The impact of tariffs

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:

• – focus on international trade and tariffs while developing vocabulary related to global commerce and economic concepts;
• – practice English skills through synonym identification, gap-fill exercises, error correction, reading comprehension, and discussion abilities;
• – watch a video about Trump’s idol McKinley abandoning his tariff strategy and analyze economic policies through various interactive exercises.

In this B1 ESL lesson plan, students will focus on international trade and tariffs, using various exercises to help students identify correct word usage, understand key economic concepts, and develop vocabulary related to global commerce.

Warm-up: 

Students will look at statements and guess which ones are true.

Video: 

Students watch “Why Trump’s Idol, McKinley, Abandoned His Own Tariff Strategy.” and complete a gap-fill exercise based on the content.

Exercises: 

Students will be tasked with finding synonyms for words in a text. In the second exercise, they will be asked to fill gaps in sentences with words from a box. Next students cross out an incorrect word in sentences. Finally, students find mistakes in sentences.

Reading: 

Students analyze a memo on tariffs.

Discussion: 

Students unscramble and discuss a quote about trade with the teacher.