Purpose:

To give learners practice finding things in a business/services directory, such as the Yellow Pages, through alphabetizing

Preparation time: 

10 min

Materials:  

A directory for each learner (They needn’t be current, nor from the same company.); visuals of some of the services for creating context or teaching vocabulary; paper and pencils, board and chalk or markers

Preparation:

Think of some services your learners might need to look up in the directory. Choose 5-7 services.

Procedure:

1. Set up the situation Tell learners that they need something done, but they don’t know any companies that provide that service. For example, they are having back pain, but do not know a local chiropractor.
2. Teach the services you have chosen, writing them on paper or on the board.
3. Explain that one way to find the information is by looking in this type of directory.
4. Ask learners if they know how things are organized in the directories.
5. Ask learners to write the services that are on the board in alphabetical order.
6. Give out the directories. Learners look up the first service in their alphabetized list and find some advertisements for companies that offer that service.
7. Lead a discussion about a few of the different ads. (What information is contained in the ads? What information in the ads will help learners choose a company?) Continue looking up services and discussing them.