Two Black secondary learners work together in the classroom using digital tablets

Teaching secondary

This section is for teachers of secondary children aged 13 to 17 years old learning English. Find lesson plans, activities, stories and poems and teaching tools to help you in your secondary classroom.
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Teaching secondary

Here you can find a wide range of practical resources to use in your secondary classroom.

There are full lesson plans to choose from, covering different topics and themes, all organised according to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). We also have shorter activities, as well as ideas for using stories and poems and lesson plans dedicated to areas of UK history, literature and culture to help your learners improve their English in engaging, motivating and enjoyable ways.

All of our practical materials are written by experts in English Language Teaching and are free to download.

Find practical resources for your secondary classroom

Lesson plans

Find a range of complete lesson plans of all language levels for your teenage English language classes.

Find lesson plans for secondary

Activities

In this section you will find classroom activities to use in the secondary classroom with learners aged 13-17.

Find classroom activities for secondary

Write an Easter poem

In this activity learners will develop their creative writing skills by writing an Easter-themed poem. They will choose from an acrostic poem or use a poem frame. Learners will revise vocabulary connected with Easter/spring.

Age
13 - 17
Language Level
A2
Duration
20
A tall teenage boy reads out a poem to his classmates as his teacher watches
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Stories and poems

In this section you will find stories and poems to use in the secondary classroom with your learners aged 13-17.

Explore stories and poems for secondary

Lunch Every Day

Download the lesson notes and student worksheets to use with the picturebook 'Lunch Every Day' by Kathryn Otoshi. There are links in the lesson notes to a video interview with the writer.

A young male learner wearing a cap and backpack, looking away
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The Promise

Download the lesson notes and student worksheets to use with the picturebook 'The Promise' by Nicola Davies. There are links in the lesson notes to a video interview with the illustrator, Laura Carlin, and a video readaloud of the book by the author, Nicola Davies.

A hand holding three acorns
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Teaching tools

From the interactive phonemic chart to badge builders, find tools to use in your teenage classroom.

Discover teaching tools for secondary classrooms

UK history and literature

Lesson plans and activities about UK culture for your teenage classroom.

Find lesson plans on British culture and literature

A Child's Christmas in Wales

This unit is designed to explore Dylan Thomas’ childhood account of a Christmas Day experience and give learners the opportunity to develop their creative writing skills by incorporating some of the linguistic features present in Dylan Thomas’ prose.

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The creation of Under Milk Wood

This is one of four lessons designed to explore the videos produced by the British Council for the birth centenary of Dylan Thomas. In this video, the speakers talk about how the idea for the play developed in Dylan Thomas’ mind and also about its first production. Learners will practise listening and creative writing.

Age
13 - 17
Adults
Language Level
B2
Duration
90
A statue of Captain Cat from Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood
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Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight