READINGGAMESA Collection of Reading Games and Activities for

intermediate to Advanced Students of English

fill and Charles Hadfield

L

r-

L

L

L

L

L

F

-

List of games

Introduction

Teacher's notes

Games material

Index

List of games

i i i

v

8

27

144

Level Function

rrr:!lL!!l

Llil

L5L!tL-

LIttttLJ

LflL!

L2L,LrtLr!rL!rLtLIt

I Parlour games

2 Successfulfailures

3 Heroic failures

4 Punch lines

5 My first valentine

6 Postcards from John

7 Evacuees

8 Urban myths

9 Famous last words

10 Body language

11 Time warp

12 Curious customs

13 Vi l lage gossip

14 A life in the day

15 Guilty secrets

16 Loose morals

17 Roots

18 Ghost stories

intermediate

intermediate

intermediate

intermediate

intermediate

intermediate

intermediate

intermediate

intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

upper intermediate

advanced

advanced

advanced

1 9

20

21

22

23

24

Murder in the library

Believe it or not

Trouble with men, frogs,shoes and sisters

Horoscope exchange

Dream merchants

Politically correct

giving instructions

narrating past events

narration

narration

narrating past events

describing scenes and past events

narrating past experiences

narration

reporting what other people said

describing customs

talking about life in past times

describing habits and customs

narrating past events

describing daily routines

narrating past experiences

narrating a story

talking about past events

narrating a story

narration, hypothesis

defining and explaining, justifying,giving reasons

narrating a fairy story

talking about character and emotions

narrating past events, predicting the future

f inding euphemisms

r{

L{

t:lL!!ltg

L:llL:!lL:||LtLJ'L!!lLttL)Lt

f?t-.FLI

L=tIr=

L-FL

The activit ies in this book all require the reading of a textand the communication of the information it contains.sometimes in order to solve a puzzle or complete a task,sometimes in order to do a role play.

All the activit ies consist of two main phases:

rhese phasei may be organised in different ways. Forexample, in the first phase, students may be divided intogroups and each group given a different text to read. Theycomplete a worksheet and/or discuss the text in their9roups.

Phase 1

Text A Text B Text C

Phase 2

@ @ A A @ @ e , cV V @

In this type of activity a worksheet or questionnaire ishanded out after phase 2 and the students try to completeas much as possible using the information they picked upin the second phase.

Although not an integral part of the 'read and retell 'activity, ' lead-in' and 'follow-up' activities have beensuggested in most cases to provide further integration ofskills. The 'lead-in' activities are based on discussion orlistening to an anecdote told by the teacher; the 'follow-

up' activities are suggestions for written work.A list of 'problem vocabulary' - words that may beunfamiliar to the students - is orovided in the Teacher'sNotes for each game, to enable the teacher to be preparedfor queries. Students should be encouraged to read asfluently and self-reliantly as possible, trying to guess ordeduce meaning where possible, using English-Englishdictionaries where this fails, and turning to the teacher forguidance if either of these resources fail.

The Teacher's Notes also give indications of level - themajority of texts are intermediate/upper intermediatelevel, but where texts are easier or more difficult thanaverage, this is indicated. The time required is alsoindicated. Most activities will last an average lesson.Shorter activities can be extended to fil l a lesson by doingthe follow-up activity in class. Longer ones can fil l a doublelesson, or a single one if the texts is given to the studentsin advance, or the information 'share phase' allowed torun on into homework.

The activities provide practice both in reading skills and inoral expression, training students in the ability to extractessential information from a text and to give an oralsummary of its contents. They provide a stimulus fornatural and meaningful communication: giving both areason and a motivating and enjoyable context for sharinginformation. When integrating skills in this way, thereading skill feeds directly into the speaking skill: newwords and exoressions are often absorbed almosreffortlessly from the text by a kind of osmosis andstudents' fluency and confidence in speaking areimproved.

Although the activities are quite simple to set up,classroom management needs to be detailed and precise,and you will need to be very clear in your own mind aboutwho is going to do what when - and where! Some pointsto bear in mind:o Arrange desks and tables into groups in advance if

possible for the first phase. lf it is not possible to move thefurniture in your classroom, give the same texts to studentsat adjacent desks, and work out how they can turn theirchairs round to talk to those sitting near or behind them, ifgroup discussion is required in the first phase.

In the second phase students are regrouped to share theirinformation, in order to act out roles or to complete a taskor solve a ouzzle.

Phase 2

a^} 6-\ r;] a^l\:-/ \g-l \g-l \1-l

The above diagrams show groupings for an activityinvolving three texts, but activit ies may involve from two tosrx texts.

Alternatively, every student in the class may have adifferent, short text to read:

Phase 1

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P e t c .

In phase 2 the students mingle freely and communicatetheir information in randomly constituted small groups.This activity may have a time limit set by the teacher, andthe aim is to l isten to as many people's stories as possible(i.e. to obtain as much information as possible) in the timeallowed.

1 READ _ EXTRACT INFORMATION

2 COMMUNICATE - SHARE INFORMATION

o The regrouping of students for the second phase is bestdone by g iv ing each student a number, e.g. :

activit ies, but in general some sort of warm-up activityshould be included as an introduction, to awaken students'interest and provide a context for the reading text. Afollow-up writ ing task is a valuable activity, partly to 'f ix' inmore permanent form the new words and expressions thestudents may have learned during the reading andspeaking activit ies, but also because writ ing is easier givena context and a reason, and that is precisely what theseactivit ies provide.

Group C

1 , 2 , 3 , 4

Then ask 'All the ones' to go to a certain area of the room,'All the twos' to another area, and so on.

. lf students are not in groups. but moving about freelyfor the second phase, make sure in advance that you havean area where they can do this, by having the desks in a U-shape with the central area free, or if the tables arearranged in groups, by making sure that there is plenty offree space in the central area. lf you cannot move yourfurnitu16, and your classroom is cramped, you wil l need tomodify this activity, so that students begin by talking to theperson next to them, then swap seats with other studentsto talk to a different partner. The seat-swapping hadprobably better be directed by you if space is l imited!

o The teacher's role changes constantly during one ofthese activit ies, and you wil l need to be quite a chameleon.During the init ial setting-up phase, and the changeoverfrom phase 1 to phase 2, you wil l need to be a very clearinstruction-giver. During phase 1, your role wil l be that ofguide and problem-solver. You may need to be very quickon your feet here if you have a large class. lf the studentsare working in groups, try to train them to ask each otherfor help first before turning to you - they can often solveeach others' problems. During phase 2, your role is as aresource and guide, helping students if they are stuck anddon't know what to say, or are unclear about what to do.You are also a monitor and evaluator, l istening to what thestudents are saying and noting mistakes and areas ofdiff iculty, which may form a basis for subsequent teaching.It is a good idea to carry a pen and notebook, or an OHTand OHP pen if you have one, and to note down anypersistent problems or errors.

r The longer texts have an accompanying worksheet todirect the students' attention to the main points and tohelp them read for gist. With the shorter texts, theinstruction is simply to memorise the details. lt is importantthat the students understand that they are not expected tomemorise the text and reproduce it word for word, but tounderstand and remember the main ooints and retell thestory in their own words (though of course they may usewords and phrases from the text if they remember them).With stronger groups, or students, it is a good idea toremove the text at the end of ohase 1. Weaker studentsmay like to keep the text as a prop, but you should try toensure that they do not simply read from the textl Askthem to turn it over and only peep at it i f they areabsolutely desperate, or in the activit ies which involveretell ing the story a few times, let them retain the text atfirst, and ask them to give it up when they have told thestory once or twice and are feeling more confident.

o The introductory and follow-up activit ies are there asSuggestions only. You may have your own ideas torintroducing or following on from the 'read and retell '

Group A

1 , 2 , 3 , 4

Group B

1 , 2 , 3 , 4

P a r l o u r g a m e s

Type of activityj igsaw in four groups then groups of fourreading instructions and explaining how to play a game

Leve{Time requiredintermediate/average

Games materialTexts: A Botticell i ; B The parson's cat; C Crambo; D Theadverb game

Function practisedgiving instructions

Structuresimperatives, present simple, must

Lexical areasfamous people, adjectives, adverbs

Problem vocabulary

A Botticelli: recalled, guess, clues, identity, restrict

B The parson's cat: take turns, version, round

C Crambo: clue, rhymes, guess

D The adverb game'. adverb, missing, recalled, guess,perform, according to

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of text A for one quarter of thestudents to have a copy each, and the same for texts B, Cand D .The texts in this activity are all instructions for how to playVictorian parlour games, a popular evening pastime in thedays before television. Lead into the activity with a briefdiscussion on what students' families do for entertainment.Divide the class into four groups, A, B, C, and D. Giveeveryone in group A a copy of text A, everyone in group B acopy of text B, and so on.Give them time to read their text and discuss any problemsor misunderstandings with their group. Tell them that theywill have to show other people how to play their game, andwarn them that you wil l take the texts away. They can makenotes if they l ike.When you are confident they have understood how to play

their game, take the texts away and regroup them into foursso that each new group contains an A, a B, a C and a D.The object of the activity is for each member of the newgroup to show the rest of the group how to play theirgame.

Follow-up: Ask students to write a set of instructions for

p lay ing a game fami l iar to them.

