"Find someone who..." is a great activity for ESL classes of all levels and ages. It can be used to review or practice verb tenses, question forms or new vocabulary. It can be prepared as a game, a race or a regular activity. You can use it at the start of class as a warmer, at the end of a lesson for a nice close and time filler, or at any point to stress and practice a new topic. It is an effective teaching method and a fun way to present new or old material. Most importantly, it takes very little time to prepare.
The most basic form of "find someone who..." comes in the form of a list of questions. Students must walk around the class and someone who can answer yes to any of the questions. For example:
Find someone who...
...likes ice cream.
...has been to Australia.
...wants to be a millionaire.
...can wave their hands in the air like they just don't care.
...thinks the teacher is sexy.
The name of the student who answered "yes," is written next to the question. A student is finished when s/he has found a "yes" respondent to each of the questions. If you want to have your students work faster, you can set up the activity as a race. The first student to find a "yes" person for each of the questions is the winner. Alternatively, if the questions are more difficult or less likely to be answered with a positive response, you can set a time limit and deem the student with the most filled in as the winner.
Find someone who... BINGO
Instead of giving the students a list of questions, set up a bingo sheet (4x4 or 5x5 depending on the level of your students and the amount of time you have for the activity) and tell the students that the winner will be the first student to complete a row. When they have completed a row, they must shout Bingo. You can award prizes, points or just a lot of praise. An example follows.
Find someone who likes:
_________________________________________________
| | | | |
| monkeys | bananas | elevators | squid |
|___________|___________|____________|___________|
| | | | |
| soap | you | money | elves |
|___________|___________|____________|___________|
| | | | |
| Rap | banks | soup | fire |
|___________|___________|____________|___________|
| | | | |
| UNO | celery | lava | Coke |
|___________|___________|____________|___________|
| 
