Materials: set of picture cards with objects,animals etc., these can be printed off a computer or drawn by hand
Description: For this you need a set of picture cards with objects,animals etc. Tell the class that you are going to auction these objects, and that each student has $100 to spend. Auction the items and keep a note of who bought what, giving the card to the buyer. After a few items have been sold, tell the students what they have really bought, eg, ‘ you bought a nice house for $90, but I’m afraid you’ll never be able to use it, it is on the edge of a volcano.’ ‘you thought you bought a butterfly for $20, but it really is a miniature robot worth thousands of dollars.’
Put students in groups and give them some picture cards (I had 4 groups and gave each group 4 cards). Tell them to think of a surprise like this for each picture, and write them down if need be. Then one person (an auctioneer) from each group gets in front of the class with the cards and auctions them to members of the other groups. (Teach some useful phrases, eg Do I hear 10? Who’ll give me 20? etc.) When the auctioneer has sold all the cards he/she tells the story behind each object.
-Lauren S. (adapted from Dave’s ESL Cafe)
Filed under: Level: Advanced, Level: Intermediate, Skills: Conversation/Speaking, Skills: Creativity
