Teaching Reading for a Beginner ESL Learner - A Sample Lesson Plan

This post is an extension of the post Teaching Reading to A1-A2 learner. If you haven't read the post you can read it first or if you just want the lesson plan. Ok, let's read on. 

Teaching reading to A1 (Beginner) and A2 (Elementary) ESL learners is one of the most rewarding challenges in language pedagogy. Here is a detailed, 45-minute lesson plan for an A1-A2 class focusing on reading comprehension, using a Simple Cafe Menu as the target text.

Sample Reading Lesson Plan: The Simple Cafe Menu

Target Level	A1 (High Beginner) to A2 (Elementary)
Reading Skill Focus	Scanning for specific information; Understanding real-world text.
Duration	45 minutes
Target Text	A simplified cafe menu (see Appendix A below).
Key Vocabulary	order, bill, sandwich, salad, coffee, tea, soup.

Appendix A: The Target Text (Simple Cafe Menu)

Category	Item	Description	Price
Breakfast (7:00 - 10:00)	Eggs on Toast	Two eggs, white or brown toast.	$5.50
	Fresh Fruit	Apple, banana, and grapes.	$4.00
Lunch (11:00 - 14:00)	Chicken Salad	Lettuce, tomato, and grilled chicken.	$8.50
	Vegetable Soup	Hot soup with carrots and potato.	$6.00
Drinks	Coffee (Black/Milk)	Large or small size.	$3.00
	Herbal Tea	Hot tea with lemon.	$2.50

You can download the printable version of the Cafe Menu here: 

Phase 1: Pre-Reading (10 Minutes)

The goal is to activate schemata and pre-teach essential vocabulary.

1. Schemata Activation & Prediction (Top-Down Approach)

• Activity: Show the students a simple, clear picture of a restaurant or cafe.
• Teacher Questions (Simple English): "What is this place?" (Cafe/Restaurant). "What do people do here?" (Eat, talk, drink). "What do you need to look at to know what food they have?" (A menu).
• Prediction: Show the title of the text ("The Cafe Menu"). Ask: "What food do you think is on this menu? Expensive or cheap food?"

2. Pre-Teaching Key Vocabulary (Bottom-Up Focus)

• Method: Write the following words on the board. Use pictures (or realia/gestures) to teach the meaning directly.
• Menu
• Order (Use gesture: holding a hand up to call a waiter)
• Price (Write a dollar sign next to it)
• Salad (Show a picture)

Phase 2: While-Reading (25 Minutes)

The goal is to complete specific tasks, forcing them to read for purpose, not perfection.

Task A: Skimming for Gist (5 minutes)

• Instruction: "Look quickly at the menu. Do not read every word! Tell me one thing: Is this menu for a party or for a regular day?" (Answer: Regular day).
• Instruction: "What time can you get Eggs on Toast?" (Answer: 7:00 – 10:00).
• Why it works: This reinforces the skill of skimming and prevents immediate over-focus on unknown words.

Task B: Scanning for Specifics (10 minutes)

• Instruction: "Now, you need to find specific information. Read carefully, but only for the answer."
• A1 Tasks (Simple Decoding):

1. How much is the Herbal Tea?
2. Find an item that has an apple.
3. What time does the Lunch service finish?

• A2 Tasks (Slightly more complex decoding/phrasing):

1. If you want a hot vegetable, which item should you choose?
2. Which two items cost less than $5.00? (This requires comparing multiple prices).

Task C: Intensive Reading (Comprehension Check) (10 minutes)

• Instruction: Ask students to read the "Description" column carefully.
• Activity: True/False: Write simple statements on the board, and students confirm based on the text.

1. The Chicken Salad has potato. (False)
2. You can ask for milk in your coffee. (True)
3. Breakfast is available all day. (False)

• Why it works: This moves them beyond mere scanning to understanding the full phrase or sentence, applying the Interactive Approach.

Phase 3: Post-Reading (10 Minutes)

The goal is to consolidate vocabulary and personalize the information.

1. Vocabulary Consolidation & Recycling

• Activity: Ask students to look at the words they underlined (or circled) during the scanning phase. Help them guess the meaning of one or two non-essential words (e.g., grilled).
• Focus: Have them write down 3 new food words from the menu (e.g., grapes, toast, lettuce) in their vocabulary notebook.

2. Personalization & Role-Play

• Activity: Divide the students into pairs (A and B).
• Role-Play:
• Student A is the Customer.
• Student B is the Waiter/Waitress (holds the menu).
• Task: Student A "orders" two items from the menu, and Student B answers (e.g., "I would like the Chicken Salad." / "Okay. That is $8.50.").
• Why it works: This connects the reading input directly to speaking output, solidifying the functional language of the text.

This lesson effectively uses all the recommended strategies: Pre-teaching to reduce anxiety, chunking the reading into manageable tasks (Skimming, Scanning, Intensive), and concluding with real-world application.

What do you think of the lesson plan. Do you want us to make a more difficult plan for the beginner level of students or is this too advanced for the A1-A2 level learner? Of course, you can make adaptation according to the level of your student. Leave a comment about your experience. Happy teaching!