IMPORTANT NOTE: this is the first time the students have seen the past continuous.
PRE-PLANNING
Actual materials needed for the lesson:
Time scale indicating hours and minutes;
Image of a man reading;
Image of a ringing phone;
Image of a man answering the phone;
Cards with tasks for practice;
Pictures with situations for production stage
PRE-PLANNING
Level: Pre-intermediate
Aim: Students to understand when and how to use this tense to describe two past events, one interrupting the other.
Target Language: Past continuous for two past events, one interrupting the other i.e. I was reading a book, when the phone rang.
Time: 60 minutes
Assumptions: Students will be familiar with the past simple (I answered, she went etc.).
Possible Problems: Omitting auxiliary verb. Students might omit auxiliary verb, it’s a common mistake for complex tenses. (He reading, we running)
Incorrect verb form. Students might have difficulty with choosing the correct auxiliary verb ('was' or 'were') and using the base form of the main verb with '-ing'. (You was read, I were run)
Confusion with interruption clauses. Students may find it challenging to structure sentences with interruption clauses, they can misplace them. (When I was reading a book, the phone was ringing.)
1. Lead-in (5 mins)
There are prepared pictures on the board and Time scale indicating hours and minutes underneath.
Teacher uses visual prompt engages students' attention and sets the context for the lesson without using the new TL.
Activity: Show a picture of a person reading a book, then suddenly receiving a phone call.
Give students a task to ask questions according to the pictures. Discuss what tense they use. S –S, T-S
2. Presentation (14 mins)
a) Ask students about what they were doing at specific points in time. Use Time scale indicating hours and minutes. Write 2-3 sentences on the board. Guide them to understand the concept of actions in progress in the past. This encourages students to discover the meaning of Past Continuous through context rather than direct explanation. T-S (3 mins)
b) Time for drilling and pronunciation work. (2 mins)
Important Note: Past Continuous is formed with the past tense of the verb 'to be' (was/were) + the base form of the main verb + -ing.
c) Ask students to describe what they see in the pictures and what might have happened. Guide them to understand that the person was reading when they received a call. Use Time scale indicating hours and minutes to include time in describing.
This encourages students to discover the meaning of the TL (Past Continuous Interrupted) through context rather than direct explanation. GW (4 mins)
Important note: Past Continuous Interrupted is formed by using the past continuous tense of the main action + when + the interrupting action in the past simple. I was reading a book, when the phone rang.
d) Ask students to form negative and interrogative sentences. PW (3 mins)
e) Concept Check Questions:
Was the person reading when he received the call? (Yes)
Did the phone call interrupt the person's activity? (Yes)
What is the structure for Past Continuous Interrupted? (Past continuous of main action + when + interrupting action in past simple) PW & T-S (2 mins)
3. Practice (controlled) (18 mins)
a) Activity on the board: Write sentences on the board, some with correct usage of Past Continuous Interrupted, and some with mistakes. Students identify and correct the errors in groups. This activity allows students to practice the correct usage of Past Continuous Interrupted in a controlled setting. (GW 4 mins )
b) Use Cards with tasks for practice and organise a pair work. It can be Gap filling or forming negative and interrogative sentences. S-S Interaction: PW for correction. (7 mins)
c) Role play. Teacher gives each team a piece of paper with a sentence in TL. Two teams show each other actions and guess what happened using TL. (GW 7 mins)
4. Production (free) (21 mins)
a) Use Pictures with situations for production stage. Students in groups form narrative negative and interrogative sentences. (GW 8 mins)
b) In pairs (PW), students create their own sentences using Past Continuous Interrupted. They can use their own experiences or imagine scenarios. (PW 8 mins)
c) T-S Interaction: Each pair shares one of their sentences with the class for feedback and correction. (5 mins)
Giving homework (2 mins)
Task 1: Complete the Sentences
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in Past Continuous Interrupted.
While I ___________ (watch) TV, the power suddenly went out.
She ___________ (cook) dinner when she cut her finger.
They ___________ (play) tennis when it started raining.
Task 2: Write a short paragraph (5-7 sentences) about a personal experience where the activity was interrupted by something unexpected. Be sure to use Past Continuous Interrupted to describe the situation.
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