PPP grammar lesson plan for adults
Lesson aim 1. To introduce learners to the past continuous.
2. For learners to use the past continuous to talk about what they were doing at the weekend
Lesson structure PPP
Level Pre-intermediate
Duration 60 Minutes
Age of learners Adults
Group size 3-12 learners offline / 3-6 learners online
Timing Stage Name Procedure Stage aim Interaction
(mins)
5 Warmer Show/ upload ss pictures of people doing different daily activities and elicit activities To recycle daily routine T-Ss
from ss vocabulary Ss-T
-have dinner
-walk to work
-sleep
-brush your teeth
-watch a film
Ask ss what time do you normally… and elicit some responses.
10 Presentation Present the past continuous on the (virtual) whiteboard To present the grammar of T-Ss
Write some sentences down and ask students to highlight the past continuous. the past continuous Ss-T
I was sleeping at midnight
I was walking to work at 9am
I was studying all day yesterday
Drill the examples for word stress
Highlight the structure on the board:
Subject + was/ were + VERBing
Explain that we use the Past Continuous to explain an action that was in progress at a
specific point in the past. Use a graph to point out that this action is continuous.
Explain how to form questions:
Question word + were/was + subject + VERBing
20 Practice Gap-fill activity To provide ss with T-Ss
Give ss Material 1 (either as handouts in an offline class or send e-copies for a virtual controlled practice of the Ss-T
class). It is a gap-fill activity where they have to select the correct verb for the gap in grammar S-S
the sentences and conjugate it into the past continuous.
Ss can check their answers with each other in pairs (in breakout rooms online). To check understanding of
When finished, feedback as a class. the form
25 Production Before the activity, ask students To provide ss with freer T-Ss
What were you doing at… (5pm yesterday?) practice of the grammar S-S
Ss-T
Ss in pairs (and in breakout rooms online) must write down 5 ‘times’ in the table To allow ss to create their
provided by the teacher (Material 2). own questions using the
past continuous
Ss must then work with a partner (in a breakout room online) and ask each other what
they were doing at each time on their list and write down the answer. Then, they must
switch partners and ask other ss the same questions. The aim is to find someone who
was doing the same action as their original partner. When doing this task online, the
teachers will need to set time limits and switch learners around in the breakout rooms
often.
Ss can then feedback as a class about any common answers they found. E.g.:
Anna and Mark were watching TV at 9pm last night.
If Filler To provide ss with extra S-S
needed As a class, ss ask each other questions such as Were you eating lunch at 1pm? The practice of the grammar
rest of the class must try to guess what the first student was doing at a specific time.
Material 1:
Choose the correct verb and write it in the Past Continuous:
go travel eat play work run watch live
1. I______________________through the park yesterday morning at 11am.
2. My mum ___________________chicken soup at breakfast.
3. We ____________________ to the cinema at 6pm on Saturday evening.
4. I____________________TV all morning.
5. My friends _______________________ football at 11am on Sunday.
6. I__________________ in Barcelona in 2018 and ___________________for a marketing company.
7. My friend’s brother ________________in Asia in summer 2012.
Material 2:
What were you doing at….?
Time Partner’s answer Matching answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
