Find Someone Who is a great speaking activity that I’ve described in detail here, but in it’s original form, this activity requires pretty good reading and writing skills, so how can you use it with younger students?

Simply use images!

I’ve made one example that you can download for free here that uses the following sentence pattern, “Do you have a…? Yes, I do./No, I don’t.” You can easily make your own quickly before class, or if you want a no-prep option, skip to the notes at the bottom of this page.

Step 1: Review Sentence Pattern and Vocab (10-15 minutes)

So for the example I’ve made, you would first review the sentence pattern “Do you have a…? Yes, I do./No, I don’t.” with your students. You can do this by chanting the pattern and/or calling on students and having individuals answer your questions. Make sure everyone knows the vocabulary that they’ll be using as well.

Step 2: Model “Find Someone Who”(5-10 minutes)

After they’re comfortable with the sentence pattern and vocabulary, you’ll give each student the worksheet and tell them they have to ask their classmates the question. You’ll definitely need to model this with a co-teacher or a few higher level students before asking your students to do it on their own. Practice with one student in front of the class, asking and answering the questions using the Find Someone Who. If your partner answers, “Yes, I do!” then you can write his or her name in the blank space to the right and vice versa. Students cannot sit back down until they’ve written a name next to each picture.

If your students are very low level, let them simply check the picture off if they find a classmate who answers, “Yes, I do.” If your students are a bit higher level and can write names or initials, then they can try to write their classmate’s name who said, “Yes, I do.”

Step 3: Find Someone Who (10 minutes)

Now let everyone stand up and ask and answer the questions from the worksheet. You can give high-fives to the students who finish first. Make sure everyone is answering and asking in English and using appropriate grammar.

Step 4: Feedback (10 minutes)

When everyone has completed their “Find Someone Who” and everyone is sitting back down, ask students what they learned about their classmates. Practice making complete sentences about each other. So if a student says, “John said, “Yes, I do! I have a cat,” then you can practice saying, “John has a cat!” This is also a good time to correct any mistakes that you heard students making as a class.

Notes: For No-Prep and Alternative Lessons

No-Prep Note!!!: If you want to make this activity completely no-prep and make it last a little longer, then students can create their own Find Someone Who grids in class. Give them the topic, such as “Do you have a…?” and then pass out some blank papers. Tell them to draw a grid with a certain number of boxes, such a 6 x 2 grid. Then tell students to draw things that their classmates could have in each box on the left. You can draw an example or two on the board if they need help. This can be more fun for the students because they get to draw and come up with their own questions. This will add at least 15 minutes to the activity.

Note: Other great sentence structures that you can review with “Find Someone Who” are “Can you…?,” “Do you like…,” and “Have you ever…?”

Looking for more great kid-friendly activities to try in class?

Try 6 Online Games like Kahoot and How to Use Them in Class.