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Reported Speech Games, Activities, Worksheets and Lesson Plans

If you’re looking for some of the best reported speech games and activities, then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for our top picks, along with worksheets, lesson plans and more.

Reported speech activities

ESL Reported Speech Games

Let’s get into the best activities and games for English learners.

#1: Reported Speech Board Game

I love to play board games in real life which is why I also like to play them with my students! It’s super easy to make your own to use for just about any grammatical point, including this concept.

In this case, fill the board with a bunch of statements like the following:

• Sister-has boyfriend
• Friend-fired from job
• Dad-playing golf tomorrow

Then, students have to make a reported speech statement using the information. It’s fun, engaging and a nice way to give students some practice with this important concept.

Check out this simple ESL board game so you can see how easy it is to make your own:

ESL Board Game .

#2: Ball Toss

This is a simple but versatile activity that’s perfect for reported speech. I write down a number of questions on the beach ball. Then, students take turns tossing the ball to each other and the person that catches it has to answer the question under their right thumb.

To add a reported speech element, have another student (the one who threw the ball?) report on that student’s answer. It’s simple but effective! Check it out:

Ball Toss Activity .

#3: Is that Sentence Correct

If you want to focus on forms, then consider using this simple error correction activity. Write some sentences that use the target grammar. Some have errors while others do not. Students have to find the incorrect ones and make the required changes.

It’s possible to do this in class, or for a homework activity. Have a look here:

Is that Sentence Correct? 

#4: Running Dictation

#5: Mixed Up Sentences

Making good sentences using reported speech can be a little bit tricky. If you want to focus on forms, consider using this simple activity.

Write some sentences on the board of PowerPoint, but mix them up in terms of the order. Students have to work quickly to put them in the correct order and the first time to finish is the winner. It also makes a nice homework assignment. Try it out for yourself:

Mixed Up Sentences .

• Amazon Kindle Edition
• Bolen, Jackie (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 137 Pages - 09/27/2020 (Publication Date)

#6: Man/Woman on the Street Interview Activity

If you want to level up the typical ESL interview activity, consider using Man or Woman on the Street. Then, to make it into a reported speech activity, have students tell someone else about what they heard. It’s fun, engaging, and lends itself well to this grammar point. Find out more:

Man/Woman on the Street Activity .

#7: Concentration

This is a fun memory game that’s ideal for a whole bunch of different grammar or vocabulary points. On one card, write down a statement, and then on the other, write down the correct form.

• I have a boyfriend (She told me that she has a boyfriend).

Make a number of these sets. I usually do 8 of them per group of 4. Then, students play a matching memory game. Learn more here:

Concentration Game .

#8: Vocabulary Auction

#9: Find Someone Who Bingo Game

This is a nice icebreaker activity that can also be used for some practice with this grammar point. Students have to circulate around the class, asking their classmates questions to find people to fill their Bingo grid.

To make this into a reported speech activity, have students report some of the things they learned about their classmates to a partner (bigger classes) or to the entire class (smaller classes). Find out more about it:

Find Someone Who Bingo Game .

#10: More Ideas for Teaching English

#11: dictogloss and reported speech.

This is a challenging ESL activity that’s perfect for developing listening skills. It also lends itself to almost any vocabulary set or grammatical point, including this one.

Find (or write) a passage of people talking about something that they heard.. Then, put students into pairs and read it out at a faster than normal pace. Students take notes and then attempt to recreate what they heard. Repeat the process again. Finally, they can compare what they have with the original. Check it out:

Dictogloss Activity .

#12: Surveys and Reported Speech

I love to use surveys and questionnaires in my classes. They’re engaging, student-centred and cover a range of skills in a single activity. They’re also great for working on this concept if you get each student to tell their partner some of the things they learned about their classmates.

This is a simple way to cover a new concept but have a quick review of this grammar point as well. Take a look at this activity:

ESL Surveys .

ESL games and activities

#13: Brochure Scanning Activity

This is a nice activity if you have a bunch of different travel brochures. Have students quickly scan them to find important information. For example:

• number of days

Then, have students use reported speech to tell their partner about the trip. Find out more:

Brochure Scanning Activity .

#14: ESL Review Games and Activities

#15: Daily Routine Activities and Reported Speech

In terms of topics to combine with this concept, daily routine is one of the best. It’s very simple to set up activities that lead to sentences like the following:

• Tim told me that he gets up at 7 am.
• Jenny said that she usually sleeps in on the weekends.

For some more ideas, have a look here:

Daily Routine ESL Activities .

#16: Error Correction Relay Race

This is a simple activity that takes something old (error correction) and makes it new again. Students have to work in teams to fix errors in a number of reported speech sentences. The first team to make all the corrections is the winner!

Want to give it a try? Learn more:

Error Correction Relay Race .

#17: Dialogue Substitution

#18: News Reporting

Provide students with news headlines or short news articles. Ask them to transform from direct speech (quoted speech) to reported speech (indirect speech) when retelling the news. This activity helps students practice the appropriate changes in verb tenses, pronouns, and time and place references.

#19: Interview and Report

Pair students up and ask them to conduct mock interviews. Afterward, have them report the interview to a different partner using reported speech. This activity allows students to practice converting direct speech into reported while maintaining the meaning and context of the conversation.

#20: Picture Stories

Provide students with a series of pictures that depict a sequence of events. Ask them to create a story using reported speech to describe what is happening in each picture. This activity encourages students to use this language in a narrative context and practice converting direct speech into reported speech.

#21: Role Plays

Create role play scenarios where students take on different roles and engage in conversations. Afterward, ask them to report the conversations to another person using reported speech. This activity allows students to practice converting direct speech into reported speech in a context that mimics real-life situations.

#22: Song Lyrics Transformation

Choose a song that contains direct speech and ask students to rewrite the lyrics using reported speech. This activity helps students practice converting direct speech in songs into reported speech while exploring the meaning and context of the lyrics.

Online Practice for Reported Speech

There are a number of sites for online practice and quizzes that cover this. They are excellent resources to recommend to students who want a little bit of extra practice. Check it out here:

Perfect English Grammar

Exam English

My English Pages

Reported Speech ESL Lesson Plans

There are lots of nice lesson plans. Here are some of the best ones to consider using:

Lingua House

Reported Speech Worksheets

If you’re a busy teacher then you’re going to know what a huge time saver it can be to use worksheets that other teachers have made. Here are some of the top picks:

ISL Collective

English Grammar

There are a number of common questions that people have about using this method of speech. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is reported speech ESL?

Reported speech ESL is when we tell someone what another person said. You often have to use a tense that is further back in time (backshift) and may also need to change the pronouns.

What are some examples of reported speech?

Some examples of reported speech are the following:

• They said you didn’t want to come.
• My mom told me that she was angry at my dad.
• I asked her what her plans were.

How do you teach reported speech?

To teach reported speech, first set the context with a short video clip, discussion question, etc. Then, explain the grammar rules for it and do some controlled practice. Finally, use an ESL game or activity that allows students to practice further.

What are the types of reported speech?

The types of reported speech are direct speech and indirect speech.

