This is a lesson plan designed for students on preparation courses for the Cambridge B2 First (FCE) exam. In particular I think it would be good for students who are close to taking the exam. It works as a diagnostic test of a range of the grammar points that are tested, particularly in part 4 of the reading and use of English exam. Download the handout below:
First Certificate Grammar Checklist
Procedure:
Self-Assessment
Give out copies of the handout, have students individually assess their grasp of each of the structures. They should fill in the box on the end with either a tick (I know this very well) a cross (I’ve got no idea about this) or a wiggly line (I more or less get this).
Have students compare with their partner. Ask them to look for differences, there should be opportunities for peer teaching here, have one student attempt to explain a grammar point to another.
Practice
Project the quizlet set of key word transformations. Put students in pairs. First students need to identify the structure that is being tested. This is a very important step, getting them to put themselves in the examiner’s shoes and not just jump straight in and answer. Check that they’ve identified the structure, then have them work together to try to complete the sentence. Encourage reflection and comparison between their initial self-assessment and then their scores and performance in the exam task.
The checklist is not exhaustive, have I missed any common structures that come up in part 4?
| Grammar Structure | Examples | Self-assessment |
| Past simple/Present perfect | I haven’t seen John for 5 years.
The last time I saw John was 5 years ago. |
|
| 2nd conditional | If I won the lottery, I would buy a mansion.
If I didn’t work in construction, I would be an actor. |
|
| 3rd conditional | If I hadn’t slipped on that banana, I wouldn’t have broken my arm.
If I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake. |
|
| The passive voice | Active: The police arrested the man.
Passive: The man was arrested by the police. Other example: It is said that cigarettes give you cancer. Cigarettes are said to give you cancer |
|
| Wish/If only | I regret eating so much -> I wish I hadn’t eaten so much.
It was a bad idea to drink that wine -> If only I hadn’t drunk that wine. |
|
| Linkers: Despite/in spite of -> Although/even though | Despite the rain, the party was great -> The party was great even though it was raining.
Although he felt ill, he still went to school. -> He still went to school in spite of his illness. |
|
| Reported speech | “I went there last year.” -> He said that he had gone there last year.
“I will call him tomorrow.” -> She said that she would call him the following day. |
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| Reported questions | “Have you been to Paris?” -> He asked me if I had been to Paris.
“Where is the train station?” -> He asked me where the train station was. |
|
| Phrasal verbs | He wants to cancel the meeting -> he wants to call off the meeting.
He won’t tolerate bad behaviour -> he won’t put up with bad behaviour. |
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| Causative have/get: have/get something done | I need to get my hair cut.
I need to have my computer repaired. |
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| Comparatives/superlatives | This restaurant is better than that one -> That restaurant isn’t as good as this one.
He’s not nearly as tall as me. My brother is slightly younger than me. No one is as good at football as Messi -> Messi is the best football player. |
|
| Past modal verbs:
Must have Could/might/may have Should have etc. |
The butler must have murdered him, there’s blood on his shirt.
It can’t have been Sarah you saw at the mall, she’s on holiday in Dubai. I shouldn’t have drunk so much last night. |
|
| So/such | It was so hot that we couldn’t leave the hotel -> It was such a hot day that we had to stay in the hotel.
It rained so much that the house flooded. ->It was such a rainy day that the house flooded. |
|
| Gerund/infinitive | I’m a big fan of playing water sports.
I’m interested in studying history. I have decided to study biology. He spent 10 minutes knocking on my door. |
