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Guess the Dates from the Hints

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Guessing what date someone is thinking of from hints, including useful vocabulary related to weather, clothes, activities, months and days, ending with language presentations.

By: Alex Case
Level: Beginner
Theme: Time
Study Area: Numbers and Times
      Page: /

Lesson Plan Content:


Giving hints and guessing dates game

Circle a date on this year’s calendar or choose one of the date cards below. Give a hint about what date you chose such as the hint in the left column next to the date. If your partner’s guess is wrong, tell them how far they are from the real date with “It’s much earlier”, “It’s a little later (than that)”, etc, then give another hint about the season, clothes, food, etc. Continue until your partner gets exactly the right date, with a new hint after each hint (in other words, only one guess per hint).

 

Useful language for giving hints

Hints on dates

  • It’s my birthday./ It’s my mother’s birthday./ It’s…’s birthday.
  • It’s spring/ summer/ autumn/ winter (in this country/ in Japan/ in…)
  • It’s raining/ sunny/ windy/ snowing/ cloudy/ foggy/ cold/ hot.
  • I’m wearing a coat/ boots/ a sweater/ a jacket/ a swimsuit/ a T-shirt/ a long-sleeved T-shirt/ a woolly hat/ a summer hat/ sandals/ flip flops/ shorts/ gloves/ a (woolly/ winter) scarf/ sunglasses/ suntan lotion/ a tie/ a kimono/ a suit.
  • I can see cherry blossom/ red leaves on the trees.
  • I can hear crickets/ cicadas/ birds/ fireworks/ mosquitoes/ lambs.
  • I’m sunbathing/ surfing/ swimming/ skiing/ snorkelling/ picking flowers/ making a snowman/ throwing snowballs/ picking flowers/ camping/ ice skating/ snowboarding/ having a picnic/ opening a present/ praying/ walking…/ carrying…./ watching…
  • I’m eating tangerines/ chestnuts/ turkey/ ice cream/ chocolates/ salad/ stew/ soup/ chocolate/ chocolate eggs/ Pocky.
  • I’m drinking water/ hot tea/ champagne/ lemonade/ hot red wine.
  • It’s in January/ February/ March/ April/ May/ June/ July/ August/ September/ October/ November/ December
  • It’s a holiday.
  • It’s in the summer vacation/ in the… vacation.
  • It’s… Day.
  • It’s before…
  • It’s after…
  • It’s between… and…
  • It’s Sunday/ Monday/ Tuesday/ Wednesday/ Thursday/ Friday/ Saturday/ Sunday (this year).

 

Responding to your partner’s guess

  • It’s much/ quite a lot/ a little/ a tiny bit + earlier (than that)./ It’s much/ quite a lot/ a little/ a tiny bit + before (that).
  • It’s much/ quite a lot/ a little/ a tiny bit + later (than that)./ It’s much/ quite a lot/ a little/ a tiny bit + after (that).

 

Dates presentation and practice

Put cut up cards into order from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

Write the dates on the cards as numbers, then try to pronounce those dates without looking at the cards.

 

Possible dates to guess 

New Year’s Day

January first

The end of Capricorn

January twentieth

The start of Aquarius

January twenty first

The first day of Japanese spring

February fifth

First day of the Winter Olympics

February seventh

Valentine’s Day

February fourteenth

The end of Aquarius

February nineteenth

The beginning of Pisces

February twentieth

Last day of the Winter Olympics

February twenty third

Pi Day

March fourteenth

Japanese White Day

March fourteenth

The end of Pisces

March twentieth

The first day of English spring

March twenty first

The first day of Brazilian autumn

March twenty first

The start of Aries

March twenty first

April Fool’s Day

April first

The end of Aries

April twentieth

The beginning of Taurus

April twenty first

World Book Day

April twenty third

May Day

May first

Cinco de Mayo in Mexico

May fifth

The first day of Japanese summer

May seventh

Red Cross Day

May eighth

Museum Day

May eighteenth

The end of Taurus

May twenty first

The start of Gemini

May twenty second

Chinese Dragon Boat Festival

June second

The first day of Tokyo rainy season

June eighth

Blood Donor Day

June fourteenth

The first day of Brazilian winter

June twenty first

The end of Gemini

June twenty second

The start of Cancer

June twenty third

American Independence Day

July fourth

The last day of Tokyo rainy season

July twentieth

The last day of Cancer

July twenty third

The first day of Leo

July twenty fourth

The first day of Japanese autumn

August ninth

The final day of Leo

August twenty third

The start of Virgo

August twenty fourth

Talk like a Pirate Day

September nineteenth

The first day of English autumn

September twenty first

The end of Virgo

September twenty third

The beginning of Libra

September twenty fourth

World Teacher’s Day

October fifth

The end of Libra

October twenty third

The beginning of Scorpio

October twenty fourth

English Fireworks Night

November fifth

The first day of Japanese winter

November eighth

English Poppy Day

November eleventh

Korean Peppero Day

November eleventh

The end of Scorpio

November twenty second

Beginning of Sagittarius

November twenty third

The first day of English winter

December twenty first

End of Sagittarius

December twenty first

Beginning of Capricorn

December twenty second

Christmas Eve

December twenty fourth

Christmas Day

December twenty fifth

Boxing Day

December twenty sixth

New Year’s Eve

December thirty first

 

Vocabulary presentation

Brainstorm vocabulary which you could have used to give hints into the gaps below.

Seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weather

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outdoor activities/ actions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Months

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days of the week

 

 

 

Use the mixed answers below to help with the task above.

  • a coat
  • a jacket
  • a kimono
  • a (woolly/ winter) scarf
  • a suit
  • a summer hat
  • a sweater
  • a swimsuit
  • a tie
  • a T-shirt
  • a woolly hat
  • April
  • August
  • autumn/ fall
  • boots
  • camping
  • cloudy
  • cold
  • December
  • February
  • flip flops
  • foggy/ misty
  • Friday
  • gloves
  • having a picnic
  • hot
  • ice skating
  • January
  • July
  • June
  • making a snowman
  • March
  • May
  • Monday
  • November
  • October
  • opening a present
  • picking flowers
  • picking flowers
  • praying
  • raining
  • sandals
  • Saturday
  • September
  • shorts
  • skiing
  • snorkelling
  • snowboarding
  • snowing
  • spring
  • summer
  • sunbathing
  • Sunday
  • Sunday
  • sunglasses
  • sunny
  • suntan lotion
  • surfing
  • swimming
  • throwing snowballs
  • Thursday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • windy
  • winter (in this country/ in Japan/ in…)

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