APLNG 484 FIRST Grammar Activities

7/29/2019 APLNG 484 FIRST Grammar Activities

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Progressing the Present Progressive: A Collection of Activities 1

Progressing the Present Progressive: A Collection of Activities

Elizabeth First

The Pennsylvania State University


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Presented here is a collection of activities focused on the present progressive and

designed to promote learner acquisition through form, meaning, and use of the

grammatical feature. The form is introduced using an inductive approach. Learners are

exposed to an authentic text which frequently uses the linguistic feature. Activities A1

through A4 progressively focus attention to and production ofthe targeted form, which

consists of the auxiliary verb plus a main verb with suffix . As learners develop

the structure of the present progressive, it is important for them to appreciate its

significance. The present progressive conveys that an event is in progress at this moment,

ongoing, and incomplete, that it is temporary and specific in nature. Further, the sense of

this moment may be extended to this week, month or year with respect to a larger time

frame, enabling the present progressive to express future-time with planned events.

Activities A5 through A8 focus on actions currently

in progress, while A9 and A10 focus on future planned events. These activities are

designed to be interactive in nature to reflect how native speakers incorporate this

particular aspect. Studies indicate that native English speakers make systematic use of

the progressive to signal involvement and interaction or to signal detachment, formality,

and lack of interaction by not using the progressive. (Celce-Murcia, Larsen-Freeman

1999) These signals used by native speakers allude to the social positioning or pragmatics

of communication that constitutes the third leg of the grammar triangle. As native

speakers, we choose to use a certain tense or aspect like we choose to use one word over

another. Each tense-aspect carries a specific meaning that communicates how we

conceptualize the world around us and our relationships within it. The use of a particular

tense-aspect may prove especially challenging to non-native speakers when either their

be ing

I am

running in the marathon this week.


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culturally-based conceptualizations of the world or the forms chosen to express them vary

significantly from those appropriated to English. For example, in German one tense and

time-adverbials are used to distinguish between the simple and progressive aspects rather

than the use of two tenses in English. Although German speakers have no trouble

acquiring the form, they have trouble using the two English tenses in the appropriate

contexts. (Cowan 2008) Activities A11 through A15 help learners decide when to use a

particular form and understand its social connotations in context of use. These activities,

and those in the general collection, promote elicitation of the learners perceptions as a

basis for negotiating or sketching the English conceptualization of events. For example in

activity A15, consider the choices to describe the weather using either the simple aspect

(stative) versus the progressive aspect (active).

Discussing learner reactions to

these proposals may help them attach a certain perspective to a preferred structure.

Activity A14 focuses on conceptualizing stative verbs. Intended as an introduction to the

rather cognitively charged task of categorizing concepts, the principle activity is fairly

intensive and abstract, whereas, the extensive tasks suggested may help to contextualize

these verbs. Specific instruction with respect to stative verbs, as commonly used in the

simple aspect and less so in the progressive aspect, is highly advocated. Collins (2002)

discovered that a disproportionate percentage of errors involving use of a progressive

form instead of the simple present involved a small number of stative verbs that can also

be activity verbs. (Cowan 2008)

ing

It is rainy. It is raining. It is cloudy. It is

clouding? It is clouding over. It is haily? It is hailing.


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Other considerations in designing the activities included adaptability and versatility.

Many of the activities are easily adaptable to feature a different meaning of the

progressive aspect, as noted in under the heading variations in each activity.

Further, I have given consideration to different learner styles by providing tactile,

auditory and visual tasks. As learners may not fit neatly into one category or learning

style, using the different styles reinforces form, meaning and use in a non-repetitious,

dynamic manner and allow the students to experience the sense of the tense-aspect from a

variety of perspectives.


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References

Celce-Murcia, M., Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999).

, 2nd ed. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Cowan, R. (2008). .

New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Firsten, R. (2002). The ELT grammar book: A teacher-friendly reference guide.

Burlingame,CA: Alta Book Center Publishers.

Ur, P. (1988). . Cambridge,

UK: Cambridge University Press.

(References used for individual activities are listed under sources in the activity itself.)

