Teacher Guide
To complete the crossword the students need to convert each verb given into the past tense. It is a good opportunity to note the irregular verbs and to help the students take note of the spelling of some of the less intuitive forms, such as 'thought' and 'took'. Have them answer the questions with complete sentences by first underlining the verb in the question that will need to be converted into the past in the response.
It's also useful to point out how we often use the word 'did' to form questions about the past and when we do, we use the verb in the present tense.
05mins - Conversation: What did you do to celebrate your last birthday? Did you have a party? What did you eat? Who did you celebrate with? Practice using the verb in the simple past.
10mins - Revision: Simple Past Catch. Split the class into two teams. Each team must brainstorm a list of 10 verbs and write them in the simple present. Team 1 will "throw" a verb to team 2, who must correctly change the verb to the simple past to earn a point. If team 2 answers incorrectly, team 1 can steal the point if they know the correct answer.
10mins - Activity: Writing prompt: "Yesterday while I was at the park, I saw a dog with two heads!" Create the story out loud with the students, giving each student an opportunity to contribute a sentence that will progress the storyline. Encourage students to use the verb in the simple past. Encourage the use of linking expressions such as: first, then, next, after and finally.
20mins - Worksheet: 03 Simple Past - 'Did you...?'
15mins - Test: 03 reading practice - part 1
05mins - Warm down: Goodbye, see you next time.
00mins - "Dear Diary..." have each student write a paragraph as if it were an excerpt from their diary. Students can write about something that happened at school or a fun experience they had on the weekend. Remind students to use verbs in the past!
Part 1:
Across:
2) was
4) had
6) took
8) learned
10) read
12) did
14) went
16) asked
Down:
1) ran
3) talked
5) studied
7) walked
9) drove
11) played
13) called
15) thought
Part 2: possible answers
1) I did five exams in May.
2) Yes, I studied English last year.
3) I went to London on holiday last summer.
4) Last year I bought a camera.
5) I arrived by car to my English lesson today.