Image credit: theguardian.com
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Download the worksheet here:
And the picture reveal powerpoint here:
Yet another lesson plan on picture descriptions, deduction and speculation. What can I say? I’ve got to prep a lot of students for FCE speaking!
Warmer – Who’s this?
Show students the picture of BBC radio 2 DJ Steve Wright but don’t tell them who it is. Put them in groups and tell them to come up with an idea of who he is. Monitor and check what language they’re using, board any nice examples of speculative language.
Students present their ideas of who he is. After reveal that he is a famous radio DJ in the UK.
Speculative Language
Handout the exercise on the worksheet. Have students complete the gap-fill in pairs; encourage them to discuss it in English: “Number 1 could be …, don’t you think?” etc.
Complete the sentences with a word from the box
| guess can’t as could/might/may perhaps pretty must |
- He ______ be a policeman with that long hair. (it’s impossible that he’s a policeman)
- ______ she’s a lawyer, she’s wearing a smart suit. (It’s possible she’s a lawyer)
- He ______ be enjoying himself, look at that big smile. (I’m sure he’s enjoying himself)
- I’m ______ sure they’re brother and sister, they look quite similar. (75% sure)
- I’d ______ that they’re in a hot country, judging by their clothes. (It’s possible)
- She ______/_______/________ be his girlfriend, they seem very close. (It’s possible)
- He looks _______ if he’s tired after a long day at work.
Review as a class:
- can’t
- perhaps
- must
- pretty
- guess
- could/might/may
- as
Choral drill sentences for intonation and sentence stress.
Practice
Show students the pictures of more English celebrities. Elicit the instructions to the next activity, (use the new language to speculate about the people in the photographs)
Students share ideas as a class, award points to groups that guess correctly.
Answers:
- Stephen Fry – TV presenter, journalist, novelist
- Jade Goody – Reality TV star, Big Brother contestant
- Jack Monroe – Chef, writer, journalist, political activist
- Jeremy Corbyn – Politician, new leader of the Labour Party.
Picture Reveal Game
Massive thanks to https://tekhnologic.wordpress.com/ for the amazing picture reveal powerpoint template I’ve used for this next activity.
Project the first slide of the picture reveal powerpoint. Students take it in turns to choose a number, click on the number and it will disappear, revealing part of the picture underneath. Students must then speculate as to what the picture is. Award points for correct use of the phrases and teams that correctly guess the contents of the photo.
Slide 4 is an actual FCE part 2 task with 2 pictures to compare and contrast, while slide 5 is a part 3 collaborative task that students can complete in pairs or threes at the end of the game.
Follow-up
Nominate a few students to bring a photo to the next class to repeat the activity as a warmer.
