Why Don't We Check Out the Museum of Modern Art?
A Role-play for Giving Suggestions and Directions

Purpose and Audience

The purpose of these materials is to get the students to practice giving suggestions and giving directions. The materials are intended for false beginners to lower intermediate students. The language points covered in this lesson are:

Why don't we . . .?
How about . . .ing . . .?
We could . . .?

and

Go down Maple St.to Broadway.
Turn right on Broadway.
It's on your left.

As well, students will learn to talk about museums and use reported speech to explain why a third friend (Mike) is going to be late.

Resources to Download

The teacher will need to print off and photocopy four sheets (five if you do the optional activity):

Warmup I

Walk into class and tell your students that you are bored. You are so bored that you're going crazy. Hopefully, they well give you some suggestions. Write down what they say so that you can contrast it with how a native speaker might approach the same task (of giving a suggestion). Go over how a native speaker might give suggestions.

Warmup II

Draw a quick map on the board similar to the one used in this role-play. Put a "You Are Here" on the map and indicate a few important places. Ask students how to get to those places. Go over the target language for giving directions above

Class Role-play Activity

The class is divided into two groups: callers and receivers. The callers and receivers are friends. The caller, the receiver, and a third friend Mike are supposed to meet downtown, but Mike called the receiver and said he would be late. The receiver has to relay this message to the caller. The caller will then suggest a place to go to kill some time. The caller will also give the receiver some directions to get there.

Callers will receive an activity sheet, a museum flyer, and a tourist museum map. Receivers will receive an activity sheet and a role-card. Note: Receivers do not get a tourist museum map. Receivers will need some time to read and digest their role-cards. Callers will need some time to read their museum flyers and locate their museum on the map. Receivers sit facing the wall and callers sit behind the receivers as in the picture above. When a caller wants to make a call, they tap the receiver on the shoulder and say, "Bring! Bring!"

Further Study and Related Resources