What Were You Like as a Kid?

Please refresh the page to get the latest updates.

Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Learning Objectives

In this lesson you will:

Improve your ability to talk about your childhood.

Exercise 1

Warm-up

Have a short conversation based on these questions. Make sure you ask your tutor some questions too!

What were your favorite toys growing up?

Who were your best friends in elementary school?

Exercise 2

Vocabulary

Listen and repeat these words and phrases with your tutor.

watch cartoons
stuffed animals
bedtime stories
have sleepovers
collect things
allowance
climb trees
play video games

Let's Practice

Fill in the blanks using "did" or "didn't" to make these sentences true for you.

I watch a lot of cartoons when I was a kid.

I have a lot of stuffed animals growing up.

I enjoy listening to bedtime stories as a kid.

I like having sleepovers growing up.

I collect things when I was a kid.

I have an allowance growing up.

I like climbing trees as a kid.

I play a lot of video games when I was younger.

Exercise 3

Useful Language

Listen and repeat these words with your tutor. If you don't know a word, ask your tutor to read the definition and example sentence.

curious

Adjective

imaginative

Adjective

creative

Adjective

whiny

Adjective

spoiled

Adjective

rebellious

Adjective

mischievous

Adjective

independent

Adjective

Let's Practice

Tell your tutor which of the vocabulary items describe you as a kid and which do not.

Exercise 4

Dialogue

Read the dialogue aloud with your tutor, then answer the questions.

	Akio Adachi What were you like as a kid?
	Meryem I was pretty curious and quite creative. I loved playing outdoors, especially in the backyard, building forts and exploring. How about you?
	Akio Adachi I was quite shy. My sisters would probably describe me as spoiled, though, because I was the youngest in the family.
	Meryem Were you an indoor or outdoor child?
	Akio Adachi I think I was more of an indoor child. I enjoyed reading books, drawing and playing video games with my sisters. How about you? Sounds like you were an outdoor kid?
	Meryem Definitely! I hated being inside.
	Akio Adachi Who did you play with the most?
	Meryem My neighbor, Sarah. We'd spend hours playing in the backyard, climbing trees or pretending to be superheroes. How about you?
	Akio Adachi Like I said, I was an indoor kid and pretty shy, so I mostly played with my siblings. My sisters often had their friends over, so I played a lot with older kids. We'd watch cartoons together or play board games.
	Meryem That's nice. What did you want to be when you grew up?
	Akio Adachi I wanted to be an astronaut! I was always fascinated by space and dreamed of exploring the stars.
	Meryem That was one of my dreams, too! What are your fondest childhood memories?
	Akio Adachi I think summer vacations were the best thing about being a kid.

Check Your Understanding

Which speaker was an outdoor child?

Why did Akio play a lot with older kids?

Which speaker wanted to be an astronaut?

Exercise 5

Find the Mistake

Find and correct the mistake in each sentence. Be careful — not all sentences have a mistake!

My sister and I collected a lot of trading card.

I was a pretty imaginative kid.

I remember to getting up early on Sunday to watch cartoons.

What were you like as a kid?

I loved listening to bedtime story.

We often played outside until its got dark.

Was you an indoor or outdoor child?

One of my favorite thing to do was climbing trees.

Exercise 6

Fill in the Blanks

Read the dialogue aloud with your tutor and fill in the blanks. You will be Walter. Use the Answer Pool below to help you.

	Arisa What were you like as a kid?
	Walter I was pretty (1) and used to always make up games to play with my siblings. But I was very independent, and probably a little (2)!
	Arisa I can imagine that! Were you an indoor or outdoor child?
	Walter I think I was a bit of both. I loved reading comics and watching (3) at home, but I was into sports, too. What about you?
	Arisa I was definitely an outdoor kid! My brother would sit inside all day playing PlayStation while I'd be outside having adventures. Who did you play with the most as a kid?
	Walter I played a lot with neighborhood kids and we used to have (4) all the time.
	Arisa What did you want to be when you grew up?
	Walter I wanted to be a (5). I had two dogs growing up and thought it would be amazing to be able to work with animals. I had lots of (6) I used to do operations on!
	Arisa That's sweet. What are your fondest childhood memories?
	Walter I have so many! I loved (7) my grandparents during the summer (8). What are yours?
	Arisa I can still remember learning how to ride a bike and that feeling of freedom that it gave me.

Choose answers from the options below that fit in blanks 1 to 8

Answer Pool (Questions 1-8)

vet
stuffed animals
imaginative
holidays
sleepovers
cartoons
rebellious
visiting

Exercise 7

Conversation

Have a conversation based on these questions. Don't forget to ask your tutor some questions too!

What were you like as a kid?

Were you an indoor or outdoor child?

Who did you play with the most as a kid?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What are your fondest childhood memories?