The grammar book: An ESL/EFL

teachers course

The teachers guide of English: a course book and reference guide

Grammar practice activities: a practical guide for teachers


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PSU M A T ESL A PL N G 484 El izabeth Fi rst

A ct i v i t i es: Focu s Presen t Progressive M ay 4, 2010

Activity #1: Cloze Toms Diner by Suzanne Vega

Materials:

Procedure:

Variations:

Comments:

Sources:

Cloze version of song. Transcript of song lyrics or cloze key. (See cloze and cloze

key attached.) Recording of song. (See url listed under sources.)

Pre-listening discuss what a diner is and what you might find there. Familiarize the

students with vocabulary words from the song as necessary for various learner levels, such as:

Students listen to the song for gist. Elicit students to share what they understood. Students listen

a second time, writing down any verbs that they hear. Share. Students listen a third t ime, filling

in cloze. Follow w ith post-listening activity #2.

by Fools Garden (German band with singer Peter Freudenthaler)This cloze focuses the listeners attention to a choice between present progressive and other verb

tenses. (See cloze and cloze key attached. Note errors in cloze key, revise slightly. See urls under

sources for song recordings and videos.)

You may choose to vary the type and number of blanks in the c loze depending on

the learner level and the lesson objective. The cloze highlights only the present

participle of the present progressive form by inductive design to be used in conjunction with

post-listening activity #2. Alternatively, the auxiliary be could be highlighted also in order to

reinforce the complete form.

1.) by Suzanne Vega Song lyrics and sound link:

www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/suzannevega/tomsdiner.html

2.) cloze excerpted from Grammar Workshop by Andrea Rvsz TC Columbia

University

by Fools Garden Video in English link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCDIt50hRDs&feature=email

in Mandarin Chinese (#1 song in Asia)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB_KEjU-0m4&feature=emailin cartoon flash video w/ lyrics, another cloze version

http://www.isabelperez.com/songs/lemon.htm

diner, to pretend, hor oscope, funnies, r eflecti on, to hit ch, to str ai ghten, sto ckin gs, cathedr al.

Lemon Tr ee

Toms Diner

Toms Din er

Lemon Tr ee

Lemon Tr ee

Lemon Tr ee

Lemon Tr ee


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Toms Diner Cloze

by Suzanne Vega

PSU M A T ESL A PL N G484 El izabeth Fi rst

A ct i v i t i es: Focu s Presen t Progressiv M ay 4, 2010

I am ____________

In the morning

At the diner

On the corner

I am ____________At the counter

For the man

To pour the coffee

And he fills itOnly halfway

And before

I even argue

He is ___________

Out the window

At somebody

Coming in

"It is always

Nice to see you"Says the manBehind the counter

To the woman

Who has come in

She is ___________

Her umbrella

And I look

The other way

As they are __________Their hellos

I'm __________Not to see them

Instead

I pour the milk

I open

Up the paperThere's a story

Of an actor

Who had died

While he was drinking

It was no one

I had heard of

And I'm ___________

To the horoscope

And looking

For the funnies

When I'm __________Someone watching me

And so

I raise my head

There's a woman

On the outside

____________ insideDoes she see me?

No she does not

Really see me

Cause she sees

Her own reflection

And I'm _____________

Not to noticeThat she's hitchingUp her skirt

And while she's

____________ her stockings

Her hair

Is ____________ wet

Oh, this rain

It will continue

Through the morning

As I'm ____________

To the bells

Of the cathedral

I am ______________

Of your voice...

And of the midnight picnic

Once upon a time

Before the rain began...

I finish up my coffee

It's time to catch the train


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Toms Diner Cloze Key

by Suzanne Vega

PSU M A T ESL A PL N G484 El izabeth Fi rst

A ct i v i t i es: Focu s Presen t Progressiv M ay 4, 2010

I am

In the morning

At the dinerOn the corner

I amAt the counter

For the man

To pour the coffee

And he fills it

Only halfwayAnd before

I even argue

He is

Out the window

At somebodyComing in

"It is alwaysNice to see you"

Says the man

Behind the counter

To the woman

Who has come in

She isHer umbrella

And I look

The other way

As they are

Their hellos

I'm

Not to see themInstead

I pour the milk

I open

Up the paperThere's a story

Of an actor

Who had died

While he was drinking

It was no one

I had heard of

And I'm

To the horoscope

And looking

For the funnies

When I'm

Someone watching meAnd so

I raise my head

There's a woman

On the outside

insideDoes she see me?

