At the doctor’s

At the doctor’s

Level :                   8  grade

Time  :                   40 – 45 minutes

Aim    :                  To practice vocabulary related to everyday illnesses , their symptoms  and

treatments

Materials :             Sticky labels for each student, patient cards, doctor’s treatment cards,

doctor’s and  patient’s instructions.

Key vocabulary :   Symptoms : be itchy, catch a cold, have a cough, have a headache, have a

high temperature, have a rash, have a sore throat, have a backache, have

stomach ache, lose weight, put on weight, scratch, sneeze, sprain, suffer from

stress.

Treatments : antibiotics, bandage, cough mixture, cream, diet, exercises, go to

hospital for some tests, have an operation, injection, painkillers, tablets,

vitamins, X – ray.

Warm-up :            1.Ask the class brainstorm reasons why someone might go to see the doctor.

Make a list  on the board of the problems and symptoms .

2.Ask the class  to  complete the following sentences

(eye, wrist, ear, ankle, neck)

                                 I   can’t walk. My_______ hurts.

                                 I   can’t turn my head. I have a sore________.

                                 I   can’t write. My ______hurts.

                                 I   can’t see. There’s  something in my ______.

                                 I   can’t hear. My _______is very sore.

3.Tell students to imagine that they  are at the doctor’s  surgery and try  to elicit

a typical dialogue from them .Listen to the key  phrases on the tape, e.g.

                                 Doctor:     Good morning. How can I help you?

                                 Patient:      I’ve got a rash  on my arm.

                                 Doctor:      How long have you had it?

                                 Patient:      About two days.

                                 Doctor:      I’ll give you  a prescription for some cream.

                                 Patient:      Thank you, doctor. Good bye.

Ask students to practice the dialogue in pairs and substitute different health

problems and treatments.

Main activity:     1.Divide the class into two equal groups; one group of doctors and one group

of   patients.

2.Give a sticky label to each  doctor and each patient. Ask them to choose a

name, write it on the label  and wear it as a badge.

3.Give each patient one of the patient cards and the patient instructions and give

each doctor a doctor’s treatment cards and the doctor instructions.

4.Go through  the instructions sheet with the whole class and check that they

understand the task.

5.Allow students to do the role plays and stop the activity after an appropriate

time.

6.When each patient student has seen three different doctors, they  should decide

which  is the best doctor and why.

Each doctor student will find out later whether each patient was satisfied with

the advice they gave them.

Homework :      Write a list of  five common medical problems and the possible treatments for

them.

 

                                        Doctor’s treatment card

Medicines:                                               Other treatments:

tablets                                                       bandage                    stitches,

cream                                                       diet sheet                  hospital tests,

cough mixture                                          rest                           avoid stress,

antibiotics                                                exercise                    avoid heavy lifting,

vitamins                                                   X – ray                     avoid smoking,

injection                                                   operation                  avoid  alcohol.

painkillers                                               physiotherapy

 

 

 

 

 

                                                Patient cards

“I’m putting on too much weight.”“I’ve got a headache and my throat is sore.”“I’ve got an itchy rash on my arm.”“I’ve cut my finger and it’s bleeding a lot.”
“I’m tired all the time.”“I’ve got terrible backache”“I think I’ve sprained my ankle.”“I can’t get to sleep at night.”

 

 

 

                                        Doctor  instructions

A number  of patients are waiting to see you with different problems. They will ask you to help them.

Ask the patient:

-what  can I do for you?

-how long have you  had this trouble?

-what do you think caused it?

Listen to their answers and then suggest a treatment that will help them.

 

 

 

                                       Patient instructions

You are not feeling well, and you want some medical advice. The doctor will ask you:

-what your problem is

-how long you have had the problem

-what you think caused it

You should answer the questions with as much detail as possible.