First published online 10.06.2009

©

Macmillan Polska 2009

PHOTOCOPIABLE

Teacher’s Notes

Country facts

by Agnieszka Szeżyńska

Type of activity: pairwork – speaking, matching,

completing sentences

Focus: names of countries

Level/age group: grade 1 (elementary)

Time: 15-20 min.

Preparation: Copy and cut up:

– one set of ‘Part 1’ cards per pair of students

– one ‘Part 2’ worksheet per student

Procedure:

1. Brainstorm students’ knowledge of names of

countries in English – list the countries on the

board.

2. Ask students to work in pairs and write down

one piece of culture related info per country

(for example France – eating frogs, or Japan

– sumo). Allow 1-3 minutes depending on the

number of countries listed.

3. Distribute the card sets and ask students to

use the cards to form 12 sentences (each

about a different country). Monitor and help

if necessary.

4. Check with the whole group.

Key:

Koalas live in Australia.
Switzerland is famous for its cheeses.
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain.
The Great Wall is in China.
Volkswagen is produced in Germany.
Samba comes from Brazil.
Ruble is the currency of Russia.
Burrito comes from Mexico.
You can visit the Louvre Museum in France.
Sicily is an island in Italy.
Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark.
Stonehenge is in the United Kingdom.

5. Take away the card sets and distribute the

‘Part 2’ worksheets. Ask students to work

individually and complete the sentences with

names of countries.

6. Ask students to compare their answers in pairs

and then check with the whole group.

Follow-up/Homework:

You can ask students to produce similar gap-

filling sentences about other countries and then

ask others to complete them with names of

countries.