50 free lesson plans.

Everything a teacher needs to take a student from “I have no story” to standing on stage in front of a hall. Five units of ten lessons, each unit on one printable page. Written out in full, free, no login.

1. Finding a story 2. Grammar 3. Voice & delivery 4. Vocabulary 5. Competition All five units
How to use these. Ten weeks, five lessons a week, or one a week for a year — the order matters more than the pace. Each plan has an objective, what you need, timed steps, a note about what tends to happen in a Thai classroom, and homework. Each unit is one page you can print whole; tap a lesson to open it there. Nothing here needs a projector, a printer or an internet connection once you have read it; several need nothing but a room.

If you only have ten lessons, do 1, 3, 6, 10, 11, 20, 28, 42, 44 and 49. That is a story found, drafted, timed, performed and improved.
UNIT 1 · LESSONS 1–10

Finding a true story.

Before anyone can perform a story, they need to find one. This unit is about digging through a student’s own life for the true thing worth telling.

  1. 1What Makes a Story TrueAll levels30 min
  2. 2The Five Senses Warm-UpBeginner25 min
  3. 3Mapping Your LifeAll levels40 min
  4. 4One Object, One StoryBeginner30 min
  5. 5Interviewing Family EldersAll levelsHomework + 20 min debrief
  6. 6The Turning PointIntermediate35 min
  7. 7Show, Don't TellIntermediate40 min
  8. 8Story vs. ExplanationAll levels30 min
  9. 9Choosing Your StoryAll levels25 min
  10. 10First Draft in Your Own LanguageBeginner45 min
Open Unit 1: Finding a true story → Print Unit 1
UNIT 2 · LESSONS 11–20

Grammar for storytelling.

Not grammar in general — the six or seven things a five-minute story in the past tense actually needs, taught in the order a story needs them.

  1. 11Past Tense for StorytellingBeginner40 min
  2. 12Sequencing WordsBeginner25 min
  3. 13Time MarkersBeginner30 min
  4. 14Describing PeopleIntermediate30 min
  5. 15Describing PlacesIntermediate30 min
  6. 16Dialogue in StoriesIntermediate35 min
  7. 17Connecting IdeasIntermediate30 min
  8. 18Common Storytelling VerbsAll levels30 min
  9. 19Fixing Run-On SentencesIntermediate35 min
  10. 20Reading Your Story AloudAll levels30 min
Open Unit 2: Grammar for storytelling → Print Unit 2
UNIT 3 · LESSONS 21–30

Voice and delivery.

A true story badly delivered loses to a thin story told well. This unit is the body, the breath and the pace.

  1. 21Finding Your Natural PaceAll levels25 min
  2. 22Pausing for PowerIntermediate30 min
  3. 23Eye Contact PracticeAll levels20 min
  4. 24Volume & ProjectionAll levels25 min
  5. 25Emotional HonestyIntermediate35 min
  6. 26Reducing Filler WordsBeginner25 min
  7. 27Standing StillBeginner20 min
  8. 28The Five-Minute ClockAll levels40 min
  9. 29Practicing with a PartnerAll levels40 min
  10. 30Recording YourselfAll levels30 min + homework
Open Unit 3: Voice and delivery → Print Unit 3
UNIT 4 · LESSONS 31–40

Vocabulary and description.

The words a Thai student needs for their own life, which are mostly not the words in the textbook.

  1. 31Emotion Words Beyond Happy/SadIntermediate30 min
  2. 32Weather & Season VocabularyBeginner25 min
  3. 33Family Relationship TermsBeginner25 min
  4. 34Food & Market VocabularyBeginner30 min
  5. 35Farming & Rural Life VocabularyIntermediate30 min
  6. 36City & Travel VocabularyIntermediate25 min
  7. 37Numbers, Money & Time ExpressionsBeginner25 min
  8. 38ComparisonsIntermediate25 min
  9. 39Idioms That Are Safe on StageAdvanced30 min
  10. 40Building a Personal Vocabulary BankAll levelsOngoing
Open Unit 4: Vocabulary and description → Print Unit 4
UNIT 5 · LESSONS 41–50

Competition readiness.

From a finished story to standing in front of a hall without falling apart.

  1. 41Understanding the Judging CriteriaAll levels30 min
  2. 42Mock Competition Round 1All levelsFull class period
  3. 43Handling Nerves Before Going On StageAll levels25 min
  4. 44Opening Lines That HookIntermediate30 min
  5. 45Ending Lines That LandIntermediate30 min
  6. 46Adapting Story for Judge vs. FriendAdvanced30 min
  7. 47What to Do If You Forget a LineAll levels20 min
  8. 48Watching & Learning from Past WinnersAll levels40 min
  9. 49Dress RehearsalAll levelsFull class period
  10. 50Competition Day ChecklistAll levels15 min
Open Unit 5: Competition readiness → Print Unit 5
AFTER THE COMPETITION

Where these lead.

The vocabulary in Unit 4 is on EnglishTeacher.com, where every word carries the Thai, a transliteration and a voice, so a student can check a word at home without a teacher. If you need a reading passage or a worksheet at three levels for any of these lessons, ESLteacher.com builds one free in about twenty seconds. And when a student is ready, register them.