Paraphrase Me!

1. Collect appropriate sentences - you could use examples from past papers or almost any
sentence which you can easily paraphrase. A few examples are given here. Either copy
them onto a sheet of paper to photocopy, or make sets of cards with one sentence on
each card. All the sentences must have the first word of the paraphrase as well.
2. Put an example sentence on the board, or read one out. You must give the first word
of the paraphrased sentence. Elicit a paraphrase and whether it is acceptable or not.
Make it clear that there is not necessarily only one correct answer - any sentence
which gives the same information accurately is fine.
3. Put the students into 2s or 3s. Give them the sets of sentences. They take it in turns to
read out a sentence and choose someone to paraphrase it. If they use cards, the
activity can become more spontaneous.