Tips for Teaching Reported Speech To English Learners

Teaching reported speech to ESL learners can be challenging, as it involves a shift in verb tense and pronoun usage. Here are some tips to make the teaching process more effective and engaging.

Start with Direct Speech

Begin by introducing and reviewing direct speech, which is the original statement or question spoken by someone. Ensure students are familiar with the use of quotation marks and the appropriate verb tenses in direct speech.

Introduce Reporting Verbs

Teach students a variety of reporting verbs such as say, tell, ask, explain, suggest, etc. Explain the different patterns that follow these reporting verbs, including the use of direct objects, indirect objects, and prepositions.

Present Tense Changes

Demonstrate how to change verb tenses when reporting speech. Provide clear examples of how present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous, and so on. Reinforce the importance of maintaining accuracy in verb tense changes.

Practice Conversion of Pronouns

Show students how pronouns change when reporting speech. Explain the transformation from the speaker’s pronouns (I, you, we) to the appropriate pronouns in reported speech (he, she, they). Emphasize the use of possessive pronouns when necessary.

Provide Contextualized Examples

Use authentic materials, such as dialogues, interviews, or news articles, to provide meaningful examples of reported speech. This helps students understand the purpose and practical application in real-life situations.

Use Reporting Structures

Teach students reporting structures, such as reporting statements, reporting questions, and reporting commands. Practice transforming direct speech into reported speech using these structures and provide opportunities for students to generate their own examples.

Focus on Reporting Verbs of Perception

Highlight reporting verbs of perception like see, hear, feel, notice, etc., which require a change in verb tense but do not require reporting the exact words. Provide examples to help students understand the difference between reporting statements and reporting verbs of perception.

Incorporate Speaking and Writing Activities

Encourage students to practice reported speech through role-plays, interviews, or storytelling activities. Assign writing tasks where students report a conversation or summarize an article using reported speech.

Address Common Errors

Be aware of common errors students make when learning reported speech, such as incorrect verb tense changes or pronoun usage. Provide corrective feedback and offer opportunities for targeted practice to overcome these challenges.

Review and Reinforce

Regularly review with students and provide opportunities for reinforcement through quizzes, games, or interactive exercises. Repetition and reinforcement are key to solidifying understanding and application of this language.

Did you like these Reported Speech Activities?

• 87 Pages - 10/24/2019 (Publication Date)

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book on Amazon: 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Grammar Activities for Teenagers and Adults . It’s the book you need if you want to have more engaging and interactive grammar lessons.

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide. Or, take the e-version with you to your favourite coffee shop for some lesson planning on the go.

Whatever the case, get ready for some ESL grammar teaching awesome in your life. Head over to Amazon to find out more about it:

Have your Say about Reported Speech Games and Activities

What do you think about these activities? Are they a winner, or do you have another one that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also, be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy English teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 60 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

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Verbs and tenses

• 1 Verbs and tenses
• 2 Lesson Share: Reported speech 1 – article
• 3 Past perfect aspect – article
• 4 Past perfect aspect – tips and activities
• 5 Present perfect aspect – article
• 6 Present perfect aspect – tips and activities
• 7 Reported speech – tips and activities
• 8 Reported speech 2 – article
• 9 The passive in English – article
• 10 The passive in English – tips and activities
• 11 Modal verbs 1 – article
• 12 Modal verbs 1 – tips and activities
• 13 Modal verbs 2 – article
• 14 Modal verbs 2 – tips and activities

Reported speech – tips and activities

By Kerry G. Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield

• No comments

Tips and ideas from Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on teaching reported speech.

Introduction

Reported speech is a very rich grammar area to teach because:

• It can involve considerable manipulation of form.
• It’s a very easy piece of grammar to locate and exploit with texts.

The activities here are divided into different kinds of drill, ways of exploiting texts and analysis.

Activity: Basic substitution

At it’s most basic, you can simply read out a sentence and ask the students to rephrase it beginning with He said …/She said…  For example:

• T: I don’t like it.
• Ss: He said he didn’t like it.
• T: I hate it.
• Ss: He said he hated it.

This can be made a little more interesting in the following ways:

Activity: Chain reports

Version 1 The following activity is a variation of the well-known 'broken telephone'. Whisper a sentence in English to a student. That student then whispers it to another and so on until the last student has to say aloud what was said originally.

Version 2 If the above seems too easy, ask students to alternate reported speech/direct speech. If they hear it in reported speech they put it back to direct speech and vice versa. For example:

• T: I like it.
• S1: He said he liked it.
• S2: I like it.

Activity: I didn't get that. What did she say?

This is a quick question drill. Ask a student a question. After they answer, ask another student what was said. For example:

• T: Tomas, how did you get to class today?
• S1: I came by car.
• T: Sorry, I didn’t get that. Yvonne, what did Tomas say?
• S2: He said he had come by car.

Activity: Mingle

Prepare a series of cards/slips of paper, each with a different sentence. Here are some examples:

Remember me? We met at last year’s party.

Create enough cards so that each student has one. You can repeat the same sentences on other cards.

Explain that you want the students to role-play the following situation. They are all at a very formal cocktail party. Everybody must circulate and talk to each other. The trick is they must say what is on their card and as little else as possible. If you have a CD player or cassette player in the classroom, you could play some quiet music in the background during the mingle.

After five minutes (or however long it takes for most students to have spoken to each other) tell everyone to sit down again. Ask people to report back on what other people told them, using reported speech.

Activity: Text clarifications

This is another teacher-led activity that also focuses on listening skills. It uses an oral text generated by the teacher. For this activity you need to prepare the following:

• a short anecdote (2 minutes long) related to the topic that you are already doing in class (e.g. if you are doing holidays, make it about holidays);
• four or five sentences that contradict things in your anecdote.

Write the sentences on the board. Read them out to the students. Now explain that you are going to tell a story, but that some of the facts in the story are different. The students must listen carefully. When they hear a fact that is different from those on the board, someone must interrupt you and seek clarification, using the following structure:

Excuse me, but didn’t you say that …? (include what you had said earlier, the facts that are on the board).

Here is an example: T writes on the board:

• I live in a big house.
• I’m married.
• I don’t have any children.

The teacher reads out the sentences and then she gives the instructions for the activity. She begins the story:

• T: Well, the other day I was in my flat. It’s a small flat in the city centre …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you lived in a big house?
• T: Ah yes, I did say that. So, it was in my big house. My boyfriend was at work …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you were married?
• T: Of course. I’m married, I meant to say my husband was at work and the baby was crying …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you didn’t have any children?
• T: That’s right. It isn’t my baby, it’s my sister’s baby.

Activity: Reported interviews

For this activity, search around the internet for an interview. This kind of activity works best if the interviewee is someone that your class is interested in, or at least someone they have heard about.

• Select some of the interview from the webpage and paste into a word document. Make copies for every two students in the class. In class, divide the students into pairs.
• Distribute the interview and ask them to work together and make a reported version it.
• Give them a word limit (150 words). When they have finished their draft report, have them swap reports with another pair. Ask them to reduce the report now to 100 words. Circulate and help.