S u c c e s s f u l f a i l u r e s

Type of activityj igsaw in six groups then groups of sixretell ing the history of a successful peirson andcompleting a questionnaire

Leve/Time requiredintermediate/average

Games materialTexts: A Author; B Actress; C Footballer; D Pop singer; E

Cartoonist; F ActorQuestionnaireFunction practisednarrating past events

Structurespast tenses

Lexical areaswork, books, acting, football, pop music, art

Problem vocabulary

A A successful author: dead-end iobs, degree, seniorlecturer, ego, took off, paratrooper, kidnap, motivation, put

me down, on your side

B A famous actress: voluptuous, audition, agent, burst into

tears, troupe, modelling, misery, obligations

C A successful footballer: trial, rejected, contract, on loan,

re I u cta nt, esta bl i sh, conf i de n ce

D A successful pop singer: settle down, disbanded,keyboard, tick, on the dole, yell, breakthrough, released,risks

E A successful cartoonist: commercial, sold out, desperate,hell on earth, potential, reviewed, genius

F A successful actor: cope with, audition, registrar,convinced, encouragement, principal, therapist, evaluate,realised, establishment, scaring, literate, pedlar

How to use the activitY

Make enough copies of text A for one sixth of the studentsto have a copy each, and the same for texts B-F. Makeenough copies of the questionnaire for the students to haveone eacn.You might l ike to begin with a short discussion of successand failure. Ask the students to think of and write down the

names of one person they think is a success and one person

they think is a failure (not necessarily famous people). When

they have written down the names, they should get togetherwith a partner and explain why they chose those people and

what they mean by success and failure (in whose eyes, bywhat standards, etc.).Divide the class into six groups, A, B, C, D, E and F. Give textA to each student in group A, text B to those in group B, etc'Give each student a copy of the questionnaire'Give them time to read their text. while you circulate to dealwith problems and queries.When they have finished reading,ask each student to work with a partner from the samegroup. Ask one of them to imagine they are the 'successful

failure' and the other to imagine they are the person/one ofthe people who told them some years ago that theywouldn't make it. They meet again at a party and begin tota lk . . .When the students have finished this first role-play, regroupthem so that each new group contains, as far as possible, anA, a B, a C. a D, an E and an F. Ask them to tell their stor:iesto each other.The object of the activity is to decide who was thebiggest failure and who is the biggest success'

:Jl-l

:Jl-{

:Jl-ra

:Jl-/- l/l-J- l-I-f- l/h-i

-/l-

<l-

--l-

<l-

I

=

d

E-

=-

a

=-

l-

<!a./hr

t!._<=

-l-

-<=.-/=

=

-J

=

=

=

./=

=I

J

=

2

i

3

III

I

Lt

L!

LI

I

i

I

iI

aI

iI

Follow-up: Ask students to write the diary entry for theircharacter the day they were told they were no good.Alternatively, pin up a set of pictures of men and women.Ask the students to choose a face that they l ike. They shouldthen imagine and write a similar failure/success story for thalcharacter.

H e r o i c f a i l u r e sType of activitywhole clas3 m6l6e then groups of fourretell ing a story and answering a questionnaireLeve/Time requiredintermediate/shorter than averageGames materialTexts: A The crimes that were easiest to detect; B Theleast well-planned robbery; C The least profitablerobbery; D The most unsuccessful prison escape; E Theworst bank robbers; F The most unsuccessful attempt towork through a lunch hour; G The least successfulattempt to meet a relative at an airport; H The leastsuccessful animal rescue; I The least successful banrrobber; J The worst tourisrQuestionnaireFunction practisednarrailon

Structurespast tenses

Lexical areascrime, office work. tourism

J The worst tourist: assumed, delayed, heavy traffic,mentioned, tracking down, modernization, brushed aside,landmarks, benefit, tongue, brief, brilliance, siren

How to use the activityMake enough copies of the ten texts, A-J, for the students tohave one text each, with as much variety as possible in theclass. Make enough copies of the questionnaire for thestudents to have one each.Explain to the students that they are going to read a storyabout a disastrous experience. you might l ike to introducethe activity with an amusing disaster story of your own, or byelicit ing tales of personal disaster (funny) from the students.Give out one text to each student and give them some timeto read their text, asking you for help if necessary, and tomemorise the main points of their story. Then ask them all tostand up and circulate, retell ing their story in therr ownwords to as many people as possible.The object of the activity is to hear as many disasterstories as possible.You can put a time limit on this part of the activity if you l ike.After a certain time, ask the students to return to their seatsand give them each a copy of the questionnaire. Ask thestudents to complete as much as possible by themselves,then move them into groups of four and ask them to sharetheir information to complete the questionnaire.Go through the answers to the questionnaire with the wholeclass, clearing up any misunderstandings and fi l l ing any gaps.Students wil l probably want to see all the texts.Note: With a strong group you can remove the texts whenthey have read them and ask them to tell the stories frommemory. With weaker students I often let them keep thetexts as support to begin with, then remove them after theyhave retold the story a couple of t imes and are feeling moreconfident.

Key: 1 The prisoners'tunnel came out in the courtroom.2 There was a dock strike and his was the only boat movingon the water. 3 The Post Office had closed down. 4 Therewas less in the ti l l than the f 10 he had given the cashier.5 The robbers got stuck in the revolving doors. 6 A cowfall ing through the roof. 7 She thought a total stranger washer brother. 8 The firemen ran it over. 9 ' l don't have apaper bag,' 1 0 He got off the plane during a fuel sropbecause he thought he had arrived. New york.

Follow-up; Students could write their own disaster srones,either from experience or imagination. Try giving some tit les:The worst charter f l ight, The worst holiday, The worst pianorecttal. etc.

I

I

t

I

I

I

I

I

Problem vocabulary

A The crimes that were easiest to detect: dazzling, logic,inevitability, barge, dock strike, craftB The least well-planned robbery: raiding, cash, premises,masKs, getaway car, sped, screeched to a halt, omittedC The least profitable robbery: unique, tactic, till, trolley,goods, snatch, undeterred, getaway, raid, screamD The most unsuccessful prison escape.. convicts, guided,gentus, courtroom, sentenced, judges, jailE The worst bank robbers: stuck, revolving, sheepishty,cashier, practical joke, disheartened, gang, barely,awkwa rd ly, c I utch i n g, a n kl e, g etaway, tra p pedF The most unsuccessful attempt to work through a lunchhour: seta record, uninterrupted, clambered, adjoining,stared, charged, retreated, steadily, scattered, stacks, heifer,chew, elaborate, pulleysG The least successful attempt to meet a relative at anairport: facilities, wandered, smothered, cuddling,enthusiasm, hospitality, modified, ushered, amiss, slumped,kidnappedH The least successful animal rescue.. rescue, strike, valiantly,

I The least successful bank robber: hold-up, cashier,bemused, grille, fled

emergency, retrieve, trapped, haste, discharge, duty,g rateful, fond farewell

4 P u n c h l i n e s

Type of activitywhole class m6l6eretelling jokes and finding the person with the punch lineLeve/Time requiredintermediate/shorter than averageGames materialTexts: Jokes 1-1 5Punch linesFunction practisednarrauonStructurespast tensesLexical areasvarious

Problem vocabulary1: vicar, parishioner, parrot, ribbon, hymn, perch2: crumpled, elephant, proves

4: cautiously, crept5, survey, colonel, achievement6'. scrambled7: canary, cuttle fish, wedged, swing, bird seed8: bumped into, bitterly, pregnant, hiccups9'. anxious, apologetically

10: to the point, romance, royalty, mystery, religion,task, pregnant1 1: speech, faultless, deafening applause12: achieve, conductor, proposed, free of charge13: weedy, lumberjack, axe blow, crashing14: architect, politician, rib, chaos15: tycoon, flair, specialist, prematurely, worn out,transplant surgery, legal, ridiculous

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of the fifteen jokes for the students tohave one joke each, with as much variety as possible in theclass. Copy the same number of corresponding punch lines.Give out one joke to each student and one punch line toeach student. The punch line should not correspond to thejoke the student has! Make sure that somewhere in the classthere is a punch line for every joke. lf you have more thanfifteen students, do the activity in two groups.Students should read their joke and walk around the classtell ing it unti l they find the person who has thecorresponding punch line.The object of the activity is to find their own punch lineand to give away their original punch line.When they have done this, they should sit down. Wheneveryone is sitt ing down, students can tell their completeiokes to the whole class.

Key: The punch lines are printed together on one page inthe same order as the jokes appear.

Type of activitywhole class m6l6e then pairwork/small groupsretell ing an anecdote and completing a questionnaire

Leve/Time requiredintermediate/shorter than average

Games materialTexts: A Rabbi; B Pin-up/singer; C News presenter; DSportswoman; E Writer; F Novelist 1; G TV presenter; HNovelist 2; I Polit ician; J ScriptwriterQuestionnaireFunction practisednarrating past events

Strucluresoast tenses

Lexical areaschildhood, love

Problem vocabulary

A Rabbi: glamorous, upset, out of reach

B Pin-up/singer: promptly, feased, dishy, lipstick, jealous,boasting, annoyed

C News presenter: unforgettable, violets, checked, spots

D Sportswoman'. silk, propose, depressed, ignore, signed

E Writer: humiliated, thrilling

F Novelist 1: idealistic, garlanded, trimmed,lace

G TV Presenter: hideously, cruellest, waded, tadpoles

H Novelist 2: puzzled, marvellous, liar

I Politician: anonymous, dressing table

J Scriptwriter: knock, incredible, do the trick

5 M y f i r s t v a l e n t i n e

-:Jl-{

,-JF-l-Jf-!

Howto use the activity )Make enough copies of the ten texts, A-J, for the students to Fhave one teit each, with as much variety as possible in the Jclass, Make enough copies of the questionnaire for the gstudents to have one each'

^i ..^..- ̂.^.^ =JYou might like to start with a brief introduction of your own Eiabout Valentine's Day: explain the history, customs, tell Ianecdotes, etc. or, if you have a class who are familiar with frValentine's Day, elicit information and/or anecdotes from

-JGive out one text to each student, ensuring that as far as F.|possible everyone gets a different text. lf you have twenty or ,-lmore in your class, it is probably best to do the activity in two E{sroups. JAsk the students to read their text and to memorise the L.{information it contains, in order to be able to tell the story to

-)

other students. t rWhile they are reading, circulate and deal with queries.

IWhen they are ready, ask them to get up and walk around g!the class, telling their story to other students. -

|The objea of the activity is to listen to as many stories :las possible in order to complete a questionnaiie later. -You might l ike to give a time limit for this activity. With a -1srrong group, you can collect in the stories. With a weaker H Igroup, you may like to let them retain the stories as support

C* lFollow-up: Students tell jokes they know - in English!

{IL.

-IL-

-l-t{

lL

1i.I

-.4

L

4

L

J,

-J

E

J

-I

-4

J

E

J

6

initially but collect them in when they have retold their storyonce or twice and have more confidence.When the students have finished or the time limit is up, askthem to sit down and give each student a copy of thequestionnaire. Students should try to complete thequestionnaire individually, but when they have got as far asthey can on their own, they can help each other in pairs orsmal l groups.