No she does not

Really see me

Cause she sees

Her own reflection

And I'm

Not to noticeThat she's hitching

Up her skirt

And while she's

her stockings

Her hair

Is wet

Oh, this rain

It will continue

Through the morning

As I'm

To the bells

Of the cathedral

I amOf your voice...

And of the midnight picnic

Once upon a timeBefore the rain began...

I finish up my coffee

It's time to catch the train

sitting

waiting

looking

shaking

kissing

pretending

turning

feeling

L ooking

trying

Straightening

getting

listening

thinking


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Activity #2: Post-Listening Toms Diner by Suzanne Vega

Materials:

Procedure:

Sources:

Activity #1 listening cloze, copies of the cloze key and the handout Toms Diner in

(See handout attached.)

Handout the cloze key. Give students a few minutes to fill in the words that they may have

missed. Ask students to share what they noticed about the verbs in the questions on the handout.

Students complete handout. Next have the students work in pa irs to compare and discuss their

answers. Finally d iscuss the answers as a class, emphasizing completeness of actions with

singers use of , and versus sense of duration or continuation with

and .

You may want to act out the difference to illustrate. Some students may not conceptualize thetime-line question easily. You may want to include concept questions when reviewing the

answers, such as: 1st timeline: . Did I eat in the diner yesterday? . Are you

sure? Is it possible I will eat in the diner tomorrow? What about right now? How many times do

I eat in the diner? One or many? What if I said,

(Repeat questions.) versus

Handout adapted from post-reading task example on a fictional grammar tense by Andrea

Rvsz, TC Columbia University.

Progress

pour , open, see look ki ssing,

str ai ght eni ng , tu r ni ng , lo oki ng

I eat in the diner No

I eat i n the diner all of t he ti me/ever y day!

I am eating i n the diner ri ght now, at the moment.


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Toms Diner in Progress

1. What did you notice about the fill-in-the blanks?

a. A common suffix (letter or group of letters added to the end of the word)? ____________

b. The auxiliary (or linking) verb that comes before these main verbs? _________________

c. Changes in the form or the pattern for He/She or I or They? _______________________

Give an example from the song of each. _______________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. What time period is the singer referring to when she uses the suffix? When is this happening?

__________________________________________________________________________

Who is the singer telling this story to? ___________________________________________

3. Underline other verbs that you noticed in the song. Do they refer to the same time period?

________________________________________________________________________

4. Compare the two sentences below and create time-lines for them.

I eat in the diner.Past Present Future

I am eating in the diner.Past Present Future

5. This new verb type is called the present progressive or present continuous. Why? ________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. Complete the rule to create the present progressive or present continuous:

a. We need to use two verbs. The first verb is the auxiliary (or linking) verb _____ .

b. The second verb is the main verb. We add ______ to the end/beginning of the main verb.c. Give an example of the present progressive with (I/laugh). ________________________

7. In the 4th stanza the song says, He out the window and in the 7th stanza it

says, And I the other way as they are kissing Why do you think this is? ________

__________________________________________________________________________

is looking

look


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PSU M A TESL APL NG 484 El izabeth F ir st Activiti es: Fo cus Pr esent Pr ogressive M ay 4, 2010

27.1 Remember i ng Pai r s

Gr ammar pr actice activit i es: a

pr actical guide for teacher s

A ctivity #3: R emember what you ar e doing!

M aterials and Pr ocedure:

V ariations:

Comments:

Sources:

Refer to excerpt attached.

Groups that finish quickly can use as flash cards and time test each other to see who

can finish first. Or have them arrange the cards to create a storyline relating all of the actions.

The activity is adaptable to various thematic units by the activities chosen. (i.e.

sports swimming/running/playing x/riding etc.; food cooking, baking, washing, cleaning,

eating, drinking, etc. ; transportation driving, flying, moving, riding, walking, sailing, etc.)

Ur, P. (1988). Present progressive. In Scott Thornbury (Ed),

(pp. 246-247). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.


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Welcome to Toms Di ner!.

