Grammar Card Pack • Lesson Plan
Simple-Present-Tense Statements
Language Proficiency Levels
Grades 1–2 Grades 3–5
1 2345 1 2345
Text Type: Fiction
Card Summary: Families do many different things when
they live in a city. Sentences in the simple present tense
help explain what the family does in the city.
Content Objectives
• Form the simple present tense and use it in
sentences.
Language Objectives
• Use simple-present-tense verbs correctly in
sentences in speech and in writing to describe
people, places, and things.
• Express information, ideas, and concepts
about the grammatical structure with different
partners.
• Integrate visual (charts, posters, and text) and
oral information to co-construct rules and
examples of the target grammar skill.
Key Vocabulary: apartment, bus, city, every,
grocery store, live, near, often, park, play, ride,
shops, takes, week, works
Academic Vocabulary: describe*, identify*, locate*
*Vocabulary word appears in the lesson but not on
the grammar card.
Teacher Resources
• Lesson Plan, Grammatical Structure Notes
Student Resources
• Grammar Card and Guide, Syntax Activity,
Notebook Page, Quiz
Teacher Preparation
• Preview the Grammatical Structure Notes to
build understanding of the grammar concept.
• Preview the vocabulary.
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Verbs
Step 1: Introduce the Grammar
Display the Grammar Card
Show the picture on the first page. Encourage
students to share what they see and know about
the picture. Point out any key vocabulary words that
students don’t mention.
Ask students what they think the people in the
pictures usually do in the city. For example, ask
What do the children do in the city? What do the adults
do in the city? Repeat students’ responses using
simple-present-tense statements.
Display the second page of the card. Explain that
each sentence tells about a picture. Read the text.
Say: I see many different actions people do in the
city. I want to know what they do every day, or often.
What do the children often do? What are their actions?
Which word in the sentence tells me what the children
do in the city? What other words in the sentences show
people’s typical actions? These words are written in the
present tense because they show actions that happen
often or every day. What other simple-present-tense
verbs do you see in the sentences?
Guide students to understand the word order and
verb form used in simple-present-tense statements.
Give examples and guide students with questions
such as Which word in each sentence tells that it is in
the present tense? What letters are at the end of the
present-tense verbs? Do all of the verbs end in -s? Verbs
that do not end in -s are in their base form. Which
verbs are in their base form? How do you know which
form of the verb to use? Present-tense verbs change
form depending on the subject of a sentence. When the
subject of a sentence is I, you, we, or they, the present-
tense verb stays in its base form without adding -s.
When the subject is he, she, or it, add -s to the base
form of the verb.
Step 2: Focus on the Grammar
Display the Grammar Guide
Review what students have learned about simple-
present-tense verbs. Say: You told me that present-
tense verbs stay in their base form or end in -s. Then
review each part of the guide.
Point to the grammar structure of present-tense
verbs in the guide. Read aloud the formulas. Remind
students that the form of the verb depends on the
subject of the sentence. Say: A simple-present-tense
statement starts with the subject. Then the present-
tense verb follows. Depending on the subject of the
sentence, the present-tense verb will stay in its base
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Grammar Card Pack • Lesson Plan
Simple-Present-Tense Statements
form or end in -s. Read aloud the example statements
below the two formulas. Have students identify
the subject and simple-present-tense verb for each
statement. Explain how to form statements with
simple-present-tense verbs. Ask: What is the word
order? What is the subject? What is the verb? Is the
verb in its base form, or does it end in -s? Use the
sample statements to show the grammar structure
and to review the importance of word order and
subject-verb agreement.
Read the example statements on the guide. Have
students point to the subject and simple-present-
tense verb in each statement. Discuss how the other
words in each sentence, such as every day or every
week, add meaning. Repeat this activity with the
Grammar Card for additional practice.
Step 3: Practice the Grammar
Display and distribute the Syntax Activity
Explain to students that they will now create
sentences using the target grammar. Have students
cut out the words on the sentence activity.
Ask a student to select a present-tense verb from
the cards. Model constructing a sentence using one
of the grammar structures on the activity and the
selected verb. Then have students create additional
sentences individually, in pairs, or as a group. Review
students’ sentences and have them identify the
subject in each sentence and the simple-present-
tense verb.
Step 4: Use the Grammar for Writing
Display the Grammar Guide
Explain to students that simple-present-tense
statements can be used in writing to identify actions
that happen every day or regularly. For example,
students might use simple-present-tense verbs to
write about their after-school routines.
Have students think about what they do each day
when they leave school. Direct students to use the
grammar structures from the guide to write simple-
present-tense statements. Review students’ work
and guide any necessary revision. Have students
share their writing in a larger group. Ask students
in what other situations they could use this grammar
in writing.
Step 5: Use the Grammar for Speaking
Explain to students that simple-present-tense
statements can also be used in speaking to identify
actions that happen every day or regularly.
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Verbs
For example, students might talk about their
morning routines. Have students brainstorm about
the actions they do every morning such as making
their bed, brushing their teeth, and eating breakfast.
Write their ideas on the board in simple-present-
tense statements.
Have students take turns talking about their morning
routines. Provide the following dialogue frames
as a guide. Point out that the sentence frames in
the Grammar Guide follow the sentence structure
introduced in the activities above. Model the activity
with a student.
Every morning, I .
Then, I .
Have students practice in pairs and then switch
roles. Ask students what else they can talk about
using these grammar structures.
Step 6: Apply the Grammar
Display the Grammar Guide
Display and distribute the Notebook Page
Guide students to complete the notes individually,
in pairs, or as a group. Refer to the Grammar Guide
to review answers with students. For additional
practice as needed, reread the Grammar Card with
students and review the simple-present-tense verbs.
Ask students how they can identify what form of
the verb to use in each sentence. Possible answers
include: The form of the verb depends on the subject.
If the subject is I, you, we, or they, we use the base
form of the verb. If the subject is he, she, or it, we add
-s to the end of the verb.
Step 7: Assess the Grammar
Display and distribute the Grammar Quiz
Have students complete the quiz on their own and
then review the answers as a groups.
Extensions
Encourage students to listen for and use simple-
present-tense statements during the school
day. Have them identify simple-present-tense
statements in their reading and use them to add
details in their writing assignments.
The Simple-Present-Tense Overview Poster
provides additional information and practice with
different types of subjects in the present tense.
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