Page 12
September 2008
Whats your alibi?
First Certificate classes dont always have to be hard work. This fun activity uses a crime scenario to practise vocabulary, reported speech and past tenses Were you really at the theatre?
Time: 30 minutes
CLASSROOM
Suspects
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Before class In class
Photocopy the Suspects and Detectives cards on the right and cut them out. 1. Divide the students into pairs or groups of three. 2. Tell students to imagine the following scenario. Yesterday evening someone broke into the school or college where they study and a large amount of money was stolen. Half the groups in the class are suspected of the crime. They have to invent a story to prove that they are innocent. The other groups are detectives investigating the crime. They have to ask the suspects in a group in turn questions to find out if their stories are the same. If their stories are the same, theyre probably innocent. If their stories are different, theyre guilty. The suspects story is that they went to the theatre together last night. 3. Hand the suspects their card and ask them to invent the details of what they did and what they [Link] them not to write anything down. Give them four or five minutes to discuss their story. 4. Tell the detectives that they must ask questions to find out if the suspects stories are the same. Hand them their card and ask them to think of questions using the prompts. 5. Suspects and detectives should work apart. 6. When everyone is ready, ask each group of detectives to interview their suspects in [Link] the detectives that they neednt just ask the questions they have thought of they can invent other questions as well. 7. When the groups have finished, they should decide if they think the suspects are guilty or innocent, and report their verdict to the whole class. When they report their verdict, encourage them to use reported speech to do so.
You are going to be interviewed by detectives about a crime which happened yesterday evening. Your story is that you spent the evening together at the theatre. 1. Invent details about the following things. Leading actors names and roles Name of theatre and name of play What you did after going to the theatre Where you met Which actor gave the best performance Type of play and some of the plot (the story of the play) What you and the others thought of the play What you did before going to the theatre Number of people in the audience What you talked about in the interval 2. Invent details about other things you think the detectives might ask. 3. Take turns to be interviewed by the detectives.
Detectives
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You are going to interview each suspect in the group in turn. If the suspects stories are the same, theyre probably innocent. If their stories are different, they might be guilty. 1. Think of questions about each of the points below and other questions you can ask. Name of theatre and name of play Type of play and plot (the story of the play) Leading actors names and roles Which actor gave the best performance and which actor gave the worst performance Number of people in the audience What the other suspects thought of the play Who each of the suspects sat next to and which part of the theatre they sat in Who was sitting in front of them What they did before and after the play What they did and what they talked about during the interval The last scene of the play 2. Interview each of the suspects in turn.* 3. Decide if the suspects are innocent or guilty. 4. Report your decision to the rest of the class. * When you interview the suspects, you can ask extra questions. For example, X said that you were sitting in the front row, but you say were sitting in the middle. Who is telling the truth?
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Adapted from Complete First Certificate by Guy Brook-Hart, CUP.
The brand new preparation course for the updated 2008 exam
THE COMPLETE PICTURE
Contains a model practice test from Cambridge ESOL Highlights typical mistakes made by First Certicate candidates as revealed by the Cambridge Learner Corpus Includes extra photocopiable tests and activities in the Teachers Book Integrates exam practice into each unit Comes with a FREE interactive CD-ROM
[Link]/elt/exams