Key: 1 A figure with a red heart, ' l ' l l be loving you'. Yes.he's her husband, 2 Frou-Frou. His secretary. With a l ipstickkiss. He opened it. 3 He waded into a pool to get hertadpoles. 4 Two. 5 One. 6 Her first love - a family friend. 7Seven. A handsome boy. A boy with spots. 8 lt asked her topropose to him.

Follow-up: Write your own Valentine anecdote - real orimaginary, Design a Valentine's card.

P o s t c a r d s f r o m J o h nType of activitywhole class m6l6e then pairworkretell ing news from a postcard and plotting a journey ona map

Leve/Time requiredintermediate/shorter than average

Games materialTexts:A Delh i ; B Kathmandu 1; C Kathmandu 2; DCalcutta; E Mandalay; F Chiang Mai; G Hong Kong; HBali; I SydneyRoute map

Function practiseddescribing scenes and past events

Structurespast tenses, present perfect, present simple andconunuousLexical areasforeign travel, landscapes, cityscapes, etc.

Problem vocabulary

A Delhi: immigration, curfew, riots, demonstration, stuckB Kathmandu 1: hellish, wing (of a house), palace, arrested,smuggling, mistaken identity, freed, case, trekkingC Kathmandu 2: trekked, temple, yeti, sherpa, scuffling,grabbed, torch, creature, all fours, rucksack, trial

D Calcutta: ashamed, perspective, mugged

E Mandalay: ruined, temples, crocodile

F Chiang Mai: tribe, ethnic, costume, trek, idyllic, kidnapped,bandits, opium smuggling, civil war, guerrillas, jungle,camouflage, armed

G Hong Kong: wandering, super, bustle, stopover

H Bali: troprcal, paradise, cobras, heaven, froze, scream,stroke of luck, pounced, grabbed

I Sydney: wheelchair, knocked down, ribs, loan, plaster

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of the nine postcard texts, A-1, for thestudents to have one each, with as much variety in the classas possible. Make enough copies of the route map for thestudents to have one each.You might l ike to begin by asking what is the longest journeyany of your students have undertaken. Then give everyone apostcard and a route map. lf you have fewer than ninestudents, give some people more than one card. lf you havemore than nine but fewer than eighteen students, explainthat some cards wil l be duplicates. lf you have eighteen ormore students, play the game in two groups.Tell the students that they have all received cards from amutual friend called John who is travell ing in Asia. Ask themto read their card and to olot on the mao the section of thejourney he describes. They should also mark the map withthe appropriate symbol for the adventure that took place inthat country. Go round the class and help as required.When they have finished ask everyone to stand up and movearound talking to other people to find out news about John.The object of the activity is to plot John's journey onthe map and mark each country with the appropriatesymbol.As they finish ask them to sit down with a partner and tocompare maos.

Key: Delhi (closed bank); Kathmandu (prison bars),Kathmandu (yeti); Calcutta (passport); Mandalay (crocodile);Chiang Mai (guns); Hong Kong (bath); Bali (snake); Sydney(hospital bed).

Follow-up: Ask students to write one more postcard fromJohn from an interim town in one of the countries he visitedAlternatively, bring in old postcards of your own with blankpaper glued to the back. Ask the students to look at thepicture, imagine what John did there and write the card.

Evacuees

Type of activitywhole class m6l6e then pairwork/small groupsretelling an evacuee's experiences and completingextracts from their letters homeLeve/Time requiredintermediate (though introductory passage isharder)/shorter than averageGames materialTexts: Introductory text; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; HWorksheetFunction practisednarrating past experiencesStructurespast tensesLexical areaswar. domestic life

7

-J

-

--

-J

-J

J

1

E

J

I

4

4

{,

4

{ilL

4,b->-

L

Problem vocabulary

lntroductory lexl: urban, threat, rural, idyllic, hell,evacuation, masterpiece, profound, uprooted, gas mask,dispatched, amounted to, cockney, manure, come in for myshare of, take someone in, halcyon, city slicker, vulnerable,air raid, inkling, momentous

A: pilchards, wallop, dish up

B: spot5 eventually, nod, bairns

C: peacocks, billets, vicar, gearJever, swastika, bobby,interrogate

D: fortunate, viaduct, rails, sigh of relief

E: greasy, plait, braid, scullery, consent, allowance, treated

F: tortoise, put to sleep, bravely, vet, cargo, forced,sorrovffully

G: bolted, crawled, straw, dashingH: devise, insist, unsealed, deposited, accommodated,overjoyed

How to use the activity

Copy an introductory text and a worksheet for each student.Make enough copies of the eight texts. A-H, for the studentsto have one each, with as much variety as possible in theclass.Use the introductory text and pictures to stimulate discussionon evacuees: How did the children feel? How did theirparents feel as they saw them off at the station? Whatproblems and diff iculties would there be for the hostfamilies?, etc.Give out one text describing an evacuee's experience to eachstudent, ensuring that as far as possible everyone gets adifferent text. lf there are more than eight in your class, dothe activity in groups.Ask the students to read the text and assimilate theinformation, while you circulate and deal with any queries.When they have finished, ask them to stand up and walkaround the class, tell ing their story. They should tell the storyas if they were the evacuees and the events happened tothem. With a strong group, the texts can be collected in assoon as they have finished reading: weaker students mayfind it helpful to retain the texts unti l they have retold theirstory a couple of t imes and are feeling more confident.The object of the activity is to listen to as many storiesas possible in order to be able to complete a worksheet.You can set a time limit for this part of the activity if you l ike.When they have finished, or the time limit is up, ask them tosit down again and give them a worksheet to complete. Theyshould try to complete this individually as far as possible, butmay work in pairs or small groups to help each other whenthey have done as much as they can by themselves.

Key: 1 a tin of pilchards and some bread and water...for thebutter...wallop round the head. 2 we were two plain l itt legirls wearing glasses. 3 him...his son. 4 the train came off therails and we fell into the water underneath. 5 plait...braidi t . . .5 p.m.. . .money comes f rom our parents. . .we getmedicine. 6 the vet...soldier...the tortoise...vet...put him in thepark. 7 outside...the chicken house...she brought mein...holes coat. 8 our letters from home and insisted onreading our letters...wrote to tell our parents we wereunhappy...the door locked and our belongings in the garden...seafront... lady with a dog...we could go home with her.

Follow-up: Students can imagine they are one of theevacuees and write a letter home to their parents about theirnew life.

U r b a n m y t h s

Type of activitywhole class m6l6e or groups of eightretell ing a story and finding the person with the ending

Leve/Time requiredintermediate/average

Games materialTexts: A Take a break; B A nasty set-to; C A low note; DPhone home; E Signed, sealed and delivered; F An unfaircop; G Tow job; H Fitted-up wardrobeEndings 1-8

Function practisednarration

Structurespast simple, past perfect. past continuousLexical areascrime, driving

Problem vocabulary

A Take a break: laden down, scruffy, punk, fuming,gathering up, storming out

B A nasty set-to: matet cement mixer truck, thrilled him tobits, soft-top, fist, brim, shrug, bid

C A low note: chattenng, veering, windscreen wiper dented,wing, witnessed

D Phone home: double-glazing, receiver, whispered

E Signed, sealed and delivered: trenchcoat, dog-eared,squinted, scrawl, barrel, thrusting, shoved, holdal[ booty,baffled, track down

F An unfair cop: joyriders, serial killers, flashed, aiar, pokea rou nd, flustered, cigg ies

G Towjob: speedchecks, taken aback, summons, crucial

H fitted-up wardrobe: keep an eye on, chaps, rack his brains

How to use the activity

Make enough copiei of the eight texts, A-H, and the eightendings for the students to have one text and one endingeach, with as much variety as possible in the class.Explain the meaning of 'Urban Myths' - apocryphal stories,usually beginning: 'This happened to a friend of a friend ofmine... ' and told to you by acquaintances, or sometimescomplete strangers, in bars.Give each student a story and an ending. The ending shouldnot correspond to their story! (lf you prefer to play the gamein small groups of eight, instead of as a whole class activity,divide the students into groups first and then give eachgroup eight stories and endings to be shuffled and dealt outrandomly.)Students should read their story and try to write a sentenceto end the story.The object of the activity is to then find the person withthe real ending to their story.

8 -Jl.-a

-JLT

)h-f

)L-l

.Jbi

)rd

:JH

1r-

)E

1r<

l-I

iL.{

L-

Ih.

I

E

rd

E

I

L

I

E

J

L - q-

To do this, the students should walk around the classretell ing their story unti l they meet the person who has thereal ending. This person should give them the slip of paper'with the ending on.When they have found their own endings and given awaytheir original ones, they should sit down. When everyone issitt ing down, students can tell their stories to the class,comparing the endings they wrote, with the real endings.

Key: The correct endings are printed alongside the stories inthe photocopiable Games material section.

Follow-up: This activity can lead into a discussion on UrbanMyths - are there any such stories circulating in the students'own cultures?

