Travel & Culture
A complete two-session B1 lesson built around the past simple narrative — the tense students need to tell travel stories — with a story-sharing centerpiece, audio scripts, answer keys, and a self-grading workbook.
Can-Do Statements
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Tell a travel story in the past simple, in a clear sequence of events.
- Use past simple verbs (regular and irregular) accurately in narrative.
- Connect events with time sequencers: first, then, after that, later, finally.
- Use travel and culture vocabulary — destinations, transport, and cultural experiences.
- Understand a written travel story and a spoken account of a trip.
- Write a short, well-ordered travel story about a real or imagined trip.
Vocabulary & Phrases
Places, Transport & Culture
- destination · landmark · itinerary · souvenir
- by plane / train / ferry / bus · catch a flight
- book a ticket · make a reservation · check in
- explore · sightseeing · get around · local food
- breathtaking · crowded · ancient · lively
- culture shock · customs · traditions
Telling a Travel Story
- A few years ago, I went to…
- First… / Then… / After that… / Finally…
- The best part was… / The funny thing was…
- Suddenly… / Luckily… / In the end…
- I'd never seen anything like it.
- It was the best trip of my life.
The Engine of the Lesson
A focused review of the past simple — the backbone of every travel story.
1. Past Simple — Regular & Irregular
Regular verbs add -ed; many common travel verbs are irregular and must be learned.
| regular | travel → traveled · stay → stayed · explore → explored |
| irregular | go → went · take → took · fly → flew · see → saw · eat → ate |
2. Negatives & Questions
| negative | We didn't stay long. (didn't + base verb — not "didn't stayed") |
| question | Did you enjoy it? Where did you go? |
| be | It was amazing. The beaches were beautiful. |
3. Sequencing a Narrative
Good stories are ordered with time sequencers. Teach them as a set students can reuse.
Trap: after "did" / "didn't", always use the base verb — "Did you go?", "We didn't see it" (never "Did you went / didn't saw").
Materials Needed
The Wrong Train
A self-grading travel story written almost entirely in the past simple, with the unit's travel vocabulary built in. It fits straight into Session 2 — or set it as homework before the storytelling stage.
What's inside
- A short narrative about a traveler who boards the wrong train and finds a better afternoon.
- Self-grading comprehension questions with instant feedback and a score.
- A regular vs irregular past simple sorting task, using verbs from the story.
- A vocabulary flashcard deck and a discussion box to extend the topic into speaking.
How to use it: project it for shared reading, or assign it for homework before the discussion. Students read, then tap Show My Score on the comprehension quiz and bring the result to class.
Open the Reading →Timed Lesson Stages
Each stage lists timing, teacher instructions, and the interaction pattern.
1. Warm-Up — Where in the World?
Ask: "Where did you go on your last trip? How did you get there?" Collect destinations and transport words on the board.
Interaction: Teacher → whole class.
2. Vocabulary — Travel & Culture
Present travel vocabulary with images. Drill collocations: catch a flight, book a ticket, explore the old town, try the local food. Pre-teach the time sequencers (first, then, after that, finally).
Interaction: Teacher → class.
3. Grammar — Past Simple Narrative Review
Tell a short travel story of your own and pause on each past verb; elicit the base forms and build a board list of irregulars. Re-tell it with sequencers, then drill negatives and questions.
- Concept check: "After 'did', do we say 'went' or 'go'?"
- Controlled practice: students do the workbook's Past Simple grammar task and the Order-the-Story task.
Interaction: Guided discovery → individual.
4. Speaking — Share a Travel Story
The centerpiece (full instructions in the Activities section below). In groups, students tell a real travel story using the past simple and sequencers; listeners ask follow-up questions.
Interaction: Small groups.
5. Wrap-Up
A few students report the most interesting story they heard (practicing reported past simple). Note verb-form errors for Session 2.
1. Review — Irregular Verb Race
Call out base verbs (go, take, fly, see, eat, buy, lose). Teams race to write the past simple. One point each correct spelling.
Interaction: Teams.
2. Reading — "A Trip to Remember"
Students open the Student Workbook and read the travel story about Sofia in Morocco. They answer the comprehension and multiple-choice questions, which grade instantly.
- Read for gist first ("Did she enjoy the trip?"), then for detail.
- Pairs underline every past-simple verb and circle the irregulars.
Interaction: Individual → pairs.
3. Listening — A Holiday Conversation
Play Audio 2 (script below). Students complete the fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice listening task. Play twice.
Interaction: Individual → class check.
4. Writing — My Travel Story
Students write a travel story (80–100 words) about a real or imagined trip, using the past simple and at least three sequencers.
Model: "Two years ago, I traveled to Italy with my family. First, we flew to Rome and explored the ancient city. Then we took a train to Florence, where we saw amazing art. After that, we drove to the coast and swam in the sea. The food was incredible — we ate pizza and ice cream every day. It was the best holiday of my life."
- Target: 6+ past-simple verbs (some irregular), 3+ sequencers, travel vocabulary.
- Students self-check against the workbook checklist, then review the flashcards.
Interaction: Individual.
5. Share, Score & Reflect
Students read their story to a partner, who asks one follow-up question. Then they tap Show My Score in the workbook and show you the result on their phone.
Speaking Activities
This unit's centerpiece is Share a Travel Story — authentic narrative practice with the target tense in real use.
Share a Travel Story
Groups of 3–4. Goal: tell a real travel memory clearly, and keep your listeners curious.
- Give students two minutes to plan a real trip to talk about (where, when, who with, what happened). They jot 4–5 key past verbs — no full sentences.
- One student tells their story using the past simple and sequencers (first, then, after that, finally). Aim for 60–90 seconds.
