Talking about Past Events 'Souvenir Shopping'

TYPE OF ACTIVITY
small group; matching

FUNCTION PRACTICED
talking about past events

STRUCTURES
I saw (a temple)
I went (walking/to the theatre).
I ate (rice).
I drank (tea).
Did you buy (this) there?

TOPIC AREA
holidays

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY
walking, dancing, cycling, swimming, sailing, theatre, museum, tea, beer, wine, rice, hamburger, coke, spaghetti, salad, fish and chips, sandwiches, sausages, mountains, rain, TV
(more ususual vocabulary is given on the holiday snaps cards: paella, sherry, desert, tacos, margaritas, moussaka, ouzo, Chianti, castle, snails, syscrapers, diner, temple, pagoda, sake, tulips, windmills, fondue)
(It is not necessary to know the names of the souvenirs in order to play the game.)


MATERIALS AND PREPARATION

Souvenir cards | Holiday snaps 1 | Holiday snaps 2 | Holiday snaps 3 | Teacher's notes

Mentally divide your class into groups of three or four.
Make one copy of the SOUVENIR CARDS and one copy of the HOLIDAY SNAPS CARDS for each group.


HOW TO USE THE GAME

Divide your class into groups of three or four.

Give each group a set of souvenir cards.

They should deal these out.

They can look at their cards.

Give each group a pile of holiday snaps cards.

They should place these face down in a pile on the desk.

One student should take the first holiday snaps card and look at it, without showing the others.

He can tell the others four things about his holiday: 'I saw ..., I ate ..., I drank ..., I went ... .'

The others should guess where he went.

If a student has the appropriate souvenir card in her hand, she can hand it to him saying, 'Did you buy (this) there?'

The object of the game is to match the holiday snaps with the souvenirs.

The player who gets rid of all their cards first is the winner.


DEMONSTRATION

Demonstrate how to play by taking one holiday snap yourself and saying four things about it, e.g. 'I saw some castles, I ate paella, and I drank sherry and I went swimming.'

Ask, 'Where did I go on holiday?'

Then: 'I bought a souvenir there. Has anyone got it?'

Get the student(s) producing the card to ask, 'Did you buy this there?'

Then get them to go on in their groups.


CLASSROOM LANGUAGE

Here are some souvenir cards.
Deal them out. (demonstrate)
You can look at your cards.
Here are some holiday snaps cards.
Put them face down in the middle. (demonstrate)
Listen. I've got a holiday snaps card. (taking a card)
I'm going to tell you about my holiday, e.g. 'I saw a castle, I ate paella, and I drank sherry and I went swimming.'
Where did I go on holiday?
Spain!
I bought a souvenir there. Has anyone got it?
Ask, 'Did you buy (this) there?'
Yes! I did!
OK. Now you play.
Who is going to begin?
Right. Take the first card.
Say four things about your holiday: 'I saw ..., I ate ..., I drank ..., I went ... .' [source: Beginner's Communication Games by Jill Hadfield]

Related Posts :