Warm Welcomes

Overview

This 60-minute session introduces Year 5 very low level learners to basic hospitality skills. The focus is on simple greetings, polite language, and customer service essentials, tailored to meet the Early Key Stage 2 requirements from the National Curriculum for England. The lesson uses vocabulary repetition, role-play, and visual aids to ensure accessibility and engagement for learners with limited English proficiency.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:

• Use simple hospitality greetings such as "Hello," "Welcome," and "How can I help you?" in controlled conversations. (National Curriculum: English – Spoken Language Y3-6)
• Recognise and use polite phrases like "Please," "Thank you," and "You’re welcome" appropriately. (National Curriculum: English – Spoken Language Y3-6)
• Demonstrate basic customer service behaviours through role-play activities. (National Curriculum: Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education – Relationships and Health Education)
• Understand key vocabulary related to hospitality and use it in simple sentences. (National Curriculum: English – Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation)

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National Curriculum Links

• English: Spoken Language – Pupils should participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates (Years 3–6).
• PSHE – Pupils learn about respectful relationships and building positive interactions with others.
• English Vocabulary – Expand learners’ vocabulary by introducing simple, relevant terms.

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Lesson Outline

Time	Activity	Description	Resources
0-10 mins	Starter – Friendly Greetings	Introduce words: Hello, Welcome, Goodbye, Please, Thank you. Use pictures & gestures. Practice pronunciation chorally.	Flashcards with words and images
10-20 mins	Vocabulary Matching	Learners match words to pictures (e.g., handshake for ‘Hello’, smile for ‘Welcome’). Use paired work to encourage interaction.	Matching cards, large images
20-35 mins	Role Play	In pairs, learners practise greetings and simple customer service dialogues:

• Greeting a guest
• Offering help
• Saying thank you
  Teacher models first. Provide sentence starters: "Hello! Welcome to ___." / "Can I help you?" / "Thank you!" | Role play prompt cards, props (name badges, signs) | | 35-45 mins | Politeness Practice | Game: “Polite Pass” – Pass a soft ball introducing polite phrases. Example: "Please," "Thank you." Reinforce with repetition. | Soft ball | | 45-55 mins | Creative Drawing and Speaking | Draw a hotel or restaurant scene. Label 3 things you'd say to guests in speech bubbles (e.g., “Hello!”, “Welcome!”). Share work in small groups. | Paper, crayons, word bank sheet | | 55-60 mins | Plenary and Assessment | Quick oral assessment: Teacher asks individual learners to greet or say polite phrases. Short feedback given. Summarise key learning points. | None |

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Assessment Ideas

• Formative: Observation during role-play and games to check correct usage of greetings and polite phrases.
• Oral Assessment: Teacher asks each pupil to say one greeting and one polite phrase accurately.
• Work Sampling: Collect drawings with speech bubbles as evidence of understanding basic hospitality language.
• Peer Feedback from group sharing helps consolidate speaking confidence.

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Differentiation

• Provide visual cues and sentence starters for very low-level speakers.
• Pair stronger speakers with lower-level learners for peer support.
• Use gestures and show realia (props) to aid comprehension.
• Allow extra thinking time and repeat vocabulary frequently.

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Notes for Teachers

• Maintain a warm, encouraging tone to build confidence.
• Emphasise clear, slow pronunciation.
• Use repetition and positive reinforcement to engage very low level learners.
• Connect vocabulary to everyday experiences (e.g., welcoming friends).

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This lesson plan supports foundational communication skills in a hospitality context, building learners’ confidence in basic spoken English and polite interactions, aligned with the England National Curriculum for Key Stage 2.