- Listeners must ask at least two follow-up questions each ("What did you eat?", "Did anything go wrong?", "Would you go back?").
- Rotate until everyone has told a story. Then each group chooses the best story to share with the class.
- Optional twist: "One Lie" — students add one false detail; the group questions them to find it.
More Activities (rotate these)
Story Sequencing Relay
Cut a short travel story into event strips. Teams race to put the events in the correct order and justify with sequencers ("First this happened, then…"). Mirrors the workbook's Order-the-Story task.
Postcard From…
Each student writes a short postcard about a trip (real or invented) in the past simple, then reads it aloud while the group guesses the destination. Strong for writing-to-speaking and descriptive vocabulary.
Travel Taboo
A student describes a travel word (landmark, souvenir, ferry, itinerary) without saying it or three taboo words. Teammates guess. Fast vocabulary recall through paraphrasing.
Plan a Dream Trip
Groups plan a three-stop trip and present it ("First we'd fly to…, then…"). A lighter, future-facing change of pace that recycles the destination and transport vocabulary.
Audio & Transcripts
Tap a transcript to open it. Add your recording in the player, and use the same file in the student workbook's Listening task.
Audio 1A Travel Story (model)+
Speaker: A few years ago, I traveled to Iceland in winter. First, we flew to Reykjavik and rented a small car. Then we drove around the island for a week. One night, we stopped in the middle of nowhere and saw the Northern Lights — green and purple across the whole sky. I'd never seen anything like it. After that, we relaxed in hot springs while it was snowing. It was cold, but it was the most beautiful trip of my life.
How to use: Play once as a model before the speaking activity. Ask students to count the past-simple verbs and list the sequencers, then copy the structure when they tell their own story.
Audio 2A Holiday Conversation (listening task)+
Anna: Hi Tom! How was your holiday?
Tom: It was fantastic, thanks! I went to Vietnam with two friends.
Anna: Wow! What did you do there?
Tom: Lots of things. We visited Hanoi first, and then we traveled south by train. The journey took almost two days!
Anna: That sounds long. Did you enjoy it?
Tom: Yes, the views were incredible. We saw rice fields, mountains, and the sea. The best part was the food — I ate noodles every day.
Anna: Did anything go wrong?
Tom: Well, I lost my phone on the last day. But a kind woman found it and returned it to me. People were so friendly.
Anna: Amazing. Would you go back?
Tom: Definitely. Next time I want to stay longer.
How to use: This is the source audio for the workbook's Listening task. Two voices work best. Play for gist first ("Where did Tom go?"), then for detail. Notice the past-simple narrative: went, traveled, took, saw, ate, lost, found.
Audio 3Pronunciation — -ed endings (optional)+
Listen-and-repeat. The regular -ed ending has three sounds: /t/, /d/, /ɪd/.
/t/ — walked, watched, booked · /d/ — traveled, explored, stayed · /ɪd/ — visited, started, landed
How to use: B1 students often over-pronounce -ed as an extra syllable. Drill the three sounds with travel verbs so their stories sound natural.
Workbook Answers
These match the self-grading student workbook. The workbook grades automatically; keys are here for your reference and board correction.
Reading — Comprehension ("A Trip to Remember")
- Where did Sofia and her brother go? — Morocco (Marrakech)
- How did they travel to the desert? — by bus
- What did Sofia learn to cook? — a (simple) Moroccan dish
Reading — Multiple Choice
- What helped them when they got lost? — b) a friendly shopkeeper
- How did they feel when they flew home? — c) tired but happy
Listening — Fill in the Blank (Audio 2)
- Tom went to Vietnam with two friends.
- They traveled south by train.
- Tom ate noodles every day.
Listening — Multiple Choice (Audio 2)
- What happened on the last day? — b) he lost his phone
- How did Tom feel about the people? — c) they were very friendly
Grammar — Past Simple
- Last year, I went to Japan.
- We took the train to Kyoto.
- The food was amazing.
- We saw beautiful temples.
- I didn't want to come home.
Order the Story (correct sequence)
- We arrived at the airport early.
- We caught the flight to Rome.
- We explored the city all afternoon.
- We ate dinner at a small restaurant.
- We went back to the hotel and slept.
Common Student Errors
Watch for these at B1 and correct gently in the moment.
| Typical Error | Correct Form | Why & How to Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "We didn't went out." | "We didn't go out." | After didn't, use the base verb. Drill didn't + base. |
| "Did you saw the castle?" | "Did you see the castle?" | After did, use the base verb in questions too. |
| "I goed to Spain." | "I went to Spain." | go is irregular. Build and revisit a board list of irregulars. |
| "We was very tired." | "We were very tired." | was for I/he/she/it; were for you/we/they. |
| "After we ate, then we left." (every line "then") | Vary: first, after that, later, finally. | Over-using "then" makes stories flat. Teach a range of sequencers. |
| "I visited Paris last year ago." | "I visited Paris a year ago / last year." | Use either "last year" or "a year ago", not both. |
Extension & Homework
In-Class Options
- Write a six-line "worst trip ever" story with a twist ending.
- Turn a classmate's spoken story into a written postcard.
- Use the workbook flashcards to quiz a partner on travel vocabulary.
At-Home Practice
- Write a travel report about a real destination (attractions, transport, food).
- Watch a short travel vlog and summarize what the vlogger did, in the past simple.
- Finish any workbook tasks and review the flashcards; bring your score to class.
How to Measure Success
Ready to run the lesson?
Open the student workbook on any phone or laptop — self-grading, with an Order-the-Story task and a flashcard deck. No login.
Open the Student Workbook