Explain it to me! B1 4

Objective & content

A mediation pair activity in two rounds. In each round, one pupil holds a document and the other holds a task that needs only part of it. In round 1, Student A has six headphones and Student B must choose a pair for a long train journey: wireless, 10 hours of battery, noise cancelling, here by Friday, a year's warranty and £60 with delivery. In round 2, Student B has five restaurants and Student A must choose one for the class meal: 26 people, two vegetarians, one pupil who can't eat gluten, a 15-minute walk at most and £12 each. The pupil with the document must not show it or read it all out: they explain only what their partner needs, and the partner decides. By the end, pupils can pick out useful information and pass it on simply.

Pedagogical guide

Mediation means passing on information to someone who hasn't seen it. Here the gap is not a missing word but a choice: each document holds more than the partner needs, so the explainer has to listen to the task and select. Each page has the rule, a box of four phrases for explaining (According to the list, ..., The good thing about this one is ..., but ..., That won't work, because ... and So the best option for you is ...) and questions to help the pupil who asks. The language is battery life, warranties, delivery, group sizes and prices. Each task has one best answer, so pairs can check themselves. Page 3 is the teacher page: the idea, four steps, the language and the key with the reasons.

Suggested procedure

One activity of about 25 minutes.

1. (3 min) Set up the pairs: copy page 1 (Student A) for half the class and page 2 (Student B) for the other half, and put pupils in A + B pairs, face to face. Nobody shows their page. Read the rule and the phrases box with the class.
2. (8 min) Round 1: B reads the task and asks; A explains from the headphones list. B writes the model, the delivery day and the total price.
3. (8 min) Round 2: A reads the task and asks; B explains from the restaurant list. A writes the restaurant, the price for the class and what to tell them.
4. (6 min) Pairs swap pages and check, then tell the class: "We chose ... because ...". Check with the key on page 3.

Adaptations

[S] When a pupil is stuck, they may point to the right line of the document once.

[A] After choosing, B explains the plan to a third pupil who hasn't heard anything.

Materials & prerequisites

Print infogap.pdf: page 1 for Student A and page 2 for Student B, one copy per pupil; page 3 is the teacher page. Pupils need a pencil. They should already be comfortable with prices, times and percentages, and with "will" and "if" sentences. It goes well after work on technology, food or organising an event, and with the other sheets of the "Explain it to me!" set.