Past Simple vs Present Perfect when Travelling

- Intro - (1 min)
Pre-board & cover the phrase ‘Travel Grammar’ at the top of the board.
Come in with some luggage, a backpack, a straw hat with a copy of a passport. Elicit
the theme and of the lesson.

- Lead In - (10 min)

Pre-board the questions to the right of the board and get the students to ask you each
one as a demo.

1. Where did you last go on holiday?

• Dresden
2. How was your holiday?
• Exciting and very relaxing
3. What did you do there?
• Explore the city, take pictures and go shopping
4. Have you ever been to Scotland?
• Yes, I’m from Scotland
5. Where would be your dream holiday?
• I really like the people and the weather
- Target Language - (15-20 min)
Hand out the reading & give the students time to go over it for 1-2 minutes.
At the end check they understood it: ‘What are Becky & Steve talking about?’
Finish by asking what tense the dialogue is in: Elicit Past Simple and Present Perfect.

Review some Regular & Irregular Past verbs 2nd and 3rd form before if needed.

Regular Irregular
Want > Wanted Go > Went > Gone (Participle)
Live > Lived Hide > Hid > Hidden (Participle)
Play > Played Bite > Bit > Bitten (Participle)
Study > Studied Shake > Shook > Shaken (Participle)
Stop > Stopped Fly > Flew > Flown (Participle)

1. Illicit the structure using examples from the reading:

- I went to Japan 2 years ago - I’ve eaten sushi before
- We drove for 10 hours - I’ve never driven that far
Subject + Past Verb 2nd + Time Subject + Have + Past Verb 3rd +
Vague Time
*Highlight the contraction - I have > I've - Pronouns sound natural this way*

2. Illicit the function using examples from the reading:

- I went to Japan 2 years ago - I’ve eaten sushi before
(Finish past action at a specific time) (Past action at an unspecific
or unfinished time)
(When the action & time is important) (When action is important but
time isn’t)
*Highlight some buzz words - I have > I've - Pronouns sound natural this way*
2 years ago, 10 hours, Last Year Before, Never, Recently, This year
3. Ask for other examples from the reading.

4. Ask for examples not from the reading.

5. Change them to negatives:

- I went to Japan 2 years ago - I’ve eaten sushi before
(I didn’t go to Japan 2 years ago) (I haven’t eaten sushi before)

6. Change them to questions:

- I went to Japan 2 years ago
(When did you go to Japan?)
(Did you go to Japan 2 years ago?)
- We drove for 10 hours
(Did you fly for 10 hours?)
- I’ve eaten sushi before
(Have you ever eaten sushi?)
- I’ve never driven that far
(Have you ever driven that far
before?)

Study 1a - Grammar finding reading exercise (5-7 min)

Put the students into groups of 2
Find and mark all the Past Simple and Present Perfect phrases in the text.
Pre-board the grammar titles and demo the first one as an example
Past Simple Present Perfect
1. I went to Japan 2 years ago 1. Have you ever gone to Japan?
2. It was delicious 2. Have you ever gone there?
3. When did you go? 3. I’ve eaten sushi before
4. I went when I was in university 4 . I’ve already been to the CZ
5. We drove for 10 hours 5. I’ve never driven that far
6. I went to Paris last year 6. Have you ever seen it?
7. I saw the Eiffel Tower 7. I’ve heard Japanese food
8. It was amazing
Study 1b - Sentence correction worksheet (5-7 min)
Put the students into 2s then hand out the printed exercise to the students.
Demo an example. If they finish quicky have the them correct the wrong ones.

RIGHT or WRONG
Look at the sentences. Are they grammatically right or wrong? Why?

1. Have you ever been to Thailand?

Right – no specific time
2. I have had sausages for lunch at half past one.
Wrong – specific time (I had sausages for lunch at half past one)
3. She has enjoyed herself at the party last night.
Wrong – specific time (She enjoyed herself at the party last night)
4. I’ve read that book but I didn’t like it much.
Right – no specific time
5. Tom has left school one year ago.
Wrong – specific time (Tom left school one year ago)
6. My cousin have lived in Dublin 10 years ago.
Wrong – specific time (My cousin has lived in Dublin before)
7. I have eaten lunch one hour ago.
Wrong – specific time (I ate lunch one hour ago)
8. My parents have travelled to England last year.
Wrong – specific time (My parent travelled to England last year)
9. James has made a cake yesterday.
Wrong – specific time (James made a cake yesterday)
10. I’ve washed the car. It looks great now.
Right – no specific time
 11. Was good? Yes ( Many corrections XD )
Wrong – structure
Study 2a - Info gathering speaking exercise (8-10 min)
Make sure the tables have been spaced out before so they have to move around.
Have the students go round asking each other where they have visited and when.
Board some countries as an example. Go through each country at the end.
Demo the first one with the students.

Where have you been? When did you go?

