Fortune Teller

Open the Fortune Teller

How it works

Students tap the crystal ball to draw picture cards, then invent a fortune from what they see. There are no right answers: the fun is in turning a strange set of pictures into a story. It works on one screen for the whole class, or on phones in pairs.

Choose a spread

• Free reading: one card at a time, as many as the story needs.
• Past, Present, Future: three cards, three tenses. Past simple for the first card ("You lost something important..."), present continuous for the second ("Right now, you're looking for..."), and going to / will / might for the third.
• Love, Money, Career: three cards, one theme each, all in future forms ("Your love life is going to...").

Classroom ideas

• Pair readings: students take turns as fortune teller and customer. The customer asks a question first ("Will I get a new job?"), then the teller draws a spread and answers it.
• The confident psychic vs the careful psychic: one student must use only will and definitely; the next must hedge with might, could and probably. Compare which one sounds more convincing.
• Hot seat: project it full screen. One student sits facing the class; the class draws the cards and builds the fortune together, one sentence each.
• Famous futures: read the fortune of a famous person, a fictional character, or the teacher.
• Write it up: students write the reading as a short horoscope for homework.
• Did it come true? Keep the predictions and check them next lesson. Great for "I thought I was going to..." and future in the past.

Useful language

Tip: put a few of these on the board before students start, or show this section on screen, so everyone has a way in.

Levels

A2: Free reading or Love, Money, Career with going to. B1 and up: Past, Present, Future and the hedging activities.

Keyboard shortcuts

Space: draw · N: new reading · F: full screen