COM MUN IC ATION
TEACHER’S NOTES
UNIT 1: HAVING FUN
The aim of this activity is to review the simple present
and the use of adverbs of frequency in the context of
routines and everyday activities.
Step 1: Explain that each student has the same set of
sentences. Allow time for students to complete
their own information individually. It’s a good
idea to give students plenty of time to complete
this stage. If necessary, refer them to Unit 1
of the Student’s Book, where they can find
examples of the use of adverbs of frequency
and their position in the sentence.
Step 2: Ask students to choose a partner and ask and
answer questions about the information they
wrote in the sentences in Exercise 1. They should
try to find some similarities as well as differences.
Step 3: Ask students to report to the class the information
they got from their partners.
Step 4: Take notes while they are talking. Then write
three or four of the most obvious errors on
the board (e.g. incorrect word order and,
in particular, the position of the adverbs of
frequency) and ask the class to correct them.
Note: This communicative activity is based on KET for
A1 and A2.
UNIT 2: MONEY AND HOW TO SPEND IT
The aim of this activity is to practice asking and
answering questions using the simple present or
the present continuous.
Step 1: Explain that each student has four sentences
about Leo or Lucy. Some information is about
what the person usually does, and some
information is about the person is doing today.
Put students into pairs and nominate one as
Student A and one as Student B.
Step 2: Allow time for them to complete the sentences
in Exercise 1 using the correct form of the verb
in parentheses. Explain that the verb should
be either in the present or the simple present
continuous. Monitor progress and give help if
necessary.
Step 3: Point out that Student A now needs to ask
eight questions about Student B’s information.
The first two questions begin with How and
the other six with What. Student A should
write the information in the table.
Step 4: When they have finished, ask them to switch
roles and repeat Step 3. Student B will now ask
questions about Leo and Student A will answer.
Note: This communicative activity is based on KET for
A1 and A2.
American Think Level 1 Communication Teacher’s Notes
UNIT 3: FOOD FOR LIFE
The aim of this activity is to practice the use of count
and noncount nouns and the use of how much, how
many, too much, too many, and (not) enough in the
context of food.
Step 1: Put students into pairs and nominate one as
Student A and one as Student B. Make sure they
cannot see each other’s worksheet.
Step 2: Explain the context. Some friends are coming
to dinner and you need to prepare a meal for
them. Student A has a list of the amount of food
and drink that he/she needs, and Student B has
a list of those amounts. Student A should ask
questions using How much or How many to find
out if they have enough, not enough, too much,
or too many of those amounts.
Step 3: Suggest that Student A writes down the quantities
after asking the questions and getting answers
from Student B.
Step 4: Now the partners switch roles. Student B will
ask the questions, and Student A provide
the answers, as in Step 2.
Step 5: Ask students to report their findings to the
class. Encourage them to use enough and not
enough in their answers.
UNIT 4: FAMILY TIES
The aim of this activity is to practice whose, possessive
adjectives and pronouns, and possessive ’s (singular and
plural).
Step 1: Ask students to read through the list of
vocabulary items and check briefly that they
remember the meaning of each one.
Step 2: Highlight the question and the short answer
and make sure they use whose for each question
they ask. Point out that if their partner says It’s
mine, they should write either It’s his, or It’s hers.
Similarly, if their partner says It’s my parents’,
they should write It’s his/her parents’.
Step 3: Ask students to work with a partner and ask and
answer their questions. There are two possible
approaches. Either Student A can ask all his/her
questions and get the answers. Then they swap
roles, or Student A can ask his/her first question
and then Student B his/her first question and so on.
Step 4: When students have finished, check that they
have written the correct possessive forms on
their worksheets.
© Cambridge University Press 2018
 UNIT 5: IT FEELS LIKE HOME
The aim of this activity is to practice the simple past of
regular verbs and the use of modifiers with adjectives in
the context of the home.
Step 1: Put students into pairs and decide who is Student
A and who is Student B. Explain that they must
not show their text to their partner. Ask students
to read their text carefully. They each have eight
blanks in their text, but their blanks are not the
same as their partner’s blanks. They need to ask
questions to complete their text.
Step 2: Make sure that the students understand that they
should ask open (yes/no) questions and can only
answer Yes or No to their partner’s questions.
They should continue asking questions until they
have the correct word for each blank.
Step 3: When students have finished, they can check
they have all the correct answers by comparing
their text with their partner’s.
UNIT 6: BEST FRIENDS
The aim of this activity is to practice asking and
answering questions about everyday activities using
the simple past of regular and irregular verbs.
Step 1: Explain that each student has a set of questions
but they are not exactly the same. Allow time
for students to complete the questions using
the verbs in the box. If necessary, give help and
check that they have the correct answers before
they begin Exercise 2.
Step 2: Ask students to work in pairs. Student A
should ask their questions from Exercise 1 and
Student B should answer using the simple past,
e.g. A: Did you watch TV yesterday? B: Yes,
I did. I watched a movie.
Step 3: Now students change roles. Student B asks
the questions and Student A answers as in
Step 2 above.
Step 4: Ask students to tell the whole class one fact
about their partner, e.g. Luisa listened to Ariana
Grande yesterday evening. Juan played basketball
yesterday.
Note: This communicative activity is based on Part 1 of
KET for A1 and A2.
Answers Student A
1 watch  2 meet  3 have  4 go  5 finish  6 play 
7 play
Answers Student B
1 play  2 watch  3 have  4 go  5 listen  6 go 
7 meet
American Think Level 1 Communication Teacher’s Notes
UNIT 7: THE EASY LIFE
The aim of this activity is to practice giving advice
and strong advice using have to, should, shouldn’t, and
mustn’t.