F a m o u s l a s t w o r d sType of activitywhole class m6l6e then groups of fourretelling anecdotes about famous witticisms and fil l ingin speech bubblesLeve/Time requiredintermediate/shorter than averageGames materialIntroductory cartoonsParker, Coward, Wilde, Whistler cartoonsTexts: A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; o; PWorksheetFunction practisedreporting what other people saidStructurespast tenses, reported speechLexical areassocial occasions, art, music, theatre

Problem vocabulary

Parker, Coward, Wilde, Whistler cartoons: disaster, genius,good shot, feigning, dim-witted, impresario, blew his brainsout, featuring, prodigy, engage in, would-be, insulter, foyer,rotten, customs officer, scintillating

A: noseyB: threatened, legal action, sueC: busfD: son of a gun, snapped, exceptionE: get the better of, latter, enclosingF: pottyG'. courteouslyH: rebuked, intoxicated, soberl'. ilLreceived, stage, cabledJ: hostessK: tone-deaf, orchestra, dominoesL'. would-be, pompous, scribbledM: desparr of, disconsolately, easel, masterpiece,perspective, alterN: snapshotO: affordP: cabinetmaker, sketch

How to use the activity

Make one copy of the introductory cartoons for eachstudent. Make enough copies of the Parker, Coward, Wilde,Whistler cartoons for one half of the students to have a copyeach. Make enough copies of the sixteen texts, A-P, for thestudents to have one text each, with as much variety aspossible in the class. Make enough copies of the worksheetfor one quarter of the students to have a copy each.Begin by giving everyone a copy of the introductory cartoonsand talking about them together. Find out if the studentsknow who the people are (Sir Winston Churchil l, war leaderand one-liner extraordinary; George Bernard Shaw,playwright, crit ic, socialist; Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist,sculptor and wry wit; Groucho Marx, US comic, maker ofsnappy remarks) and give them a l itt le background if theydon't. lf you have an overhead projector, you may prefer tocopy the introductory cartoons onto an OHT for thisdiscussion, rather than hand out copies.Put the students into pairs and give each pair a copy of theParker, Coward, Wilde, Whistler cartoons. Ask the studentsto work in pairs to match the stories with their last l ines.When they have done this, give each student one of thesixteen texts, A-P. lf you have fewer than sixteen students,give some students two texts. lf you have more than sixteenstudents, some students wil l have the same text. Ask themto read and memorise the details of the story so that theycan tell i t to others.When they are ready, ask them to get up and walk aroundthe class tell ing their story to other people. You can put atime limit on this part of the activity if you l ike. When theyhave finished or the time limit is up, regroup them into foursand give each group a worksheet to fi l l in.The object of the activity is to see how many exchangesthey can remember and fi l l in.

Key: t h, 2c,3i, 49,5d, 6f, 7b, 8a, 9e. Worksheet 1 'How

much are you paid?' 'Oh, I don't get paid in dollars. The ladyof the house just lets me sleep with her.' 2 'Your tit le, ANight in Casablanca, is too close to our title, Casablanca.' 'l'll

sue you for using the word "Brothers".' 3 'What do you thinkof the latest Victor Mature/Hedy Lamarr f i lm?' 'You can'texpect the public to get excited about a fi lm where theleading man's bust is bigger than the leading lady's.' 4 'You

old son-of-a-gun, you probably don't remember me.' ' l neverforget a face but in your case l ' l l be glad to make anexception.' 5 'One for yourself and one for a friend - if youhave one.' ' l can't make it, but can I have tickets for thesecond night - if there is one.' 6 'After all, they say he'spotty.' 'They say he can't hear either.' 7 ' l hope tophotograph you again on your hundredth birthday.' ' l don'tsee why not. You look reasonably fit to me.' 8 'You're

drunk.' 'And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sobertomorrow"' 9 ' l wil l stage your play.' 'Better never than late.'10 'Are you enjoying yourself ?' 'Certainly. There is nothingelse here to enjoy.' 1 1 'What would you like us to play next?''Dominoes.' 12'Lady Blank wil l be at home on Tuesdaybetween four and six o'clock.' 'Mr Bernard Shaw likewise.'13 ' l t 's a masterpiece.' 'No, the nose is all wrong. lt throwsthe whole picture out of perspective.' 'Then why not alterthe nose?' ' l can't f ind it. ' 14'l don't l ike modern paintingsbecause they aren't realistic. ' 'My, is she really as small asthat?' 15 'Why don't you have any of your own paintings on

L

-

E

-

E

I

L

-

E

-

E

-

L

-

L

-

E

4

L

-,

L

-

L

{

L

-

L

-J

ts{,

{

4

E

4lE--I!

4L,-

your walls?' ' l can't afford them.' 16 'How much wil l i t cost?''Nothing at all, Just sign the sketch.'

Follow-upr Ask students to imagine what would happen ifPicasso met Groucho Marx or Churchil l met Shaw. Whowould insult the other more? Ask them to work in pairs towrite an insulting dialogue.

1 0 B o d y l a n g u a g e

Type of activityj igsaw in four groups then groups of foursharing information on different nationalit ies' gesturesaqd completing a worksheet on body language indifferent countries

Leve/Time requiredupper intermediate/shorter than average

Games materialTexts: Introductory text; A; B; C; DQuestionnaireFunction practiseddescribing customs

Structurespresent simple, present perfect, present continuousLexical areasnationalities, gestures

Problem vocabulary

I ntrod uctory texf'. I i g ht-he a rted, g affes, co I I i d e, reve rse,fascinating, mingling, signals, cast, globe, rubbingshoulders, posture, gesture, body-lingo, mutuallyincomprehensible, unwitting, insult

A: cheery, thumbs up, cabbies, clonks, devastatingly,insulting, incidentally, thumb a lift, luggage trolley, on-looker, worthless rogue

B: give offence, assailed, tremendous, itch, tug, earlobe,insult, rotten, sponger, watch it, mate, sneaky, so-and-so,get lost, pansy, ineffably, hang around

C: ring-gesture, glancing, remarks, sou, enraged, obscenity,chokes, appalls, go to hell, restrained, punch, maitre d', out-thrust, palms, promptly, skewers

D: eyelid, make a pass at, thrust, palms, gesture, descendedfrom, smear, filth, condemned, gutter, vile, taboo, give twofingers, misinterpretation, the wonder is, functions,flattering

How to use the activity

Copy an introductory text and a questionnaire for eachstudent. Make enough copies of text A for one quarter ofthe students to have a copy each, and the same for texts B, Cand D.You might like to preface this activity with a short classdiscussion on body language and gestures. Demonstrate afew gestures (counting to ten, ' l don't know', 'You're crazy'.etc.) and ask the students for their equivalents, if they arefrom a different cultural background.Then hand out the introductorv text to all students and

discuss the gestures described in it.Divide the class into four groups, A, B, C and D. Give text Ato each student in group A, text B to all those in group B,etc.Give them time to read their text and to memorise theinformation it contains, while you circulate to deal withqueries. Then regroup the students into fours, so that eachnew group contains an A, a B, a C and a D.Ask them to share the information they have just read withthe other members of the group. They should use their ownwords, as far as possible, without looking back at the text. lfyou want to make things diff icult for an advanced group, tellthem that no hand movements are allowed - they mustexplain everything in words!The object of the activity is to collect as muchinformation as possible in order to complete thequestionnaire.When the students have finished sharing information, givethem each a copy of the questionnaire. They shouldcomplete it individually without consultation in the firstinstance and then, when everyone in the group has got asfar as they can, they may help each other.Students may like to see copies of all the texts at the end,

Key: 1 A 'moutza' is an insulting Greek gesture (palms up).2 A 'Victory V' is the first two fingers held up in a V-sign (Vfor Victory). 3 Britain. 4 Because an outstretched thumb isinsulting. 5 'Thumbs-up' in Britain means 'f ine', 'OK'. 6 Go tohell. 7a SaudiArabia. 7b South America. 8a Zero. 8b A-OK.8c Money. 8d l ' l l ki l l you. 8e An obscenity. 9a You rottensponger. 9b You'd better watch it, 9c You sneaky l itt le soand so. 9d Get lost you pansy. 9e Something wonderful,

Follow-up: Write a set of guidelines for staff working atHeathrow Airport, or imagine an internationalmisunderstanding and write the resulting dialogue.

1 1 T i m e w a r p

Type of activitypairwork then groups of fourreading a text about l i fe a hundred years ago andsharing the information

Leve/Time requiredupper intermediate/average

Games materialWorksheetTexts: 50 years ago; Today; A Six in the bed; B Life washard; C 'Children should be seen and not heard'; DAppearances

Function practisedtalking about l i fe in past t imes

Structurespast tenses, would (to express habits), may have

Lexical areaswork, l iving conditions, children's behaviour, clothes

Problem vocabulary50 years ago: shame, vandalism, non-existent, respected,

lr{

,-Jts-l

=

:Jl.-a-Jl..J

:.Jl.J

:JL.f

I,-/l.-f

-JLT

-JL-f

)l-

.Jb-

)!-r

)!-r

)-

)!!r

)Fr

-J_-l

-JH

Jr-

)l--Jf-l

Jr-l)r-{-Jr-t-Jf-{-Jrr{-J|.{

:JLl

JLr

:lt<- l

- - JL .

-I

--J

L

-J

L

4-I

E

4L

1

L

-4E

J

-I

E

J

L

4,E

1

ts-

L

4

E

J

L

I

L

-

L

-

L

I

L

4

L

4

>{

{

{

!-{

l--{!IL-_r-

ErI

L_-

issue, instil, make-believe, porridge, poultry, dull, itchy,siblings, social stigma, errands, treat, comics, three Rs,11 plus, specifically, wireless, wring, baking

Today: differentiated, pest, menace, supplemented, wellequipped, service industry, guilty, current, casual, hand-me-downs, outfit, non-issue, get away with, cheeky, misbehave,deterrent, munch, snack, take-away

A Six in the bed: crowded, a lot to do with, strict, nurseries,criches, mill, neglecting, tragedy, communal, blunder, surviveB Life was hard: rough, survive, poultry, stagger, pail,scarcely, beloved, admired, nursing, soothe, hush, rock,dandle, distracted, conduct, guardianship, weary, sheaves,cart, line up with, gritty

C 'Children should be seen and not heard': answer back,boxed my ears, chatter, strict, behaviour, fussiness,tolerated, giace, swallowed, hasty, suet pudding andtreacle, unsuitable, forbidden, slogan, dull, punishment,feature, leather, chastisement, yard, strap, strip, bruisesD Appearances: scarce, bargains, second-hand, hand-me-downs, patched, mended, swap, cropped, plait, crimped

How to use the activity

Make one copy of the worksheet for each student. Makeenough copies of the text 50 years ago for half the studentsto have a copy each and enough copies of Today for theother half . Make enough copies of text A for one quarter ofthe students to have a copy each, and the same for texts B,C and D.Ask the students for anecdotes: differences between theirparents and themselves, or between themselves andyounger or older brothers and sisters for example.Then give each student the worksheet with the introductoryparagraph and headings. Ask the students to talk in pairsabout how they think children have changed over the lastfifty years in relation to the topics on the worksheet. (Thisshould be kept fairly brief .)Then give one student in each pair the 50 years ago text andthe other the Today text. Ask them to match the headingson the worksheet with the paragraphs in their text. Whenthey have finished, ask them to share their information withtheir oartner.Then ask the pairs to join up together into groups of four.Give each student in the group a different text (A, B, C or D)describing children's l i fe a hundred years ago. Ask them tocomplete part two of the worksheet, first choosing theheadings that apply to their text and then making brief notesunder each heading, on the back of their worksheet. Whenthey have done this, get them to tell the others in the groupabout their l i fe.The object of the activity is to imagine they are a childof a century ago and to tell the others about their life.

