Unit 6 | Session 2

Getting it wrong
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: use organizing expressions to tell a story
 Unit 6 | Session 2
Getting it wrong
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: use organizing expressions to tell a story

Lesson Overview
1. GET STARTED: Oops!

2. READING: A dream come true

3. CRITICAL THINKING: Understanding irony

4. SPEAKING SKILL: Organizing and linking expressions

5. SPEAKING: Chain stories

6. PROGRESS CHECK
GET STARTED
Oops!

When was the last time you got something

wrong? What happened? Were you able to
fix the situation?

A couple of months ago, I was turning in an

assignment for class when I realized I had
missed the due date. I had written the wrong
day in my calendar! I panicked and asked the
teacher if I could still submit it. Thankfully, she
let me turn it in, but I still lost some points for
being late. Lesson learned!
READING
A dream come true
Read the headline and first paragraph of the story. What dream do you think came
true for the writer?
READING
A dream come true
Read the whole story on your worksheet.
Then answer the questions.
1. Why did the writer go to New York City?

2. What problems did she and her friend

encounter during their trip?

3. What caused her to panic?

CRITICAL THINKING
Understanding irony
Scan the story. Then answer the
questions.
1. Why was it ironic that the writer went to the
wrong station?

2. What is ironic about the subway station the

writer and her best friend went to?

3. What is ironic about the writer’s final sentence?

“I guess my dream about being the star of a
Broadway show finally came true.”
SPEAKING SKILLS
Linking and organizing expressions
Compare the two stories. Why is the second one easier to read?
I’ll never forget what happened to me. My friend was
getting married. We were so excited to attend the
ceremony. Salt Lake City was six hours from Las
Vegas. We left in the morning. We got there. The
place was packed. No one was seated, which was
weird. Even weirder, we saw the bride and groom
standing around chatting with people. It hit me. We
had missed the whole thing! I felt awful. I almost cried.
My friend told me not to worry. I realized that I had
forgotten that Vegas was an hour ahead of Salt Lake
City! What a great job I did of planning that weekend!
I’ll never forget what happened to me a few years ago.
My friend was getting married, and we were so excited
to attend the ceremony. Salt Lake City was six hours
from Las Vegas, so we left in the morning. When we got
there, the place was packed, but no one was seated,
which was weird. Then, even weirder, we saw the bride
and groom standing around chatting with people. Then it
hit me. We had missed the whole thing! I felt awful, and I
almost cried, but my friend told me not to worry. Later, I
realized that I had forgotten that Vegas was an hour
ahead of Salt Lake City! What a great job I did of
planning that weekend!
SPEAKING SKILLS
Linking and organizing expressions
Read the stories. Then make them more fluid by adding
linking and organizing expressions.
1. My friend rented a car from Cars-For-U. She called me. She
said she would meet me in the mall parking lot on Thursday. I
went to the mall. I didn’t see her. I waited. I waited. It hit me. I
had gone to the wrong mall!

2. We were on our way to see our grandparents. We were all in

a good mood. We were driving on the highway. The traffic
came to a stop. The car stopped running. It hit me. I had run
out of gas. We were nowhere near a gas station!

Linking and organizing expressions

ago / then / later
and / but / so
when / while
SPEAKING
Chain stories
Work in groups. Choose a story starter and take turns adding to the story using
organizing and linking expressions and your own idea.
1. I had everything planned for the party . . .
I had everything planned for the party, and
2. I arrived in London in the afternoon and headed to my I was excited for my guests to arrive.
hotel . . .
3. The boat had left without us, leaving us stuck on the
desert island by ourselves . . .
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Organizing and linking expressions
a few days / months / years ago
then / later But when I answered the door, a
strange woman I didn’t recognize was
and / but / so standing there, staring at me.
when / while / after / before
PROGRESS CHECK

Now I can . . .

 using organizing expressions to tell a story.

 understand irony.
 Unit 6 | Session 2
Getting it wrong
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: use organizing expressions to tell a story

Thank you!