Step 1: Explain that each student will play a different
role. One will be an English teacher, and one
will be a doctor. Allow time for students to
read through their partner’s situations and
the list of prompts before they start. Explain
that they should give strong advice using
have to or mustn’t and other advice using
should or shouldn’t.
Step 2: Ask students to work in pairs. Student A will
play the role of the English teacher and give
advice to Student B. Student B should make
notes of the advice under the headings
I have to, I should, I shouldn’t, and I mustn’t.
Step 3: When Student A has finished giving advice
to Student B, they should switch roles, and
Student B should play the role of the doctor
and give advice to Student A. Student A should
make notes of the advice under the headings
I have to, I should, I shouldn’t, and I mustn’t.
Step 4: Ask students to report to the class one piece of
advice their partner gave them.
Note: This communicative activity is based on KET for
A1 and A2.
UNIT 8: FREE TIME
The aim of this activity is to practice different question
forms and to describe things.
Step 1: Put students into pairs and decide who is
Student A and who is Student B. Explain that
they must not show their pictures to their
partner. Have Student A ask Student B the
whole set of questions and then switch roles.
Walk around the class and monitor students as
they are speaking, and identify any problems.
Step 2: Have students brainstorm and write down more
adjectives to to describe each other’s photos. If
they need help, they can use a dictionary or ask
you for assistance.
Step 3: Have students discuss the differences and
similarities between their two photos. They
can use a dictionary or ask you for help. Write
some of their adjectives on the board to share
with the whole class.
Step 4: Have students discuss the similarities and
differences between their photos and answer
the questions.
© Cambridge University Press 2018
 UNIT 9: THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD
The aim of this activity is to practice superlative
adjectives in the context of geographical terms.
Step 1: Put students into pairs and decide who is
Student A and who is Student B. Explain that
each student has six questions with three
possible answers. On Student A’s worksheet,
the questions are in Exercise 1, but on Student B’s
worksheet, the questions are in Exercise 2. Ask
the students to read the questions and choose
the correct answers on their worksheet.
Step 2: Student A reads their answers to Student B.
Student B checks the answers according to
the information in exercise 1 on their worksheet.
Encourage Student B to read aloud all the
information when correcting Student A, e.g.
Student A: I think Elbrus is the highest mountain
in North America. Student B: No, Elbrus is the
highest mountain in Europe at 5,462 meters.
Step 3: Student B reads their answers to Student A.
Student A checks the answers according to
the information in Exercise 2 on their
worksheet. Encourage Student A to read out
all the information when correcting Student
B, e.g. Student B: I think the smallest country in
the world is in Africa. Student A: No, the smallest
country in the world is Vatican City in Europe.
UNIT 10: AROUND TOWN
The aim of this activity is to practice the affirmative
and interrogative of the present continuous for future
arrangements.
Step 1: Put students into pairs and decide who is
Student A and who is Student B. Explain that
each student has a copy of Julio’s plan for
next week in which he has written all
his arrangements. Student A has 7 of
the arrangements in their plan, and Student B
has the other 7.
Step 2: Give students time to read through
the arrangements in their version of the plan.
Step 3: They ask and answer questions using the present
continuous to complete the missing information
in their plan. Ask them to write the missing
information in the plan.
Step 4: They check the answers by comparing the two
plans.
Note: This communicative activity is based on Part 2 of
KET for A1 and A2.
American Think Level 1 Communication Teacher’s Notes
UNIT 11: FUTURE BODIES
The aim of this activity is to practise using the first
conditional and the simple present in clauses after if
and when.
Step 1: Put students into pairs and decide who is
Student A and who is Student B. Explain that
each student has the same questions and that
they should give answers that are true for
them.
Step 2: Ask students to do Exercise 1. Point out that
they should write their answer using the first
conditional in answers 1-5 and when instead of
if in answers 6-7.
Step 3: Students work in pairs and ask and answer
the questions from Exercise 1. Encourage them
to take it in turns to ask questions rather than
one student asking all six and then the other
student asking all six. Tell them to notice any
similarities or differences.
Step 4: Ask each student to tell the class something
interesting they learned about their partner.
Note: This communicative activity is based on KET for
A1 and A2.
UNIT 12: TRAVELER’S TALES
The aim of this activity is to practice asking and
answering questions using the present perfect with ever
and contrasting this with the simple past in the general
context of travel.
Step 1: Ask students to do Exercise 1. They should use
the prompts to write questions using
the present perfect. Emphasize that they will
need to change the verb to the past participle
form (the third form of the verb, e.g. be to
been). The follow-up question should be in
the simple past, e.g. When was it?
Step 2: Put students into pairs and decide who is
Student A and who is Student B. Explain that
each student has a different set of questions.
Step 3: Student A asks their first question and Student
B answers. If Student B answers Yes, I have,
Student A should ask the follow-up question
When was it? If Student B answers No, I haven’t,
there is no follow-up question. Student A
should make a note of the answer, e.g. 2 years
ago, in July last year, and so on.
Step 4: Student B asks their first question and Student
A answers as in Step 3. Continue with each
student taking turns to ask and answer
questions until they have finished.
Step 5: Ask each student to tell the class something
they found out about their partner, e.g. Juan
has been to Germany. It was last year.
Note: T
 his communicative activity is based on Part 2 of
KET for A1 and A2.
© Cambridge University Press 2018