Page 6 - English 11 | Games and Activities-3

THEME 3 HARD TIMES

FUNCTIONS
F1 Describing events happening at the same time in the past
11 GRADE F2 Explaining people’s habits in the past
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4 What’s Your Story?

This activity enables students to describe events happening at the same time in the past. It also helps them to practice
four main language skills.

Materials and Preparation

Copy and cut out the worksheet on page 60 for each group of three or four students.

Procedure

1 Give each group a set of word cards.
2 Ask them to make up a funny or interesting story using all the words they have been given. Remind them that they
have to use past continuous tense in their story. The groups then write their stories.
3 When all the groups have finished writing, they read out their stories to the class.
4 Get the class to vote for the funniest or strangest story.

5 Give Me a Good Reason!

This activity aims to practice the past continuous. It also encourages students to improve their creative thinking by getting
their imagination activated. It’s an entertaining activity to develop speaking and listening skills by communicating with each
other.

Materials and Preparation

Copy and cut out the worksheet on page 61 for each pair of students.

Procedure

1 Tell your students they are going to work in pairs.
2 Tell them you are going to give them a list of strange actions and they are going to ask their partners to come up with
innocent reasons why they were doing those things, e.g., “When I saw you, you were wearing a purple tracksuit at a
wedding. Why were you doing that?’’ “Because I was taking some funny wedding and family photos. It was a good
idea to wear sporty casual clothes.’’
3 Students are told that they were seen while they were doing something strange, and their task is to give a logical
explanation. As their partner saw them doing it, they can’t claim that they didn’t. If their reasons are acceptable, they
get a point. The student with the highest score wins.
4 Students can use the patterns like ‘’It seems like a pretty good reason to me.’’ or ‘’That doesn’t seem like a good
enough reason to me.’’
5 Tell students it is important that they say “When I saw you…’’ part each time to make the use of the past continuous
realistic. They can also use “The last time I saw you…’’
6 This game can be group work as well as pair work. Each student is given a worksheet with strange actions, then
s/he picks another student, and s/he has to give a logical explanation for their strange behavior.

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