Camping
This camping ESL lesson teaches outdoor equipment, nature vocabulary and useful packing language. Students guess items in a backpack, mime camping verbs and ask a guide 'Do you have a compass?' They write a camping checklist and build a labelled mini campsite while explaining what they would bring.
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Lesson format
2 × 45 minutes
Level
Elementary
Age group
Ages 8–11
Main focus
Speaking first
What students will learn
Lesson flow
Students guess items packed in an imaginary backpack, learn camping vocabulary from a video pausing on 'What is it? It's a tent,' and mime camping verbs like hiking and cooking. The second lesson sings a campfire action song packing and hiking, roleplays a camper asking a guide 'Do you have a compass?', writes a camping checklist with three sentences about what they bring, and builds a mini paper campsite craft labelling each item.
Target language
- • 'Do you like camping?'
- • 'Where do you sleep?' / 'What do you bring?'
- • Action verbs (pack, hike, climb, cook)
- • Camping gear vocabulary
Key vocabulary
Camping Equipment
- • tent
- • sleeping bag
- • torch
- • backpack
- • compass
Outdoor Activities
- • hike
- • fishing
- • campfire
Nature
- • nature
- • outdoor
- • forest
- • trail
- • adventure
Speaking questions students answer
- • Do you like camping?
- • Where do you sleep when camping?
- • What do you bring?
- • Do you have a compass?
- • What do you do at a campfire?
Interactive activities in this lesson
Cross-curricular connections
- • Geography
- • Outdoor Learning
- • Physical Education
Support
- • Provide a picture packing checklist as a word bank
- • Provide the sentence frame 'I bring a ___' / 'Do you have a ___?'
- • Keep camping-gear flashcards visible during the roleplay
Challenge
- • Explain why each item is needed using a full sentence
- • Compare camping with staying in a hotel
- • Act as the guide in the camper-and-guide roleplay, answering follow-up questions
Home challenge
Students draw or list five items they would pack for a camping trip and write one sentence explaining why each item is useful.
Recommended teaching contexts
Why this lesson works
The lesson follows a clear progression: Guess backpack items in a warm-up game, ask 'Do you like camping?' and 'Where do you sleep?', write a camping checklist and roleplay a camper-and-guide chat. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.