1. Scotland
• Have you gone/visited/been to Scotland?
• Where did you go?
• Jenny has been to Scotland.
• She visited Edinburgh last year
2. England
3. France
4. Germany
5. Spain
6. Italy
7. China
8. Japan
9. Africa
10. Egypt
11. Iceland
- Study 2b - Sentence creation & guessing exercise (8-10 min)
Put the students into groups of 2 then hand out the printed exercise to the students.
Board the title beforehand, be colourful!
Ask how many each guessed right & whose the most psychic :D
Demo the first one as an example.

How well do you know them???

A. Complete the sentences about your partner in the Present Perfect or Past
Simple. You cannot ask them and you must use the correct form of the verb
in brackets.

1. ...... ..... ..... ..... (start) learning English in ...... ..... ..... .....
• Barry started learning English in Highschool
• Wrong. Barry started learning English last year.
2. ...... ..... ..... ..... (have) their mobile for ...... ..... ..... .....
3. ...... ..... ..... ..... (eat) ...... ..... ..... ..... for dinner last night.
4. ...... ..... ..... ..... (know) his/her best friend for ...... ..... ..... .....
5. ...... ..... ..... ..... (be) awake since ...... ..... ..... .....
6. ...... ..... ..... ..... (go) to ...... ..... ..... ..... last weekend.
7. ...... ..... ..... ..... (live) in his/her current residence for ...... ..... ..... .....
8. ...... ..... ..... ..... (clean) his/her bedroom last ...... ..... ..... .....
9. ...... ..... ..... ..... (drink) coffee ...... ..... ..... .....
10. ...... ..... ..... ..... (live) in this city/town for ...... ..... ..... .....
11. ...... ..... ..... ..... (get) his/her hair cut last ...... ..... ..... .....
12. ...... ..... ..... ..... (not be) on holiday for ...... ..... ..... .....

B. Now, check with you partner if you guessed right.

- Activation - Lying Game (20 min)
Split the room into two groups of 3.
Each team will have a list of questions to ask each-other.
They will ask one or two questions to each person & decide as a group if its true.

- Error Correction & Questions - (5 min)

The last minutes are for correcting errors the students have made though the class.
Board them during the Activation exercise.
Also, answer any questions the students might still have.
 Study 1b

RIGHT or WRONG

Look at the sentences. Are they grammatically right or wrong? Why?

1. Have you ever been to Thailand?

Right – no specific time
2. I have had sausages for lunch at half past one.

3. She has enjoyed herself at the party last night.

4. I’ve read that book but I didn’t like it much.

5. Tom has left school one year ago.

6. My cousins have lived in Dublin 10 years ago.

7. I have eaten lunch one hour ago.

8. My parents have travelled to England last year.

9. James has made a cake yesterday.

10. I’ve washed the car. It looks great now.

11. Was good? Yes

 Study 2b

How well do you know them???

A. Complete the sentences about your partner in the Past Simple or Present
Perfect or. You cannot ask them and use the correct form of the verb given.

1. ...... ..... ..... ..... (start) learning English in ...... ..... ..... .....

2. ...... ..... ..... ..... (have) their mobile for ...... ..... ..... .....

3. ...... ..... ..... ..... (eat) ...... ..... ..... ..... for dinner last night.

4. ...... ..... ..... ..... (know) his/her best friend for ...... ..... ..... .....

5. ...... ..... ..... ..... (be) awake since ...... ..... ..... .....

6. ...... ..... ..... ..... (go) to ...... ..... ..... ..... last weekend.

7. ...... ..... ..... ..... (live) in his/her current residence for ...... ..... ..... .....

8. ...... ..... ..... ..... (clean) his/her bedroom last ...... ..... ..... .....

9. ...... ..... ..... ..... (drink) coffee ...... ..... ..... .....

10. ...... ..... ..... ..... (live) in this city/town for ...... ..... ..... .....

11. ...... ..... ..... ..... (get) his/her hair cut last ...... ..... ..... .....

12. ...... ..... ..... ..... (not be) on holiday for ...... ..... ..... .....
B. Now, check with you partner if you guessed right.
Activation
 Reading

Becky and Steve’s Travels

1. Becky: Have you ever gone to Japan?

2. Steve: Yes, I went to Japan 2 years ago. Have you ever gone
there?
3. Becky: No. but I would like to go. I’ve heard the food is really
nice.
4. Steve: It’s true. I love Japanese food, like sushi.
5. Becky: I’ve eaten sushi before, it was delicious!
6. Steve: Maybe someday I’ll go to Japan. I want to go to a
European country for my next holiday.
7. Becky: What about Czech Republic? It’s very nice there.
8. Steve: I’ve already been to the Czech Republic! It was amazing.
9. Becky: Really! When did you go?
10.Steve: I went when I was in university. We drove for 10 hours to
get to Prague.
11.Becky: Wow, I’ve never driven that far.
12.Steve: Maybe you can visit Paris and try speaking French?
13.Becky: That’s true, but I went to Paris last year.
14.Steve: I saw the Eiffel Tower. Have you ever seen it?
15.Becky: Yes, I have. It’s wonderful.