Use Dear Annie letters to have an English conversation class about giving advice.

Step 1: Introduce language advice. (5-10 minutes)

Go over some advice phrases at the beginning of class, such as…

• “He might want to”
• “…is worth a try”
• “She ought to…”
• “How about…?”
• “Isn’t it about time to…?”

Ask students to add their own phrases for giving advice to the board.

Step 2: Discuss a Dear Annie letter. (10-20 minutes)

Print or project a Dear Annie letter for your students. This Holiday Hijinks one is a good one to discuss as a class. Read it through with them, but don’t show them Annie’s answer. Let students discuss in pairs what they think this person should do and report it back to the class. Then you can check together what Annie said and see if your advice matches.

Step 3: Give advice in small groups. (15-20 minutes)

Now distribute several more Dear Annie letters to your students. Let students work in partners or small groups and read one Dear Annie letter and decide on their advice. Then have small groups meet up with one another to explain what they read and their advice to this person.

Some good letters for class are…

• How far would you go for an animal?
• Can’t control co-workers lies
• A mother retaliates to daughter’s snubs

Step 4: Repeat. (Time varies)

You can repeat this several times depending on how many letters you’ve printed. At the end of class ask students what the most interesting problems were and what the best advice was.

Did your students enjoy this lesson? Let us know below.

Another great low-prep 1-hour lesson where students can give advice is this one about showing a new friend around town.