Activity #4: Editing Form

M aterials:

Procedure:

Comments:

Copies of handout (See handout attached.)

Explain to the students that Toms Restaurant or Diner is a real restaurant located in

New York City and featured on a famous television show called Seinfeld. Read the instructions

and have students complete the handout. Have the students review their answers in pairs and then

review together as a class.

This activity is intended as a post-listening activity to activities #1 and #2, though it

can be used independently as well. Similarly, the activity is adaptable to various thematic units

by the photo chosen and sentences created.


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W elcome to T oms D iner !

A reporter is making notes about the diner. Correct or edit any errors that you find in his work.

First underline the verbs in each sentence. Cross out the incorrect verbs and write the correct

form on the line. Note: some sentences may be correct!

1.) The diner is opening at 5 a.m. every morning. _____________________________________

2.) At least eight people is eating breakfast. _________________________________________

3.) The women and her children eat eggs. ___________________________________________

4.) Three people are sitting at the counter. ___________________________________________5.) The waiter is wearing a white shirt and a white apron. _______________________________

6.) The bus boy is wears a white shirt and black pants. _________________________________

7.) I is watching from the street corner. _____________________________________________

8.) I am hungry! Im crossing the street now. _________________________________________

9.) The reporter ordering everything on the menu! _____________________________________

Write a new sentence using the word or words in parenthesis.

Example: I am exercising. (b ike)

1.) I am drinking 16 cans of soda because I am thirsty! (eat/hungry) _______________________

2.) They are entering the diner right now. (leave) ______________________________________

3.) He always orders the same thing. (drink/tea) _______________________________________

4.) Please wait. They are cleaning the bathroom. (set/table) ______________________________

I am bik ing.


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What ar e

they doi ng? Fi nd the Di ffer ence

What ar e they doing

A ctivity #5: Picture Comparison

M aterials:

Procedure:

V ariations:

Comments:

Sources:

Photocopies of two similar pictures (see attachments of two examples:

and )

Refer to ? Teachers Notes, Procedures.

1.) Show students a picture briefly. Have the students write down as many activities occurring in

the picture as they can remember. Share the sentences as a class.

2.) In small groups, assign three roles: reader, writer, and editor. Each group is given the same

photo. The reader is the only person looking at the picture and describes what is happening

in it. The writer writes the sentences on the blackboard. The editor corrects the sentences on

the board as necessary and may ask the writer or the reader clarification questio ns. The group

with the most correct sentences wins.

3.) Refer to What are they doing? Teachers Notes, Additional ideas.

The activity is adaptable to various thematic units by the setting of the picture

chosen. (i.e. vacations resort, holidays family or office party, politics rally, demonstration,

or parade, etc.)

1.) What are they doing? www.eslflow.com , Skyline Resource Pack 1. Published byMacmillan Publishers Limited.

2.) Find the Difference. English File 1. Oxford University Press


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on the other hand, wher eas, although, whi le pr obably

I i magine that you are swimming every day. I bet that

you You ar e probably ver sus ?You ar eswimmi ng. ?I think that you ar e swimming. ?I know

that you ar e swimmin g.

whil

You ar eprobablysleepi ng a lot

Wher e are you going? When ar e you leaving? H ow ar e you getting

there? Where are you staying? H ow long ar e you staying? What ar e you going to do there?

A ctivity #6: Postcard - I am thinking of you!

M aterials:

Procedure:

E xample Prompts:

V ariations:

Several pairs of contrasting travel destinations as prompts. Postcards (or stationary)

for each student.

Have students write a postcard (or a letter) to a friend using contrasting travel

destinations as prompts. Introduce or review additional conjunctions to help them show contrast,

such as: and the adverb to indicate

uncertainty, and therefore the use of the progressive aspect. Discuss how showing uncertainty is

related to the progressive aspect. (Notice here we begin to imply habitual action with progressive

tense in the future.) Model and discuss:

Have students read their letters to students with the same or opposite

prompt. See how many activities they had in common. Ask if students want to volunteer to share

their postcard with the class. Consider collecting them.