Key: 50 years ago - clothes f, games d, money g, transporth, home a, holidays b, discipline c, bedtime k, food e, music j,school i; Today - clothes h, games i, money c, transport b,home d, holidays g, discipline j, bedtime a, food k, music e,school f

Follow-up: Write a letter from a child fifty years ago to achild now.

1 2 C u r i o u s c u s t o m s

Type of activitywhole class m6l6efinding out about traditional customs and fi l l ing in acalendar

Leve/Time requiredupper intermediate/average

Games materialTexts: A New Year's Day; B Shrove Tuesday; C KissingFriday; D April Fool's Day; E May Day; F Halloween;G Mischief Night; H New Year's EveWorksheet

Function practiseddescribing habits and customs

Structurespresent simple

Lexical areascustoms and rituals

Problem vocabulary

A New Year's Day: rise, make the round, mincepies, fool

B Shrove Tuesday: festival, pancake, fair, cane, skipping,blocked, lengths, clothesline, abreast

C Kissing Friday: mixed class, embarrassment, lad, proved,e ncou nte red, expostu I ate, tu r m oi I

D Aprif Fool's Day: joyous, hoax, pigeon, come in for theirshare, fooling, needlework, taken in, exempt, glueing, stuck,yell, eggshell, sense of humour, fright

E May Day: maidens, rise, dawn, dew, ensure, complexion,pimples, freckles, customary, rite, thereafter, maypole,garlands, stool, lace curtain

F Halloween: tub, basin, ftoated, stab, hook, nail, cored,supernatural influences, peel, initial, represents, stands for,vigorously, row, part

G Mischief Night: mrschief, hooliganism, lawlessness,permissible, assaulted, bogus, hoisted, daubed, coated,treacle, tripped over, unscrewed, tapped, drainpipes,stuffed, set alight, wet through, ashes, loop, door knobs,tugging

H New Year's Eve: ashes, afresh, assist, wealth, health,household, fi rst-footer, welcomed, hospitality, th reshold,ensure, well-being, spirit, siren, sprig, evergreen, toast(drink)

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of text A for one eighth of the studentsto have a copy each, and the same for texts B - H.Make enough copies of the worksheet for a quarter of thectass.Begin by asking students about customs and rituals onspecial days in their countries. (This is a good activity to doeither on a day when it is one of their own festivals, or on aBrit ish festival, or as part of a Brit ish Life and Institutionscourse.)Divide the class into eight groups, A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H.Give text A to each student in group A, text B to those ingroup B, etc.

Tell them they are going to read abut customs that takeplace on certain festival days in Britain. Give the groups timeto read their text and discuss it. Go round and help asnecessa ry.When they have finished, ask them all to stand up.The object of the activity is to find out as much aspossible about customs that take place on other festivaldays.To do this they wil l have to move around the class tell ingeach other about their day and the rituals that happen on it.When they have f in ished or the t ime l imi t (10-15 minutes) isup, put them in groups of four and give each group aworksheet. They should work together to complete theworksheet, f i l l ing in the calendar with the names of the daysand the activit ies and customs that happen on those days.Round qff the activity by going through the calendar andasking what happens on each day.

Key: January - New Year's Day, children ask for gifts;February - Shrove Tuesday, people make and throwpancakes, everyone goes skipping, a bell is rung; February -

Kissing Friday, boys can kiss any girl they l ike; April - AprilFool's Day. children tell people things that aren't true,children play tricks on grown-ups; May - May Day, girls washthelr faces in the dew, children visit houses with garlands offlowers; October - Halloween, girls put nuts in the fire, girlsbrush their hair in front of the mirror, chlldren play duckapple, girls throw apple peel over their shoulder; November- Mischief Night, children play tricks on grown-ups,December - New Year's Eve, people place money and breadoutside the door, householders welcome a tall dark manwith wood. coal and silver coins.

Follow up: Ask students to write a description of a festivalday and its customs from their own country.

1 3 V i l l a g e g o s s i p

Type of activitywhole class m6l6e (minimum of 8) then pairworkretell ing information from a document about vil lagehistory and fi l l ing in a questionnaire

Leve/Time requiredupper intermediate/longer than average

Games materialVi l lage mapTexts: A Grey House; B Rose Cottage; C Hazel Cottage,D Manor Farm; E Willow Cottage; F HoneysuckleCottage; G Annie's Cottage; H Swallow CottageQuestionnaireFunction practisednarrating past events

Structurespast tenses

Lexical areasvil lage l ife: love, crime, school, church, quarrels. ghosts,weddinos

Problem vocabulary

A Grey House: rnrsdotngs, involve, prominent, linked, bringcharges, break-in, culminated, kidnapped, ransom,unavailable for comment, coma, consciousness

B Rose Cottagei grace, melt, grateful, volunteered,charabanc, smocking, outing, Reverend, eloquent,combination, spiritual wholesomeness, masculinity,fluttering,refrained, parish, blush, enhanced, choir practice

C Hazel Cottage: benefit, explorations, forte, timekeeping,common factor, breadth, precocious, verbal dexterity,inestimable, rarity, instinctive, skill, unequalled, forays,brace, harvest, necessifate5 prolonged

D Manor Farm: heartfelt, token, benighted, ablaze, chapel,peal, echo, oak, pews, flock, blessed, ailments, weaving,exq u i site, h a ssoc ks, f e I lowsh i PE Willow Cottage: insurrection, rebellion, sedition,parishioners, combat, slain, pistol, pierced, wounded,duelling, outlawed, settle, disputes, baptized, font,upstanding, length and breadth, upbringing, naught, fled,distress, betwixt, ghosts, hau nted, revelation, presence,glimpsed, apparition, pistol, vanishing, duel

F Honeysuckle Cottage: decade

G Annie's Cottage: fitfully, treat, cruel, hard-hearted, means,disposal, witness, deceived, depth, suffer, dragged throughthe mire, scandal, gossip, unworthY

H Home Farm: ouf of sorts, wedding breakfast, gallon,

undercoat, gloss

How to use the activity

Make one copy of the vil lage map for each student. Makeenough copies of the eight texts, A-H, for the students tohave one text each. Play this game with at least eightstudents, so that you can ensure that someone in the classhas information about a character/home. (lf you have morethan eight students, some texts wil l be duplicated - thisdoesn't matter, two or more people can live in the samehouse. You can group people l iving at the same addresstogether if you l ike.) Make enough copies of thequestionnaire to give one to each pair for the pairwork.

You might l ike to begin with a discusion about neighboursand community l i fe. How well do students know theirneighbours? Were people friendlier in the past? Giveeveryone a map of the vil lage and explain that they all l ive inthis vil lage. Then give out one text to each student. Explainthat they found this document in the attic of the housewhere they l ive and that it gives some information about theorevious occupants of the house.Give them some time to read and absorb the informationand go round and help as necessary. Then ask them to standup and move around the class, tell ing the other members ofthe vil lage about the juicy details they have discovered.The object of the activity is to build up a picture of wholived where in the 1920s and to fi l l in their maps withnames and descriptions of who lived and whathappened in each house.When the students have finished listening to each others'stories, put them in pairs and give each pair a questionnaire

to f i l l in .

b{*JL.{-JL.{-JL.{

-JlrrJ

-JL.-a

Jb.-a

-J!d

Jbd-Jrl

-J!l

I-1

-.-1

F

-/-ts

-l

H

Fdl-

Ill

-l*F)H

-Jrd

1rd--Jrd-)

rd-)

IJ-)

ld*_)

rd-Jrd

:JH

I

-

-

I

Key: a Grey House; b Rose Cottage; c Swallow Cottage,Annie's Cottage; d Hazel Cottage; e The Old Rectory; fManor Farm; g Home Farm; h Willow Cottage; i ChurchCottage; j Honeysuckle Cottage; k Willow Cottage

Follow up: Ask students to imagine who lived in ManorFarm, the Old Barn and Church Cottage and to writedocuments containing scandal or gossip about theirinhabitants.

1 4 A l i f e i n t h e d a y

Type of activitywhole claSs m6l6e then pair workretell ing a description of a half day's work to find theperson with the other half

Level/Time requiredupper intermedlate/average

Games materialTexts: A; B; C; D; E; Flnformation sheetPhotos

Function practiseddescribing daily routines

Structurespresent simple, passive

Lexical areaswork, leisure, hobbies

Problem vocabulary

A'. fiendish attachment, aromatic, vignettes, nonsense, well

brought-up, disarray, efficiency, grace, vying, dominance,deny, unsolicited, fabulous, zucchini

B: rssue chit-chat, minimalised, sensual gratification,

longhand, disbelief, suspended, indulgence

C: butl, take advantage, flatter, contours, macho,responsibility, glory, stress, foolish, shocked, tossed, ribs,

react

D'. superstitious, touch-up, dangling, criticism, failure, risk,

administration, logistics, calamities, recurring nightmares

E. exhausted, muck out, cereal, incentive, irritating,treatment, tack

F: invoices, debts, chap, tougher, effective, Iegal action,mucking out, cosmetics, shattered

How to use the activitY

Make enough copies of the six texts, A-F, for the students tohave one text each, with as much variety as possible in theclass. Copy one information sheet for each student. Makeenough copies of the sets of photos for half the class to haveone each, or alternatively one set to display r

Each of the texts, A-F, represents half a day (

after lunchtime) in the l ife of one of the threthe photos.Begin with a short discussion on what time <students l ike best and whY.

Give each student one text, ensuring that as far as possible

students get different texts. Try to ensure too, that each

student has a partner somewhere in the class, with the other

half of the day. lf you have an odd number of students,there wil l be one group of three rather than a pair.

