What Happened Here? | A2-B1 ESL Speaking

A2-B1 ESL speaking lesson using a mystery classroom scene to develop observation, questioning, inference, discussion, and storytelling skills.

What Happened Here? is an interactive visual investigation lesson designed to get students thinking, speaking, and responding to one another.

Students examine a mysterious classroom scene and gradually investigate a series of clues. They describe what they can see, ask WH-questions, interpret evidence, build a theory, defend their ideas, challenge another explanation, and rethink their theory when new information appears.

The lesson ends with a 60-second speaking mission in which students create and tell their own plausible version of what happened.

Students practise:

Visual observation and description
WH-question formation
Inference and interpretation
Possibility language
Theory-building using evidence
Defending and challenging ideas
Pair and group discussion
Story sequencing and speaking

The resource includes:

PowerPoint lesson presentation
Student Worksheet
Teacher Guide
Answer Key

Level: A2-B1 ESL/EFL
Main skill: Speaking
Suggested lesson length: 60-75 minutes

There is no single official mystery solution. Students are encouraged to develop and communicate their own plausible explanations based on the evidence.