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Lesson:
Shopping and money

General:
Time: 40 mins - 1 hour
Objectives: Talking about shopping and money
Structures: "May I help you?", “Yes, please”, “Here you are”, “Thank you”. “How is
is/are?”, “Do you have (Have you got) a/any …?”, “Do you want … or
…?”, “That’s expensive!”, “I’ll take it!”.
Target Vocab: various shopping items

You will need to download:

Printables: • A/B Shop worksheets (sheets A and B)
• Reader worksheet
• Shopping Game (sheets 1 and 2)
• How much is/are 1 worksheet
• Warm Up & Wrap Up lesson sheet
Reader: Wendy the Witch’s Potion
These can be downloaded at https://www.eslkidstuff.com/esl-kids-lesson-plans.html

You will also need:

• 8-10 objects for the “Guess the price” game (see point 1)
• dice – enough for one per pair of students (see point 7)
• counters – enough to give one to each student (see point 7)
• toy money (see point 8)
• paper or plastic shopping bags – one per student (see point 8)
• whiteboard or blackboard with chalk/markers

Notes:
This is a fun, action packed lesson based around the topic of shopping. Students role play
going shopping for different objects and asking for prices. Students will need to have a good
command of numbers (for prices) to do this lesson.

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Lesson Overview:
Warm Up and Maintenance:
1. See our "Warm Up & Wrap Up" lesson sheet.

New Learning and Practice:

1. Play "Guess the price"
2. Introduce the structure "How much is/are …?"
3. Practice asking for prices
4. Do the "A/B Shop" pair work worksheet
5. Read classroom reader "Wendy the Witch’s Potion"
6. Introduce some more shopping phrases
7. Play the "Shopping Board Game"
8. Play "Classroom shopping"

Wrap Up:
1. Set Homework: "How much is/are 1" worksheet
2. See our "Warm Up & Wrap Up" lesson sheet.

Lesson Procedure:
Warm Up and Maintenance:
See our "Warm Up & Wrap Up" lesson sheet.

New Learning and Practice:

1. Play “Guess the price”
Before class, prepare 8 to 10 objects that you know the prices of in the local currency (check
in stores or online for current prices). Some ideas: food/drink, electronic products,
household goods, clothes, newspapers/magazines, toothbrush, stationery, watches/jewelry,
etc. Use objects in different price ranges and make sure some objects are plurals (e.g. shoes,
bananas).

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In class, lay out the objects along a table so everyone can see all the objects. Start by
eliciting the vocab of each object. Then tell the class they are going to play a price guessing
game. Put students in pairs or small groups and give each group a piece of paper. Set a
time limit of 3 minutes and have the groups discuss and write down their guesses for the
prices of each object.

Next, we are going to find out which group guessed the closest for each object – but to do
so your students will have to ask you for the prices of the objects … (see next point)

2. Introduce the structure "How much is/are …?”

Draw two of the objects from the table on the board – on the left a singular object and on
the right a plural object. Write on the board the following using your local currency
symbol):

Elicit the missing words:

How much is the toothbrush?

It’s $xxx.

How much are the bananas?

They’re $xxx.

Now you have the structures in place you can complete the “Guess the price” game. For the
first object, have a student use the structure on the board to ask you for the price. Say the
price. Find out which group guessed the closest – the group (or groups) that does wins 1
point, however, anyone who guesses the exact price gets 2 points. Do this for each object,
each time having a different student ask for the price. At the end, find out which group is
the winner with the most points.

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3. Practice asking for prices

First, we’ll start with a controlled practice. In the pairs, students take turns asking for the
prices of the objects from the “Guess the price” game using the structures on the board.
Monitor and check that everyone is using the singular/plural form correctly.

Next, put students into different pairs. Model the activity with another student to show the
class what to do, as follows:

Teacher: What’s that? (pointing at the student’s pen)

Student: It’s a pen.
Teacher: How much is it?
Student: It’s about (150 yen).

Notice, we have used a question with the pronoun “it” instead of the object. Write this
question on the board. Then elicit the plural form and also write it on the board, as follows:

Students then take turns asking their partner questions about the prices of things on their
desks, in their pencil cases, in their bags and pockets, their clothes and accessories and
around the classroom. As students are speaking, write any good expressions you hear on
the board. Encourage students to use expressions such as:

• I’m not sure, but I think (it’s about 8 euros).

• I have no idea! Maybe (they’re $30).
• That’s cheap / expensive / reasonable!
• It’s very nice / lovely / pretty / amazing.
• etc.

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4. Do the “A/B Shop” pair work worksheet

Students need to work in pairs again for this activity. Give out the worksheets – “A’s
Shopping List” to one student in the pair and “B’s Shopping List” to the other. Students then
take turns asking how much the items are on the other student’s sheet to complete their
shopping lists.

5. Read classroom reader "Wendy the Witch’s Potion"

This reader really helps to reinforce the new structures with a fun story about a witch’s
shopping trip. Before class, download and print out the reader "Wendy the Witch’s Potion"
from our website. As you go through each page, point to the pictures of the ingredients and
get everyone to speculate what they might be, for example:

Teacher: (reading from page 3 and 4) "Hello, may I help you?", “Hello, Yes, please”. Look at
those (on page 4). What do you think the witch is holding?
Students: Frogs legs?
Teacher: Let’s check. (reading) ... "6 frogs legs, please". You were right! Yuk!