[You are on vacation at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, your best friend is on vacation

in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. Write a postcard to your friend. Tell them what you are

doing and what you imagine they are doing. ! Be sure to write

small! You need at least 6 sentences! Be sure to use greetings and salutations but do not count

them as part of your 6 sentences!!]

Other possible prompt pairs may be: You are stuck studying at PSU, while your friend is

partying in Cancun, Mexico; You and your family are visiting your grandmother for her 95th

birthday in a tiny town, while your friends are all traveling to NYC to celebrate his/her 21st

birthday; You are spending the winter vacation with your boyfriend/girlfriend in Puerto Rico,

while your best friend is going to Vermont to meet his/her girlfriends/boyfriends parents for the

first time. Etc.

Use travel destination of above prompts to have students interview each other about

a vacation they are planning.

This

variation emphasizes the future-time meaning of the progressive aspect. Remind students to

imagine themselves standing in tomorrow with you, speaking as if it the events were happening

today. The closer the future is the easier it is to jump into using the present progressive.

As a follow up activity, students could write a post card to an actual friend or family member.

The writing would be draft-corrected, if and only if students prefer it. Elicit student input.

Teacher would really mail it.


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TheBer l in FootChase The Bour ne Supr emacy

Oh no ! The poli ce ar e comi ng.

They are getting closer . He i s listening by the door. Whoa! H e is jumpi ng out the wi ndow! Now,

a dog i s bar ki ng at hi m Now what s happening?

What i s happening? Where is this taking

place? H ow do you know?

Smil

Chapl in

Tom & Jer ry

K ung Fu Panda

The U lti mate Challenge

The Bour ne Supr emacy Ber li n Foot Chase

Chapl in Smil

Activity #7: M ovie Clip N ow what s happening!?

M ater ials:

Procedure:

V ariations:

Comments:

Sources:

The Bourne Supremacy

Ideally use a movie clip or trailer that does not have dialogue. Alternatively, if it has

dialogue, the sound may be turned off. As an example use the referenced clipfrom the action movie . Note actions are somewhat repetitive,

which gives the students time to process and record their observations.

Have students imagine that they are talking to their friends on the phone and telling

them what is happening in the movie that they are watching. Give a brief example and provide a

few exclamations and transition words for emphasis. Speaker A:

. Silence. Speaker B:

Have students watch the clip. After have them write down what they can remember was

happening. Watch the clip again and a llow them to modify or elaborate their observations. Have

the students share and collaborate their observations. Watch the clip again to c larify any

disagreements they may have. Discuss as a class:

1.) Use a movie trailer without dialogue. Example is the referenced trailer from the movie

with Robert Downey Jr. This trailer shows a wide variety of actions with many

people involved. Students may be imaginative about what is happening. Alternatively, use aclip from original silent movies or slapstick comedy, though the action tends to be fast and

not easy to follow.

2.) Use a cartoon, such as , which has sound effects but no dialogue. Alternatively,

use a clip from a more current animation like . First, students exercise their

creativity by listening to the sound effects and writing about what they think is happening.

Second, they watch the clip and write about what is happening. It is important to emphasize

the two are not necessarily intended to agree.

3.) Use a clip of a reality TV show with the sound turned off, such as , to

appeal to students interest.

Activity easily ties into a unit theme through movie subject selection.

: video clip by thecarchase on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E586mYraTUs&feature=email

with Robert Downy Jr. video trailer by kirsty2006dodgs on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QctcK-mWyyk&feature=email


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i s happeningtoday, thi s week, thi s

month

The oi l spi ll i s r eachi ng the coast of L oui siana today. I t

i s damaging the wildl i fe. They ar e rescuing bi rds. I n this pictur e they ar e gi ving the bi r ds

medicine.

Activity #8: Current Events W hat s happen in g in the wor ld ?

M ater ials:

Procedure:

V ariations:

Sources:

Large poster board. Ensure that students have access to either magazines,

newspapers, or the internet.

As homework, assign students to bring in one or more photos featuring a current

event that interests them. Have each student post the photo on a poster board, creating a current

event collage, and share three sentences minimum about what

.

Example: The BP Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Lead the descriptions of the event to some discussion between the simple and

progressive aspect. (See attached example photos of the oil spill.)

1.) Provide several magazines and/or newspapers and use as an in class activity only.

