OBJECTIVES:

 Writing about well known people (using the simple past tense).
 Finding facts and giving biographical information about someone.
 Giving autobiographical information. Writing your timeline.

Warm up
Do you know who these famous people were?
1 2 3 4
 “Elvis Presley was …”

Activity 1: Match the person to an activity/profession

Elvis Presley - painters

Neil Armstrong - astronaut
Picasso and Dalí - American actor
Claudio Arrau - singer
James Dean - Chilean pianist

Remember: The past of am , is = was / The past of are = were

For example:

 I am here now. I was at home all day yesterday. ( Estoy aquí. Estuve en casa todo el día ayer)
 I am a patient person, but I was very impatient as a child. ( Soy una persona paciente,
pero era muy impaciente cuando chico)
 She is here now, but she was absent at the meeting. ( Ella está aquí ahora, pero estuvo
ausente en la reunión)
 We are happy because we weren’t dismissed. (Estamos felices porque no fuimos despedidos)

Activity 2: Write statements about the famous people in the box above or
any other famous person. Use was or were.

a) Positive statements:
For example:
 Albert Einstein was a scientist.

b) Negative sentences:
For example:
 Albert Einstein wasn’t a painter.

c) Questions:
For example:
 Were Picasso and Dalí writers?

d) Answers your questions:

 For example:
 Yes, he was / No, he wasn´t.
 Yes, she was / No, she wasn’t
 Yes, they were / No, they weren’t

Activity 3: Answer the questions:

School days

1. What year did you start school?

2. Who was your first teacher?
3. When did you learn to read?
4. Who was your first friend at school?
5. What was your favourite subject at school?
6. Who was your favourite school teacher?
7. What was your least favourite subject?
8. When did you start secondary school?
9. What is your best schooldays memory?
10. When did you leave school?

Examples:

1) I started school in 1989

2)

Activity 4: Read the text about Nelson Mandela and fill in the gaps using the words in the
box.
 named studied became stayed became wanted
was born married got out called started = (ingresó a...)
caught formed received was sent wrote

Nelson Mandela ....................... on July 18th, 1918. He................. the son of an African

chief. His father .................. him Rolihlala but, his school friends .................. him Nelson.

Nelson ................... law and in 1944 .................. the youth league of the African National

Congress. He .................. to end the racist policies of the white government.

Nelson .............,,,... Winnie, his second wife, in 1958. In 1964 he .................. the military

wing of the ANC. In the same year, the white government .................. him and .................

him to prison for life. In the 1970's he ................. his life story. Nelson .................. of jail

on February 10th 1990. He ................. in South Africa. In 1991 he ................... president of

the ANC. In 1993 he .................. the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1994 he ................... president

of South Africa.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> o <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Activity 5: Write a Nelson Mandela timeline.

Time Fact (What happened then?)
July 18th, 1918  He was born.



Activity 6: Write the regular verbs from exercise 4 in their base form. What are the
spelling rules? (Escribe los verbos regulares del ejercicio 1 en su forma base) ¿Cuáles son las
reglas de ortografía ?

Base form Past tense Base form Past tense

want wanted named
called
started
formed
received

Base form Past tense Base form Past tense

stayed studied
married

Activity 7: Answer these questions:

 How do we form most regular past tenses? ________________________________________

 What happens to verbs that end in e in their base form? ______________________________
 What happens to verbs that end in consonant + Y? ___________________________________
 What happens to verbs that end in vowel + Y? ______________________________________
Activity 8: Timeline vocabulary
Write the verbs in the past, as in the examples.

Regular
verb
1. start (preschool, primary school, etc.)(ingresar a ... ) started ✓
2. be born in (year, city) was born / were born
3. grow up in ... grew up
✓
4. graduate from (preschool, primary school, etc)
✓
5. finish (preschool, primary school, etc)
6. get my first (pet, guitar, etc)
7. go to ............ high school
✓
8. join .......... (a club/an institution)
9. win .......... (a game/a competition)
10. be elected (president of ........)
11. be chosen (the best classmate, etc )
✓
12. travel to ............. for the first time
✓
13. kiss someone for the first time
14. leave (high school)
15. take a course on ..................
 ✓
16. learn how to ...................
✓
17. move to ....................
✓
18. participate in a (painting) contest
19. get a job in .... / as a .....
20. take (a test, an exam, etc)
✓
21. decide (to study ...)
22. break (my arm, etc)
✓
23. die ( ........)

Optional career related activity / Homework:

Go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/

Write a ten-sentence timeline about someone who has made a significant contribution to
your field of study.

(Activities devised by Simon Higginson and Juan Luzzi)