Continue through the story, getting everyone to say what they think the ingredients are
from the pictures.

After reading the story, give out a reader worksheet to each student and have pairs or small
groups fill in Wendy’s shopping list from memory. Finally, quickly read through the story
again to check the answers.
---
Alternatively, watch our video version of the reader on our website.

6. Introduce some more shopping phrases

The classroom reader introduced some more useful shopping phrases. Let’s see if your
students can remember some. Tell the class that you are going to write some phrases from
the story on the board. Students should copy them into their notebooks, filling in the
missing words as they go (answers in parenthesis):

• Hello, ______ I ________ you? (Hello, may I help you?)

• Hello. Yes, _____________. (Hello. Yes, please.)
• 6 frogs legs, ___________. (6 frogs legs, please.)
• _______ you are. (Here you are.)
• __________ you. (Thank you.)
• _____ much ___ it? (How much is it?)
• _____ much ___ they? (How much are they?)
• _____ you ______ a monster’s finger? (Do you have a monster’s finger? or in British
English Have you got a monster’s finger?)

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• _____ you ______ _____ spider’s legs? (Do you have any spider’s legs? or in British
English Have you got any spider’s legs?)
• _____ you ________ red ___ green? (Do you want red or green?)

Students can check their answers with their partners. Then ask individual students to come
up to the board and fill in missing blanks.

Point out the difference of a/any in:

• Do you have a monster’s finger? (or in British English “Have you got a monster’s
finger?”)
• Do you have any spider’s legs? (or in British English “Have you got any spider’s
legs?”)

Ask if anyone can tell you what the difference is. Then explain, using examples, that we use
singular when we only expect there to be one item, and use plural when we expect there to
be more then one item (a good example is in a student’s pencil case – it would be more
natural to say “Do you have a stapler?” than “any staplers”).

7. Play the “Shopping Board Game”

Students will now practice using the phrases on the board by playing a fun board game.
Before class, print out enough copies “Shopping Game” sheets 1 and 2 for each pair. In class,
put students in pairs and give each pair a game board (sheet 2). Elicit the object drawings
on the game board. Then give out sheet 1 and read the instructions. Pairs will need a dice
and each player a counter to move around the board. Players then roll the dice and move
around the board, stopping to have shopping conversions until they have bought all of the
items on their shopping list.

As everyone is playing, walk around and help with vocabulary and mistakes.

8. Play “Classroom shopping”

We’ll finish with a fun activity that practices all of the lesson’s structures. Students are
going to walk around the classroom having shopping conversations with other students and
buying objects with money.

You’ll need some toy money for this game (e.g. Monopoly game money) and paper or
plastic shopping bags (one per student).

Start by telling everyone they must put three of their personal items on the table at the
front of the class. Anything will do – phones, pens, dictionaries, rings, shoe laces, etc. Then
take out the shopping bags and randomly put the students’ items into the bags, so that each
bag has three different items in them. Make sure students don’t see which bags you put
their items in – a good idea is to have everyone cover their eyes when you do this.

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Now, give each student a bag and ask them to look inside their bag. If anyone has any of
their own personal items in their bag they must bring them back to the table at the front,
and then the teacher puts them in different student’s bags. The idea is to make sure each
student has a bag with three items in, none of which are their own.

Tell students that they must find their items and buy them back!

Divide out the toy money so that everyone has the same amount (it doesn’t matter how
much each student has).

Now model the activity. Indicate that you are looking for your red pen (give to a student
and put in his/her shopping bag). First, go to one student who doesn’t have your pen and
roleplay (gesturing at the phrases on the board when necessary):

Teacher: Hello.
Student: Hello, may I help you?
Teacher: Yes, please. Do you have any pens?
Student: No, sorry. I don’t.
Teacher: Ok, thank you. Goodbye.

Next, go to the student who does have you pen. Again, roleplay:

Teacher: Hello.
Student: Hello, may I help you?
Teacher: Yes, please. Do you have any pens?
Student: Do you want red or blue?
Teacher: Red, please.
Student: Yes, I do!
Teacher: How much is it?
Student: Umm. It’s $40.
Teacher: $40! That’s expensive! How about $20?
Student: Ok, here you are.
Teacher: Thank you!
Student: You’re welcome.

Take you pen, put it in your bag and hand over the toy money. Explain the objective is to
find and buy back your items with the toy money.

Have students mingle around the classroom asking for their items and negotiating to get
their items back. This can be a lot of fun as some students are sure to bargain for high
prices and some may run out of money!

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At then end, find out who has managed to buy all three of their items back and who is the
best businessperson by making the most money!

Wrap Up:
1. Assign Homework: "How much is/are 1" worksheet.
2. Wrap up the lesson with some ideas from our "Warm Up & Wrap Up" lesson sheet.

• All flashcards, worksheets, craft sheets, readers and songs used in this
lesson plan can be downloaded at eslkidstuff.com/esl-kids-lesson-
plans.html
• More free Lesson Plans are available at eslkidstuff.com/esl-kids-lesson-
plans.html
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