Lesson plan

Teacher: Ionela-Beatrice Sîrbu

Date: the 13th of March 2017
Grade: 7th A
No. of students: 24
School: Secondary School No.1 Rovinari
Time of lesson: 50 minutes
Textbook: High Flyer
Title: Past simple and past continuous tense – Consolidation

Lesson objectives:

1. To raise Ss’ awareness of the English language;

2. To use correctly grammar in different communicational situations;
3. To talk about past using Past simple tense and Past continuous tense;
4. To stimulate students’ imagination and creativity;
5. To identify and compare linguistic aspects between English and Romanian.
6. to discern the meaning/use distinction between the simple past and the past
continuous..

7. to use the past continuous meaningfully in spoken interaction.

Materials:
Blackboard, laptop, worksheets, ball of thread, picture

Skills involved: reading, speaking, listening and writing

Class management: individual work, pair work

Anticipated problems and possible solutions:

If Ss do not understand the oral commands or the tasks, they will be translated into Romanian

Activity 1 Warm-up
Interaction Timing
Aim: To create a pleasant atmosphere and to relax the Ss T-Ss
To get Ss involved in the topic Ss-T
Procedure: 2 min
1. Informal conversation, greetings
2. Check if there are students missing
Activity 2- Checking the Previous Knowledge

Aim- to check their previous acquisition. T-Ss 5 min

Procedure: Ss-Ss
T asks the Ss » Did you have anything to learn for today?
(the Ss had to revise the list of irregular verbs and the regular verbs)
» Playing the Ball of thread game. Ss are familiar with this kind of
revision so they feel comfortable using the ball of thread when
answering to the colleague’s questions .T starts the activity by throwing
the ball to a student and asking him/her the infinitive of a verb and the S
gives the past form of the verb. Then, the student throws the ball to
another one asking him/her about the past form of another verb and so
on. When a S doesn’t know the answer the ball is thrown back and the S
sits down. The result of the activity is a spider web The Ss who hold the
thread are congratulated by the T and the ones that didn’t know the
answers are encouraged to keep trying .

Activity 3 Lead in
T-Ss 10 min
Aim: to introduce the theme of the lesson –Past Simple and Continuous- Ss-T
Consolidation
Procedure: To set up a framework of the lesson and activate schemata,
T begins by asking some of the students the following question: “What
did you do last weekend?”Before proceeding,T writes the question
down on the board. While eliciting responses from the students, T will
make sure that the simple past form is properly used.For example:
T: What did you do last weekend, Radu?
S1: I saw a movie.
This conversation will continue to include other Ss.T lists up the
answers on the left side of the board, underlining the verbs in the simple
past form.
Then, T proceeds to ask another question, using the past continuous:
“What were you doing at eight o’clock yesterday evening?”A few of the
students may be able to answer this question, using the past progressive
properly (e.g., “I was watching TV.”). But it is likely that many of them
fail to do so; some use the simple past (e.g., “I watched TV.”), while
others attempt to use the past continuous but omit the auxiliary BE (e.g.,
“I watching TV.”). T would provide negative feedback, using recasts
(e.g., “You were watching TV, right?”), to make the students aware of
the past continuous form.T lists up the answers on the right side of the
board, underlining the verbs in the past continuous form.
Thus, example sentences of the simple past and the past progressive are
elicited from the students and presented for comparison on the board .

» Then she asks the Ss to remember the use of the Simple Past
Use: we use the Simple Past to talk about completed actions in the past.
T uses the written sentences as an example for the Ss
T asks the Ss : Can you identify the tense in the examples?
The Ss recognize the Past Continuous tense.
What do we use it for?
Use: we use the Past Continuous tense to talk about actions which were
in progress at a particular moment in the past.
The actions can be:
interrupted – when …
Happening at the same time – while…or as I……..
Activity 3 Written Practice 5min
T-Ss
Aim: Consolidation Ss-Ss
Procedure: T asks the Ss to have a look at the following sentences and to
complete them on their handouts. (Appendix 1). Ss solve the task and
after that, they are asked to read the sentences and correct if necessary.

Activity 4 Oral Practice

Aim: To use correctly grammar in different communicational situations
Procedure: T-Ss 7 min
T adds the following example sentences for Ss-T
further illustration of the distinction between
Past Simple and Continuous

The dog drowned in the river. The dog was

drowning in the river.

