What Are They Doing?

Objective & content

A projected team quiz on the present continuous, with real photos, for one game of 35 to 45 minutes. The class plays in 2 to 4 teams through six rounds: Actions (a photo and a word bank of verbs: singing, writing, playing the drums, reading, fishing, taking a photo, carrying boxes, waving; teams write a full sentence such as "She's singing."), Odd one out (the -ing spelling rules: double the last letter, or lose the -e), Spell it! (the verb in brackets becomes its -ing form), Yes or no? (questions answered with the short answers Yes, he is. and No, he isn't.), Zoom in! (what is happening in a close-up?) and Look and remember (questions about a tray of actions). There are 31 questions and 37 points. Pupils meet about 40 words for actions, hobbies and daily life.

Pedagogical guide

Every question slide is followed by its answer slide, so the class sees the answer at once and the teacher only keeps the score. This quiz tests the present continuous (he's / she's / they're + -ing), and teams write sentences, not single words: accept any correct sentence, with or without the contraction ("She's singing." or "She is singing."). In Actions the word bank stays on the screen, so pupils choose the verb and concentrate on the structure. Odd one out is worth 2 points and makes the spelling rules visible: run, swim and sit double the last letter (running, swimming, sitting); dance, write and make lose the -e (dancing, writing, making); read and play just add -ing. Spell it! practises the same rules with a gap and the verb in brackets. In Yes or no? the class says the short answer together after the answer slide ("Yes, he is." / "No, he isn't."), which is a good moment to point out that the short answer does not repeat the verb. Zoom in! starts with a close-up of the photo, so teams guess from a detail before they see the whole picture. Look and remember shows a tray of photos for 30 seconds, then teams answer questions about it in full sentences ("He's doing the washing."). The quiz stays at A1+ level, in British English. Useful language for the teams: "I think she's singing.", "He isn't playing the guitar.", "They're crossing the road." To extend the game, add a mime round: a pupil from each team mimes an action in turn, and the teams write what they see ("He's swimming!"); the mime is a good way to bring in verbs from your own course.

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Make 2 to 4 teams and draw a score table on the board. Each team has one sheet of paper and one writer.
2. (8 min) Round 1, Actions: show the photo, leave the word bank on the screen and give 20 seconds; teams write a full sentence. Show the answer slide. 1 point for each right sentence.
3. (5 min) Round 2, Odd one out: read the four words; teams write the number of the odd one. 2 points for each right answer. Read the reason on the answer slide and point out the spelling rule.
4. (7 min) Round 3, Spell it!: show the photo and the sentence with the gap; teams write the verb with -ing. 1 point for each right answer, with the spelling exactly right.
5. (7 min) Round 4, Yes or no?: show the photo and read the question; teams write Yes or No. 1 point for each right answer. Then the class says the short answer together.
6. (5 min) Round 5, Zoom in!: show the close-up; teams write what is happening, then see the whole photo. 1 point for each right sentence.
7. (6 min) Round 6, Look and remember: show the tray of photos for 30 seconds, then ask the four questions; teams answer in full sentences. 1 point for each right answer.
8. (2 min) Add up the points on the board and show the last slide to find the winners.

Adaptations

[S] In round 1, let teams point to the verb in the box or say the sentence instead of writing it, and do the first question together before the teams write. In round 4, let the class answer with the short answer aloud only.

[A] In round 1, ask teams for a negative sentence as well ("She isn't dancing."). In round 4, ask for the short answer in writing ("No, he isn't.") and a true sentence about the photo. Add a mime round: a pupil mimes an action and the teams write "He's swimming!".

Materials & prerequisites

A projector or screen for game.pdf (71 slides in 16:9, one PDF page per slide, turned with the arrow keys), the board for the score table, and a sheet of paper and a pen for each team. Pupils should already know the verb be (I am, he is, they are) and a few common verbs such as play, read and eat. The quiz works well as a revision game at the end of a unit on the present continuous, actions or hobbies, or as a reward at the end of a lesson.