Name Level Lesson focus Date

Ma. Guadalupe Chavez Upper Intermediate Grammar – Past simple & Past continuous 26.10.2023
Aims:

Main Aim: In the context of listening about past experiences, students will have revised and practiced past simple and past continuous.

Secondary Aim: To provide fluency through speaking practice about past events in simple past and past progressive actions

1. Grammar/structures/functions

Give model sentence(s) from your context:

1. Past simple to talk about completed past actions and events.
“I called the security guard.”
2. Past continuous for actions and situations in progress at or around a time in the past.
“I was working late at the office one night.”
3. Past continuous with simple past for actions interrupted at a key point in the past.
“I was shutting down my computer when I heard a noise”
4. Use of While with longer actions
“While I was waiting for him to come, I saw something move…”
5. Use of when for shorter actions
“I was shutting down my computer, when I heard a noise.”

Meaning - What is the meaning/usage?
Past simple is used to describe completed
events, states or actions in the past. The past
simple is usually accompanied by time
expressions such as last night, yesterday,
two hours ago, etc. We know when the
action started and finished.
Past continuous describes an action which
How will you convey the meaning/usage of the
structure? (anecdote, visual, timeline):
I will show STS an extract from the listening previously
used with Fido. (The model sentences above come from
this exercise.) I will ask STS comprehension questions for
them to have a look at the script in case they did not
understand it and to remember the stories. With their
answers, I will highlight what they say and ask them to
Anticipated Problems & Solutions with meaning:
Problem 1: Students may confuse these tenses as both of
them describe actions in the past. Often there is little difference
between the past continuous and the past simple, except that
the past continuous suggests that the event(s) were in progress
at a time in the past or that they were happening as
background or temporary events.
Solution 1:
was in progress at a stated time in the past. focus on the target language. I will use CCQ for students to I will show students examples along with CCQ to show the
We do not mention when the action started elicit the uses of simple past and past continuous. differences.
or finished. I am also considering showing them a cline to emphasize
the idea of interruptions and to show longer vs. shorter
It can also be used for an action which was in actions.
progress when another action interrupted it.
We use the past continuous for the action in
progress (longer action) and the past simple
for the action interrupted it (shorter action)

How will you check students’ understanding? (CCQs):

“Last year I had an interview for a new job.”
-Is this a completed action?
-Do we know when this action happened?
- Is there any time expression indicating when the action took place? Which one?

“I was working late at the office one night.”

- Is this a finished or an action in progress in the past? In progress in the past
- Did the action of "working late at the office" start before or after the "night" began? Before.
- Which tense is used to describe the action that was already in progress before the specific point in time ("one night") Past continuous.

I was shutting down my computer when I heard a noise”

- How many actions can you identify? (two) Which are they? (I was shutting down my computer/ I heard a noise)
- Which action is shorter? / I heard a noise
- Which verb tense is it? Simple past
- Which action is longer? I was shutting down my computer
- Which tense is it? Past continuous
- Did the action of "shutting down the computer" start before or after the "noise" was heard? Before.
- Which tense is used to describe the action that was already in progress before the interruption? Past continuous.
- Which tense is used to describe the action that interrupts the action in progress? Past simple
Use of when/while:
- "I was shutting down my computer when I heard a noise," which word connects the two actions, "shutting down my computer" and "heard a noise"? When.
- Which tense follows the word “when”? simple past
- Which tense follows while? Past continuous

Form - Name the structure/function and show how you will break down the form/structure for Anticipated Problems & Solutions with form:
students based on the model sentence you provided.

I had an interview last week. Problem 1: Students might confuse past continuous (was/were
Subject + verb + time marker
+ ing) with present continuous.
I Had an interview Last week.

Subject + verb –ing + adverb of place + time marker Solution 1: Emphasize that past continuous talks about
I Was working At the office One night
actions in progress but in the past.
“I was shutting down my computer when I heard a noise”

Simple past: This tense is used to describe a specific, completed action or event that interrupts the ongoing Problem 2: students do not remember simple past rules.
action
When: conjunction. It is used to show the relationship between the two actions, indicating that one action
interrupted the other. Solution 2: ask CCQ to elicit the rules.

