Are you looking for original ways to get your students to read? Here are 8 ‘Who am I?’ questions revealing interesting life-facts about some of the Amazing People featured in Collins Amazing People ELT Readers series. Can you guess who the people are?
The answer key is provided at the bottom of this post.
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Instructions:
Read the ‘who am I’ questions 1-8. Can you match them with the Amazing People A-H and their images a-h?
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Who am I? questions:
1) I wrote the very first computer program – and you might be surprised to hear that I was a woman. My father was Lord Byron, the famous poet, but he died when I was only 8 years old. Who am I?
2) I was born in Salzburg, Austria. People said I was a ‘child genius’ because I began playing and composing music when I was very young. My older sister Nannerl was a very talented musician, too. I’m most famous for my operas, The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute. Do you know who I am?
3) I was an American trumpet-player and singer, and I came to discover ‘a wonderful world’. I grew up in a poor area of New Orleans, where life was tough for young African-American boys. Do you know who I am?
4) I became sick with meningitis at 19 months, before I even learned to speak. I still went on to become a famous teacher. I started an organisation to teach people about blindness in 1915. Who am I?
5) Do you know Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn? Then you probably know my name, too. But the name you know me by is not the name my parents gave me – that’s Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Who am I?
6) I opened my first salon in New York City when I was 25 years old and went on to create what became one of the most famous cosmetics brands in the world. I was also the first woman to appear on the front cover of the Time magazine. My parents gave me the name Florence Nightingale Graham. What’s the name I am known to the world by?
7) A very famous prize for cultural and scientific advances is named after me. I was a chemist and businessman and my greatest invention was dynamite. Who am I?
8) I was a powerful Roman leader, and I lived much earlier than any of the other people in this quiz. From a young age I wanted to be a leader and a hero. I fought hard to gain control of many territories for Rome. My father was called Gaius and my first name is Gaius, too, but I am known by the name of… do you know?
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Amazing People A-H:
A) I am Helen Keller. My story is featured in Amazing Women (Level 1).
B) I am Elizabeth Arden. My story is in Amazing Entrepreneurs and Business People (Level 1).
C) I am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. You can read my story in Amazing Composers (Level 2).
D) My name is Ada Lovelace and you can read my story in Amazing Mathematicians (Level 2).
E) I’m Louis Armstrong, and you can read my story in Amazing Performers (Level 3).
F) My name is Alfred Nobel and my story is in Amazing Philanthropists (Level 3).
G) I am Julius Caesar. You can read my story in Amazing Leaders (Level 4).
H) I am Mark Twain and I’m one of the writers in Amazing Writers (Level 4).
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Images a-h:
Can’t see the image properly? Click on it to display full screen.
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Answer Key:
1) D) h)
2) C) a)
3) E) g)
4) A) b)
5) H) f)
6) B) d)
7) F) c)
8) G) e)