2.) Create a class blog and have students post photos and three sentences minimum on a weekly

basis. Ask students to emphasize or highlight different grammatical features as the course

progresses. Postings may be used as a point of take-off for a specific grammar lesson.

Student-produced sentences may be used as illustrative examples. Class discussion of what

students have observed may facilitate student engagement, particularly in that the subject and

the discovery are student-initiated.

Example photos were downloaded from the CNN website: news.blogs.cnn.com.


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BP Gulf Coast Oil Spill (photos from CNN website news.blogs.cnn.com)


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First , I am getti ng upver y ear lytomorrow. Then, I am going to class. Next, I am

meeti ng the Pr esi dent for lunch . etc

fi r st, second, last, fi nally, next, then, afterwar ds

What are theydoing tomorr ow

Oh! I m sorr y, butI am I can t because I am Gees,

I m really busy tomorr ow. I am I d l i ke to, butI am

Oh! I cant because I am washi ng myhai r tomorr ow. All day? Yes, I am washing my hair all day!

I am holding an extr a class on Saturday to practi ce wr iti ng essays. Are you

planning t o attend?

A ctivity #9: Excuses! E xcuses!

Procedure:

V ari ations:

Comments:

Excuses are a fun way to introduce the future-time sense of the present progressive with planned

events! Ask students to stand in the future and imagine what they are doing in each time of the

day. Model:

. To help students list their plans, introduce or review

sequential conjunctive adverbials, such as: . Ask

students: ? Have students jot down their schedules. Share the

schedules as a c lass.

Introduce or review excuse language

Model: A friend asked me to go on a

blind date with her co-worker on Friday night. I might say,Why is this funny? Because the

present progressive is used for temporary or limited duration, so it is an exaggeration or funny

because we know it does not take all day to wash our hair. It is clearly an EXCUSE! My friend

will know I do not want to go!

Tell the students:

Go around the room in a circle. If the student makes a grammatically correct

excuse they are safe, if they do not they have to go to class on Saturday (or stand in the front of

the room). The remaining students continue giving excuses until only one student remains. That

student is excused! Alternatively, have the student on the right whisper or pass a written excuse

to their neighbor, who then must transform the auxiliary to third person in order to report the

excuse to the teacher. Vary the dreaded outcome for effect.

Alternatively, create contrasting roles for students, where one student anticipates his

friends excuses and the other student makes the excuses. After writing them down separately,

they compare if they had any of the same excuses. Prompt A: You are moving tomorrow and

you want help! But your friend tells you that they are very busy what do you think they are

going to say that they are doing? Prompt B: Your friend asks you to help him move tomorrow,

but you really just want to relax. What will you tell him? (Other conflicts can be created

similarly. For example, our parents want you to come home for the summer, but you prefer not to

go. What will you tell them?) Similar to the structure of writing activity #6.

This activity can be a warm-up to more extensive activities using the future-time

sense of the present progressive. See activity #10.


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PSU M A TESL APL NG 484 El izabeth FirstActiviti es: Fo cus Pr esent Pr ogressive M ay 4, 2010

9.3 Fi ndi ng a ti me to meet

9.3 Fi nding a ti me to meet

What i s he doing at 2 pm 9.2 D iar i es

.

9.2 Di aries, 9.3Fi nding a ti me to meet

Gr ammar practi ce activit i es: A practical

guide for teachers

A ctivity #10: Scheduling futur e planned events F in ding a t im e to m eet

M aterials:

Procedure:

V ariation:

Comment:

Sources:

Copies of two different schedules for a week. Copies of a blank schedule. (See boxes

26, 27a, and 27b attached, excerpted from .)

Refer to excerpt attached for procedure.

As an introduction to using the present progressive for future planned events, report

what Mickeys plans are tomorrow. ? Refer to , not

attached here

Note that these activities are easily adaptable to focus on the difference between the

use of the simple aspect with habitual actions and the use of the progressive aspect with actions

in progress. See also activity #11. Also might consider creating schedules that were humorous to

liven up a useful, but slightly dry activity.

The activities and associated materials were excerpted

from the following book:

Ur, P. (1988). Future tenses. In Scott Thornbury (Ed),

(pp. 95-105). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.