When I heard a noise

Conjunction + subject + verb + D.O
When I heard a noise

“I was shutting down my computer

Subject + verb (was/were+ V-ing) + D.O

I Was shutting down My computer

“While I was waiting for him to come, I saw something move…”

Conjunction + Subject + verb (was/were + V-ing)
While I Was waiting

- Past continuous: This tense is used to describe an action that was in progress at a specific point in
the past. Longer action.
 - Conjunction "While": This word is used to show that two actions were happening at the same time
in the past.
- Past simple: indicates the action that interrupts the action in progress. Shorter action.

“I was shutting down my computer when I heard a noise”

Past continuous: action in progress in the past.

Past simple: indicates the action that interrupts the action in progress. Shorter action.
When in this sentence, tells us that the action of "shutting down the computer" was already in progress
when the action of "hearing a noise" occurred.

Pronunciation - Including stress, intonation and aspects of connected speech Anticipated Problems & Solutions with pronunciation:

Was: strong /wɒz/ weak /wəz/

Were: strong /wɜːr/ weak /wər/

Time Stage and Procedure (describe how you will manage each Stage aim Interaction Anticipated Problems and Solutions with
(How step) (Why?) (Who?) learners, management and tasks
long?) (What and how?) (What could go wrong? What will you do if it does?)
5 m. Lead-in Engage students’ T-SS
interest in the topic of Problem: Students return from BORs at
I will show students some pictures that describe one of the past experiences SS-SS different times, and I want to start talking with
stories they previously listened to with Firdous and they will have them before others are back.
to guess which one it is. Connect with Fido’s
Then, I will send them to BORs to discuss their ideas in groups listening lesson to Solution: Set BORs to send participants back
and then we’ll share with the rest of the class. create continuity. to main session after 10-second warning rather
than 60-second warning.
5m I will show sts an excerpt from the listening and ask them To provide context for T-SS
comprehension questions. (the script belongs to the same story TL
they guessed in the previous stage) Noticing examples
- What happened to the speaker? from the text
- What was he doing when he heard a noise? (highlighting)
- What did he decide to do? To give sts the
- What did he see? opportunity to notice
language in context.
Problem: This phase could take up too much time
and is not the main focus of the lesson.
Solution: Edit plan – limit to 2 examples
instead of 4, focus on the ones that are
related to actions in progress and
interruptions.

10 m. Guided-discovery To clarify MFP – T-SS

questions about the
Meaning & form language that are based Problem: Students might not have seen enough
on the text. examples to be able to extrapolate the rules yet.
- Is this action a completed one or an action in progress? Use the context they’ve been working with to
- Did any action interrupt this one?
- Which action is longer? Solution: Focus on the CCQs that draw out the
- Which tense is it? distinctions between the examples.
- How do we form this tense?
- Which action is shorter?
- Which tense is it? Problem: risk of too much teacher talking time
- Which tense do we use to describe completed actions? during the guided discovery
- Which tense do we use to described on-going actions?
- Which tense is it used to describe an action that interrupts Solution:
another action in the past? - Ask questions
- Nominate students
- Show visual information
Don’t repeat after students
.10m Controlled practice Help students to T-SS Problem: students might confuse the tenses.
generate their own
Ex 8. Students have to read the paragraph with the correct form of the ideas and state them in S Solution: we’ll check together through CCQ or
verbs in brackets. past tenses revised nominate stronger students to help other
during the lesson. SS-SS classmates.
.
T-SS

10m Freer practice To provide STS with T-SS Problem: It might be hard for students to think of
Ex 9. Students complete the sentences with their own ideas. freer practice, more ideas within the timeframe.
They will have 5 minutes to complete them individually and then, I will authentic practice of the
Share answers with the whole class. target language. S Solution: Encourage them to invent fictional
information (“made-up” answers) if that’s easier for
them.
SS-SS Problem: Students might change the sentences in
Error correction To give delayed a way that removes the target language.
feedback (error
correction and praise) T-SS Solution: Add an ICQ: “Think about what we are
on target language. practicing today. What part of the sentence would
be good to keep?”
5m