Everything you need to teach engaging ESL lessons on the Present Continuous tense. Worksheets, detailed lesson plans, flashcards, a dramatic project, a fun slideshow, games and more. Everything is fresh, colourful and modern. We have developed these top-quality resources over years of experience teaching English with students of all ages. These plans work well with groups of any size and can be used with students of CEFR levels A1 to B1 (roughly ages 8 to 14).

Detailed Lesson Plans with answer keys

Each lesson plan includes:

An introduction discussion topic
Revision of a previous grammar point
An activity for pre-teaching the main lesson topic
Instructions for the worksheet (teacher guide)
A reinforcement game or activity
A warm-down task.
The answer key for the worksheet.

Worksheets

Present Continuous 1 - forming the present continuous with the verb “to be” (A1)
Present Continuous 2 - changing from the simple present to the present continuous (A1)
Present Continuous 3 - forming complete sentences with the present continuous (A1)
Present Continuous 4 - recognising verbs and forming the present continuous (A1)
Present Continuous 5 - using the present continuous tense in full sentences (A2)
Present Continuous 6 - using the present continuous to describe a picture (A2)
Present Continuous 7 - deciding between the present tense and the present continuous (A2)
Present Continuous 8 - using the present continuous for planned activities (A2)
Present Continuous 9 - forming complete sentences with the present continuous tense (A2/B1)

Activities with printables

Present Continuous Taboo - 20 colourful task cards for playing taboo using action words. Includes a detailed lesson plan.

Storytelling characters - 15 colourful flashcards with characters to use in storytelling activities. Detail lesson plan for “rotating storytelling” game.

Storytelling prompts - 36 colourful flashcards with storytelling prompts for locations, objects and modes of transport.

Group question exchange - 15 mini card prompts with sentences in the present continuous tense.

Act and recall - 15 mini card prompts and instructions for a fun acting game, with detailed instructions included.

Multi Game Card - instructions for 15 fun and engaging activities to reinforce the present continuous tense, best for groups

Themed Games

5 fun extension activities to reinforce your lessons. Great for group work. Playful and on theme.

1. Word Search - students search for 15 present continuous words in this word search. Fun and useful for paying attention to spelling conventions.

2. Word Scramble - students work together to unscramble the letters to discover present continuous words. Fun to do in pairs. Helps reinforce spelling rules.

3. Spelling - host regular spelling bees with these common verbs in the present continuous form, and use this template to keep score. Add new verbs when they become experts at these ones.

4. Crossword - students read clues and decide together the verb that matches. Great for vocabulary recall and attention to spelling.

5. Mad Lib - a playful way to introduce students to the past continuous tense as an extension exercise. Students write a list of continuous verbs then see how they fit in the entertaining story.

Anchor charts and reference posters

9 pages of exciting, colourful reference guides, anchor charts and posters themed on present continuous verbs to display in class or print for your students.

Brighten up your classroom and lessons with modern and fun visuals. Help your students remember some common present continuous verbs and see patterns in spellings when comparing with the simple present form. Print them as reference guides, or use the posters as a template for building anchor charts together with your students.

Verbs Flashcards

40 colourful verbs flashcards with common verbs for students learning to convert to the present continuous tense, and 40 matching illustration flashcards. Great for regular practice in lessons and quick revision games. Laminate them and reuse them over and over.

Can be used in many ways, for example:

• Pop quizzes on forming present continuous verbs from base verbs (written or illustrated on cards)
• Speed test - match the verbs to the illustration
• Shuffle them and hand them out randomly to students during conversation or writing tasks and challenge them to incorporate them naturally
• Play “Charades” - students act out the verbs and other students have to use the present continuous tense to describe what they are doing.
• Memory - flip the cards over and take turns to select and reveal 2 cards, hoping to match a pair up.

Slideshow

Here’s two Present Continuous themed slideshows for engaging and interactive lessons. No-prep, animated powerpoint presentations that will be sure to engage your students.

Our resources are fresh and modern with bright colours and great quality pictures. We've tested them with thousands of our own students and know how well they work!

The slideshows contain in total 19 slides covering:

• Slideshow 1 =  a great overview of the present continuous including the structure, spelling conventions and when to use it.
• Slideshow 2 = 10 multi choice questions to test students on their understanding of knowledge of some common present continuous verbs.

The slideshows are provided in keynote, powerpoint, PDF and video formats.

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