But Wait! It Gets Worse! (no-prep lesson plan)

November can be quite dreary – we’ve already forgotten summer, and winter break seems to be only too far in the future. Maybe now’s the time to enjoy a little bit of fun? I have a simple lesson plan that will make your students not only laugh but also complain to their hearts’ content – often using some dark humour and possible triggers, that’s why I recommend this lesson for more mature students.

The idea for this lesson comes from a definitely 18+ area, a classic rom-com Deadpool. If you haven’t watched this film and you enjoy the dark humour, you should give it a go. If you watched the film, you may recall the scene where Wade meets Melissa and this unforgettable dialogue takes place:

So that’s the final outcome of the class – to create a friendly banter trying to out-complain the partner. As you could see on the video, and you probably can predict, this activity may contain some triggers, that’s why I included a short discussions about topics that should not be mentioned in the class.

• Lesson: But wait! It gets worse!
• Time: 45 mins
• Age: 15+
• Level: B1 and above
• Areas covered:
  • vocabulary: daily routine, disasters and catastrophes
  • grammar: narrative tenses
  • use of English: creating fluent dialogues, popular expressions, complaining
  • future skills: creativity, lateral thinking, empathy

Introduction: 5 mins

Start your class with a question how are you? and observe that quite often we react with I’m fine, thanks instead with the truth. Discuss the point of this behaviour and ask your students whether they would feel more comfortable if people were honest. And what about complaining? Ask your students to discuss how the complaining is perceived in the society and tell them that today you are going to complain and grumble a lot!

What could possibly go wrong: 5 mins

We all know the Murphy’s Law, right? Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Give your students simple examples and ask them to give a couple of things that can make the experience go wrong, e.g.

I woke up at 6 a.m.

• but I was supposed to wake up at 4!
• and there was no water, so I couldn’t take shower
• it was Sunday and I could sleep as long as I wanted
• because my cat farted in my face
• etc.

You can go with the examples like I was supposed to teach Present Simple today (my fav complication “but I forgot all the grammar rules!”), I ordered pizza for dinner etc. Make your students think out of the box and have fun while coming up with wild complications.

The worse day of my life: 10 mins

Ask your students whether they feel warmed up before the next challenge – the worst day of your (the teacher’s!) life. Divide your class into groups and ask them to prepare short descriptions of something they would consider the worst day of your life. Explain you want it to be a funny activity, not including multiple deaths and serious misfortunes, but some silly coincidences and pranks. Be clear when you say the whole activity is supposed to be fun.

Trigger warnings: 5 mins

Now that you’ve practised a bit, ask your students whether there are any sensitive areas they’d rather avoid in their banters – pedophilia, eating disorders, violence etc. Make a list of triggers on the board and ask your students to avoid these topics, as the class should be enjoyable for everyone!

I’ve had it worse: 5 mins

Now ask your students to work in pairs and prepare short dialogues – banters where one tries to out-complain the other. The dialogues should start with:

• A: Hi, how are you?
• B: Just terrible, it’s been the worst day of the year!
• A: The year? I’ve had the worst day of my life!
  and so on.

Presentation: 10 mins

Once your students are done with their banters, ask them to prepare their banters in front of the classroom. Whose banter was the funniest and the wittiest? This couple gets the name of Master Grumblers and deserve a standing ovation!

Conclusion: 5 mins

Sum up the lesson by saying they not only had fun while complaining, but also managed to practise their English – name the constructions and vocabulary they’ve used and tell them you’re proud of their creativity and their level of English. As homework, you may ask your students to think about using similar approach in a real life – would making fun of their own complaints help them distance a bit and feel better?