Missing Word

Type of activity: This is an error correction activity in which students have to identify missing words.
Level: Intermediate and above - but if you treat this as a framework activity and exchange the text, you can adapt this for any level.

Teacher's notes:

Tell the students that you are going to say a sentence to the students but that there is a word missing from it. Say the sentence below:
I have chair in my room which is red and yellow.
Make sure that the students identify the missing word as ‘a.’
Then hand out the worksheet below and tell the students that there are many words missing from this text; actually one from each line.
Instruct them to workout with their partners which the missing words are.

NOTE: the text is all about Michael Jackson and so you may want to develop this into a full lesson i.e. lead in about famous artists; show a picture of Michael Jackson and ask the students to tell you as much as they know about him and then play music of his, if you can.

KEY

the
through
was
been
the
had
was
and
has
years
of
to
his
the
a
a
in
will
to

QUESTIONS

Michael Jackson

1. Michael Jackson is one of best known figures in the world. He has been

2. many scandals, rumors, taunting, family squabbles and career flops.

3. He born in 1958 and began performing at the age of four; ever since he has

4. in the public eye. It is no wonder that he is not exactly the ‘average

5. person.’ He was youngest member of the Jackson Five which had

6. numerous hits. By the age of ten, the group been signed to Motown

7. records and extremely successful. Behind the scenes, things were not as

8. successful; Michael Jackson’s father supposedly bullied beat the children.

9. Michael Jackson has even said that there been a lot of sadness in his life

10. especially during his formative. Michael released his first ‘adult’ music

11. in 1978 with the help Quincy Jones. He then went on to release the hugely

12. successful album ‘Thriller’. At this time, people began talk more and more

13. about his private life, especially changing appearance and his clothes. The

14. more famous he became, more outlandish the rumors about him became.

15. His marriage to Lisa Marie Presley in 1994 created media frenzy and was

16. criticized as being only publicity stunt. Since then, he has divorced and

17. remarried and now has three children. Whatever he does his personal

18. life however, his musical talents always be his most

19. important contribution the world.