T asks the Ss to look at a picture. Example of conversation:

T: Look at this picture. Poor dog. This picture was taken yesterday.
Which sentence do you think describes this picture better? Here the dog
drowned in the sea? Or here the dog was drowning in the sea? In which
sentences the action complete? Also, to which sentence do you think
you can add “but someone jumped into the water and saved the dog”?
The possible answers would be:
S: Ah, probably, …“The dog was drowning in the sea.”
T: Yes, exactly. When the dog drowned, can you save the dog?
S: No.
T: Why?
S: The dog drowned. The dog is dead.
T: Yes, when the dog drowned, the action is complete. That is, the dog is
dead now. But when the dog was drowning, the action was not yet
complete at least at that time. So, what is the meaning of the simple past
and the past progressive? What’s the main difference?
S: Ah,…finished or not?
T: Yes, exactly. When you describe a complete action, you should use
the simple past. But when you describe an incomplete action at a certain
time in the past, you should use the past progressive. The Ss liked the
exercise very much and answer to the questions on spot.

Activity 5 Reading comprehension T-Ss 7min

Aim: to practice reading comprehension and identify the verbs form the Ss-T
text
Procedure: The T give the Ss handouts with a text asks the Ss to read
the text from the handout (Appendix 2)

The T asks the Ss to identify and underline the verbs in the past
simple and past continuous in the text.
Ss-Ss 12min
Activity 6 Story Maker T-Ss

Aim: to make stories using Past Simple and Continuous

Procedure: T divides the Ss into group of 4 students each. Then T asks

the Ss to pay close attention to the given clues... They have to make
short stories using the Past simple and Past Continuous using the clues.
They are told to use ‘’when’ ’and ‘’while’’ If the Ss don’t understand
words or tasks, they ask the T for help.
(Appendix 3).
After solving the task each team names a leader to read the stories to
the whole the class. All Ss pay attention to the other group’s stories and
wait for their turn.

Activity 7 Homework Assignment T-Ss

2 min
The Ss are assigned to write a short strange story using the two tenses.
The T congratulates the class and grades the best students.
Appendix 1:

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use Past Simple
or Continuous:

1. I was picking fresh vegetables when it (start)...................................to rain.

2. Elaine was still working on her project last night when the phone (ring)………….and
interrupted her.
3. We (visit)……………………….the Zoo when a tiger escaped from its cage.
4.Mother(cook)……………………………..while I was having a shower.
5. Jessica was playing tennis while Tom (play)………………………football.

Appendix 2

Read the text carefully and underline the verbs in the Past simple and continuous.

A Strange Experience

Last month I was on holiday in Ireland with my mum and dad. One day, were driving through a
small village. It was time for lunch, so we stopped at a restaurant.

It was a large, old building. We looked through the window. There were lots of people in the
restaurant. They were eating, drinking and chatting. A musician was playing the violin. But there
was something strange about the people. They weren’t wearing normal, modern clothes. They
were wearing hats, jackets and dresses from another century. We couldn’t understand it. But we
were hungry, so we opened the door.

When we went into the restaurant, everything was different. The people were wearing normal
clothes. The musician wasn’t there… the music was on CD. It was a very strange experience.

Appendix 3

Team A
Make short stories using the clues below:

1. shop/ for clothes/ department store

2. wait to pay/ man steal my purse
3. security guard/ watch on video camera/ see everything
4. arrest the man/ leave the store
Team B
Make short stories using the clues below:

1. walk/ in the park/my friend Julie

2. sit on a bench to have a rest/ a woman fall on the ground
3. a doctor/ run in the park/ see what happened
4. give the woman first aid/ an ambulance arrive/ take the woman to the hospital

Team C
Make short stories using the clues below:

1. I Play/ football/ my friends.

2. Play /Tom/fall/on the grass/break his glasses.
3. Everybody/stop/game/.
4. Doctor/come/see/if he /hurt

Team D

Make short stories using the clues below:

1. On the morning/leave/London/it rain/
2. When I step/off the plane in Greece, it was a beautiful day
3. The sun/shine/and a cold wind/blow/
4. It/be/a sunny day/