Teacher Guide
Review the most common question words (what, when, where, why, who and how) and what type of information they inquire about.
Explain that when forming a question with 'did', we don't change the verb into the simple past tense, even though we are talking about the past. Using 'did' is enough to show we mean the past. Give the students some example sentences using 'did' so they can see the pattern.
Secondly, explain that when answering questions about the past, we change the verb into the simple past tense. Review some simple past verbs including common irregular ones.
Finally explain that when answering in the negative, with 'didn't', we leave the main verb in the present tense. Again, the use of 'didn't' is enough to show we are talking about the past.
Give examples of both positive and negative responses until the pattern becomes clear.
Have the students construct questions and answers for each set of prompts. Have them read their work out loud and try answering each other's questions. Don't forget to reinforce this in future lessons by asking questions in the past and guiding them to answer correctly with complete sentences to check the verb forms. For example "What did you do on the weekend?" "Did you have fun at school yesterday" "What did you eat for lunch today?" When they are comfortable with this, they can start to use shorter answers such as "Yes, I did."
05mins - Conversation: How often do you go to the cinema? What is the last film you saw? Describe it in as many details as you can. What was the conflict? What was the resolution? Who was your favourite character? How did they change throughout the film?
10mins - Revision: Verb Elimination: Split the students into two teams. Have each team brainstorm a list of simple past verbs. The goal is to remember as many as possible. After a few minutes, compare lists. Team 1 will read a verb from their list. If team 2 also has this verb, both teams will cross it out. If team 2 does not have this verb, team 1 circles the verb and receives 1 point. Continue the process, alternating teams until the lists are completed.
10mins - Pre-teach: Question words in the simple past. (Question word + did) Ex: 'Where did you go for your summer holiday?' or 'How did you do on the exam?' Have the students write three questions using the past, and then ask them to a classmate. Students must record the answer of their classmate, using the correct pronouns.
20mins - Worksheet: 02 Simple Past - Questions about the past. Using the information provided, students must use question words to form a complete sentence.
15mins - Test: 02 reading practice - part 4
05mins - Warm down: Goodbye, see you next time.
00mins - Students must ask their parents 5 questions using the past. They must record the answers and bring them to the next lesson.
Possible answers:
- Did you like the film? Yes, I liked it. / No, I didn't like it.
- How many people did you see? I saw a lot of people.
- Did you do your homework? Yes, I did my homework. / No, I didn't do my homework.
- What did you do on the weekend? I played with my friends.
- Where did you buy the DVD? I bought it at the shop.
- Did you have a party Saturday? Yes, I had a party. / No, I didn't have a party.
- Who did you see yesterday? I saw my best friend.