Can I go to the park?

Objective & content

This functional language sheet teaches pupils to ask permission (Can I go to the park? Could I take my bike? Is it OK if I play after my homework?), to say yes (Yes, of course. Sure, go ahead.), to say no politely and say why (I'm afraid not. You have to do your homework first.) and to give a rule (You must wear your helmet. Be home by six.). Pupils read a dialogue in which Anaya asks her mum three things on a Saturday morning, find the missing words and read the useful phrases, given in a box. By the end, they can ask a parent or a teacher for permission, answer yes or no politely and give the reason.

Pedagogical guide

Page 1 is the dialogue, with a picture of Anaya and of her mum: Anaya asks to go to the park with her friends (yes, but home by six), to take her bike (yes, with her helmet), to play a video game on the computer (not now, homework first, then one hour) and to go to her friend's birthday sleepover next Saturday (Mum wants to phone the friend's mum first). Pupils find eight missing words in lines from the dialogue. Page 2 has the useful phrases in a box, with the key words in bold and May I...? for a teacher, five situations to match to a phrase (asking a teacher, saying yes, saying no, giving a rule, asking to sit next to someone) and six questions with three replies each, where pupils tick the best one. Page 3 has a dialogue in which Cal asks his dad to go to the cinema, to number from 1 to 8, and Bea's dialogue with her mum to complete with six words in a box. The last task is a role-play: pupils cut out cards A and B and work in pairs. A is the child and asks about four things (the computer, the park, a sleepover, town by bus); B is the parent, answers from a card of house rules and says why, and A writes yes or no. Then they swap. Every exercise opens with a worked example.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Ask the class "Can I open the window?"; pupils answer "Yes, of course." or "Sorry, you can't."
2. (10 min) Read the dialogue aloud; pupils find the missing words.
3. (5 min) Read the useful phrases in the box with the class; pupils find them in the dialogue.
4. (10 min) Page 2: pupils match the situations to the phrases, then tick the best replies.
5. (10 min) Page 3: pupils number the lines of Cal's dialogue, then complete Bea's dialogue.
6. (10 min) Role-play: pupils act out the role-play in pairs with cards A and B, then swap.
7. (5 min) Check with the answer key on page 4.

Adaptations

[S] Pupils read the dialogue aloud in pairs, one as Anaya and one as her mum, before the tasks.

[A] Pupils write three house rules for their own family.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of pages 1 to 3 per pupil, and scissors for the role-play cards. Page 4 is the answer key and teacher notes: keep it. The role-play is free speaking, so any answer that uses the phrases and fits the card is right. Pupils need can, the present simple and the time (six o'clock, half past nine). To take it further, write the rules of the classroom with the class (You have to... You mustn't... You can...).