Expressions of probability

A

Probably, *_________ .

Perhaps, *__________ .

Maybe, *__________ .

Common Expressions Informal Expressions* must have _________ .

* most likely _________ .

* could have ________ .

I’ll bet *_________ .

I wouldn’t be surprised if *______ .

You didn’t _______ again, did you?

Adverbs

* You / He / She / It / There

For more FUN English Lesson WorksheetsVisit: http://www.efl4u.com

I Wonder What Happened? “A” [Lesson Collection Set #4 - Lesson 12]©EFL4U.com

I Wonder What Happened?!

A: These cookies I just baked taste terrible. I wonder what happened?! B: You must have used too much salt.A: No, I don’t think so. (I’m sure I used the right amount of salt.) B: Well, you most likely forgot the sugar.A: You’re probably right. I think I did forget the sugar.

(There was a fire.)

(My friend borrowed it.)

(The battery needs charging.)

(It was being repaired.)

(A car was stuck on the tracks.)

(I cheated on my diet.)

(The sales person made a mistake.)

“I heard a lot of sirens last night. I wonder what happened?!”

“My favorite CD is missing from my shelf! I wonder what happened?!”

“My smart phone suddenly stopped working! I wonder what happened?!”

“The bridge near my house was closed yesterday. I wonder what happened?!”

“My train was 20 minutes late! I wonder what happened?!”

“I gained 2 kilograms while I was ON my diet! I wonder what happened?!”

“I’m sure I bought gray socks, but these are blue! I wonder what happened?!”

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Expressions of probability

B

Probably, *_________ .

Perhaps, *__________ .

Maybe, *__________ .

Common Expressions Informal Expressions* must have _________ .

* most likely _________ .

* could have ________ .

I’ll bet *_________ .

I wouldn’t be surprised if *______ .

You didn’t _______ again, did you?

Adverbs

* You / He / She / It / There

For more FUN English Lesson WorksheetsVisit: http://www.efl4u.com

I Wonder What Happened? “B” [Lesson Collection Set #4 - Lesson 12]©EFL4U.com

I Wonder What Happened?!

A: These cookies I just baked taste terrible. I wonder what happened?! B: You must have used too much salt.A: No, I don’t think so. (I’m sure I used the right amount of salt.) B: Well, you most likely forgot the sugar.A: You’re probably right. I think I did forget the sugar.

(My battery died.)

(The owner is remodeling.)

(I bought something and forgot.)

(A baseball broke it.)

(There was a power failure.)

(There was a robbery.)

(The teacher was sick.)

“Look! My watch has stopped! I wonder what happened?!”

“My favorite restaurant is closed. I wonder what happened?!”

“I thought I had more money in my wallet! I wonder what happened?!”

“When I came home, my window was broken. I wonder what happened?!”

“The TV station stopped broadcasting the movie! I wonder what happened?!”

“Many police officers were in the bank. I wonder what happened?!”

“Our English class was canceled today! I wonder what happened?!”

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Teachers’ Instructions (1/2)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ For more FUN English Lesson Worksheets I Wonder What Happened?! [Lesson Collection Set #4 – Lesson 12] Visit: http://www.efl4u.com ©EFL4U.com

I Wonder What Happened?!

1. Student ability: Low Intermediate ~ Advanced 2. Approximate length of lesson: 30+ 3. Number of students necessary: 2+ 4. Preferred age/maturity: HS, College, Adult 5. Type of lesson: Pair Work Activity

* * * * *

Language Target: Working with phrases of probability, listening to one’s partner, offering reasonable explanations.

Setting Up: Prior to handing out the

worksheet, act a little crazy and announce to the class something like:

My bicycle key is gone! Oh no! I wonder what happened? Or give yourself a strange hairdo and exclaim: Uh oh, look at my hair. I wonder what happened?

Encourage students to offer

explanations of probability rather then questions. For example, in the missing bicycle key scenario, assist the students to offer suggestions such as:

You must have left it at home. OR Probably you put it in your backpack

and forgot.

As a helpful guide to conducting this lesson, on the board, make a copy of the Expressions of Probability printed on the bottom of the worksheet. Explain to students the positions of

these words – either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence as indicated.

Getting Started: In pairs, one student

receives a copy of Worksheet A and the other Worksheet B.

Before students begin doing this

activity, run through the sample dialogue at the top of the worksheet.

Once the whole class understands how

phrases of probability work, they are ready to begin.

Student A reads the first situation as

printed on the worksheet: I heard a lot of sirens last night. I wonder what happened?!

Student B offers suggestions to

explain why there were so many sirens last night by using the expressions of probability provided at the bottom of the page. For example:

There might have been a car accident.

Student A listens to the suggestion

and compares it to the real reason printed in parentheses just below the situation.

In this case, the cause of having so

many sirens last night was because of a fire. She replies:

No, I don’t think so. There must have

been a different reason for so many sirens.

Student B offers a second suggestion such as: Probably there was a robbery.

Student A says something like: No,

there wasn’t a robbery.

Teachers’ Instructions (2/2)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ For more FUN English Lesson Worksheets I Wonder What Happened?! [Lesson Collection Set #4 – Lesson 12] Visit: http://www.efl4u.com ©EFL4U.com

Student B tries again and says, for example: I’ll bet there was a fire. (or There could have been a fire, or I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a fire, etc.)

Because that is the reason for the sirens as

printed on Worksheet A, Student A replies: Yes, that’s why I heard so many sirens last night.

Variation 1: After the students have finished, survey

the whole class for the most creative explanations for each situation – have the class vote for the best answer.

Variation 2: Award points for offering the correct

explanation; if a partner answers the situation correctly with his/her first explanation, the student

gets five points. If the correct explanation is the

second explanation, the student gets four points, etc. Students tally their total points to determine the winner.

Variation 3: To encourage creativity, have

pairs or groups (or even the whole class) think of the most unlikely reason to explanation the situations.

Students vote for the most unlikely

explanation. This is a lot of fun because the students get really involved trying to think of the wackiest answers.

Contributed by Kurt Scheibner