The class begins with a short talk about my own daily routine -what I do and don't do. Then I ask students: "What are some things you usually don't do in your daily routine?" When students respond, I write a few answers on the board. Then I ask students, "Why not?" or "What happens instead?" Students give answers such as: I don't eat breakfast because I'm late. I don't watch TV, but I listen to music. I underline the connectors (because, but) and briefly highlight them as "words that connect ideas." In this way, I can create a natural need for connectors (reason and contrast).

I write a short paragraph on the board: I go to work because I have a meeting. It's early, but I'm not tired. I'm hungry, so I make breakfast. Although I don't have much time, I always drink coffee. Then I ask students to read this short paragraph and find the words that connect the ideas. After students identify words such as because, but, so, and although, I circle these words in different colours. I ask students again, "What do these words show? (reason, contrast, result)". I elicit answers and label each on the board. By asking a few CCQs, students notice meaning in the context before formal teaching, since my tone is exploratory.

I keep the paragraph on the board and ask students some CCQs, such as "Why do I go to work?" = Because I have a meeting. "I'm hungry, so I make breakfast- what happens because I'm hungry?" = I make breakfast. "It's early, but I'm not tired- are the two ideas opposite?" = yes. "Although I don't have much time, I drink coffee- is this surprising?" = yes. Then I draw a grammar table on the board, which has four columns: connector, example, function, and structure. For the first row, I write "because", as the connector, for example, I write "I stayed home because I was tired", for its function I write "gives reason, and for its structure I write main clause + because + reason clause. For the second row, I write "so" as the connector, for its example, I write "I was tired, so I stayed home", for its function I write "shows results", and for its structure I write reason cluse + so + result clause. For the third row, I write "but" as the connector, for its example, I write "It's early, but I'm not tired", for its function I write "shows contrasts", and for its structure, I write clause + but + clause. For the last row, I write "although I don't have much time, I always drink coffee" as the example, for its function, I write "shows contrast (formal)", and for its structure I write although + clause + comma + clause. For pronunciation practice, I show students where the stress is in a sentence such as "It's early, but I'm not tired". The stress is on "but".

Students are going to do gap gap-filling task on page 129, section B in the grammar bank in 3 minutes individually. They will have 2 minutes to check their answers in pairs, and then we will check the answers with the whole class. To make sure the students understand the instructions, I am going to ask some ICQs, such as: Which page? How long is it going to take?

I divide students into groups of 3 or 4 and ask them to "talk about your daily routine using at least three connectors: because, so, but, although." Each group talks for about 5-6 minutes. I monitor for the use of connectors. After the group discussion, I ask a few students to share examples with the class. Then I provide brief language feedback with a focus on fluency and natural use of connectors.