Activity: Reporting back – famous interviews

In this activity, students create the interview themselves. Divide students into groups. Tell the groups that they must do the following:

• Decide on a famous person (living or dead) who they would like to interview.
• Nominate ONE person in that group to be the famous person.
• Once groups have nominated their famous people ask those people to come up to the front and form a new group.
• Explain that the famous people are all on a panel to be interviewed by the class, who are journalists.
• Give the journalists some time to think of questions. During this time the famous people can talk about what they are going to say.
• When the journalists are ready, begin moderating the interview by asking for questions.
• Once all the famous people have answered the questions send them back to their original seats.
• Now ask everybody to write a report with at least two things they remember from the interview. They should include examples of reported speech in their report. Ask students to compare their reports in pairs.
• Circulate and help. At the end, ask different pairs to read out their reports.

Activity: The news

Prepare for this activity by going to a news website and looking around for short news stories with examples of reported speech. Don’t worry about not finding any, there are usually lots.

• Select examples of these texts and create a small worksheet. First, ask students to read the excerpts and tick the stories they already know about.
• Then ask them to speculate as what the direct speech was. Tell them to write in direct speech the reported speech. They can add more detail if they like.
• At the end, have different students read their quotes and ask the others if they can see what story it came from.

Activity: Shades of meaning 1

The choice of whether or not to 'backshift' the tenses in reported speech often has to do with the reporter’s interpretation. You can ask students to compare the meanings between two examples of reported speech (minimal pair sentences).

For example:

See the section on tense choices in reported and reporting clauses for further examples that you could use and explanation of the differences in meaning.

Activity: Shades of meaning 2

You can also do the above exercise with examples from the news stories. Give the example and ask students to speculate why the tense was chosen. For example:

Why not … that Madonna owed them …?

Activity: What I think and don't think

This activity is a dictation activity. Prepare some sentences that are opinions on a certain topic that you’ve covered recently in class. There should be a mixture of affirmative and negative sentences. Here are some examples on the topic of ART for an intermediate class (some of these are stronger opinions – you may want to change them to reflect your own opinion).

• A lot of modern art isn’t very good.
• Art galleries are great places for conversation.
• There aren’t many famous painters from my country.
• Graffiti isn’t art.
• Art shouldn’t be only for rich people.
• Some art is worth far too much money.

Explain that you are going to dictate these sentences, but that the students must write down a report of each one beginning with The teacher thinks  … or The teacher doesn’t think … (see grammar explanation on negatives in reporting for when to use which stem). The above sentences would give the following:

The teacher thinks art galleries are great places for conversation.

Ask students to compare their answers in pairs, and then decide if they agree or disagree with you. Ask different groups to report back and have a short open class discussion.

Activity: Reacting to the news

Prepare a series of slips of paper each with a sentence beginning You’ve been asked to… or You’ve been told to… Prepare a mixture of good and bad things. For example:

• You’ve been asked to work next Saturday morning.
• You’ve been told to not drink any more wine.
• You’ve been asked to present an award at a film festival.
• You’ve been told to go the principal’s office.
• You’ve been asked to participate in a television show.
• You’ve been told to stay in bed for three weeks.

Pre-teach common social expressions for reacting to good or bad news, for example:

• That’s great!
• Congratulations!
• That’s good news
• That’s too bad.
• Oh dear. Oh no.
• That’s terrible!

Distribute the slips of paper to the students and ask them to read them silently. Then tell them to move around the class and 1) tell other students what they’ve been asked or told to do. 2) react to what other students tell them.

As a follow-up, you could ask them to work in groups and transcribe what they think was probably originally said.

Activity: Conspiracy theories

Prepare a small handout with the following 'claims' on it.

Elvis lives? It’s claimed that the singer Elvis is still alive today.

Think of four or five other conspiracy claims that you could add (you can add local ones too). Include one or two which are more 'believable' than the others (maybe even true ones). Write them in a similar style (i.e. headline, then the sentence stem It is claimed/said/believed that … ). Make one copy of this handout for every three or four students in the class.

Divide students into groups and give each group a card. They must read the card and then assign a score (0 to 5) to each theory 0 = we don’t believe this at all to 5 = we believe this is true . Do some feedback at the end, then collect the handouts. Ask students to try and rewrite from memory what the theories were, paying attention to the reporting structure.

Activity: Drill sergeant

This is another simple drill for reporting orders. Explain that you are going to be a drill sergeant: you are going to give four different students orders and then ask someone to report back what was said. Give short simple orders to different students in a brisk, sergeant-like voice. For example:

• Put down your pen!
• Listen to me!
• Pick up your bag!
• Answer your mobile phone!

The students must carry out the orders. Once you’ve given orders to four students, ask a fifth: What did I just say? The fifth student must report the orders (e.g. You told Maria to put down her pen, you told Giovanni to listen to you. ). If they can do it correctly, they become the drill sergeant.

This is a drill but with a role play element (that of being the sergeant) – to make the role even more effective you could use a prop, like a ruler or some kind of stick to wave around. You then give the prop to the next drill sergeant. Make sure nobody gets hit with the prop though!

Activity: things I was asked/told to do

To provide more practice in reporting structures with ask/tell, ask students to make a list of things they were asked or told to do in different situations. For example:

• when they were a child
• when they first started learning English
• in their first job
• on their first day at school/university

Tell students to compare with each other once they have written their lists. Then ask different students to report back.

Activity: Survivors mingle

This is a group role play, where students imagine that they have survived a plane accident and are stranded on a desert island. Prepare a series of cards/slips of paper, each with a different suggestion for the situation. Here are some examples:

• We should just wait for someone to come and find us.
• Why don’t we explore the island?
• Let’s get wood for a fire.
• We should all stay together. There are dangerous animals around here.
• I think you and I should try to escape together.
• Let’s build a boat.
• We should try and fix the plane.

(you can make your own. Begin with Why don’t we… Let’s …. We should…) Create enough cards so that each student has one. You can repeat the same sentences on other cards.

Explain that you want the students to role play the situation described above (to make it more 'real' you could elaborate on the story of how they got there). Everybody must circulate and talk to each other. They must say what is on their card and as little else as possible.

After five minutes (or however long it takes for most students to have spoken to each other) tell everyone to sit down again. Ask people to report back on what other people told them, using one of the following reporting verbs: suggest, advise or recommend .

Here is a variation which lets the students choose more of the language. Set up the scene, then give the students the sentence stems: Why don’t we … Let’s …. We should … and ask them to write a suggestion. Give them one of the above as an example. Then continue the activity.

Activity: Election pledges

To practise the structures following verbs like promise and offer , you can ask students to imagine they are speechwriters for a candidate for President or Prime Minister of their country. They must prepare a very short speech. You could give them the following outline to help:

• I know that …
• So I promise to … and to …
• If we are elected, my government pledges* to …
• My opponent has promised to …
• But we all know that …
• Together we can …

* pre-teach pledge – it has the same reporting structure as promise, or offer

Students can write this in groups. Then have different students read out their election speeches. Who is the most convincing?

• British English
• Reference Material
• Reported speech

Lesson Share: Reported speech 1 – article

Past perfect aspect – article

Past perfect aspect – tips and activities

Present perfect aspect – article, present perfect aspect – tips and activities.

