Why Don't We Check Out the Museum of Modern Art?

A Role-play for
Giving Suggestions and Directions by Chris Gunn

Materials:
Caller Activity Sheet

Receiver Activity Sheet

Receiver Role Cards

Caller Museum Flyers

Caller Tourist Map

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.

Warm-up 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.

Warm-up 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 Set-up and 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!"