As it’s the start of a new school year, I thought it was time to try out a new ‘getting to know you’ first lesson activity. I came across the website 2 Kinds Of People which simply and beautifully portrays how easily the people can be separated into different groups. I thought it was a fun way to help the students learn something about each other, while giving them the chance to learn some very useful contemporary vocabulary and functional language.
Here’s the activity plan…
1. Before class, print out (and laminate, if you can) the pairs of pictures. Cut them up into individual pictures and shuffle them.
2. Give students in pairs / threes the shuffled pictures and ask them to find the matching picture.
3. The students will need some vocabulary at this point, so as you go through the correct answers to the matching activity, take the opportunity to check what they know and teach unknown vocabulary items.
4. Next the students are going to talk together in their groups about which kind of person they are by choosing one of the pictures. Before they begin, make sure they have the functional language necessary for the task, if you think it’s necessary:
“I prefer … because …”
“I’m the kind of person who…”
“Which one are you?”
“I’d definitely choose this one because…” etc
And some adjectives to describe how they are as a person:
Messy
(Dis)organised
Tidy
Obsessive
Old fashioned
Modern
(In)efficient
(Un)fashionable
Stylish
(Un)comfortable
Cautious
Careful
Carefree
Sleepy
5. During the discussion, listen for interesting language as used by the students as well as any problems they have. Make a note of it and give them feedback after the discussion has finished.
6. Get some feedback from the class. Ask the students to tell the rest of the group what they learnt about their partner.
7. For a follow up activity, ask the students to write a paragraph to describe themselves or their partner based on what they learnt during the activity.
The Teacher James 