A Lesson on Zero Conditionals

1)PRESENT

Lead in:

Teacher: If weput ice in a frying pan and heat it up. What would happen?

Student:It melts / it becomes water

Teacher:Yes! You would be surprised if it didn’t, right?

  • Then draw a chart on the board using the concept that was just introduced:

IF / CONDITION / RESULT
Present simple / Present simple
If / we heat ice / it melts.
  • The teacher shouldfirst define what a zero conditional is on the board, explain how it is used and structured, and that we use it to talk about likely situations and describe their results:

Teacher: ‘If’ is the zero conditional. Any time we use ‘if’, the condition always has aresultthat is certain (pointing to the columns on the chart while explaining). Let’s take a look at some more examples…

  • Then write more examples in the same chart on the board:

IF / CONDITION / RESULT
Present simple / Present simple
If / we heat ice / it melts.
If / it rains / I bring my umbrella.
If / I am cold / I wear a jacket.
If / you run every day / you will lose weight.
If / people don’t drink / they are thirsty.
If / you don’t study / you get bad grades.
  • The teacher reads the sentences out loud to demonstrate proper pronunciation.
  • With younger students, teachers can stick/draw pictures on the board to explain the concept with visuals:

Example #1:

“If we heat ice… …it melts.”

Example #2:

“If it rains… …I bring my umbrella.”

  • ‘if’ can also be replaced by ‘when’ and have the same meaning (write examples on the board):

Ifit rains, I bring my umbrella.
Whenit rains, I bring my umbrella.

  • show students how the same sentences can be restructured and still have the same meaning using both ‘when’ and ‘if’ interchangeably (by drawing another chart on the board):

RESULT / IF/
WHEN / CONDITION
Present simple / Present simple
Ice melts / when / we heat it.
I bring my umbrella / if / it rains.
I wear a jacket / when / I am cold.
You will lose weight / if / you run every day.
People are thirsty / when / they don’t drink.
You get bad grades / if / you don’t study.
  • CCQs – After presenting the new material, the teacher should ask concept questions to check that students comprehend (if not, they should go back and review some of the process)

For example: ‘If it rains, I bring my umbrella.’

  • Is it raining now? (no)
  • Do I have my umbrella now? (no)
  • Is ‘if’ the zero conditional of this sentence? (yes)
  • What is the condition of this sentence? (‘it rains’)
  • What is the result of the condition? (‘you will bring your umbrella’)
  • What can I replace ‘if’ with and still have the same meaning? (‘when’)

1)Practice

a)Substitution Drills -Instruct students to repeat the sentences after you replacing ‘when’ with ‘if’:

Teacher: I bring an umbrellaifit rains.

Student: I bring an umbrellawhenit rains.

Teacher:If I’m hungry, I eat.

Student:When I’m hungry I eat.

Teacher: I sleep if I’m tired.

Student: I sleep when I’m tired.

b) Transformation Drills:

Teacher: Does ice melt if you heat it?

Student: Yes, ice melts if you heat it.

Teacher: Do you bring an umbrella when it rains?

Student: Yes, I bring an umbrella when it rains.