A short grammar activity to practise the second conditional.

Procedure

  • Write this model on the board:

If I were this creature, I would live...
I would eat...
I would ... (do what?)
I wouldn’t (do what?)
My colours would be...

  • Ask students to think of a secret creature. It should be unusual: crow, octopus, grasshopper, worm, hyena. No cats or dogs - they're too easy, and not secret enough.
  • Students then describe what they would do if they were that creature, following the pattern on the board if need be.
  • They continue to describe the creature until the rest of the class is able to guess what it is.

Tips:

  • Demonstrate the activity yourself first.
  • This can be done in IN THE PAST too. Just change the pattern:

If, in a previous life, I had been this creature,
I would have ...
lived...
eaten... etc.

Extra resources

Unusual animals:
www.factmonster.com/spot/unusualanimals1.html

Topics