Reported speech 2 – article

The passive in english – article, the passive in english – tips and activities, modal verbs 1 – article, modal verbs 1 – tips and activities, modal verbs 2 – article, modal verbs 2 – tips and activities, related articles.

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Reported Speech: Video, Story, Examples, and Exercises

Watch the video, read the lesson, and do the exercises:.

In English, there are two different ways to say what someone else said: direct speech and reported speech . 

Direct speech means to say exactly what someone else said by using quotation marks around their words. 

• “ We will be arriving at 2:00,” the pilot said.
• The teacher said, “You may begin your quiz now.” 

Reported speech (also called indirect speech ) is when we tell someone what a person, newspaper, book, or something else said without using their exact words. 

• Direct Speech: “The meeting is tomorrow,” he said.
• Reported Speech: He said that the meeting is tomorrow.
• Direct Speech: “The weather was beautiful,” she stated.
• Reported Speech: She told me that the weather was beautiful.
• Direct Speech: She said, “I worked there on Mondays.”
• Reported speech: She said she had worked there on Mondays.
• Direct Speech: “I am sorry,” he cried.
• Reported Speech: He said he was sorry. 

In reported speech , we often change the tense of the verbs. This is called backshifting.

Learn more about Direct and Reported Speech in English with this workbook: Direct Speech and Reported Speech . 

This series is also included in the Best Deal: Full Package of All Store Products + Bonuses . 

Backshifting Verbs in Reported Speech

When you quote someone in direct speech, you do not need to change any words. You simply put the exact statement between quotation marks. 

But when you report a statement in reported speech , you usually need to make some changes to the verbs. When reporting what someone said in the past, the tenses of the verbs in the reported statement often go one step backwards. This is called a backshift . 

• Direct Speech: “The dog is tired,” she stated.
• Reported Speech: She told me that the dog was tired.

In the example above, the verb tense backshifts from simple present (is tired) to the simple past (was tired). 

• Direct Speech: She said, “I baked the cake.”
• Reported Speech: She said that she had baked the cake.

In this example, the verb tense backshifts from simple past (baked) to the past perfect (had baked). 

Some grammar books will tell you that you should always backshift verbs in reported speech , but native speakers do not always do that. 

For example : She said that she baked the cake.

Backshift Tips

Here are a few tips to help you decide if you should or should not backshift. 

• Direct Speech: “We purchased a new car,” he stated.
• Reported Speech: He stated that they purchased a new car.

You can change the past tense to past perfect to emphasize that it happened in the past, but native speakers do not always do this.

• He stated that they had purchased a new car. 

In this example, had is optional. Many native speakers would not use it.

• Direct Speech: “That restaurant serves healthy food,” Sara said.
• Reported Speech: She said that the restaurant serves healthy food.

If the restaurant still serves healthy food, then you do not need to backshift because the statement is still true. It is acceptable to backshift, but not necessary.

However, if the situation has changed, and the statement is no longer true, then you should backshift. 

For example, if the restaurant is no longer in business or does not serve healthy food options anymore, then you should backshift to the past tense because the statement is now false.

• She said that the restaurant served healthy food.

• Direct Speech: “You should watch the movie,” Tim said.
• Reported Speech: Tim said I should watch the movie.
• Direct Speech: “I would have called you if you had asked,” she replied.
• Reported Speech: She told me that she would have called me if I had asked.

Reported Questions

A reported question is when we tell someone what another person asked. The most common reporting verb for questions is asked .

• Direct Speech: “Do you need help?” he asked.
• Reported Speech: He asked me if I needed help.
• Direct Speech: “Did you say goodbye?” she wondered.
• Reported Speech: She asked me if I had said goodbye. (Also acceptable: She asked me if I said goodbye.)
• Direct Speech: “What time should you arrive,” my mother questioned.
• Reported Speech: My mother asked what time we should arrive.

Notice when reporting questions, you do not need a question mark. The sentence is a statement, not a question. 

Using “That” in Reported Speech

In reported speech , the word that is optional. 

• She said that she walked the dog this morning. 
• She said she walked the dog this morning.
• They told me that they would arrive by midnight. 
• They told me they would arrive by midnight. 
• My father said that I should help.
• My father said I should help.

Part A: Complete the reported speech for each pair of sentences. There may be more than one correct answer.

“It was a good movie,” Steven told me.

Steven told me [ that] it was a good movie.

• The doctor said, “You should exercise more.” The doctor said ______________________________________________
• “I will text you tomorrow,” she promised. She promised ______________________________________________
• “I can help you,” my brother said. My brother said ______________________________________________
• “You are going to be late!” he warned. He warned me ______________________________________________
• The teacher said, “I will not accept late work.” The teacher said ______________________________________________
• “We went out last night,” Larry declared. Larry said ______________________________________________
• Mom said, “You should brush your teeth.” Mom told me ______________________________________________
• “The baby was sleeping when Nick arrived,” she stated. She told me ______________________________________________
• “He hadn’t been there before,” they said. They said ______________________________________________
• The girl cried, “I do not like onions!” The girl told me  ______________________________________________

Part B: Change each direct question into a reported question.

“Is your brother at home?” he asked me.

He asked me if my brother was at home .

• “Are you from London?” she asked. She asked me if ______________________________________________
• He wondered, “Is the bus stop next to the train station?” He asked me if ______________________________________________
• “Is this bread fresh?” Tom asked. Tom asked me if ______________________________________________
• Lilly questioned, “Do you drink tea?” Lilly asked me if ______________________________________________
• “Do you like your job?” Tina wondered. Tina asked me if ______________________________________________
• Stacy asked, “Will you walk to school with me?” Stacy asked if ______________________________________________
• “What are you doing?” the teacher wondered. The teacher asked me ______________________________________________
• “How often do you visit your mother?” she asked. She asked me ______________________________________________
• “Where is Elm Street?” he wanted to know. He asked me ______________________________________________
• She questioned, “Do you like milk in your coffee?” She asked me if ______________________________________________

Part C: Retell John’s story in reported speech by filling in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs.

DIRECT SPEECH VERSION:

John said, “Last weekend, I visited San Francisco, California. Have you been there? I have actually never been there before. I had planned to visit my sister there, but she was out of town for work. So, I toured the city alone. I saw many sights. I drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. It is almost 2 miles long! Then, I took a ferry to Alcatraz Island. I toured the prison. It was spooky! I may have seen a ghost… I also saw the Golden Gate Park. It is so beautiful! I will definitely visit again in the future. On my last day, I spent time in Chinatown. I was eating a traditional Chinese dinner, when I realized there is one more destination I must visit. So I took a tour of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. My fortune cookie said, ‘A true traveler’s journey is never complete.’ That is true because I am already planning my next journey! Would you like to come with me?”

