Lesson Plan

School: Scoala Gimnazială Băița de Sub Codru

Name: Oana-Camelia Kiss

Date: 02.12.2020

No. of Students: 24

Grade/Level: 7th grade

Time: 40 min.

Topic: Past Simple vs. Past Continuous

Teaching aids/ Materials: digital board, Zoom, PPT presentation, Wordwall.net;

Aim: to be able to use the Past Simple and Past Continuous correctly in everyday speaking;

Lesson Objectives:

1) to be able describe/talk about past actions and activities past actions;

2) to be able to use Past Simple and Past Continuous in real-life situations of communication;
3) to stimulate students’ imagination and creativity;

Anticipating student’s problems:

 some students might need further help and extra indications in solving the tasks and they may also
need some of these indications to be given in Romanian;
 some students might feel nervous and reluctant to participate in the activity, so they may need
assistance;
 some students may encounter problems with connecting and connection;

Aspects I particularly need to be aware of: the students to understand everything the teacher says
and asks;

Stages of the Timin

Teacher and student activity Materials Interaction
Lesson g
Greetings.
The teacher greets the class and waits for the
1.Organising
students to login. The teacher asks the students - TTT 2 min.
the class
how are they feeling that day and marks the
absentees. The class prepares for the lesson.
The teacher open the PowerPoint Presentation
prepared for the lesson.
The lesson starts with the activity Two truths and
a Lie. The teacher has written three sentences
about herself. Two are true and one is false;
2.Warm-up students take 1 minute to think which one is false PowerPoint
STT 7 min.
activity and which is true. After the students have made Presentation
their guesses, they will be given a few minutes to
think of three sentences about themselves: one
false and two true about themselves. They can
write them or they can tell them. The colleagues
have to guess.
1
 In order to set up the background for the
lesson the teacher asks the students the
following question: “What did you do last
weekend?” The question is written on the
presentation. While the students answer the
question, the teacher makes sure they use the
Past Simple correctly. For example: “What did
you do last weekend, Emanuel?” “I made my
homework.” The question will be answered by
other students as well and will be written on the
presentation, underlining the verbs in the past
form.
Then the teacher will ask another question,
using the Past Continuous: “What were you doing
yesterday at four o’clock in the evening?” Some
students will be able to answer the question
using the tense correctly. (e.g. “I was sleeping.”).
3. Lead-in PowerPoint
But it is likely that many of them fail to do so; STT 10 min.
activity Presentation
some use the simple past (e.g., “I watched TV.”),
while others attempt to use the past continuous
but omit the auxiliary BE (e.g., “I watching TV.”).
The teacher writes the correct examples on the
presentation underlining the verb in the past
continuous tense.
Thus, example sentences of the simple past
and the past continuous are elicited from the
students and presented for comparison on the
board.
The teacher asks the students to remember
the use of Past Simple and Past Continuous.
The teacher has emphasized on the
PowerPoint Presentation the differences
between Past Simple and Past Continuous in
order for the students to remember and correctly
use them.
4.Presentation The teacher adds the following example PowerPoint TTT 7 min.
sentences for further emphasis of the distinction Presentation
between Past Simple and Continuous STT

The letters burnt in the fireplace.

-
The letters were burning in the fireplace.
Teacher shows the students a picture.
Example of conversation:
T: Look at this picture. Poor boy. This picture
was taken yesterday. Which sentence do you
think describes this picture better? Here the
letters burnt in the fireplace? Or here the letters
were burning in the fireplace? In which sentences
the action is complete? Also, to which sentence
do you think you can add “but he managed to
save some of the letters”? The possible answers
would be:
S: Ah, probably …“The letters were burning in
the fireplace”
2
 T: Yes, exactly. When the letters burnt in the
fireplace can you save any?
S: No.
T: Why?
S: The letters are burnt, they are gone.
T: Yes, when the letters are burnt, the action is
complete. That is, the letters are gone now. But
when the letters were burning, the action was not
yet complete at least at that time. So, what is the
meaning of the simple past and the past
continuous? What’s the main difference?
S: Ah…finished or not?
T: Yes, exactly. When you describe a complete
action, you should use the simple past. But when
you describe an incomplete action at a certain
time in the past, you should use the past
continuous.
The teacher will show the students the lyrics
to a song they are going to listen. Some verbs are
put in brackets. The students have to put the
verbs in Past Simple or Past Continuous. The PowerPoint
students write their answers in their notebooks. Presentation
5.Practice STT 7 min.
After some time the teacher will play the song
Video
twice for the students to check their answers.
After the song is played two times the teacher
gives the correct answers and the students check
their answers.
Using the WORDWALL website with the Missing
Word method they have to put the correct word
6.Production in the blank spaces from the story: Wordwall STT 5 min.
https://wordwall.net/ro/resource/7751687/wint
er-story
7.Assigning The teacher forms 4 groups of 6 students. - TTT 1 min.
homework Each group is assigned a different story
beginning. As homework, they have to continue
the story in their own way using the Past Simple
and Past Continuous.
Team A: “It rained all day yesterday and
everything and wet and ugly. My friends and I
decided to go shopping anyway. We took my
dad’s car without permission. I was driving to the
mall when a man suddenly jumped in front of my
car…”
Team B: “It was a hot day of July. I decided to
go for a walk in the park. There were few people
there. I felt as someone was following me when I
heard someone fall behind me…”
Team C: “Last Friday, Tom and his friends
decided to play football. It was a cold day of
autumn but the weather didn’t bother them. The
children were having fun when Tom suddenly fell
and broke his glasses…”
Team D: “On the morning I left for London it
was raining. I felt sad but I had to go. When I
arrived to the airport I heard someone calling my
3
 name. When I turned back …”
The teacher gives feedback by congratulating
8. Feedback the students and encouraging the less talkative - TTT 1 min.
ones to speak more.