A postcard from Edinburgh

Objective & content

This writing sheet teaches pupils to write a holiday postcard (Dear..., Greetings from..., I'm here with..., It's sunny, There's a big castle, I'm eating an ice cream, See you on Saturday! Love,). Pupils read Leo's postcard from Edinburgh, take its phrases and write their own postcard from a holiday place. By the end, they can write a postcard of 30 to 40 words in the present simple and the present continuous.

Pedagogical guide

Page 1 has Leo's postcard to his friend Ella, with a photo of Edinburgh Castle and one of a man playing the bagpipes. Leo is in Edinburgh with his mum and dad; the hotel is small but nice, the weather is cold and windy but sunny today, and there's a big castle on a hill. In the old town, he is eating an ice cream while his dad takes photos and a man plays the bagpipes. Pupils tick true or false for six sentences, then read the useful phrases, set out in the order of a postcard (start, who, weather, what's there, now, end). Page 2 starts with four verbs to write with -ing (Ava at the beach). Then pupils choose a card (London, New York, Cornwall or the Alps in Austria, each with a photo, the weather, what to see, what to eat and what they are doing now) or their own holiday place, write the postcard with Dear..., already written and a row of phrases to use, and tick the checklist. The answer key gives a model postcard.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Show the photos: "Where is Leo? What's the weather like?"
2. (10 min) Read the postcard aloud; pupils tick true or false.
3. (5 min) Read the useful phrases with the class; pupils find them on the postcard.
4. (5 min) Page 2: pupils write the verbs with -ing.
5. (15 min) Pupils choose a card, write their postcard and tick the checklist.
6. (5 min) Two or three pupils read their postcard; the class guesses the place.

Adaptations

[S] Pupils copy Leo's postcard and change the place, the weather and the -ing verbs from their card.

[A] Pupils write a second postcard from another card.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of pages 1 and 2 per pupil. Page 3 is the answer key, the model postcard and the teacher notes: keep it. Pupils need be, there is / there are, the present continuous and the words for the weather. To take it further, pupils draw the picture side of their postcard.