Factual Gap Fill

All numbers or factual details are removed from a text and listed separately. Students use logic and general knowledge to put them back — turning reading into a problem-solving task.

Procedure

1. Select a text rich in numerical or factual information.
2. Remove all numbers/facts and list them separately in random order.
3. Pre-task: introduce the topic; ask students to guess key figures.
4. Students work individually to place the numbers, then compare in pairs/groups.
5. Groups report their solutions; teacher withholds answers to encourage debate.
6. Reveal the correct answers (read aloud, display, or play a recording).

Tips

• Works especially well with texts about records, statistics, geography, or science.
• Keeping answers hidden until all groups have reported maximizes discussion.
• Can double as a listening task if the teacher reads the complete text aloud for checking.
• The pre-task guessing stage generates useful language around estimation and comparison.