REPORTED SPEECH VERSION:

John told me that he _________________ San Francisco, California, last weekend.  He _________________ me if I had _________________ there. He said that he had never actually _________________ there before. John mentioned that he had _________________ to _________________ his sister there, but she _________________  out of town for work, so he _________________ the city alone. He told me that he _____ many sights. He described how he had _________________ over the Golden Gate Bridge. He mentioned that it _________________ almost 2 miles long! Then, John recalled that he _________________ a ferry to Alcatraz Island and _________________ the prison. John explained that it _________________ spooky, and that he _________________ a ghost there! John continued by telling me that he _________________ the Golden Gate Park. John emphasized that it _________________ beautiful, and that he _________________ definitely _________________ again. On his last day, John said that he _________________ time in Chinatown. He remembered that he had _________________ a traditional Chinese dinner, when he _________________ that there was one more destination to visit. He explained that he _________________ the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. He commented that his fortune cookie had said that his journey _________________ never _________________ complete. John said that it _________________ true because he _________________ already _________________ his next journey. He asked me if I _________________ like to _________________ with him!

Part A: There may be more than one correct answer. (Remember, that is optional.)

• The doctor said you should exercise more.  The doctor said that you should exercise more.
• She promised she would text me tomorrow. She promised that she would text me tomorrow.
• My brother said he could help me. My brother said that he could help me.
• He warned me I was going to be late. He warned me that I was going to be late.
• The teacher said she would not accept late work. The teacher said that she would not accept late work.
• Larry said they went out last night. Larry said that they went out last night. Larry said that they had gone out last night.
• Mom told me to brush my teeth. Mom told me I should brush my teeth. Mom told me that I should brush my teeth.
• She told me the baby had been sleeping when Nick arrived. She told me that the baby had been sleeping when Nick arrived.
• They said he hadn’t been there before. They said that he hadn’t been there before.
• The girl told me she did not like onions. The girls told me that she did not like onions.
• She asked me if I was from London.
• He asked me if the bus stop was next to the train station.
• Tom asked me if the bread was fresh.
• Lily asked me if I drank tea .
• Tina asked me if I liked my job .
• Stacy asked if I would walk to school with her . 
• The teacher asked me what I was doing . 
• She asked me how often I visited my mother .
• He asked me where Elm Street was .
• She asked me if I liked milk in my coffee .

John told me that he visited San Francisco, California, last weekend.  He asked me if I had been there. He said that he had never actually been there before. John mentioned that he had planned to visit his sister there, but she was out of town for work, so he toured the city alone. He told me that he saw many sights. He described how he had driven over the Golden Gate Bridge. He mentioned that it is almost 2 miles long! Then, John recalled that he took a ferry to Alcatraz Island and toured the prison. John explained that it was spooky, and that he might have seen a ghost there! John continued by telling me that he saw the Golden Gate Park. John emphasized that it was beautiful, and that he would definitely visit again. On his last day, John said that he spent time in Chinatown. He remembered that he had been eating a traditional Chinese dinner, when he realized that there was one more destination to visit. He explained that he toured the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. He commented that his fortune cookie had said that his journey would never be complete. John said that it was true because he was already planning his next journey. He asked me if I would like to go with him!

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ESL Speaking

Games + Activities to Try Out Today!

in Activities for Adults · Activities for Kids

Tell your Story | ESL Speaking Activity to Practice Reported Speech

If you’re looking for a reported speech speaking activity, look no further than tell your story . It’s a fun reported speech activity to try out with your higher-level ESL or EFL students. Keep on reading for all the details you need to know about teaching indirect speech!

Speaking Activity to Practice Reported Speech

You can often find a unit on reported speech in most intermediate-level English textbooks. But, it’s not that easy to design some ESL activities to practice this. Not to worry. Keep on reading for one of the best reported speech activities to try out with your students.

Check out one of my favourites: “Tell a Story.” It’s fun, and engaging, and creates some great opportunities for students to practice this important skill. Reported speech activities don’t have to be terrible any longer! Have some fun with reported speech ESL.

Reported Speech ESL Speaking Activity

Skills: Writing/reading/speaking/listening Time: 15-30 minutes Level: Intermediate to Advanced Materials Required: Nothing

Have students write something interesting. Some examples are the most embarrassing moment, the scariest thing you’ve ever done, your dream for the future, future predictions , etc. Base it on whatever topic you are studying in class that day. Make it clear to the students that it should be something they’re willing to share with the entire class so as not to write something very private.

Then, distribute the stories to other people in the class. Then the students have to go around the class, finding the person whose story they have by asking questions. Once they find that person, they have to ask them three interesting questions about the story. And the person who originally wrote the story has to answer them of course.

I like this part of it because it gets students up and out of their seats, moving around and talking to different people. It gets boring sitting down all the time and talking to only 1 person! It’s ideal for those sleepy classes that you might have on Friday afternoon or those ones who are just waking up on Monday morning.

Reported speech ESL activities

Teaching Tips for Tell Your Story:

Emphasize to students that they are to practice asking good questions. For example, “USA?” is not a good question, while, “Did you study abroad in the USA?” is much better. Full sentences are the key here.

Also, emphasize that students should think of interesting follow-up questions that expand upon their knowledge about that situation. This involves reading carefully so they can avoid asking about things that are already mentioned.

You can give your students a couple of minutes before the activity starts to write down a few questions based on the paper they received to help facilitate this. Based on the topic you’ve assigned for the story, there should be some obvious ones that they’d want to ask.

This activity provides an excellent opportunity for your students to work on reported speech. This is something that high-level students are often surprisingly weak at. If you have a small class (less than 10), students can report what they learned about their partner to everyone.

If larger, students can tell their seating partner what they learned. For example, students might say something like, “I talked to Min-Ji. She told me that she got in a car accident last year. She said that it was really scary, but thankfully nobody got injured seriously.”

Procedure for this Reported Speech Activity:

• Have students write an interesting story based on a certain topic. Adjust for length and difficulty depending on your students.
• Collect stories and redistribute them–one per student, making sure a student does not get their own story.
• Students go around the class asking people if that is their story. For example, “Did you get in a car accident when you were little?”
• When they find the person, they must ask them three interesting follow-up questions about it.
• Do the optional variation of having students tell other people what they learned about their classmate in order to practice using reported speech.
• Follow-up with a worksheet, other activity or homework assignment.

Do You Like this Reported Speech ESL Speaking Activity?

• Amazon Kindle Edition
• Bolen, Jackie (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 148 Pages - 03/09/2016 (Publication Date)

If you like this ESL speaking activity to help your students practice reported speech, then you’re going to love this book: 101 ESL Activities: For Teenagers and Adults . It’s lesson planning made easy, guaranteed. The key to better English classes is a wide variety of engaging and interactive games and activities and this book will help you get there in style.

There are dozens of top-quality ESL games and activities for teenagers and adults that are organized into various categories: reading, writing, speaking, writing, warm-ups, and 4-skills. You’re sure to find something that will work for any level of students or topic.

You can get the book on Amazon in both print and digital formats. The (cheaper!) digital copy can be read on any device by downloading the free Kindle reading app. It’s super easy to have fun, engaging ESL activities with you anywhere you go.

Or, buy the book and keep it as a handy reference on your bookshelf, or teacher supply room. You can check out 101 ESL Activities for yourself over on Amazon:

Teaching Reported Speech FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about reported speech games and activities for English learners. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is reported speech in English?

Reported speech is when we talk about or repeat what someone else has said using our own words.

Why do we use reported speech?

We use reported speech to share information, statements, or questions that someone else has said.

What changes occur when turning direct speech into indirect speech?

Pronouns, tense, and time expressions often change for indirect speech.

