2nd Activity - Third Conditional

The Unsent Poem

Level: 3^rd of Polimodal

This is also a good activity to practice reading, listening and comprehension.

First give your students a copy of the Unsent Poem by Brandon. Ask them to listen to the pronunciation while you read the poem, you can also make gestures. Then ask them to go through the poem and guess what the poem is about. If they don’t understand it then ask them to work with vocabulary. Finally, you can practice reading before working with the third conditional.

The Unsent Poem
Favorite song plays in the background
Every lyric reminding me of you
Conversations running through my head
So many things that I wish you knew
Everytime that you brought me happiness
I just never quite knew what to say
I was afraid to say the wrong thing
Thinking it would make you go away
Every night I did the same old thing
I wrote poem after poem on my bed
I love you written a hundred ways
Because of fear, they were never said
The stack of poems stands tall
Not one ever making it to you
You simply walked away from me
And a love that you never knew
If only I would have taken a chance
I know that you would still be here
At night I still write you many poems
Only now the ink is mixed with tears
by Brandon

Once they have understood and practiced reading and pronunciation you can ask them to write sentences in third conditional. Don’t forget to give them an example.

Example:

• If I had been Brandon, I would have sent the poem.

1st Activity - Third Conditional

Decisions Tree

Level: 3^rd of Polimodal

You can use this activity to make your students practice the third conditional. The idea is to ask your students to build up their own options tree with five big decisions they have made in their lives.

First give your students an example of the teacher’s decisions tree and also write sentences in third conditional showing how the reality would change if your decisions had gone the other way.

1. If I had left high school, I wouldn’t have studied English.
2. If I hadn’t studied English, I wouldn’t have become an English teacher.
3. If I had got married, I would have had two children.
4. If I hadn’t travelled to Cordoba, I wouldn’t have met Abel Pintos.
5. If I had bought a car, I would have come to school by car.

Source: TEFL.net