ESL/EFL Level: Upper-Intermediate (B2/C1)
Lesson Topics: co-parenting, relationships, dating
Skill Focus: Speaking, Vocabulary, Reading, Grammar
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: unconventional-relationships-upper-intermediate-082026.docx
Lesson Overview:
Lesson Topics: co-parenting, relationships, dating
Skill Focus: Speaking, Vocabulary, Reading, Grammar
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: unconventional-relationships-upper-intermediate-082026.docx
Lesson Overview:
- Teacher Notes: The lesson references the relationship type "friends with benefits" on page three. As usual, pre-read the lesson to ensure it's appropriate for your class.
- Students first warm up with questions about relationships, raising a family, and unconventional relationship types.
- This lesson is centered on a reading passage (354 words) about a man named Richard, who is living with his ex, who came out as both gay and pregnant. Richard describes how their co-parenting situation evolved and its struggles. The passage concludes with Richard's statement that "there are no rules" today when it comes to relationships and family structures, which should be a good discussion point for students.
- The passage is followed by comprehension and follow-up questions.
- Next, students match vocabulary items from the passage to definitions, which includes seven regular phrases and five idiomatic expressions. This is followed by an exercise in which students ask questions to each other using some of the new vocabulary.
- The lesson has two debate topics on splitting with your ex and whether Richard's situation is sustainable.
- In the first speaking activity, students work with a partner to create a formula (recipe) for the perfect partner. A sample is given.
- Next, students roleplay a date between a woman and Richard. Each person must ask questions to see if their date partner fulfills the factors in their formula.
- After a few famous quotations about relationships, students review a list of eight relationship types, including some unconventional ones. Students discuss which are accepted in their country, and which they would consider.
- Next, students review collocations, and then the vocabulary from the passage.
- Finally, the lesson ends with a few final discussion questions.
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) on Unconventional Relationships
WARM-UP
- What makes a family? How would you define it?
- If you don’t mind sharing, how would you describe your parents’ relationship?
- How has raising a family changed in the past few decades?
- Today’s reading passage is about unconventional (non-standard) relationship types. Make a list of some unconventional relationship types that exist today.
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This lesson plan was created by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. Claude AI was used to assist with answer keys and famous quotations..
ANSWER KEY
Comprehension Questions
- (Open-ended: assess for coverage of key points: Litia coming out, the pregnancy, the decision to stay together, co-parenting in Vancouver, the dating challenges, and the "no rules" conclusion.)
- First, Litia told him she was gay. Two weeks later, she told him she was pregnant.
- Whether to keep the baby. (Open-ended: personal/cultural response for the second part.)
- Any two of: the difficulty of separating their lives; the comfort of staying; worry about the competitive dynamic between single parents; the unexpected joy of family moments together.
- An example of the special, unexpected moments that living together as a family produces.
- He was surprised to find that he enjoys participating in his son's activities — swimming, gymnastics, and similar classes — having assumed he would dislike it.
- If Litia had come out after announcing the pregnancy, she might have lost the nerve to tell him at all, and they would have ended up living together under false pretenses — going through the motions of a conventional marriage without honesty.
- (Open-ended: it illustrates the absurdity and unpredictability of their situation — both matched with the same woman on a dating app. Personal response for the second part.)
- (Open-ended: personal response. No fixed answer.)
Idioms & Phrasal Verbs Answer Key
A-come out, B-lose the nerve, C-outdo, D-cut ties, E-think it over, F-in the back of their minds, G-turn out
Regular Vocabulary Answer Key
1-e, 2-c, 3-a, 4-d, 5-b
Collocation Answer Key
1-c, 2-a, 3-e, 4-g, 5-h, 6-f, 7-b, 8-d