Can you give an example of direct speech changing to reported speech?

Direct: She said, “I am going to the store.” Reported: She said that she was going to the store.

What happens to the pronouns in reported speech?

Pronouns usually change to match the perspective of the speaker in reported speech.

How do you shift tenses in reported speech?

Generally, you shift the tense back one step. For example, present simple becomes past simple.

Do all time expressions remain the same in indirect speech?

No, time expressions usually change, e.g., “now” becomes “then,” “today” becomes “that day.”

What’s the reporting verb?

The verb that introduces indirect speech can be things like, “said,” “told,” “asked.”

Can questions be reported too?

Yes, questions can be reported using reporting verbs like “asked” or “wondered.”

How do you report imperative sentences?

Imperative sentences are reported using the verb “to” + infinitive, or with phrases like “ordered” or “told.”

What’s the key to successfully teaching indirect speech to ESL students?

Practice and exposure through various exercises and real-life examples are crucial for understanding indirect speech.

Reported speech games and activities for ESL

Tell your Story English Speaking Activity: Have your Say!

What do you think of this activity to practice ESL reported speech? Is it a good one or do you have another reported speech lesson plan activity that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 100 books for English teachers and English learners, including 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults and 1001 English Expressions and Phrases . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: YouTube Facebook TikTok Pinterest Instagram

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Reported Speech Exercises

Perfect english grammar.

Here's a list of all the reported speech exercises on this site:

( Click here to read the explanations about reported speech )

Reported Statements:

• Present Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Present Continuous Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Past Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Present Perfect Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Future Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Mixed Tense Reported Statement Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• 'Say' and 'Tell' (quite easy) (in PDF here)

Reported Questions:

• Present Simple Reported Yes/No Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Present Simple Reported Wh Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Mixed Tense Reported Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)

Reported Orders and Requests:

• Reported Requests and Orders Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Reported Speech Mixed Exercise 1 (difficult) (in PDF here)
• Reported Speech Mixed Exercise 2 (difficult) (in PDF here)

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Reported speech - 1

Reported speech - 2

Reported speech - 3

Worksheets - handouts

Reported speech

Worksheets - pdf exercises.

• Reported statements - worksheet
• Worksheet - reported questions
• Reported yes/no questions
• Worksheet - reported speech
• Reported speech - exercises pdf
• Indirect speech - exercises
• Reported speech - exercises
• Mixed reported speech 1
• Mixed reported speech 2
• Reported speech 1 
• Reported speech 2  
• Reported speech 3 
• Reported speech 4
• Reported speech 5
• Reported wh- questions
• Reported speech - worksheet 
• Reported commands
• Reported questions
• Reported speech 1
• Reported speech 2
• Reported requests and orders
• Reported speech exercise
• Reported questions - worksheet
• Indirect speech - worksheet
• Worksheets pdf - print
• Grammar worksheets - handouts

Grammar - lessons

• Reported speech - grammar notes
• How to use reported speech - lesson
• Tense changes - grammar

Practise reported speech with Vogue interviews

• Famous People
• Games and Role Plays

Grammar - reported speech

LESSON OVERVIEW

This lesson plan demonstrates how we can use videos to teach grammar. This worksheet deals with reported speech and is based on a video, “Vogue 73 Questions with Nicole Kidman”. And here is the best part. You can choose whatever video interview you want to show your students. Vogue provides a lot of 73 questions videos with different celebrities, models, actresses, sportspeople (around 40). You can decide what your students might be interested in most and use it to practise reported speech – the lesson plan is developed in such a way that it gives you flexibility to choose whichever video you want.

PRESENTATION & PRACTICE (REPORTED SPEECH)

This reported speech lesson plan starts with a fake interview consisting of four questions and answers. Students need to read it and complete the table with direct and reported speech sentences. Next, they move to rules. They have to study the table and choose the correct option to form grammar rules about reported speech . Monitor your class and make sure that everyone understands how reported speech works. Finally, student practise using the structure. They need to rewrite provided sentences which represent different tenses and include time markers so that they can practise all aspects of reported speech.

Tell your students that they’re going to watch an interview with a famous person. Below you can find a video interview with Nicole Kidman that we’ve chosen. The 73 questions format by Vogue is a bit demanding. It’s a single shot video during which the interviewer asks a lot of random questions as the interviewee is giving a tour of their houses. What we usually do is to let students watch first 90 seconds of the video so they get familiar with the format. After this intro, you may also ask them to predict what kind of questions might be asked. In the listening comprehension task, students have to write down 7 answers they hear in the video. Remind your students that they don’t need to remember and understand all the questions and answers. Those Vogue videos are a bit long so it’s up to you whether you want to play the whole video or just a few minutes. After that, using the answers they wrote down, students have to report what this famous person said.

PRODUCTION (PRACTISING REPORTED SPEECH WITH ROLE PLAY)

Next, students move to t he production stage where they’ll practise newly-learnt grammar structure orally. First, they have to choose one famous person they would like to speak to if they had such an opportunity. Then, they write 5 questions they would ask such a person. Try to monitor and check whether your students have created correct direct questions. Students work in pairs and give each other the name of the person they’ve chosen to interview. They have around 2 minutes to prepare for an interview with their partner, who will have to take on the role of that celebrity . It doesn’t really matter if they know the celebrity – let them improvise and not to worry whether their answers are true. Students who ask questions have to remember as many answers as they can. Finally, using reported speech, they have to tell the group/other people in the class what this famous person, i.e. their partner, said, e.g. Michelle Obama said that….

EXTRA WORKSHEET – Reporting verbs with movie quotes

As the lesson plan is all about reported speech, we want to supplement it with some reporting verbs so that your students can practise using more diverse vocabulary. With our worksheet called Movie quotes you should know! , your students will learn some classic movie quotes and use them to practise using reported speech. On top of that, there is a semi-controlled production task where students need to be a bit creative and come up with some original celebrity quotes and then report them.

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Hi, Could you explain this answer please as I am little confused about it When we report questions, we should have the same/different word order than in questions. Answer shows different word order.

Yes, exactly. When we report a question, we have to change the word order as it is no longer a question (and in writing there is no question mark). The word order is like that of a normal statement (subject-verb-object).

My students’ve found Nicole’s accent to be quite challenging to understand, so I substituted it with a different actress – Sarah Jessica Parker ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W511rtnnlZM&t=135s ). For B1 students that video was perfect.

Thanks for your comment! Exactly, we can choose here any interview by Vogue which we find suitable for our students.

Thank you for your help! I could find the worksheets! Excellent materials!!

Thank you! very useful! I am learning all about computing skills these days! Thank you for the help!

Hi! Thanks for the class. I’d just like to let you know there’s a mistake on the worksheet and the slides: Activity 1 (direct speech – indirect speech): “I’ve always dreamt of seeing you in that show” said Joe’s father Joe’s father said that he ______________ of seeing me in your show!

You probably forgot to change the pronouns in the indirect speech sentence.

The class was amazing, though! Thanks for everything!

Hi! Thanks for spotting that! You’re correct. We’ve just updated the worksheets and the slides 🙂

Hi! I think, there is a mistake in the sentence in the reported speech: David said that Joe is a master at storytelling! I guess, Joe was, right?