Give each student an information sheet and ask them to

read their text and fi l l in the information sheet as far aspossible, although there wil l be some questions that they

cannot answer at this stage. While they are doing this,

circulate and deal with any problems and queries

When they have finished, ask them to stand up and walk

around the class, tell ing other people about their l i festyle,

hobbies and habits.The object of the activity is to find someone who they

think is their'other half"When they find this person, they should check with you and

then, if they are correct, they should go and sit together and

find out in detail how the missing half of the day is spent,

completing their information sheets.Finally, give each pair a set of photos and ask them to

identify which character is theirs. Alternatively you could

display one set of photos for all the students to look at.

Key: A and B, C and D, E and F.

Follow-up: Get students to write a letter or a diary entry

from the character, or imagine a dialogue between two of

the characters.

1 5 G u i l t y s e c r e t s

Type of activitYjigsaw in five groups then groups of f iveretell ing an anecdote and discussing reactions to it

Level/Time requiredupper intermediate/average

Games materialTexts: A Headmaster; B Novelist; C Writer; D Journalist; E

CartoonistWorksheet

Function practisednarrating past exPeriences

Structurespast tenses

Lexical areasdaily l i fe: love, marriage, school, babycare, feelings,

emotions

Problem vocabularY

A Headmaster: headmaster, sin, essay, biography, moral,

heading, resist, cheat, guilty, error, arch rival, unbearable,anthology

Jovelist: astonishing, ravaged, nap, snack, extract, gush,

hpound, dilemma, cot, desperate, howling, choked,

nce, staggered, circumstances, dreadlocks, hesitation,

ms, dabble, gratitude, lick

Mriter: seriet receptive, sheer, tenacity, persistent, yell,

vitable, giggled, automatically, Pavlovian, insistent

-

_-

ra

-

-

-

i!

-

-

-t

-

1

4

1

I

I

t_

E-

1

{,

L.

I

E

-

EI

l-I

i-1I

-Il-r-

E

:.=I

D Journalist: swaggering, the coast was clear, grandly, sinkinghea rt, abuse, electoral register, painstaki ngly, desperate,personnel manager, deputy, documents, dial, assignment

E Cartoonist: shin, characteristics, kick, crumpled, self-pity,ruin, threw up, reaction, hop, stool, consume, top up with,peer, letter flap, agony, casualty, grave, shamefacedly, limp,in plaster, haste, rival, trip

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of the five texts, A-E, for the studentsto have one text each, with as much variety as possible in theclass. Copy one worksheet for each student.You might l ike to begin by tell ing the class a short anecdoteabout something embarrassing that happened to you. Unlessyour class know each other very well/are pretty uninhibited,it is probably better not to ask for personal revelations fromthem at th is point !Divide the class into five groups, A, B, C, D and E. Give text Ato each student in group A, text B to all those in group B,etc. Give each student a worksheet.Ask the students to read their text and complete section A oftheir worksheet, while you circulate and deal with anyproblems and queries. When they have finished, ask thestudents in each group to talk about their reactions to theincident: to discuss what the character involved felt at thetime and how he/she feels about the incident now,comparing their answers on the worksheet. Then regroupthe students into fives, so that each new group contains anA , a B , a C , a D a n d a n E .The object of the activity is for the students to tell theirstories to each other as if the experience had happenedto them, and to fill in section B of their worksheet asthey are listening to the others.After each anecdote the students should compare reactions.

Key: Answers will vary.

Follow-up: Students could write about a similar personalexperience, or if they don't feel l ike doing this, write a diaryentry for one of the characters for the day the incidentoccu rreo.

1 5 L o o s e m o r a l s

Type of activitywhole class m6l6e then pairsretell ing a fable and finding the appropriate moral

Level/Time requiredu pper intermediate/average

Games materialTexts: A The crow; B The mice; C The ass (1 ); D The ass(2); E The dove; F The bear; G The tortoise; H The maid; IThe miser; J The lion

Function practisednarrating a story

Structuresoast tenses

Lexical areasanimals

Problem vocabulary

A The crow: crow, pitcher, relieved, swiftly, stooped,strained, thereupon, overturn, alas, pebbles, creep, brim,quench, carry out

B The mice: ridding, rejected, tyrant, necessity, invention

C The ass (1): as1 humble, track, rounding a bend, bog,stumbling, clumsily, frantic, struggling, sink, mud, amidst,horde, leaping, woe, groaned, bray, piteously, sigh,splashed, mire, fuss, confidence, disaster

D The ass (2): ass, fruitless, hunting, padded, plump,foolishly, munching ,crunching, briar, perched, stile, rangy,cock, crowing, offended, bounded, haste, idly, plucked,galloped, mere, jungle, error, custom, familiar

E The dove: dove, ant, bubbling, blade, slipped, current,snatched, struggling, pity, distress, branch, delay,clambered, nimbly, stroll, trap, net, heel, take fright,misfortune, sincerity

F The bear: face to face with, fear, single-handed, match for,sniffing, courage, held his breath, perch, wisely, leave in thel r t r rh nnad h t rn

G The tortoise: tortoise, eagle, dusty, wheeling, circling,dissatisfied, long to, freedom, soar, swoop, ponder,discontented, enviously, seizing, favourable, opportunity,treasures, monarch, declined, task, absurd, pressed by,entreaties, height, loose, hold, bidding, misguided, dashedto pieces, hatched

H The maid: milkmaid, balancing, prospects, a tidy price,stock, spoil, gown, grand, seek out, shrug, toss, toppled,smashed, spilt, trickled, dust, overambitious, destroy

I The miser: miser, mean, goods, property, melted, solid,mass, buried, hoard, gloat, spy on, villain, went out of hismind, loss, crowd

J The lion: weakness, prey, den, condition, concern, beasftpay respects, wily, lair, renowned, cunning, consolation,bless you, uneasy, footsteps, emerging, riches

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of the ten texts, AJ, for the students tohave one different text each. lf you have more than tenstudents, play the game in two or more groups. lf you havefewer than ten students in the class or group, leave out oneor more of the pairs of texts (A/8, C/D, E/F, C/H,l/J). (lf youhave an odd number of students a loose moral wil l beunavoidable! You wil l end up with one group of threeinstead of a pair.)Tell the students they are going to read fables or moral tales,mostly about animals. Ask them if they can think of proverbsor sayings from their cultures which involve animals, e.g. theearly bird catches the worm.Give each student a text and ask them to read the story andmemorise the details for retell ing, while you circulate andhelp with problems or diff iculties.When they have finished, tell them that the moral at thebottom of the story is not the right moral for that story. Theyshould walk around the class, tell ing their fable to otherstudents.The object of the activity is to find another student whohas a story which fits their moral.The students should not tell anyone their morals unti l theyhave found the right story.

l-d

:Jh.l

II

.1b-i

I.-Jbi

I-zH

Idb-f

Ih-f

I.1

.-

)-

_J-

I-)ts-)H

-/ts)

F)tsJ

_H

)-d

)rl

)r'

Ill

It*)

4-)

t-)

rd-)

t')

t-)

t

J4

:JY

J

Key: The 'moral exchange' is reciprocal - i.e. if a student'smoral f its another student's story, their moral wil l f i t theoriginal story. The pairs of stories are A and B, C and D, Eand F, G and H. I and J.

Follow-up: Students write a fable to i l lustrate the moralthey or ig inal ly had.

17 Roo t s

Type of activityj igsaw in three groups then groups of threereading and retell ing old family letters and completing afamily.tree

Leve/Time requiredTexts A and B:upper intermediate; Text C is easier/longer than average

Games materialFamily treeRole cards: Karen, Gary, Lucy, Alex, Tracey, JasonTexts: A Lily's wil l/Accompanying letter; B Cutting fromthe Pennine Bugle/Letter; C Letter

Function practisedtalking about past events

Structurespast tensesLexical areasfamily history, character, emotions

Problem vocabulary

A Lily's will: will, estate, arable, grazing, in my name, funeralexpenset death duties, exception, expression, carbolic soap,foul, cookpot, bethink, kettle, investments, in trust, capital

Accompanying letter: I am not long for this world, in mybonet sef the record straight, up to you, squabbling,bickering, the hereafter, set eyes on, treat, pack, heartache,inherit, fellsides, strength of character, property, memorial,rejected, pettiness, meanness, soured, raise a family, foolish,pride, humility, virtuous, respect, shed tearsB Cutting from the Pennine Bugle: scandal, detained,undercover regiment, den of corruption, sheeprustlingnetwork, issue, sfaferne nt, charges, persistence, decade,u n precedented, i nvestigations, stockbreeders, traders, acre,currently, alleged, rationing, widespread, black market,slaughter houses, accomplice, revolving round, barracks,maqistrate's court

Letter: operation, teething, worn out, clearing up, lining,capable of, fishy, blossom, folk, torture, bear to, set eyes on,owes

C Letter: fells, a wink of sleep, overdue, another living soul,pregnant, on account of, in the family way, bore a child, outof wedlock, jealousy, barren, stroke, quarrelsome

= How to use the activitY

Make enough copies of text A for one third of the studentsto have a copy each, and the same for texts B and C.Ask students how far back they can name people from theirfamily. How much do they know about their ancestors?Divide the class into three groups, A, B, and C. Within eachgroup divide the students into pairs so that as far as possibleeveryone is working with a partner.Tell the students that they all come from a large family, andthe three groups they are in represent three differentbranches of the family. Unfortunately, because of some oldfamily feuds, the three branches do not know each other.Their task is to find out as much as oossible about theirancestors and discover what happened in the past.Give each student a copy of the family tree and a role card asfollows:Group A pairs: Karen, GaryGroup B pairs: Lucy, AlexGroup C pairs: Tracey, JasonGive them some time to read their card and to fi l l in theirfamily tree with as much information as possible. They candiscuss and compare notes in their pairs.Then tell them that some documents about their family haverecently come to l ight: group A have found an old wil l andletter (text A), group B have found a newspaper cutting withnote attached (text B), and group C have an old unpostedletter (text C). Give each group copies of the relevant text.Allow them time to read and discuss the texts and tocomplete the family tree as far as possible. Go round andgive help as required.When they have finished, regroup the students into threes,so that each new group contains an A, a B, and a C.The object of the activity is to tell each other whatfamily scandals they have unearthed, and to finishcompleting their family trees,

Key:

Samuel Joseph

m. Joan m. Elizabeth

rtrf-d

L.r-l

l--rd

l-trrrf-d

l--)4

l--d

l--)1

L'l-d

l-rld

L-ld

l--..)1

l--)1

L-l-d

l-ld

L-ld

L-L-

l-r{

L-)1

l-_j4

l-)J

L-IJ

L-l--

l-l-l--

l-

Jean m. Hugh

II

Vera m. Phil ip Michaelm. Jane

Lucy Alex Jason Tracey

Follow-up: Write letters to other members of their family

saying what they have found out, and offering to forget thepasr.

