Describing People Activity Pack

Objective & content

Five worksheets about describing people in one PDF, for a class working at A1+. The pack teaches one point, describing people, through five kinds of activity: pupils label twelve pictures and learn the order of the words in long curly red hair, solve a detective puzzle about a missing cake, read about a band and draw it, answer a pen friend's letter and ask their classmates, and find five visitors in a busy station picture. A cover and a contents page open the pack, and the answers and teacher notes for every sheet are at the back. Each sheet is also on the site on its own.

Pedagogical guide

The order goes from the words to the hardest picture. Hair, Eyes and Glasses! comes first: pupils label twelve pictures (curly hair, a beard, freckles, glasses ...) and put the words of four sentences in the order how long, what kind, what colour. Who Ate the Cake? uses He's got / She hasn't got and Has he got glasses? Yes, he has. in a detective puzzle with six party guests. The Band! is a read and draw task: pupils draw four people from a text, then answer with short answers. My Pen Friend! asks pupils to read a letter, write back with I'm short. I've got green eyes. I haven't got glasses. and ask three classmates What colour are your eyes? At the Station! ends the pack: pupils find five visitors in a busy picture from their messages, which revises every word, and describe people in pairs with What does she look like?

Suggested procedure

1. (30 min) Hair, Eyes and Glasses!: pupils label twelve pictures, learn the order of the words and describe a person in their family.
2. (25 min) Who Ate the Cake?: pupils read four clues, cross out the people it can't be and find who ate the cake.
3. (30 min) The Band!: pupils read about Kiko's band, draw the band and themselves, colour the hair and answer six questions.
4. (30 min) My Pen Friend!: pupils read Maeve's letter, write back to her and ask three classmates.
5. (30 min) At the Station!: pupils find five visitors from their messages, tick Yes or No and describe people in pairs.

About 145 minutes in all: use the sheets in this order over several lessons, or pick the ones you need.

Adaptations

[S] Read each text and word list aloud before pupils start, and do the first item of each task together.

[A] Fast finishers describe a classmate in two sentences for the others to guess. The page of each sheet on the site gives more ideas.

Materials & prerequisites

One photocopy per pupil of each sheet, in colour or in black and white (the pack comes in both versions). Pupils need a pencil, and colouring pencils for The Band! only. Pupils should know the colours and the verb to be; the pack introduces all the other words. Keep the answer pages at the back for yourself. Each sheet can also be used on its own.