IT’S 12 O’CLOCK!

Topic: It’s 12 o’clock

Level: E1/A2/A1
Time: 75 minutes

Aims:
• To develop the ability to describe a picture
• To give practice of asking and answering questions using the present continuous
tense

Introduction
In this lesson, students use their drawing and speaking skills to practise the present continuous
form. Drawing adds fun to the activity and allows less confident students to excel, especially if
they are talented artists. An optional writing activity at the end helps consolidate the language.
Preparation
Prepare hand outs of the drawing that you will show the class in Task 1

Procedure

Warmer (5 mins)
• Ask students about their favourite places and favourite things to do in their spare time.
• Elicit answers and write several of the students’ ideas on the board.

Task 1 – Build up the picture (10 mins)

• Make sure that the picture you draw here, is the same as the one you prepared on
the hand out.
• On the board, draw a simple background scene such as a park with some gardens,
a river and a few trees. As you build up the picture, elicit vocabulary asking a few
simple questions. (What’s this place? What am I drawing now?)
• Drill new words, individually and chorally and show word stress.
• Add a simple stick drawing of you in the scene, doing something, e.g. sitting by the
river eating a banana. Label the stick drawing with your name. Point to it and say
“This is me. It’s 12 o’clock and I am sitting by the river, eating a banana.”

Task 2 – Students add to the picture (15 mins)

• Hand out copies of the picture you drew in Task 1. (Make sure you prepare these before
class).
• Ask the students to add a drawing of themselves in a specific place doing something and
to label it with their own name. Support them with vocabulary.
• If necessary they can add other elements to the picture.
• Tell them not to show their picture to anyone else.

© British Council 2012

IT’S 12 O’CLOCK!

Task 3 – Mingling activity (30 mins)

• Write the following on the board: It’s 12 o’clock in the park. Where are you and what are
you doing? Nominate a student to ask you this question and say
‘I’m sitting by the river and I’m eating a banana.’ Provide further modelling by nominating
two strong students to ask and answer in open pairs, giving their own answers.
• Tell students to get up and walk around the classroom, asking and answering the questions
on the board. Each time a student answers, they should draw that student in their picture
doing the action, and label the student.
• Differentiation – if some students have trouble with drawing, ask them to draw a stick person
and label it with student’s name, verb and noun e.g. Khadija sitting river/eating banana.
Equally, this labelling can also be suggested to students who draw quickly and have strong
writing skills.
• Ask students to speak to, draw and label at least five of their classmates, each doing
something different in different parts of the picture.
• Differentiation – Some students may draw fast, so ask them to continue to draw and label as
many classmates as they can in the time available.

Task 4 – Describing the new picture (10 mins)

• Set up students in pairs to describe their picture to each other, using complete sentences.
• Monitor and elicit feedback.

Cooler – Display (5 mins)

• Display all the pictures around the classroom on a desk or on the walls for students to have
a look at.

Extension task/Homework
• Students can do a follow-up writing activity starting with: ‘It’s 12 o’clock on Saturday
and everybody is in the park. Everybody is doing something. The teacher is sitting by
the river eating a banana. I am ….
… is ….
• Early finishers can read their story to each other.
• Display the texts with the pictures around the classroom.

© British Council 2012