Black Friday

Lesson 1

Warm-up Work in small groups and discuss the following questions. 10 min
Share what you’ve found out with the whole group.
1. What do you think about shopping?
2. Would you rather shop in person or online?
3. Would you rather shop alone or with your
friend/family member?
4. Talk about the last big thing you bought.
5. Do you know what Black Friday is?
6. Are you planning to go shopping on Black Friday?

Vocabulary Tell the students that you are going to learn some facts about 10 min
Black Friday. Ask the students to think of the words they
might find in the text. Allow 5 min to think. Ask students in
turn, write down the words they’ve mentioned on the board.
Show the list of words from the text. Students compare their
5 min
list of words with yours.
annual shopping day
take advantage
discounted items
put up for sale
national holiday
day off work
retailers
profit
the busiest shopping day
to offer discounts
camp outside
to bag the bargains
violent
people are injured
stampede
desperate customer
Ask the students to sort the words into the chat: the words 5 min
I know/the words I think I know, the words I don’t know.
Discuss what they have. Explain the words students don’t
know.
 Black Friday

Reading Now students are going to read the text. Divide the students 10 min
into 2 groups. Each group has a text with some missing
words. Both groups have different words that are missing.
Students work together and think of the questions that might
help them to find out the missing word. E.g . Black Friday
is …. Question: What is Black Friday? Check the questions
they have.

You will need tests for Student A and Student B. See

Appendix 1
Students work in pairs. There is Student A and Student B 10 min
in every pair. Students ask and answer questions, fill in the
missing words.
Ask the students to share 3 facts that were interesting for 5 min
them about Black Friday.

Follow up Ask students to create a cinquain about Black Friday

in class or as a part of their homework.

Format for Writing a Cinquain

Line 1: One word (a noun, the subject of the poem)

Line 2: Two words (adjectives that describe the subject in line 1)

Line 3: Three words (-ing action verbs–participles–that relate to
the subject in line 1)

Line 4: Four words (a phrase or sentence that relates feelings

about the subject in line 1)

Line 5: One word (a synonym for the subject in line 1 or a word

that sums it up)

Alternative Line 5 for older poets: Five words (a phrase or

sentence that further relates feelings about the subject in line 1)

Lesson 2

Warm up Ask what students remember about Black Friday. 5 min

Running Divide students into pairs. One person will write down the 10 min
sentences, the other will run around the class, find the sentences,
dictation
memorize them and dictate them to the partner. Then the
student finds the sentence, he puts a tick on the card, and other
students are not allowed to take those sentences. Count how many
sentences each pair of students has.
Appendix 2: Shopping dialogue.
 Black Friday
Building Now the students should read the sentences they have, so 15 min
a dialogue there is a dialogue. Students should listen to each other to
decide on the order of sentences.
Ask what the dialogue is about.
Provide the students with the text of this dialogue.
Students may read it in pairs

Vocabulary Ask what other clothes words your students remember. 15 min
revision and
Use cards with clothes from Trendy English Game Black
extension Friday https://trendyenglishgames.com/product/blackfriday/
Show the cards, encourage students to name the words.
Help with the words they don’t know.
Pass the cards around, students name the words.
Show the card, but tell the wrong word, students should
correct you.
Ask the students to describe someone’s clothes in the class.
Others guess the name of the person being described.

Black Friday Look through the dialogue one more time. Underline useful
phrases for the role-play in the shop.
Explain the rules of Black Friday.
https://trendyenglishgames.com/product/blackfriday/
Play the game according to the rules

Follow up Ask the students to describe what they’ve bought. 5 min

How much money they’ve spent.
 Black Friday
Appendix 1
STUDENT A
Black Friday is an annual shopping day that falls after Thanksgiving in 1) _________________.
Every year, people take advantage of the heavily discounted items that shops put up for sale. For many people,
Black Friday signals the beginning of the Christmas shopping period.

