An English Lesson that Helps Students Sleep Better by Discussing Its Importance and Potential Strategies
By: Ana Paula Biazon Rocha
Although sleep plays a crucial role in our physical and mental well-being, it is usually overlooked, especially in today’s fast-paced world, flooded by information and multiple screens. For this reason, this lesson aims to help B1-B2 students explore the importance of sleep and reflect on their own sleeping habits. Through engaging activities such as class discussions, quizzes, reading tasks, and goal-setting exercises, students will not only focus on the science of sleep but also on practical strategies to improve their own sleep patterns. Hopefully, by the end of the lesson, they will be better able to make informed decisions about their sleep and understand how it impacts their daily lives.
Level: B1-B2
(Retrieved and adapted from Teaching English.)
Introducing the topic | To have students guess the topic of the lesson, the teacher shows images related to sleep (e.g., a baby sleeping, or someone looking sleepy). The teacher then asks students to brainstorm common vocabulary and collocations about sleep, such as sleepy, drowsy, fall asleep, sleep like a baby, sound asleep, wide awake, toss and turn, nod off, doze off, etc. |
Students ask each other questions about their own sleeping habits. | |
Class discussion | The teacher leads a whole-class discussion based on the information students gathered in the previous activity. |
Sleep Quiz | Students complete a quiz about sleep. To make the quiz questions, the teacher can check this website. |
Discussion of Quiz Results | The teacher leads a whole-class discussion based on the information gathered during the quiz. |
Reading and Advice | Students read a sample comment from a student struggling with their sleep schedule at university (see sample comment below). They then discuss what kind of advice they would give this student. |
Writing Activity | Students write a comment describing their own sleeping habits on a piece of paper or Post-it note. The teacher shuffles the notes and redistributes them. Students read a classmate’s comment and respond with advice. Finally, the teacher hands the notes back to the original students so they can read the advice they received. Students can choose whether to sign their notes or remain anonymous. |
Discussion and Goal Setting | Students discuss whether the advice they received is useful, what they would like to try, and why. They each choose one strategy to try over the next week and will report back on their progress. |
Follow-Up | One week later, at the start or end of a lesson, the teacher checks in with students about the strategies they tried, if they worked, and why. Students choose a new strategy to test for the following week. |
Continued Progress Check | In the following week, the teacher checks in on students’ progress again, and they choose a new strategy. This process can continue on a weekly basis. |
Sample comment |
Hey, everyone. I’m really struggling with my classes because of my sleep schedule. I keep staying up super late, either studying or just scrolling on my phone, and then I’m totally exhausted the next day. I even keep dozing off during lectures. I try to sleep earlier, but it’s like I can’t shut my brain off or something. My final term assignments are coming up, and I don’t know what to do. Does anyone have tips for fixing this? How can I actually get to sleep at a decent time and feel awake in the morning? [student’s name] |
The timings of the lesson were not included, as it is designed to be used or adapted to suit different teaching contexts and needs.
Ana Paula Biazon Rocha is a DELTA-qualified teacher, originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, but currently based in Sheffield, UK. She has been teaching English for more than twenty years. She is a Teaching Development coordinator at the English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC), University of Sheffield. She is also a committee member and resident blogger of IATEFL PronSIG.