Hi there! Actually, it’s not a mistake and the sentence you’ve mentioned refers to the rule in the next exercise (ex. 2), i.e. ‘if something that a person says is still true we can keep the same tense’.

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Australian judge extends ban on X sharing video of Sydney bishop's stabbing

Rod Mcguirk

Associated Press

MELBOURNE – An Australian judge on Friday extended a ban on X allowing videos of the stabbing of a Sydney bishop in his church last month after government lawyers condemned the social media company's free speech argument for keeping the graphic images circulating.

Australian Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett extended his order that X Corp., the company rebranded by billionaire Elon Musk when he bought Twitter last year, block users from sharing videos of the April 15 attack .

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The attack led to terrorism-related charges for the alleged attacker, a teenager, and triggered a riot outside the church.

The order has existed since April 22 and Kennett will decide on Monday whether it will continue in its current form.

X is alone among social media platforms in fighting a notice from Australia's eSafety Commission, which describes itself as the world’s first government agency dedicated to keeping people safer online, to take down the video of the attack during an Assyrian Orthodox service streamed online.

A bishop and priest were injured but both survived.

Musk has accused Australia of censorship and has applied to the Federal Court to overturn the eSafety notice. The court will sit on Wednesday to consider setting a hearing date for X’s application.

X has geoblocked Australian users from the content, but eSafety argues the video can be still accessed from Australia through Virtual Private Networks.

VPNs are services that allow users to access sites in other countries that are blocked in their own nation. The regulator wants a worldwide ban on the video.

An eSafety lawyer, Tim Begbie, described X in court on Friday as a “market leader in proliferating and distributing violent content and violent and extremist material.”

Begbie said Australia could not be expected to conform to X’s “pro-free speech stance.”

“The fact is that that stance is in large measure illusory. Because X doesn’t stand for ‘global removal is bad’ in some pure sense,” Begbie said.

X’s own policies repeatedly refer to circumstances in which the platform will elect to remove content globally, Begbie said.

“The real position is this: X says that ‘reasonable’ means what X wants it to mean,” Begbie said.

“Global removal is reasonable when X does it because X wants to do it. But it becomes unreasonable when X is told to do it by the laws of Australia,” Begbie added.

X lawyer Bret Walker said X had taken reasonable steps to block the content from Australia but said there had been glitches.

He described eSafety’s demand for a global ban as astonishing and the notice as invalid.

“You don’t expect to see statutes saying the Australian Parliament will regulate what concerning Australia — that is events in Australia — can be viewed in Russia, Finland, Belgium or the United States,” Walker said.

“Not unless we want to become isolationist to a degree that is unthinkable,” Walker added.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Biden awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, Michelle Yeoh and more

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor.

President Joe Biden on Friday awarded 19 Americans with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

The diverse group of recipients ranged from political trailblazers like Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn to activists like Opal Lee and Judy Shephard as well as Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.

Biden kicked off the ceremony in the East Room by calling it "one of their favorite events at the White House."

"Today we have another extraordinary honor to bestow the nation's highest civilian artist of mine to 19 incredible people whose relentless curiosity, inventiveness, ingenuity and hope have kept faith in a better tomorrow," the president said.

Biden shared anecdotes and accomplishments of the awarded individuals, and at times touched on the politics of the moment.

Remarking on Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House who served in the role the first three years of Biden's presidency, Biden commended her for her legislative prowess and her leadership during the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. He said she would be remembered as the "greatest speaker of the House of Representatives in history."

"She used her superpower to pass some of the most significant laws in our nation's history," Biden said. "On Jan. 6, Nancy stood in the breach defending democracy … Nancy is a brilliant, practical, principled and determined leader."

On Clyburn, Biden noted his role in helping his 2020 campaign by offering his crucial endorsement.

"I would not be standing here as president and making these awards without Jim," Biden said, adding: "We are a great nation because we have people like Jim."

Biden reminisced about when he first met Ledecky in 2012, when he was serving as vice president. He noted Ledecky, who has won 10 Olympic medals, will be competing in the upcoming Paris games at the age of 27.

"Which some say is old for swimming -- 27. Don't let age get in your way, you know what I mean?" the 81-year-old Biden joked, prompting laughs from the room. "Katie, age is just a number, kid."

He praised Yeoh -- who was the first Asian woman to win "Best Actress" at the Oscars for her role in "Everything Everywhere All At Once" -- for shattering "stereotypes and glass ceilings to enrich and enhance American culture."

Biden also recalled working with activists like Lee, the "grandmother" of the movement that helped make Juneteenth the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. day. He said Lee was the first person he handed the pen to after signing the law.

"Miss Opal Lee made it her mission to make history, not erase it," Biden said. "We're in a better nation because you, Opal. Thank you."

Also honored was Clarence B. Jones, a speechwriter for King who helped pen his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

In his remarks to Judy Shephard, the mother of Matthew Shepherd, Biden noted its been 25 years since her son was brutally killed at 21 years old for being openly gay.

"The brutal murder of your son galvanized a movement, leading to a law in his name to protect LGBTQ Americans," Biden said. "Your relentless advocacy is a reminder that we must give hate no safe harbor."

Three medals were awarded posthumously to Medgar Wiley Evers, a World War II veteran and civil rights leader killed by a white supremacist in 1963; James Francis Thorpe, the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal; and Frank R. Lautenberg, a U.S. senator who was an advocate for environmental issues.

He also gave the honor to one of his 2020 Democratic primary rivals: former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. He recognized Bloomberg for his work on gun violence and climate change, and for helping rebuild after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Another political figure honored Friday was Al Gore, who served as vice president under former President Bill Clinton and who narrowly lost the 2000 election to George W. Bush.

"After winning the popular vote, he accepted the outcome of a disputed presidential election for the sake of unity and trust in our institutions," Biden said. "That to me was amazing, what you did Al."

Other medal recipients were Francis Boyle, a Jesuit Catholic priest who is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries; journalist and television host Phil Donahue; former Secretary of State John Kerry; former Sen. Elizabeth Doyle; Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space and the second female director of NASA's Johnson Space Center; astronomer Jane Rigby; Teresa Romero, the president of the United Farm Workers.

"There is so much more to say about all of them, but we'd be here for 12 hours," Biden quipped after remarking on each honoree.

"I'll tell you what, makes you proud to be an American doesn't it," Biden said after all medals were awarded.

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• President Biden
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April 30, 2024 - US university protests

By Rachel Ramirez, Chandelis Duster, Samantha Delouya, Tori B. Powell, Aditi Sangal, Amir Vera, Deva Lee, Kathleen Magramo, Dalia Faheid and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

Our live coverage of the protests rocking US campuses has moved here

Over 100 protesters arrested across 2 New York college campuses, law enforcement official says

From CNN’s Mark Morales

Over 100 protesters were arrested Tuesday at Columbia University and City College of New York, according to a law enforcement official.

Most of the arrests were made at Columbia, including about two dozen protesters who police say tried to prevent officers from entering the campus, the official said.

Tactical teams at Columbia first set up a perimeter around the campus to hold back protesters and prevent further arrests, according to the official. Offers then entered the campus through multiple entry points.