Make enough copies of the family tree for the students tohave one each. Make enough copies of each of the six rolecards for one sixth of the students to have a copy each.

l{

l -I

I

Lily - Henry

1 8 G h o s t s t o r i e s

Type of activitytwo groups then pairworkretell ing a ghost story and finding the ending

Leve/Time requiredupper intermediate/longer than average

Games materialTexts: On the Brighton road; The clockEndings: A, B

Function practisednarrating a story

Structurespast tenses

Lexical areashouse, landscape

Problem vocabulary

On the Brighton road. downs, sparkling, blended, keenness,alternation, vacant, limbs, grimly, loitered, stooping, huskily,lonesome, limping, casually, dog-tired, knocking about, hay,smack in your face, lurched, doubtfully, strained,pneumonia, workhouse, winked, vanished

The clock: waylaid, bounded, flagged, conveys, quilts,vibration, mechanism, motion, indentation, reluctantly,capacious, pull myself together, winding-screw, runningdown, fumble, hopping, scratching

A. splashed, thawing, begged, crept, trudging, slushy,{ . ^ ^ : t ^ ^ ^ L ^ - +t t a y u E , a y r t d > L

B: grip, negotiated, sash-window, fainting fit

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of the text 'On the Brighton road' andending B for half the students in your class and enoughcopies of the text 'The clock' and ending A for the other half ,Begin by asking the students if they believe in ghosts. Dothey know any ghost stories?Divide the class into two groups, A and B. Give each studentin group A a copy of the text 'On the Brighton road' and giveeach student in group B 'The clock'. lf you have a large class,subdivide the two large groups into smaller groups to readand discuss the story. Tell them their stories are incompleteand ask them to th ink up a sui tably chi l l ing ending to thestory.When they have discussed this, give each student in group Aa copy of the ending to the other group's story (ending B)and each student in group B a copy of ending A. Ask themto discuss what they think came before it.Then regroup the students in pairs, so that each paircontains an A and a B, and ask them to retell their stories.The object of the activity is for each to contribute theending to the other's story.Which were better, the real endings or their imagined ones?

Follow-up: Students could write their own ghost stories. ltmight help to stimulate their imagination if you give them alist of elements to include, e.g. an old house, a portrait of anold gentleman, a bell, a creaking floorboard, a locked room.Alternatively, you could bring in a set of 'props': an oldphoto, a train ticket, a lace handkerchief, a pipe, etc.

E-.Z

F-

tl

l-

_1tr-

-F-

v-

l-

-L-

--l

l---ti

-<l!r-

-<!-

<li!b-

I

-b-

I

F

1 9 M u r d e r i n t h e l i b r a r y

Type of activityj igsaw in three groups then groups of threeretell ing a story and solving a murder mystery

Leve/Time requiredupper intermediate/longer than average

Games materialTexts; A What the butler saw; B What the maid heard;C What the vicar feltWorksheet

Functions practisednarration, hypothesis

Structurespast tenses, conditionals, could have, might have, mayhave, can't have

Lexical areascharacter. emotions

Problem vocabulary

A What the butler saw. parlour, furious, flirting, intimate,port, appealingly, surreptitiously, billiard room, ballroom,glimpse, urgent, piercing, gasped, fainted, decanter,smashed, stubs, candlestick, conservatory, unconscious,rushing

B What the maid heard: forma[ row, cast off, sobbing,rushed, slammed, overhearing, mean, gambling, short ofmoney, peeped, dashing, velvet, look like thunder,passionately, intimate, broke up, retired, embarrassed,muttered, murder, footsteps, piercing, gasped, fainted

C What the vicar felt: confide in, express, congratulate,affect, will, in favour of, conscious, strained, atmosphere,tiff, thundercloud, broach the subject, endeavoured,anecdote, retire, snooker, urgent, port, parlour, distasteful,stroll, composing, slamming, grunted, strode, shrubbery,chime, terrace, aware, flash, strike

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of text A for one third of the studentsto have a copy each, and the same for texts B and C. Makeone copy of the worksheet for each student.

Give the class a l itt le background to the story: a murderhappened in a country house last night. They are going toread an account of what happened from the point of view ofsomeone who was there at the time: the butler, the maid orthe vicar.Divide the class into three groups, A, B and C. Give text A toeach student in group A, text B to all those in group B andtext C to all those in group C. Give out the same worksheetto all the students, but tell them that they wil l not be able to

-a!r

-/LL-f

-J!_tt

-Jl-

)rl

1rd')

. l -

)l--JL--)

l-

:Jld-)

l--)

l l J-Jld-Jl-

-J' l l

I-l

Key: On the Brighton road - A; The Clock - B

gl -I

lE!lI

!l-t

L*rd

lLrdLb*rd

b*id

t-rd

!1

4

1

4,

-4>1

-I

-J

-

4

-r{

1

-4Er{

-4

4

J

{

1-4r>-

>-

E{I

D

complete all the questions on the worksheet, so not to worryif they find something they can't answer.Give them some time to work on the text together in theirgroups, while you go round explaining vocabulary, dealingwith queries. etc. Then regroup the students into threes, sothat each new group contains an A, a B and a C.Ask them to tell their stories to each other as if they were thebutler, the maid and the vicar, and to help each other tocomplete the worksheet.The object of the activity is to then find out who themurderer was,Note: This activity wil l probably take the whole lesson. lf thestudents haven't found the right solution by the end of thelesson, you might l ike to offer a small prize for the firstcorrect solution by the next class and let them go onpuzzling at.home.

Key: 1 kitchen - Velvet, dining room, parlour - oldArchibald, Myrtle Berry and Dame Christie, staircase, hall -

Charlotte, terrace - Jeffery (garden) and Reverend Truelove,conservatory - Daphne and young Archibald, l ibrary - MissTopless?, Mrs Horsehair (the body), bil lard room - MrOscarsson and Miss Topless?, ballroom - Miss Topless?. 2Charlotte - the maid. Velvet - the butler, Reverend Truelove- the local vicar, Mildred Horsehair - a rich widow in her 40s(the owner of the house), Daphne - the niece, Jeffery - theson, Oscar Oscarsson - an influential but impoverished fi lmdirector, young Archibald - a dashing but penniless youngman, old Archibald - a neighbour, Myrtle Berry - anAmerican lady, Agatha Christie - a lady novelist, Alice B.Topless - an actress. 3 Daphne and young Archibald mightmurder Mrs Horsehair because Daphne would lose herinheritance if she married young Archibald; Jeffery becausehe would lose his inheritance if his mother marriedOscarsson; Miss Topless because she was jealous of MrsHorsehair's relationship with Oscarsson. Solution - Themurderer was Alice B. Topless. She was the only one wearingblue who was a lone and unobserved at 10.00 p.m. (Daphnewas with Archibald in the conservatory and Jeffery left thehouse by the front door a minute or so before the murder.)Mrs Horsehair left the ballroom after a row with oscarssonand Topless and went to the l ibrary, where she had anotherrow with Jeffery, who left the house by the front door. MissTopless came in by the bil l iard room door, hit Mrs Horsehairon the head with a candlestick and left. with the murderweapon, by the window. In the grounds she found the vicarand hit him over the head too with the candlestick. She thenwent back into the house by the front door. Her motive wasjealousy of Oscarsson's relationship with Mrs Horsehair.

Follow-up: Students could write a police report giving thereasoning behind the arrest of Miss Topless, a policeinterview with Miss Topless, a newspaper interview with oneof the characters or a newspaper report on the murder.

2 0 B e l i e v e o r no t

Type of activitywhole class m6l6e then pairs or groupsretell ing information about the paranormal andcompleting a worksheet

Level/Time requiredupper intermediate/longer than average

Games materialTexts: Introductory text; A Bermuda triangle; B Corncircles; C Cryptozoology; D UFOs; E Cold reading; FPsychic detectives; G Telepathy; H BiorhythmsWorksheet

Function practiseddefining and explaining, justifying, giving reasons

Structuresvarious past and present tenses, razouid

Lexical areasthe supernatural

Problem vocabulary

lntroductory texl: fiver, adept, sleight of hand, hoaxers,sceptic, tambourine, tabloid, peddling, gullible

A Bermuda triangle: kicking round, allegedly, mysteriously,without trace, flying saucers, crews, astral, embellished,inaccurate, explicable, alLtime favourite, manned, peril,compass, malfunctioned, guidance, promulgators

B Corn circles: corn circles, visible, hoaxers, battier, fake,outer space, fairyland, self-confessed, by the same token,elves, Santa, anguishing, psychic, aliens

C Cryptozoology: non-existent, mysterious, scintilla,untraceable, suspiciously, duplicate, hoaxes, otters, serpent,deer, refraction, atmospheric, flipper, monster, prehistoric,extrapolated, retouched, computer-enhanced, vastness,i nca pa ble, sha m bling, ora ng-utan

D UFOs: littering, alien, refracted, haze, regrettably, civilian,spot (= see), skipped, experimental psychologist,civilisations, galaxy, infrequent, conquer, investigating,claimed, subsequent, invisible, entities

E Cold reading: technique, innumerable, charlatans,palmists, fortune tellers, spiritualists, astrologers, cunning,acute observation, suspension, scepticism, fraud, parlayed,medium, session, mass gathering, inevitably, turned to heradvantage, rotten, fake, cosy, distressed, miraculous,mightily, blamed, lines crossed, goodwill, scorned,specta cu I a rly, powe rf u l, occa si o n

F Psychic detectives: forensic, high-profile, bogged down,medium, credits herself, pursuit, arrested, killer, bore noresemblance to, wrought iron, victim, mercifully, validated,endorse. evidence

G Telepathy: limited, knowledge, educated guess, smugly,wonder, consistency, amateurs, mindreaders, initially,conditions, invariably, stringent, mentalist, odd (number),digit, survey

H Biorhythms: dominated, cycle, calculator, alleged, thereverse, common factor, peak, researchers, survives, quoted,proponents, cash in on, subject to, iet lag, menstrual cycle,phenomena, advocates, citing, specific, tournaments,evidence

i t

How to use the activity

Make enough copies of the introductory text and worksheetfor each student. Make enough copies of the eight texts, A-H. for the students to have one text each. with as muchvariety as possible in the class.Give everyone in the class a copy of the introductory text.Ask them as quickly as possible to l ist:1. The examples given of paranormal wonders2. The examples given of rational scientif ic wonders3. Reasons for not accepting paranormal phenomenaCollect suggestions and draw up three l ists on the board.You may like to have a short introductory discussion basedon the class l ist of paranormal wonder.s: what do they feelare possible rational explanations for these phenomena?Keeo the discussion brief at this staoe.Give orit one text to each student, Jnsuring that as manydifferent texts as possible are used. Give everyone a copy ofthe worksheet and ask them to read their text and completethe worksheet for their text. While they are reading, movearound the class dealing with problems as they arise.When everyone seems to have finished, ask them all to getup and move around the class asking for information aboutparanormal phenomena.The object of the activity is to get enough informationto complete their worksheets,When they have completed their worksheet they should sitdown and compare their results with the person sitting next tothem. When most people have finished, put them into groupsof three or four and ask them to discuss the variousphenomena listed on the worksheet: who believes in what? Dothey accept the paranormal explanation or the scientific one?

