Type any topic, pick the age and get a fresh Find Someone Who grid. The topic could be the class book, last weekend or this week's science. Change any box you like, then print one A4 sheet per child, with 9 to 20 boxes. The same grid goes on the board, so you can model the first question.
What is a Find Someone Who activity?
Find Someone Who is a speaking activity where every child gets a grid of prompts and asks classmates questions until each box has a different name in it. For find someone who can swim, the child asks Can you swim? and writes down the name of anyone who says yes. The whole class mingles at once.
How do you play Find Someone Who?
To play Find Someone Who, print one sheet per child, put the same grid on the board, model one question, then let the class move round asking until every box has a name.
- Model one box with a volunteer: read the prompt, ask, write the name.
- Give the rules: ask out loud, and write a name only after a yes.
- After a no, try another box on the same person.
- Stop when the first grid is full and sit everyone down to report back.
What are good Find Someone Who questions?
Good Find Someone Who questions are true for several children but not for everyone, and they make the asker change the verb. These ten come from the app's ready-made set of 40:
| Find someone who… | The question to ask | Grammar | Rough level |
|---|---|---|---|
| can ride a bike | Can you ride a bike? | can | A1, age 5+ |
| can whistle | Can you whistle? | can | A1, age 5+ |
| has a brother or sister | Have you got a brother or sister? US: Do you have...? | have got / have | A1, age 5+ |
| has a pet at home | Have you got a pet at home? US: Do you have...? | have got / have | A1, age 5+ |
| likes football | Do you like football? US: soccer | like | A1, age 5+ |
| likes drawing | Do you like drawing? | like + -ing | A1, age 5+ |
| watched TV last night | Did you watch TV last night? | past simple | A1, age 7+ |
| ate fruit today | Did you eat fruit today? | past simple, irregular verb | A1, age 7+ |
| has been on an aeroplane | Have you ever been on an aeroplane? US: on an airplane | present perfect | A2, age 8+ |
| has been to the seaside | Have you ever been to the seaside? US: to the beach | present perfect | A2, age 8+ |
Is there a Find Someone Who worksheet or template?
Yes: the Find Someone Who worksheet here is one A4 page with a box for every prompt and a name line in each, pictured above. It stays on one page from 9 to 20 boxes. On US Letter paper, set the print to fit the page. For a blank template, clear a box in the preview: it prints as Find someone who with a gap for children to write their own prompt.
Can I make a Find Someone Who on my own topic?
Yes, you can make a Find Someone Who on any topic: choose Generate Your Own, type the topic and press Start. Every box can then be typed over in the preview, and what you type goes on the board and the printed sheet, so you can write the whole grid yourself.
What age is Find Someone Who for?
Find Someone Who works for ages 5 to 18, and the app's age buttons run from 5-7 up to 16-18: Year 1 to Year 13 in the UK, kindergarten to 12th grade in the US. The age shapes the prompts when you generate a set. The ready-made set is one general mix. For the youngest, use 9 boxes and put the question form on the board.
How does Find Someone Who help ESL and EAL learners?
Find Someone Who helps ESL and EAL learners by making them turn a statement into a question again and again, each time to a real person waiting to answer. The prompt is about someone else (has a pet, ate fruit today), so the child has to change it: Have you got a pet? Did you eat fruit today? That change is the grammar practice, made at least once per box.
The ready-made prompts sit around CEFR A1 and A2. A Have you ever...? grid with follow-ups pushes towards B1.
What do you do after the mingle?
After a Find Someone Who mingle, sit everyone down to report back in full sentences: Sam can ride a bike. Priya has got a brother. That moves the verb back to the third person, where a missing -s on likes or plays shows up.
How do I stop the same children doing all the talking?
To stop the same children doing all the talking in Find Someone Who, allow each classmate's name only once on a sheet. Every child then talks to as many people as there are boxes, and two friends can't fill each other's grids. While they mingle, walk the edges of the room, where a child who has stopped asking is easier to spot.
Do I need an account?
You need a Sage Teachers account to run Find Someone Who, but not to look at the setup screen. Pressing Start opens a sign-in box before the prompts, board and sheet appear. Signing in with Google or an email address creates the account.
What are some Find Someone Who variations?
Four Find Someone Who variations work from the same sheet:
Bingo row. The first child with a name in every box of one row calls out. Good with 9 boxes.
Topic review in any subject. Generate a grid on the unit you have just finished, or type review prompts such as can name three planets.
Find out one more thing. After a yes, ask one follow-up, such as Where did you go?, and write the answer above the name.
A Have you ever...? sheet. Fill the grid with experience prompts, like the ready-made set's has been on an aeroplane and has been to the seaside. The follow-up When did you go? switches to the past simple.
Free to try. Setting it up costs nothing; pressing Start uses one token, which covers printing too. Every account gets 20 free tokens, and Pro gives 50 a day.
More mingle and speaking activities
Hot Seat also practises asking questions, with the class questioning one child in role. Two Truths and a Lie runs on facts about the children too: each says three things, and the class votes for the one that isn't true.
In the same set: Would You Rather · the describing game · Consequences, or all nine in ESL & Oracy.
Written by a practising primary school teacher, who built Sage Teachers to use in their own classroom. Every activity here is free to try.