Up and Away - National Council for Curriculum and Assessment

Types of activity
Section 7 More ideas...
Information gap
Usually a pair-work activity in which one member of the pair (Pupil A) has information which the other
member (Pupil B) does not have.
This ‘gap’ in information forms the basis for activities which provide practice in spoken interaction and
communication skills. Examples of this kind of activity in the book are:
Colours See the visual resources on pages 120-147. Pupil A is given one picture to colour in,
Pupil B a different picture. When the pair is ready, give Pupil B a blank copy of Pupil
A’s picture. Pupil A now describes her/his picture telling B the colours used. B listens
and tries to colour the picture in the same way. Then change roles so B describes
her/his picture to A.
Spot the difference See the visual resources on pages 137-140 and the corresponding instructions on
page 119.
Time Use the visuals of the blank clocks on page x to make a new worksheet. Give Pupil A
a copy of this page and Pupil B a simple worksheet containing times in written form
– e.g. ‘1. It’s 2 o’clock. 2. It’s half past 8.’ etc. Pupil B reads the sentences to pupil A
who draws the hands on the clock faces.
In the house See Worksheets A-D on pages 222-225 and the corresponding notes on page 217.
Sequencing exercises
This activity, which is typically used in primary education, is also important in language support. It may be
carried out at different levels:
Paragraph level Write each sentence of the paragraph onto a strip of paper – the worksheet on page
234 has been specifically designed for this purpose. In pairs or small groups, pupils
put the sentences in the correct order.
Sentence level Write the sentence onto a strip of paper and cut it into individual words – the
worksheet on page 235 has been specifically designed for this purpose. In pairs or
small groups, pupils rearrange the words to form the correct sentence.
Jigsaw reading exercises
An activity where a text is divided into sections, each section to be read by a different pupil or pair/small
group. The pupils (or pairs/small groups) then pool what they have learned so the whole group comes to
an understanding of the complete text.
Note Both sequencing and jigsaw reading exercises highlight an integrated approach to second
language development. Although the focus is on reading, the activities promote communication
and team-working skills as pupils need to share their ideas in order to complete the task.
239