Topic: Function in the Classroom
Mode: Interpersonal
Level: Intermediate
Skill: Speaking
Competency: I can ask varied questions necessary for classroom success and respond appropriately to information given
Students will ask each other questions to gather missing information about an activity, and then they will complete the activity.
Components of the activity:
- Teacher instructions
- Student instructions
- Info gap handouts
- Teacher copy
- Student versions A & B
Additional materials needed:
- Blank paper (enough for each student)
- Blue and red pens (you can change these if needed, but be sure to change the info gap sheets as well then)
- Pencils
- A stapler
- Access to a map (physical or online)
Instructions to the teacher
Before class: Translate the student versions A & B into the target language. Fill in the assignment point value and due date on the students’ sheets where there is a [bracket]. Leave the blanks empty. Make copies before class so that there are enough for each pair of students to have a pair of the worksheets.
In class: Explain to students that they will be asking each other information about an assignment which they must complete. Have students get into pairs and give each one of them either sheet A or sheet B. Explain that they are not allowed to look at their partner’s paper. They each have information about an activity which they must complete, but they each have some information which their partner does not, and they will need to ask their partner questions to learn the details before completing the task. Let them know they should not just be reading the worksheet to each other, but rather, they should be asking questions such as: “What other materials do I need besides….?” or “What do I do after I complete step number 3?”. Be sure to pre-teach any vocabulary or phrases needed to complete this task which your students may not already know.
Instructions to students
You are working in pairs, and both you and your partner have information that the other one does not have about an assignment which you must complete. Ask each other questions so that you can figure out what you need to do to complete the assignment. Look at your paper and ask intentional questions to gather the missing information. Please do not show one another your papers and do not read the papers line by line. Ask questions like: “I have a pencil. What other materials do I need?” or “What do I do after I complete step number 3?”. Once you have filled in your paper with all the missing information, you should follow the instructions to complete the activity.