Each person has his or her own daily routine, but often the person routine fits within a norm for the culture. In some cultures, for example, people go to work at 7 a.m. and have a 2-hour break for lunch. Other cultures have a quick lunch break and flexi-time. Learn how to talk about people’s daily routines.
Beginning Learners:
When you are observing daily routines, learn the words for a lot of common daily activities. This is a great lesson to learn more verbs for things people do every day. You can take pictures or use drawings to help you learn.
Possible vocabulary:
| Get up | Brush teeth | Bathe or shower | Get dressed |
| Eat breakfast | Go to work | Go to school | Eat lunch |
| Go home | Wash your hands | Make dinner | Set the table |
| Eat dinner | Wash dishes | Put out the trash | Undress |
| Go to bed | or whatever you observe in the daily routine | ||
Possible Activities:
Activity 1: Take pictures or find pictures online of people doing these daily activities. Use Look and Listen and Do to learn the names of the actions.
Activity 2: When you feel ready, you can try to say the names of the activities. The Language Helper (LH) points to a picture and asks “What is he/she doing?” and you say: “Eating dinner.”
Intermediate Learners:
Learn more about some daily routines at home. Ask your Language Helper (LH) to describe what he or she does at home in the morning. For example: “I get up around 6 a.m. I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth, then I get dressed and make breakfast. After I eat breakfast, I wash the dishes, then I gather things I need for work and leave for work.” You can ask for a similar description of what your LH typically does in the evenings at home. Record and listen, then tell about your own daily routine.
Likewise you can build a Series on any of the household chores, such as washing dishes, cooking a meal, doing laundry, making a bed, cleaning, yardwork. Choose one to start, but this could keep you busy for a long time!
