the
worksheet also provides a model for the dialogue writing activity in stage
5.

• Tell the students they are going to read a conversation between two
people. Hold up flashcards of two people and students guess their job.
They are actors. Elicit names for the actor and actress (e.g. Peter and
Susan). Tell the students the two actors are now working on a film
together and are having a chat about working on their latest film.

• Write the following questions on the board.

Are Peter and Susan enjoying working on their latest film?

• Hand out the worksheet and tell the students to read the dialogue and
answer the above question.

• Feedback from the students that Peter and Susan are not enjoying
working on their latest film. Now ask the students to read the dialogue
again and underline all the phrasal verbs with ‘get’. After completion
students compare with their partners to check they have underlined the
same verbs.

3. Vocabulary • Tell students to look at the second activity (vocabulary matching) on the
(10 mins) worksheet. Allow students 5 minutes to complete the exercise.
Feedback answers together.

Answers: A-7, B-8, C-4, D-1, E-9, F-10, G-2, H-5, I-6, J-3

4. Gap-fill (5- • Ask students to do the gap fill exercise either individually or in pairs.
10 mins) Allow 5 minutes to complete the exercise. Check answers as a class.

Answers: 1) get off lightly, 2) get rid of, 3) get away with, 4) got over, 5)
get out of, 6) get through, 7) get up to, 8) get wound up, 9= get on with

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 Lesson plan
Teachers note for number 5: if students suggest get away with as the
correct answer, tell them that the sentence would need to be negative
e.g. I got away with not doing that boring project (compare with I got out
of doing that project).

5. Dialogue • Working in pairs (student A, student B), students need one piece of
writing (15 paper between them. Tell students that they are going to create a written
mins) conversation similar to the Peter and Susan dialogue.

• Tell students to write down;

1) the names of two people (students in the class, or famous people).

2) the place where these people are having the conversation

3) the topic they are talking about

• Now demonstrate the activity in front of the whole class with a student.
For example, tell the students that you are person A and the student is
person B. Elicit where they are having the conversation (e.g. in a
museum) and what they are talking about (e.g. football).

• The teacher, as student A, starts the conversation by writing down the

first sentence/question, for example; ‘Did you see the game last night?’.

• The teacher passes the paper to person B who continues the

conversation e.g. Yes, I did. I got out of having dinner with my mother-in-
law. How about you?

• Person B passes the paper to the student A. Now ask students the
following instructions checking questions about the activity:

• Do you discuss together what you write? (No, it is a spontaneous

written conversation)
• Is it like chatting on the Internet? (Yes)
• Does each person write? (Yes)

• Tell students to write a conversation between their two people as

demonstrated. Tell the students they have to include 6 phrasal verbs
with ‘get’ in the conversation.

• Give the students around 15 minutes to write the conversations. The

teacher needs to monitor this task carefully paying particular attention to
the students’ use of the phrasal verbs.

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 Lesson plan
• Tell the students that they will now perform their conversations in front of
the class. Allow the students time to practice reading them out. Students
then perform the conversations in front of the class.

6. Discussion • Before the lesson chop up the discussion cards (on worksheet)
card game
(15 mins) • Students work in groups of 3 and have a set of cards between them.
They put the cards face down on the table between them. Demonstrate
the activity with two students. Nominate one of the students to pick up
the first card. He/She asks the question on the card to you and the other
student. You both answer the question. Take it in turns to pick up the
question cards and ask the questions. Monitor the students and make
notes of any errors / good use of phrasal verbs

• After the speaking activity the teacher writes a few mistakes (and very
good use of language). Give students time to correct the mistakes. The
teacher then elicits ideas and corrects the sentences as necessary on
the board.

7. Suggested • As a follow up discuss strategies which students have already used

follow -up when learning phrasal verbs. It’s a good idea to give your own
suggestions e.g. having special pages in your vocabulary book for
phrasal verbs categorised under verbs/ topics. It’s a good idea for
students, every time they come across a phrasal verb, to add it to their
list with the phrasal verb in context.

Contributed by
Jeff Fowler & Joanna Adkin

www.teachingenglish.org.uk
© The British Council 2021 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.