Classroom activity – Partners

Before using this activity, the teacher will to take account of the age of the students and their cultural backgrounds.

Materials needed: Bring in a selection of personal ads from a newspaper by men and women seeking a partner.

  1. Ask the class what they understand by the expression lonely hearts. Discuss. Explain.
  2. Would they consider placing an ad? Why? Why not?
  3. Give out a ‘lonely hearts’ ad and let the student’s read it. Ask questions. Elicit comments.
  4. Do the same with about 5/6 other ads.
  5. Ask the students to agree on one that they find particularly interesting.
  6. Under guidance from the students, let one student draw this person on the board following instructions from the other students.
  7. Ask the students for more information about this person based on the advert and also based on their own imaginations. List these points on the board.
  8. Hand out another 5/7 ads placed by women looking for partners. Ask questions. Elicit comments.
  9. Ask the students to suggest which would be the most appropriate partner for the man.
  10. When agreed, repeat the stage where a student draws this woman on the board following the instructions of the other students.
  11. As before, ask the students for more information about this person based on the advert and also based on their own imaginations. List these points on the board.
  12. Tell the women students to write an email to a friend about a meeting she had with the man the evening before. Where did they go? What did she like about him? What did she not like about him? The man can do the same, writing about the woman.
  13. Ask the students to work in pairs and read and compare their emails. Ask some to read them aloud.
  14. Give each student a picture and/or description of a person; tell them not to let others see it. Tell them to write a personal ad for this person.
  15. Blue-tac them to a page (or two) and photocopy it so that everyone has a copy.
  16. Ask the students to match people, based on the ads. Make sure all are matched, however unlikely!
  17. Ask the students why they have matched them.
  18. Bring together the pictures/descriptions with the ads. Did they make good choices?