Key: A i) An area of sea where planes and ships disappear;i i) many disasters documented, e.g. f l ight 19 - 5 planesvanished for no reason; i i i) l ieutenant unfamiliar with area,two compasses malfunctioned, lost with too l itt le fuel. B i)Circles appearing in crop fields; i i) many appear in fields;i i i) twelve teams created circles at night proving they couldbe done by hoaxers. C i) Study of mysterious creatures e.g.Loch Ness monster, yeti; i i) photos and sightings of 'Nessie';

i i i) photos could be duplicated with models or computerenhanced negatives, yeti could be a bear. D i) Unidentif iedflying objects; i i) many accounts, e.g. Arnold (47) saw amoving object, Adamski met a Venusian; i i i) most solarsystems are 200 light years away, this would make visits veryinfrequent. E i) Dead people speaking through a medium;ii) l isteners are impressed, messages seem to be for them;ii i) general statements are made which could apply toanyone, some guesses are inevitably correct, Mrs Stokes'husband relayed information to her, customer has paidmoney and is anxious to succeed. F i) Psychics assist withpolice enquiries; i i) mediums do seem to strike lucky, e.g.Nella Jones drew a kil ler's face and described where heworked and lived and predicted two more murders; i i i) herdrawing bore no resemblance and she was wrong about theaddress and the murders" G i) Communication between twopeople without using the five senses; ii) 25% of Americansclaim to have a telepathic experience, e.g. knowing who ison the phone; i i i) i t is not surprising we can occasionallyguess who is call ing, we tend to forget wrong guesses, not asingle repeatable controlled experiment has been performed.H i) Our l ives are dominated by three fixed cycles which

begin on our birthday; i i) allegedly tested by threeresearchers; i i i) all evidence stolen, a 1979 study found noevidence.

Follow-up: Students could write a summary of all theinformation they have collected, based on the notes on theirworksheet.

2 1 T r o u b l e w i t h m e n ,f r o g s , s h o e s a n d s i s t e r s

Type of activitywhole class m6l6e then four small groups then pairworkretell ing part of a story and finding the other sections

Leve/Time requ.iredupper intermediate/longer than average

Games materialTexts: A The frog prince; B The frog maiden;C Cinderella; D Beauty and Pock Face

Function practisednarrating a fairystory

Structuresvarious past tenses

Lexical areasmagic, home life

Problem vocabulary

A The frog prince: gloomy, midst, foliage, fountain,wearisome, weep, melt, stretching, paddler, pearls,playfellow, chattering, croaking, dipped, seizing, hastily,giant, hopped, obliged, relish, despised, passion, consent,condemned, woe, sorrow, bound, restoredB The frog maiden: ill-treating, ceremony, raiment,mockingly, adamant, posy, jasmine, expectantly, hermit,deer, task, rubbed, pleaded, heir, powdering, chamber,m a id e n, successol, accede. toC Cinderella: guardian angel, maiden, dazzling, drapery, evil-minded, malicious, envious, obliged, scorn, ashes, smutty,cinders, fair, twig, tears, weep, perch, ball, trim, begged,shovelful, seeds, doves, twittering, swarm, fret, disgrace,glittering, bound, dingy, gilded, stratagem, strewed, pitch,proclamation, rage, disregarded, contrivedD Beauty and Pock Face: pock marks, spoilt, hemp, stack,mast seedt flesh, smashed, crack, slipped off, ditch,dismount, quandary, stink, scholar, merchant, pay respectsto, attentive, well, shove, lost consciousness, suffering,smallpox, delicacies, deception, monster, disown, tender,console, weeping, sparrow, mystified, shoots, bamboo,ulcer, pricked, clasped, dispersed, soul, entrails,embroidered, maddened, grumble, spirit, scratch, cauldron

How to use the activity

Make one copy of each of the four fairytales, A-D, and cutthem up into as many sections as there are students in yourclass, trying to ensure a roughly equal number of sectionsper story. For example, if you have twenty students, cut eachstory into five approximately equal sections, if you have

I-1F.<

I?zl-

-F-

E-

F-

i1

l-

t4f-

-L-

-t--l-

<t-' 2

l-

-t--t-F

I-

-t---l

b-

-b-

i-

l-

-/l=.

)}r

Jl=r

JLi

-J>d

JFi

_)Y

JY

,JH

Jld

J-- l

LJIl-r<I

b*rrd

Il-lrrj

IaIIrd

l-r{

l--rd

t-' 4

b-_' 4

:-4

--4

I

1

4

4

I

4

-4

I

>

I

4

J

>

4

4

1

I

rr-

I

-

<r-

twelve students, cut each story into three and so on. Thenumbers in brackets at the end of sections of the texts (3, 4or 5) indicate where to cut them for different numbers ofstudents.Begin by asking the students What is a fairytale? What arethe main elements of a fairytale.Give out the story sections at random so that students haveone section each and give them time to read their sectionand ask you any questions if necessary.The object of the first activity is to try to get into four groupscorresponding to the four stories.Tell the students that they have sections from four differentstories. Do not give them the tit les of the stories at thisstage, but tell them that one student in each group wil lknow the tit le of the story. They wil l have to move aroundthe room tqll ing other students about the characters in theirstory and maybe the gist of what is in their section,Emphasise tlrat they should do this as briefly as possible, onlygiving the barest essential information to enable them todecide which story they belong to.When they have got into four groups, you can ask eachgroup to tell the others the tit le of their story. Some studentsmay want to change groups at this stage.Then ask them to retell their section of the story to theothers in the group. They should not read it out but retell theevents in their own words. (Some students may decide theyshould be in a different story at this point too!)The object of the activity is to place themselves in anorder corresponding to the order of the sections in thestory, and then retell the whole story from thebeginning to check.When they have arrived at what they think is the correctorder they may like to place their slips of paper on theground and read the story through to check.Finally, merge the four groups into two, putting groups Aand B (The frog prince and The frog maiden) together andgroups C and D (Cinderella and Beauty and Pock Face)together. Ask the students to get into pairs with someonewith a different storv and tell each other their storv.

Key: The sections of the stories go together as on theoriginal Games material pages.

Follow-up: Give the students elements of a fairytale (e.9. asnake, egg, magic key, forest, prince, castle, etc.) and askthem to make up their own. Alternatively, ask them tochoose one of the four fairvtales and to 'modernise' it: howcould it be uodated?

22 Ho roscope

Type of activitywhole class m616eretell ing a horoscope, and looking for someone who cantell you your own

Leve/Time requiredadvanced/average

Games materialTexts: Western horoscopes - Aries, Taurus, Gemini,Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn,Aquarius, Pisces; Chinese horoscopes - Rat, Ox, Tiger,Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster.Dog. PigWorksheet

Function practisedtalking about character and emotions

Structurespresent simple, may, will, imperative

Lexical areascharacter, emotions

Problem vocabulary

Aries pa radox, rash, conventional, idealistic, ha rd-headed,abrupt, arrogant, frank, charge, trample, daisy, self4oubt,conflict, halting, passion, expertise, plodding,sfafistrcs,u n com m u n i ca ti ve, I aya bouts

Taurus: sensua/tstt domain, coerce, cross someone,ea rthqua ke, stubborn, ponderous, persistent, conduct,ca pacity, rage, demolition, tenacity, hustle, fa i r-weatherfriends, pushy

Gemini: different as chalk and cheese, duality, twefaced,wits, affable, gregarious, chilly, disgruntled, profile,insatiable, urge, restless, skim, glibly, gaily, versatility, hung-up, illogical

Cancer: swirling, ebbing and flowing, calculate the odds,gruff, judicious, caution, stops them in their tracks,pe rspicacity, exceptional, immerse, unwaveri ng, tenacity,inquisitive, capricious, untrustworthy, rebuff

Leo: benevolent, despot, lordly, conduct, patronizing,superiority, flaxery, pompously, snobbishly, posturing,mean-spirited, petty, I unatic, extravag ance, inhibited, bei ngdictated to, outdo

Virgo: purstt loners, impeccable, iudgement, reserved,down-to-earth, industry ft hard work), keen intellect,dedication, trim, immaculate, diligent, methodically,objectives, dedication, pretentious, pomposity

Libra: predictability, unsophisticated, device, tactful,cond uct, defect, su perficiality, i nha rmonious, pride, passion,eleg a nt, pe rf ectly tu ned, ha rmo ny, d iscou rteo u s, f re a kish,inconsistent, unjust

Scorpio: misunderstood, ruthless, intensity, count the cost,mysterious, hunches, intuition, compelling, revenge, loyal,thrive, victory, motivating, stuffy, insincerity, deliberately

Sagittarius: crude, unbridled, tact, delicacy, superficial,touchy, jovial, breezy, exuberance, frosty, undemocratic,gloomy

e x € h a n g e