Author: Adrian Tennant | Published on 1 March 2023

 

Read what a teacher says about this activity:

Discover through questioning is a great way to get learners to practise asking questions. It also develops the 4Cs – communication, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration.

 

Stage 1: 

Choose 1-4 learners (depending on the size of your class and their language ability and confidence). 

Say: ‘Please go out of the class and move away from the door.’ 

Stage 2: 

Say to the learners still in the classroom: ‘Think of an activity e.g. making breakfast, riding a bike.’ Encourage them to be creative. 

Stage 3: 

Go outside and say to the learners there: ‘Please come back inside. You should ask yes / no questions to guess the activity your friends have chosen. e.g. Is ‘it’ fun? Do we do ‘it’ every day?’  

Stage 4: 

Say: ‘You have three minutes to ask your questions and guess what the activity is.’

For example:

A: Is ‘it’ fun?

B: Sometimes, but not really.

A: Do we do ‘it’ every day?

B: Yes, we do.

A: Is ‘it’ something to do with food?

B: Yes, it is.

A: Do we cook ‘it’?

B: Sometimes, but not always.

A: Is ‘it’ making breakfast.

B: Yes, it is.  

When your learners are familiar with this activity, you can divide the class into small groups and have one or two learners agree on an activity and have the other learners in the group ask questions and try to guess.

Glossary

Collaboration: working together 

Critical thinking: analysing available facts and arguments to make a decision