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to mor r ow, next week, next month, lat er,

etc.

The grammar

book: An ESL/EFL teacher s course (p.130)

A ctivity #11: Calendars and T ime Adverbials

M aterials:

Procedure:

Comment:

Sources:

Prepared narration of a persons schedule. See example below. Copies of a blank

calendar.

excerpted from p. 130 (Celce-Murcia, Larsen-Freeman).

I am not focusing on the present perfect tense is this activity series. Though it would

be possible to include future-time adverbials, such as:

to express future planned events. See also activity #10.

Activity was excerpted from the following book:

Celce-Murcia, M., Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999). The tense and aspect system. In

, 2nd ed. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.


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Total English

today,

usually, al ways

Total English

Activity #12: Gap Filling

M aterials:

Procedure:

Sources:

Copies of handout . (See handout attached.)

The handout provides the base verb. Students decide to use either the simple present or the

present progressive. This activity illustrates the difference between the simple and progressive

aspects, contrasting habitual actions to temporary actions or actions in progress. Have students

underline key words in the sentences that help them to decide with aspect to use, such as

, etc. Review and discuss answers in small groups and as a class.

handout excerpted from website www.eslflow.com. Handout copyrighted2006 by Pearson Education, www.longman.com/totalenglish/.


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Copyright 2006 Pearson Education.All rights reserved.www.longman.com/totalenglish/

Present Simple or Continuous?

Choose the correct alternative( s) in t he sent ences 1- 8 below.

1 Today she / t im e w it h her grandm other.

2 They usually / to the gym on Sundays.

3 We / a barbecue l ater on. Do you want t o come?

4 No, she cant answer the phone, she / having a shower.

5 I always / a coffee before I / for work in

the morning.

6 They sometim es / t o Sweden, but usually t hey

/ by boat .

7 Where are you? I / outside in the sunshine!

8 He always / a m onolingual dict ionary to his English

class.

Look at everyone and every thing in your English class. Writ e four

sentences to describe anything t hat is happening now u sing the pr esent

continuous. The sentences can be about t he students/ t heir personalit ies/the activities youre doing/wh at someone is wearing, saying or doing.

1 ____________________

2 ____________________

3 ____________________

4 ____________________

Write four sentences to describe anyth ing that usually or som etimes

happens in the class using the present simple.

1 ____________________

2 ____________________

3 ____________________

4 ____________________

s spending spends

are going go

re having hav e

has is

have am having m leaving leave

fly are fly ing are

going go

m sitting sit

brings is bringing


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Copyright 2006 Pearson Education.All rights reserved.www.longman.com/totalenglish/

Present Simple or Continuous?

TEACHERS NOTES:

Aim:

Time:

Materials:

Answers:

Sample answers:

Sample answers:

to consolidate the use of Present Simple and Present Continuous. This

work sheet is designed to be used in conj unction with unit 1.3 .

40 minutes m aximum

photocopies of the worksheet for each student.

1 shes spending 2 go 3 Were having 4 shes having

5 have 6 f ly/go 7 I m sitt ing 8 brings

Encourage students t o observ e what is happening around th em by asking

them to describe what people are doing etc. Go around the class

m onitoring car efully to m ake sure students are w riting full sentences and

correct if necessary. Elicit answers from various students and use these

to help students think about now, what is happening and maybe w hat

usually happens and the related tenses.

Mina is using her dictionary. Jane is writing in her

book. Our teacher is helping us. Some of the student s are talking inEnglish. Tom is wearing a pullover because its cold.

a continuation of Ex. 2 - getting students to think about now, what

is happening and m aybe what usually happens. Ask students t o compare

their sentences and to correct each others if necessary.

Our teacher always speaks in English. We usually

do a speaking and a listening activity. We usually use the course book.

Som etime w e use the computers.

Tell students they h ave to choose the correct opt ion. I f necessary do t he first one

with them as an example.

This is

Get feedback from

various students.


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W hat am I D oing

S ituations

This activity can be used as a pre-reading activity for Lesson 9, The activity is basedon page 101 of

help us to express ourselves through actions.an Actor (Student A) and an Audience (Students B, C, D, E, F).

one situation (below). . the actions without speaking.

the actor. what the actor is doing.

