Mingling: Terry’s trip

This is a simple mingling activity that can be used with low level groups to provide practice in the past simple, particularly the question form. The lesson is designed for adults but could also be used with teenagers.

Preparation

• Write this on the board:

  HARRY’S HOLIDAY
  He went to…
  He went by…
  The weather was…

• Elicit simple ideas about Harry’s holiday
• Explain to the students that you know the missing information for these unfinished sentences. Elicit the questions needed to find out the missing information. As students come up with the questions, answer them and write both the questions and the answers on the board.
• Where did Harry go? (He went to Benidorm)
• How did he go? (He went by plane)
• What was the weather like? (It was sunny)

Procedure

• Download the Mingle worksheet. Give each student a copy of ‘A’. Cut ‘B’ into strips with individual sentences and hand them out. If you have less than 18 students, give more than one to each. If you have more than 18, divide the students into groups of 9 and give them two strips each.
• Explain to the students that they are going to ask questions to find out all the missing information about Terry’s Trip ( ‘A’). They should begin by filling in the information they already have on their strip(s) of paper. Then students mingle and find out all the missing information.
• If necessary, elicit all the questions that the students will need to complete the activity.
  Where did Terry go?
  How did he go?
  Where did he stay?
  What did he eat?
  What did he drink?
  What did he take?
  What did he send?
  What did he buy?
  Where/What did he visit?
  What did he see?
  What was the weather like?
  What were the people like?
  What time did he get up?
  What time did he go to bed?
  What did he have?
  Who did he speak to?
  Who did he meet?
  What did he decide?

Extension

• Write on the board: PARIS – NEW YORK – TOKYO
• Tell the students to choose one of these places. Then write three years from the past, e.g. 2022. 
• Tell the students to choose one of these years. Then write: BY PLANE – BY SHIP –BY BIKE
• Tell the students to choose one of these forms of transport. Then write: IN A HOTEL – AT A CAMPSITE – WITH A FRIEND
• Tell the students to choose one of these places to stay.
• Tell the students to imagine that they went to their chosen place, in their chosen year by their chosen form of transport and stayed in their chosen type of accommodation. Then by mingling and asking questions, the students have to try and find another person in the class that went to the same place, in the same year, by the same means of transport and stayed in the same type of accommodation.