• Black Friday always occurs on the day after Thanksgiving. It is the last Friday of the month of November.
• Black Friday is 2) ___________________, although many employers give their workers this day off work
in addition to Thanksgiving Thursday.
• Black Friday is also known as ‘The Day After Thanksgiving’.
• It’s believed that Black Friday originated in Philadelphia in 3) _________________
• The name supposedly originates from the moment in the year when retailers begin to turn a profit,
and so go from their takings being in the ‘red’ to in the ‘black’.
• Since 4) __________, Black Friday has always been the busiest shopping day of the year.
• In recent years, Black Friday has become less important as shops choose to offer discounts over
the whole of November and December, and not just on Black Friday.
• Many retailers open their stores 5) ____________ to entice customers in to get the best deals.
Some stores, including Target and Macy’s, open at midnight on Thanksgiving.
• Some retailers even open on Thanksgiving Day itself. This day has become known as ‘Black Thursday’
or 6)‘_______________’ by some.
• Many people in the USA will camp outside shops to ensure they are the first customers into the
store on Black Friday.
• Because of the number of people trying to bag the bargains, Black Friday often becomes violent and people
are injured. Since 2006 there have even been 7) ______ deaths as a result of Black Friday hysteria.
• In 2008, 20,000 shoppers tried to enter a Wal-Mart store in New York, and a shop employee died in the
stampede.
• In 8) ____________, shoppers carrying knives and guns were arrested in Wisconsin, Florida and Indianapolis.
• In 2011, people waiting to buy a discounted 9) ____________ in California were sprayed with pepper spray
by one desperate customer.
• Black Friday has only recently become a phenomenon in the UK. It wasn’t until 2014 that the day became an
event for British shoppers.
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________
6. _________________________________________________________________
7. _________________________________________________________________
8. _________________________________________________________________
9. _________________________________________________________________
 Black Friday
Appendix 1
STUDENT B
Black Friday is an annual shopping day that falls after Thanksgiving in the United States of America. Every year, people
take advantage of the heavily discounted items that shops put up for sale. For many people, Black Friday signals
1) ________________________ shopping period.
• Black Friday always occurs on the day after 2)______________. It is the last Friday of the month of November.
• Black Friday is not a national holiday, although many employers give their workers this day off work
in addition to Thanksgiving Thursday.
• Black Friday is also known as ‘The Day After Thanksgiving’.
• It’s believed that Black Friday originated in Philadelphia in the early 1960s.
• The name supposedly originates from the moment in the year when retailers begin to turn a profit,
and so go from their takings being in the ‘red’ to in the ‘black’.
• Since about 2005, Black Friday has always been the busiest shopping day of the year.
• 3) ________________, Black Friday has become less important as shops choose to offer discounts over
the whole of November and December, and not just on Black Friday.
• Many retailers open their stores from 4 or 5am to entice customers in to get the best deals. Some stores,
including Target and Macy’s, open 4) _______ on Thanksgiving.
• Some retailers even open on Thanksgiving Day itself. This day has become known as ‘Black Thursday’
or ‘Gray Thursday’ by some.
• Many people in the USA 5) ____________ outside shops to ensure they are the first customers into
the store on Black Friday.
• Because of the number of people trying to bag the bargains, Black Friday often becomes violent and
people are injured. Since 2006 there have even been 7 deaths as a result of Black Friday hysteria.
• In 2008, 6) _______ shoppers tried to enter a Wal-Mart store in New York, and a shop employee
died in the stampede.
• In 2010, shoppers carrying knives and guns were arrested in Wisconsin, 7) ________ and Indianapolis.
• 8) ______, people waiting to buy a discounted Xbox 360 in California were sprayed with pepper
spray by one desperate customer.
• Black Friday has only recently become a phenomenon in the UK. It wasn’t until 9)____ that the day
became an event for British shoppers.
1. ____________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________
6. _________________________________________________________________
7. _________________________________________________________________
8. _________________________________________________________________
9. _________________________________________________________________
 Black Friday
Appendix 2

SA: Hello. Can I help you?

C: Hello. Yes, please. I’m looking for an elegant dress for a party.
SA: What colour would you like?
C: I don’t know. What colours have you got?
SA: We have got all colours. What do you think of blue?
C: OK. Have you got it in size 8?
SA: Yes, here you are.
C: Can I try it on?
SA: Of course. The changing room is there.
…. Does it fit?
C: It doesn’t fit me. Have you got a bigger one?
SA. Only in red. Would you like to try it on?
C: Yes , thank you. … It fits me perfectly.
SA: Yes, and it suits you.
C: How much is it?
SA. It’s 55 Euros.
C. I take it.