The Best Pet A1 - Activity 5

The Best Pet A1 – Activity 5

Aim of Activity

45 minutes

A group work speaking activity to drill the grammar focus of the verb phrases – to be forms, can, have in 3rd person singular and vocabulary focus – adjectives.

Steps for Students

Make pairs and sit opposite each other
Choose a card
Talk about the animal using the phrases on your card
Guess the animal

Example:

Learner 1: This animal can go for walks, it is smart…
Learner 2: Is it a dog?
Learner 1: No, it isn’t. It has lovely feathers, it can talk, it is funny
Learner 2: Is it a parrot?
Learner 1: Yes, it is.

Play the game PET PROFILES

Choose a card with a pet profile
Read out an individual specific characteristic using IS/CAN/HAS and a matching phrase for the other teams to guess

Example:

Team 1 gets a card (parrot) and reads one specific characteristic: This animal can go for walks.
Team 2 guesses or take another clue: It is smart.
Team 3 guesses or take a clue.: It is funny.
Team 4 has a guess: Is it a parrot?

Note: Some of the characteristics are in common for more animals. It is better for the teams to to wait for more clues than to answer incorrectly and get minus points.

Level 1 – The Best Pet Read and Guess Cards – PDF printed and cut out

Level 2 – The Best Pet Complete the Phrases Cards – PDF printed and cut out

Team game PET PROFILES: The Best Pet Read and Guess Cards

Task instructions

Cards are prepared for different pair work or group work activities according to the level of the learners or to be played from the basic level to the more difficult one. You can use them for the team game too.

Level 1:

Learners are divided into pairs – they sit opposite each other in two rows.
Learners from one row get a card from the teacher and read the information from the card to his partner who sits opposite.
The other learner guesses which animal is being described.
After that learners in one row move one place forward and continue all over the same describing and guessing with the new partner.
Learners continue until they have replaced everyone in the class.

Level 2:

One learner gets a card from the Complete the phrases Cards set.
He/ She uses the verb phrases in the same way as in the basic level completing adjectives or verbs according to what he/she remembers about the animal.
The other learner guesses the animal, then they switch roles.

Team game PET PROFILES:

Divide learners into 4 teams.
One team chooses a card and reads out one specific characteristic of the animal as a clue.
All the other teams guess the animal.
The more clues they need for the right answer the less points they get.
For each wrong answer there are minus points.
Then the other team continues saying the clues for another animal.
Each team plays 3 rounds.

Suggested pointing system:

1 clue needed + 3 points
2 clues needed + 2points
3 clues needed + 1 point
Wrong answer – 2 points

TIP!

For an online lesson divide your learners into pairs in breakout rooms.
Send the Pet profile cards to the learners and assign each of them via chat one pet to describe.
Then change the breakout rooms and they continue taking turns as above mentioned.
Similarly use breakout rooms for the team game.

Not available