Teaching English tenses in primary school requires great efforts and lots of

practice. While Present and Past Simple Tenses may seem not too hard for
the kids, learning Present Perfect does take plenty of time. Hence, if you
work with kids, you should pay more attention to teaching this tense and
make it entertaining. Fun is the way to remembering things.
Present Perfect introduction
First of all, provide some examples with the Present Perfect Tense.
 I have done my homework.
 Tom has gone to France.
Elicit the form of Present Perfect.
Have + Verb3
He, she, it – has + Verb3
Give examples with Present  Perfect and Past Simple to make a distinction between
finished actions.
 I did my homework yesterday.
 I have done my homework. 
Ask students: “Is the specific time of the action mentioned in the first or in the second
example?”
Elicit that we use Past Simple when we know exactly when the action happened in the
past, and we use Present Perfect when we talk about past experiences in general.
Tell your kids the key words indicating Present Perfect, such as ever, never, just,
already, yet, etc.
Fun activities to practise Present Perfect
What have we changed in the classroom? 
Divide your class into two groups. The first group leaves the classroom, while the second
group is given 3 minutes to change the places of the objects in the room. Then the first
group must try to say what the second group has changed in the classroom using
Present Perfect (e.g. You have changed the textbook. You have put it on my desk. You
have closed the window. You have opened the curtain. ).
“Yes, I have”
Students work in pairs and ask each other questions with “Have you ever…” to fill in the
table (for example, about travelling). The answer should be “Yes, I have”. Then kids ask
questions with WH using Past Simple (about last trip). This will help them to
understand the difference between Present Perfect and Past Simple. 
Who has been a good child?
This activity will especially work nicely to play at Christmas and New Year. In this game,
kids work in pairs, one of them playing Santa’s role. Santa then asks questions with
“Have you” to find out whether the student has been a good kid this year (Have you
helped your mother? Have you done your homework? Have you cooked dinner?). 
Board games
A board game can serve a perfect and effective tool to practise Present Perfect with your
kids. They can play it in pairs or in groups (not more than 4 people in each group). Here
kids roll a die or flip a coin to take steps. If you work online, you can use this tool. Every
time students take turns, they answer questions with Present Perfect or do the
instructions on the board game. There are plenty of printable board games
on Pinterest and Islcollective. 
 Source:
Pinterest.com
                            
Big dreams
Do your kids have big dreams? Is there anything they have never done? Ask them to
share with a partner three things they have never done (they haven’t done yet), but they
would like to do. Thus they revise the adverbs never and yet and have the practice with
Present Perfect. 
I have lied
Many teachers use a version of this activity “Two truths and one lie” as a warm-up. It
can also be adapted to your needs and used to improve your kids’ knowledge in Present
Perfect. Here students work in pairs and tell 3 sentences to their partners (two true
sentences and one false sentence) with “I have” (I have been to Paris, I have never gone
to a theatre, I have not done my homework). Then partners ask them questions to find
out whether it is true or false. They finish the game with “You have lied” or “I have
lied”.
Apply the activities mentioned in the article to make your grammar classes engaging
and help your students to practise Present Perfect with great motivation.