"It's still a student-fueled movement," Columbia student magazine editor says

From CNN's Kathleen Magramo

Jonas Du, editor-in-chief of a Columbia student magazine, told CNN that the protests on campus are student-fueled regardless of any outsider involvement.

It’s “hard to say” whether those arrested from Columbia's Hamilton Hall were students or from outside the institution, the Columbia Sundial editor said.

“Even though campus has been locked down to Columbia ID holders, now there has been ways of getting in, getting non-affiliated into campus. But for the most part you need Columbia IDs, you need students to provide you with IDs that can get you into campus," said Du, who is a junior student at the university.

Du said he believes there is “evidence” of outside organizations behind the occupation's planning, but he also says numerous Columbia students were inside Hamilton Hall. 

He said he recognized “many, many Columbia students in the crowd” that formed human chains around the entrances to Hamilton Hall while reporting on the protests. 

“At the end of the day, it's still a student-fueled movement. It wouldn’t have gotten to (this) extent without the of the student organizations here.” 

Du said students received a text message and email alert from the school stating that a shelter-in-place order had been issued, asking them to remain in their dorms and not to go on campus.

"But all of us knew that that was sort of a signal that the NYPD was going to raid campus," he added.

Video shows Arizona State University police officer removing protester’s hijab during arrest

From CNN’s Cindy Von Quednow

Video taken over the weekend at Arizona State University shows a campus police officer removing a hijab from a protester’s head during her arrest.

The blurred video, obtained by Mass Liberation AZ and provided to CNN by attorney Zayed Al-Sayyed, who represents the women, shows several ASU Police Department officers surrounding a woman whose hands are held behind her back as one of the officers removes her hijab.

People nearby can be heard yelling, “You’re violating her privacy,” and “Give it back.”

The officers then pull the woman’s sweatshirt hood over her head and a bystander yells, “So she can wear a hood but not her hijab?” At one point one of the officers blocks the woman from the view of those taking the video, as a person yells, “let her go!”

A lawyer representing her and three other women who said it also happened to them is demanding accountability.

Al-Sayyed, who said the arrests took place early Saturday, did not identify the women but indicated that three of them are students at the university and all four are Phoenix-area residents. They are facing criminal trespass charges.

Upon being taken into custody, Al-Sayyed said, the women explained the significance of a hijab and “begged” to keep their hijabs, but he said they were told that their hijabs had to be removed for safety reasons.

“They never expected that an officer … who’s sworn to protect and serve is going to violate their most basic protected right under the United States Constitution, which is the right to practice their religion. So they're hurt,” Al-Sayyed said.

After being detained and bused to jail, the women were not given their hijabs back, Al-Sayyed said.

Around 15 hours later, when he was finally given access to his clients, Al-Sayyed said he was able to bring them new hijabs.

The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ),  condemned  the university police for the recorded incident and others like it and called for a full investigation.

“This act represents a blatant infringement upon the religious liberties of peaceful protesters. It is profoundly distressing for the affected women, and ASU Police must conduct a thorough investigation into this matter,” Azza Abuseif, executive director of CAIR-AZ, said in an email to CNN.

In a statement to CNN, the university said, “This matter is under review.” CNN has reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for comment.

Protests will continue despite police presence at Columbia, student negotiator says

A lead student negotiator for protesters at Columbia University has told CNN that protests will continue on the campus despite the school's request for a police presence.

The university has asked NYPD to maintain its presence on campus until May 17.

"I’m very confident that students will continue this movement even after all this brutality against them," negotiator Mahmoud Khalil said, adding that students still have the right to protest despite increased security.

Since negotiations between student protesters and the Columbia University administration began two weeks ago, the university has not viewed them as an anti-war movement, he said. 

"Instead, they dealt with it as an internal student discipline matter. They negotiated with us about bringing food and blankets to the encampment. They refused to acknowledge that this actually is more than that, this is a nationwide movement.

"This is a movement that asks Columbia to divest its investments from the companies that are fuelling the war in Gaza right now,” said Khalil, who is a second-year graduate student at Columbia.

Tensions escalated on campus when officers entered Columbia's Hamilton Hall , which had been occupied by protesters since the early hours of Tuesday, and dozens were seen being arrested.

Khalil said that "the autonomous group decided to take that building when they felt the university is not answering their demands" and was "alienating" them.

Police presence at Columbia may dampen graduation celebrations, CNN journalist and student says

From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe

Julia Vargas Jones, a CNN journalist and Columbia Journalism School graduate student, said the university's request for an on-campus police presence through May 17 will only "dampen the mood even more" as students and their families prepare for graduation.

NYPD swarmed the university Tuesday night after the university authorized them to go into the campus to clear out a building being occupied by protesters. CNN has witnessed dozens of arrests.

"Graduation is May 15. That is my graduation as well. I have family coming from Brazil to come watch me walk across the stage and get my diploma. I hope of course, as everyone does, that this (graduation) can happen," Jones said.

"But at the same time, is there a climate for celebration, for graduation?" Jones said.

Jones said she's unsure the climate on campus will be celebratory as graduation nears.

"I spoke to a lot of students on campus today and students were just feeling caught in between. I don't really see celebration being something we flock to in the coming weeks," she said. "I'm interested to see who will actually attend graduation."

Jones said she has not witnessed any violent altercations as she reported from inside Columbia’s campus Tuesday night. After the campus was cleared by NYPD, Jones described the atmosphere as quiet enough to “hear a pin drop.”

NYPD used flash bangs to breach Columbia building where doors were barricaded

From CNN’s Matthew Friedman and Miguel Marquez

NYPD officers used flash-bang grenades to breach Columbia's Hamilton Hall, which protesters had barricaded themselves inside Tuesday, the police department told CNN.

The building's doors had been barricaded with chairs, tables and vending machines, and windows had been covered with newspaper, the NYPD said.

When a flash-bang grenade is deployed , it emits a bright flash and a very loud bang, often used to shock and disorient. 

Video posted by NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry shows officers searching a bookshelf-lined office after busting the door's lock with a hammer.

Another video shows officers packing a stairwell and passing chairs to one another.

At least 50 officers had earlier used an elevated ramp to climb into the building through a window. 

Columbia University property has been cleared, NYPD says

From CNN’s Matthew Friedman and Miguel Marquez at Columbia

Columbia University’s property has been cleared, the New York Police Department told CNN, less than two hours after officers entered the school’s campus in Morningside Heights.

Hamilton Hall has also been cleared, the NYPD says, and nobody was wounded during the operation. 

The NYPD is still monitoring different locations for protesters across the city, they said.

Photos show NYPD action at Columbia University

From CNN Digital’s Photo Team

The New York Police Department entered the Columbia University campus late Tuesday evening after receiving a letter from the university authorizing them to go into the campus, a law enforcement source familiar with the situation told CNN. 

Officers entered Hamilton Hall , which had been occupied by protesters since the early morning hours Tuesday.

Dozens of people have been arrested.

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Macron, von der Leyen press China's Xi on trade in Paris talks

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Banning UK arms exports to Israel would strengthen Hamas, UK's Cameron says

Stopping British arms sales to Israel if it launches a ground assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip would strengthen Hamas, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Sunday.