Aisle Three — ESL Lesson (B2–C1)
Hook your class in minutes with a compact, twisty supermarket story about memory and guilt.
This lesson packs close reading, a 12-item vocab set, 5 practice exercises + answer key, discussion prompts, a short play, and writing tasks—all low prep, high impact.
Download the full lesson here:
Download the full lesson plan (PDF)
Content note: brief reference to a fatal car crash—use your discretion.
In this stage, go around the class and take turns asking and answering the questions. Encourage students to share their ideas in full sentences, and follow up with additional questions to deepen the discussion.
Do you enjoy going shopping for food? Why or why not?
Do you prefer small local shops or big supermarkets? What are the differences?
Have you ever bumped into someone you know in an unexpected place? What happened?
How would you feel if you met someone you hadn’t seen in many years?
Do you think it’s easy to recognise someone after a long time? Why or why not?
Have you ever had a memory suddenly come back to you when you saw someone or something?
Video for Listening
Now take a look at the video below. Listen to the way I read the story. You can follow along with me and practice your English speaking and pronunciation. Good for listening too!
Aisle Three — full story
In this stage, the story is read aloud by the students. Each student should read a short section in turn. After each section, pause to check comprehension and ask simple follow-up questions to ensure understanding.
I was wandering around the small supermarket down the road, the one I used when I only needed a couple of things.
Not the big place on the edge of town where I did the Big Shop — toothpaste, laundry powder, everything under one roof.
This place was more expensive, stocked with unknown brands in smaller packets, but it was convenient. Less than ten minutes from my flat.
That morning I needed two things: washing-up liquid and onions. My glamorous life.
It was quiet — Tuesday morning, no one around. I found a small bottle of washing-up liquid, tossed it in my basket, and headed for the vegetable section.
As I walked, my mind drifted to the dull article I had to write that afternoon: Ten Simple Things You Can Do To Keep Your Fridge in Tip-Top Condition.
That’s when I saw him.
Another man, about my age, standing in front of me in the aisle. He stared. I stared back.
His face was familiar, just out of reach in my memory. Then it clicked — college, years ago.
Nights out, stumbling down the path to town, the same bars, the same music.
‘I know you,’ he said.
‘Yeah. College,’ I replied.
We both nodded, smiling faintly.
And then, like a shadow creeping across a wall, another memory slid into place — something about him leaving suddenly in our final year.
‘Do you live around here?’ he asked.
‘Just down the road,’ I said.
‘I’m across the street,’ he told me, smiling weakly.
The memory sharpened.
A car. A crash. He was the driver.
Too much to drink. Another passenger. Only one survivor.
The police couldn’t prove much. And then… he was gone.
He asked what I did now. I told him I was a writer, but the words faded as the rest of it flooded back — the screech of tyres, the shattering glass, the smell of fuel.
And the moment I realised I wasn’t walking away.
He saw it in my eyes. He knew I remembered.
‘Well, good seeing you,’ he said quickly, and turned for the door.
I stood there in the silence of the empty supermarket.
It was him all right.
The man who killed me.
Reading Comprehension Questions – full list
Read carefully and answer in your own words, using the story as evidence.
You can check the model answers at the back of the lesson plan.
Why did the narrator choose the small supermarket instead of the big one?
What two things did the narrator need to buy?
How does the narrator describe his own life?
What was he supposed to write later that day?
Where did the narrator recognise the man from?
What kinds of activities did they do together in the past?
How did the narrator describe the man’s smile?
What does the man reveal about where he lives now?
What accident does the narrator remember?
Who was driving the car?
What happened to the passengers?
What details of the crash does the narrator recall?
How does the man end the conversation?
What does the narrator realise in the supermarket?
Why is the ending surprising?
Do you think the man recognised who the narrator really was? Why or why not?
Essential Vocabulary
Use these high-impact items from the story throughout the tasks.
aisle · stocked (with) · convenient · tossed (in) · mind drifted · it clicked · out of reach (in my memory) · smiling weakly · stumbled · screech (of tyres) · shattering (glass) · survivor
Vocabulary Practice Exercise (Notebook Routine)
Write each new word/phrase in your notebook.
Look up the meaning and write a simple definition.
Create your own sentence connected to your life.
Examples
Aisle – a passage between rows of shelves in a shop.
Example: I looked for onions in the vegetable aisle.Screech – a high, harsh sound.
Example: We heard the screech of tyres outside our building.
Discussion Questions
This set invites broader interpretation. There are no single correct answers—justify your ideas with evidence from the story.
Have you ever unexpectedly met someone from your past? How did it feel?
How might the narrator have felt seeing the man again after so many years?
Do you think the man felt guilty when he saw the narrator? Why or why not?
If you were in the narrator’s position, would you have confronted the man directly?
Do you think people can ever escape from their past mistakes? Why or why not?
What does the story suggest about memory — can it ever really fade?
How would the story change if it were told from the other man’s point of view?
Do you believe in ghosts or spirits? Could this story be read as a ghost encounter?
What lesson does this story give us about drinking and driving?
If you had written this story, would you have ended it the same way? Why or why not?
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