A2-B1 · General English
Page 1: Norman Rockwell’s "Going and Coming" The lesson opens with a close look at Norman Rockwell’s 1947 painting, Going and Coming. Students match descriptive phrases to specific numbered details in the artwork (e.g., "is sitting much lower now," "is blowing a bubble," "wants its head outside"). They discuss the emotional contrast between the excitement of leaving for a vacation and the exhaustion of returning home. To verify their answers, the class watches a short video that describes the painting in detail, which naturally leads to a conversation about "post-vacation blues" and personal travel memories. Page 2: Past Simple vs. Present Perfect The focus shifts to grammar, using the painting to illustrate how characters changed from the first picture to the second (e.g., "The boy was full of energy, but now he has slid down in his seat"). Students learn to use have/has + past participle to show a past action with a visible result right now. They review irregular verb forms (e.g., move, sleep, throw, eat, fall) and complete a gap-fill exercise. Finally, they listen to an audio track about "Barsik the cat" to check their answers, tracking how his life improved from sleeping in the freezing rain to having a safe, comfortable home, before discussing their own personal changes over the past year. 📄 Inside This Lesson Pack 💬 Core Discussion Prompts & Speaking Activities The Vacation Shift: How do the family members feel about leaving versus returning home? Which trip always feels longer: the way there or the way back? Post-Vacation Blues: Have you ever felt tired, sad, or worried when returning to your normal daily life after a trip? How long did it last? Personal Growth: How have you changed in the past year? What new habits have you formed? 🧠 Target Lexicon & Grammar Focus Descriptive Phrases: is sitting much lower, appears to be sleeping, is almost climbing out, face is resting in hands, is blowing a bubble, has become much smaller. Irregular Verbs: move/moved/moved, sleep/slept/asleep, throw/threw/thrown, eat/ate/eaten, upgrade/upgraded/upgraded, show/showed/shown, fight/fought/fought, fall/fell/fallen. Grammar Rule: Using have/has + past participle to highlight a past action that has a clear, visible result in the present moment. 📺 Multimedia & Authentic Materials Included Page 1 Video Task: A short video description of Norman Rockwell’s Going and Coming used to verify the matching task and spark conversation about visual storytelling. Page 2 Audio Task: A listening exercise featuring "Barsik’s story," where students check their gap-fill answers by hearing how the stray cat’s life improved (e.g., from throwing dirty scraps to eating from three different bowls, from fighting for turf to being loved inside a safe apartment). ⚠️ Critical Thinking Extension Work Visible Results: Students practice identifying the "visible result" of their own past actions (e.g., "I have saved a lot of money," "I have learned how to cook healthy meals"). Narrative Contrast: Analyzing how a single image or story can effectively show a "before and after" transformation, and applying this structure to describe their own recent life changes.
This lesson is designed to fit within a single 60 min session. Both audio and video components are included, which also works well for homework-based or asynchronous practice.
PDF handout, audio materials (MP3), video links, full downloadable package (RAR). Everything you need to run this lesson is ready to download — zero preparation required.
This lesson plan is designed for online ESL tutors working with adult learners at A2-B1 level. It uses a conversation-driven approach with authentic materials to keep adult students genuinely engaged throughout the session.
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