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Lesson planB250 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Weather to Remember: so and such … that
Students learn to use so and such … that to describe extreme weather and its results, then write about memorable weather.
So such that · Weather · Nature
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use so / such … that accurately
- Learn and use 15 words and phrases in 2 sets: Extreme weather, Weather collocations
- Read for detail: the summer the river disappeared
- Writing task: extreme weather
Stages · 50 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about weather and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 5 minControlled practice: Ex. 2
- 10 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 3–4
- 10 minReading: Ex. 5
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 6
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
so + adjective or adverb … that
- It was so cold that the lake froze.
- The wind blew so hard that trees fell down.
such (a/an) + (adjective +) noun … that
- It was such a hot day that we stayed inside.
- There was such heavy rain that the roads flooded. (no a/an with uncountable or plural nouns)
so much / many / little / few
- There was so much snow that the schools closed. There were so many people that we couldn't move.
- In informal English you can leave out that: It was so hot we couldn't sleep.
Study tips
- Look at the word after the gap: an adjective on its own needs so; a noun (with or without an adjective) needs such.
- Describe the weather today in two sentences, one with so … that and one with such … that.
Glossary
- Extreme weather8 items
- Weather collocations7 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Weather collocations
Match the words to make common weather phrases.
Tap an item…
…then its match
2
so or such?
Which word goes in the gap: so or such? Put each phrase in the right group.
- a
___ cold
- b
___ heavy rain
- c
___ a strong wind
- d
___ much snow
- e
___ quickly
- f
___ awful weather
- g
___ an amazing sunset
- h
___ few people
- i
___ freezing
3
Say it another way
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use the word given and between two and five words.
- a
The storm was very loud, so we couldn't sleep.
SUCH
It was that we couldn't sleep.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- b
It was a very hot day, so we stayed indoors.
SO
The day was we stayed indoors.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- c
There was a lot of snow, so the schools closed.
MUCH
There was the schools closed.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- d
The fog was so thick that we couldn't see the road.
SUCH
There was that we couldn't see the road.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- e
The rain was so heavy that the river flooded.
SUCH
It was that the river flooded.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- f
A lot of trees fell, and as a result the road was closed for days.
MANY
trees fell that the road was closed for days.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
4
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correction: the corrected word(s) or the whole sentence.
- a
It was such cold that the pipes froze.
- b
We had so a hot summer that the grass turned brown.
- c
There was such a heavy rain that the match was cancelled.
- d
There were so much people on the beach that we couldn't find a space.
- e
The wind was so strong than it blew the roof off the shed.
- f
We got completely soaking on the way home from the station.
- g
The storm caused serious damages to the village.
5
Read: the summer the river disappeared
Read the text. Are the sentences true, false or not given?
Everyone in Elmsbury remembers the summer of the long heatwave. It was so hot that the roads went soft, and the river, which usually runs fast past the village, shrank to a thin brown line. For six weeks there was no rain at all. The drought was so severe that farmers had to buy water for their animals, and the council asked residents not to water their gardens. Then, at the end of August, the weather changed in a single afternoon. Dark clouds came in from the west, and there was such a violent storm that people took shelter wherever they could. Shop owner Ravi Mehta was caught on his way home. 'I was soaked in seconds,' he says. 'I've never seen rain like it.' The dry ground couldn't take in the water, so the river rose quickly. By evening there was a flood in the main street, and several houses suffered serious damage. Nobody was hurt, but some families couldn't return home for weeks. Ravi still checks the forecast every morning. 'Freezing winters don't bother me,' he laughs. 'Summers worry me much more now.'
- a
During the heatwave, the river dried up completely.
- b
There was no rain for six weeks.
- c
Farmers had to pay for water for their animals.
- d
The storm arrived slowly over several days.
- e
Ravi Mehta's shop was damaged by the flood.
- f
The river rose because the dry ground couldn't take in the rain.
- g
Some people were injured in the flood.
- h
The council paid for the repairs to the houses.
- i
Ravi is more worried about summers than winters now.
6
Write: extreme weather
Write about an experience.
Describe the most extreme weather you have ever experienced (120–150 words). Where were you? What happened, and how did it affect you and the people around you? Use so … that and such … that at least twice each. Word box: severe · drought · heatwave · soaked · shelter · flood · freezing · damage Example: It was such a powerful storm that we had to take shelter in a café. The rain was so heavy that we got soaked in seconds.
Suggested minimum: 120 words
0 words · aim for at least 120
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 15 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
Extreme weather
- severe
- very bad or serious
- drought
- a long period of time with no rain
- heatwave
- a period of unusually hot weather
- flood
- a large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry
- freezing
- extremely cold
- soaked
- extremely wet
- shelter
- protection from bad weather or danger
- damage
- physical harm that makes something broken or less useful
Weather collocations
- take shelter
- to go somewhere that protects you from bad weather or danger
- a flash flood
- a sudden flood after very heavy rain
- cause serious damage
- to break or harm things badly
- get completely soaked
- to become extremely wet
- pouring rain
- very heavy rain
- thick fog
- fog that makes it very hard to see
- the weather forecast
- a report that says what the weather will be like
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