Activity

Man Wrestling a Shark

A picture to use for making reduced relative clause questions/sentences (ex. Where is the man wrestling a shark?)

My pred found this picture somewhere, but I have no idea where. Also, this activity works best if the students have already learned the grammar in a previous class.

Materials

  • A3 print of the picture for each group
  • Paper for the students to write sentences on
  • If you want, a powerpoint with the picture for you to project at the front and pointers for the students to use.

How to Play

  1. Split the class into groups of 3 or 4 and give each group one copy of the picture, and paper to write questions on.
  2. Have them work together to make questions using the grammar about people, animals, or other things in the picture. For example, "Where is the man looking at the sushi tower?"
  3. Walk around the room and help the students make different questions. You don't want them to overlap, so try to point out different people for different groups. (In other words, try to guide the groups in different directions.) It's best if you familiarize yourself with the picture before the class so you can help point out small things (like the cockroach, the mice, or other specific funny people).
  4. After about 10 - 15 minutes (depends on how much time you think the students will need to make questions) have them stop writing.
  5. Now, the groups take turns asking questions to the other groups. If a group can find the person/whatever within 1 minute (or shorter if you want), they get a point. To keep the chances even, end the game only after you've done a complete rotation through all the groups. It's unfair if you end it partway through a rotation. (Of course, do however many rotations you want)
  6. You should be familiar with the picture and the group's sentences because you walked around and helped them, so when they ask the question, make sure the groups found the right person. Have them keep looking if they're wrong.
  7. At the end, the group with the most points wins.

Other ways to Play

  • For classes that have 4 groups (or less), you can instead project the picture at the front. Have one member from each group come to the front and stand a little bit away from the board. One person asks a question and the other people race to find the person. They point at who they think the question is about. The person asking a question has to say "Yes, that's right" or "No, that's wrong." The first person to correctly find who the question is about gets their group a point. Then, rotate who is at the front. You might want extendable pointers or something like that to avoid over crowding.
  • Another way to play is that instead of the groups racing each other, the students in each group race within their group. Of course, their group doesn't race when someone from their group is asking a question. This time though, scores are individual so it's difficult to keep track. I recommend the team version instead.

Other Notes

  • This grammar can be tricky with making questions. For example, the question "Where is the man wrestling a shark?" could be interpreted two ways. "Where is the wrestling happening" or "Where is the man?" In my personal experience with this grammar, the question's interpretation depends on how they emphasize the words in the question. If they emphasize the "man" part, the question becomes about the man. But if they emphasize the "where," the question becomes "where is the action happening." It's a subtle thing, and it's up to you if you want to explain it or not.
  • Adding onto the above, in writing, the interpretation is ambiguous since there's no one vocalizing where the emphasis is. In that case, there's a certain number of words that need to come after the subject to specify what kind of question it is. I think it's 4 or 5 words (but I can't clearly remember). If you know the number of words it's supposed to be, please tell me.
  • Be careful with helping the students making questions. Not only with the above things, but also with their question being too generic. For example, if they ask "Where is the man drinking beer?" then that applies to a lot of people in the picture. If they really want to use "drinking beer," then have them specify a hair color, who they're next to, or something else that will ensure it only applies to one person.
  • I don't recommend using a dictionary since that might result in the questions being too difficult for the other groups to understand. So for example, the person "drooling over the sushi tower" is good, but "drooling over" is something that no group would understand from just listening. So instead, help the students make easier sentences like "looking at the sushi tower."
Files:
Medium files (requires an account to download) -
  • The man wrestling a shark - crowd scene.docx (1.11 MB)
  • 11
    Submitted by ThatOneALT October 14, 2020 Estimated time: 30 - 40 minutes
    1. UonumaRobert October 14, 2020

      Thanks, always good to have another entertaining crowded scene.

    2. CrayonNickChan January 17, 2022

      Am I overthinking it, or is this picture borderline racist?

    3. UonumaRobert January 17, 2022

      I guess it depends on who drew it.

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