L.O. To complete a GCSE Speaking and
Listening ‘discussing and listening’ exercise
Topic areas:
Problem-solving:
1) You and a group of friends have been given the task of
organising the Year 11 ‘prom’. You have a budget of £300
which you have to recoup through ticket sales:
• How would you decide what you were going to do?
• How would you delegate tasks?
• What would you buy?
• How much would you charge per ticket?
• How would you publicise the event?
• How would you judge if it was a success?
NOTE: Be prepared to discuss these issues and explain your
decisions to the class
L.O. To complete a GCSE Speaking and Listening
‘discussing and listening’ exercise
Problem-solving:
2) You and a group of friends are stranded on a desert
island. You have food and water for two days. It looks like
a storm is coming and your mobiles don’t work:
• What do you do first?
• What are your priorities for survival?
• How do you organise tasks?
• How do you organise supplies?
• Who do you put in charge and why?
NOTE: Be prepared to discuss these issues and explain
your decisions to the class
L.O. To complete a GCSE Speaking and Listening
‘discussing and listening’ exercise
Problem-solving:
3) You and your friends have been asked to come up with
the design for a new school uniform:
• How would you find out what students wanted?
• How would you decide on a suitable design and
materials?
• How would you delegate tasks?
• How would you come up with the right design
• Who do you put in charge and why?
NOTE: Be prepared to discuss these issues and explain your
decisions to the class
L.O. To complete a GCSE Speaking and Listening
‘discussing and listening’ exercise
Current events:
4) The international community recently helped overthrow
Colonel Gaddafi, the ruler of Libya. Public attention has now
turned to Syria where President Assad is repressing an uprising
by Syrians who want him to step down
In your group, discuss the following:
• Do you think the international community should intervene
to protect other countries’ civilians from their own
government?
• Discuss what, if anything, Britain should be doing to help
other countries
• If you and your group were in charge of organising Britain’s
response to President Assad, what would you do?
L.O. To complete a GCSE Speaking and Listening
‘discussing and listening’ exercise
Current events:
5) Many people in Britain are worried about the recent ‘horsemeat’
scandal’.
In your group, discuss the following:
• Does it matter if there is horsemeat in food labelled ‘beef’,
‘chicken’, etc. which is intended for human consumption?
• What do you think some of the issues might be if we eat food
that is incorrectly labelled?
• What do you think should be done to improve the quality of the
food we eat?
• If you and your group were in charge of improving Britain’s diet
and encouraging people to eat more healthily, what would you
do?
NOTE: Be prepared to discuss these points and explain your decisions
to the class
L.O. To complete a GCSE Speaking and Listening
‘discussing and listening’ exercise
Literature:
6) One of the major themes in ‘My Polish Teacher’s Tie’ is
the issue of identity. In your group, discuss what your
‘identity’ means to you.
7) Some people may argue that ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a
sad, depressing novel. In your group, discuss what aspects
of the novel may be sad and depressing, but also which
parts could be seen as happy and possibly even hopeful
for the future.
8) Steinbeck wanted the reader to have sympathy for
Curley’s Wife in ‘Of Mice and Men’. In your group, discuss
what makes us feel sympathy for Curley’s Wife despite her
bad behaviour.
L.O. To complete a GCSE Speaking and Listening
‘role playing’ exercise
In groups of four:
Imagine that one of you is the Sheriff. You have come to
interrogate George about the death of Lennie and of
Curley’s Wife. The Sheriff will need to speak to the
following people:
• George – because he killed Lennie
• Slim – because he is the most respected man on the
ranch and the one who sent for the Sheriff
• Curley – because it’s his wife that is dead
• Candy – because he found Curley’s Wife’s body
• The Boss – because he is the Boss!
L.O. To complete a GCSE Speaking and Listening
‘role playing’ exercise
The Sheriff will want to know the following things:
• What happened to Curley’s Wife?
• What happened to Lennie?
• Did anybody suspect that Lennie was dangerous
and had he been violent before?
• Was George ‘in’ on what happened to Curley’s
Wife?
• Why did George kill Lennie?
The Sheriff has to decide whether or not to press
charges against George.
How the questioning goes and what happens to
George at the end of the investigation is up to you!