Four Friends, Four Presents, Four Shops (A2-)

Objective & content

A logic puzzle in the past simple. Amara, Leo, Mia and Ravi went Christmas shopping on Market Street: each friend went to a different shop and bought one present (socks, a book, a puzzle or a football). Pupils read six short clues ("The socks came from the Tree Shop.") and fill in a grid with ticks and crosses to find who bought what, and where. Page 1 is the pupil page: the story, a drawing of the four shops in the street, the clues, the grid and an answer table. Page 2 is for the teacher: the answer, the solved grid and the solving steps, one clue at a time. 15 to 20 minutes.

Pedagogical guide

Pupils must read every clue closely, because the puzzle has one answer only and every clue is needed. The clues use the past simple in short sentences (went, bought, came, didn't buy) and words of place (the first shop on the left, next to), so pupils practise reading for detail without long texts. Clue 1 is done as an example in the grid. The puzzle is at A2- level, a little above the rest of this pack: use it with a confident class or as a task for fast finishers.

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Hand out page 1. Read the story and clue 1 aloud together. Show how the example marks go into the grid: a tick for Leo and the Star Shop, crosses for his other shops.
2. (12 min) Pupils solve in pairs. Give one tip: "When you have a tick, cross the rest of that row and that column."
3. (3 min) Pupils complete the answer table. Check with page 2 and read the solving steps aloud if pupils ask why.

Adaptations

[S] Solve clues 1 and 4 together on the board before pairs start, so two friends are already in their shops.

[A] Pupils work alone, then explain one step in English: "Ravi didn't buy socks, so he didn't go to the Tree Shop."

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of page 1 per pupil or per pair, in colour or in the low-ink version; keep page 2 for yourself. Pupils should recognise the past simple of go, buy and come, and "next to" and "on the left".