I’m a superhero: no-prep lesson plan

I love superheroes – who doesn’t? I also love lesson plans that need no preparation. Don’t get me wrong! I admire the work people put into creating materials, films, props etc., but I don’t feel like creating my own cards. I could be lazy, of course, but what I most enjoy about lesson preparation is… recycling. I use materials roughly designed to use in the classroom (or not, like Kitbull or other shorts that turn out to make great lesson ideas), and I make my own lesson scenarios.

As a proper recycler, I enjoy browsing through various internet sites. So, when I found an old material by one of my favourite websites, LearnEnglish Kids by the British Council, I immediately fell in love! Maybe you know this superhero game as it was posted in 2009, but for me it’s quite a recent discovery, so I obviously have to share it here! You can use it in both online and offline environment, and I think it will make a great lesson at the end of the school year.

Time: 45-90 mins
Level: A2+
Age: kids, young adults, teens

Introduction (5 min)

Ask your students whether they like superheroes. Tell them that today you are going to style your own superheroes, and design a school for them.

Your favourite superhero and their special powers (10 min)

Ask each students about their favourite superhero. Which superpowers they would like to have in real life? Make a list of the superpowers you students mention. Ask what makes a superhero, is it only superpower or do you need something else? Emphasise the fact that superheroes help people.

What kind of superpowers would you like to have (5 min)

Let your students come up with their own ideas on superpowers. Try to suggest some funny and not-so-useful powers, like the ability to change water into tea, make tools rust or transform milk into butter.

Style your superhero (10 min)

Use the game available on the British Council LearnEnglish Kids page. There are six heroes available, Flex, Zoom, Smartz, NoFear, Wize and Shine. Each of them has their own superpowers – flexibility, speed, intelligence, strength, wisdom and brightness. They also have special gears and accessories! Choosing between them is a good exercise to review and expand vocabulary connected to abilities.

Project: make your own superhero (15 min)

Based on the characters your students have already chosen, ask them to create their own superpowers. Draw them in their supersuits and describe their super abilities.

Present your superhero (10 min)

Ask each student to present their project. Tell them to pretend they are the superhero they’ve created. Imagine they’re attending a superhero ball and each of them is introducing oneself.

Groupwork: But wait! Here’s the twist! (10 min)

My page isn’t called That is Evil for nothing – we can’t have our superheroes all nice and spotless, can we? Divide your students into groups, and ask them to create a weakness for each of the superheroes presented. Then the whole class chooses the best disadvantage – only one! – for each superhero.

Superhero school: brainstorm (5 min)

And what if all our superheroes were to attend a school? Would it be some special kind of institution? Brainstorm some creative ideas, and write them on the board.

Project/groupwork: Superhero school (15 min)

Ask your students to work in groups and create a project on a superhero school. Would it look any different from a regular school building? Maybe it should have some special facilities for unusual pupils? And what about the schedule, would it include some extra lessons?

Summary (5 min)

Sum up all the new words and grammar structures your students have covered. Ask them which aspects of superhero style and schools they would like to have and use in their ordinary life. As for homework, ask to write a blog entry or record a short video. They could pretend to be a superhero and describe their last successful mission.

In the regular classroom, it’s easy to split this lesson plan into two regular lessons. You can take both projects into arts and crafts level, with superhero posters and superhero school plan and schedule. Yet, even if you still teach online, I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun with this one.

Enjoy!