(Student B): another situation, etc.

1. You are washing clothes.

2. The telephone rings.

3. Dry your hands.

4. Answer the phone.

5. Write down the message.

1. You are standing at the gas range.

2. You ha ve a frying pan.

3. Break an egg on the rim of the pan.

4. Pour the egg into the pan.

5. Toss the e gg to turn it over.

1. You have a loaf of bread.2. Cut two slices.

3. Put them in the toaster.

4. Take the toast out of the toaster.

5. Eat the toast.

1. You are pouring milk into a glass.2. Some milk spills on the floor.

3. Get a cloth.

4. Clean up the milk.

5. Drink the milk from the glass.

1. Get onto a bus.

2. There are no empty seats.

3. Hold onto the hand strap.

4. The bus stops suddenly.

5. Someone gets off.

6. Sit down.

1. You are shopping.

2. You see a n ice coat.

3. Try it on.

4. Look in the mirror.

5. Pay for the coat.

6. Take it out of the shop.

1. You are cleaning the table.

2. You knock over a vase.

3. It lands on your foot.

4. The vase breaks.

5. Clean it up.

1. You are watching a tennis match.

2. Watch the ball going to and fro.

3. Cheer for the winner.

4. It starts to rain.

5. Put up your umbrella.

1. Get onto a train.

2. Walk down the aisle.

3. Look at the seat numbers.

4. Find your seat.

5. Put your luggage on the rack.

6. Sit down and read a book.

1. Arrive at the dentists clinic.

2. Sit down and read a magazine.

3. Go to the dentists chair.

4. Sit down and open your mouth.

5. Oh dear! That hurts!

6. Hold your mouth.

H igh School Engli sh.Its U p to You.

W ho?

What?

How?

Gr oups of four to six people

This is a miming activity. M imesWe need

Actor: Choose Stand up D o

Audience: Watch Guess

N ew Actor C hoose

A: W ashing B: Cooking

C : M aki ng Toast D : Dr ink ing M i lk

E: On the Bus F: Shopping

G : C leaning H : W atching Tennis

I : O n the Tr ain J: A t the D ent ist s


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Bour ne Supr emacy The poli ce

don t see hi m? The poli ce ar e not seei ng him? H e hear s their footsteps? H e is heari ng thei r

footsteps?

The teacher s guid e of Eng li sh: a cour se book andreference guide

A ctivity #14: Stative verbs in the Present - I don t see wh at you ar e seeing!

M aterials:

Procedure:

V ariations/extensions

Sources:

Copies of blank stative verb chart. (See final version of filled in chart attached.)

Provide a word bank of the stative verbs at the bottom of a blank chart with only the

category headings provided. Direct the students to put the verbs into categories as best they can.

Draw the chart on the blackboard. Fill in the chart as a class by asking the students to provide the

verb category and an example sentence using the verb. Discuss the overall meaning of stative

verbs, as verbs which represent no change or a stable state. Discuss the use ofthe simple vs.

progressive aspect with respect to stative verbs. Ask students if they agree. Finally, try a

processing instruction activity in which the students respond to sentences that you give them

orally with [okay or not okay].(Cowan) Identify with asterisks the verbs which have more than

one meaning and may be used in both the simple and progressive aspects.

:

1.) Create handout as an extension of activity #7 the movie clip.

Elicit student decision.

2.) Create short written first-person narratives that have stative verbs used correctly and

incorrectly. (Cowan) More advanced students may determine the errors by listening to the

text as it is read. Intermediate students may prefer to study the text, underlining the errors.

Variation activity #2 referenced from activity 3 in the following textbook:

Cowan, R. (2008). Tense and aspect.(p. 386). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

The table of stative verbs attached was excerpted from the following textbook:

Firsten, R. (2002). The presents. The ELT grammar book: A teacher -friendly reference guide

(p.33). Burlingame,CA: Alta Book Center Publishers.


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I t is sunny/cloudy/wi ndy/foggy I t i s 75 F I t i s r ai ni ng/ snowi ng/

sl eet i ng / h ai l i ng T he wi n d i s bl ow i ng . T he sun i s shi ni n g. I t i s cl ou di n g o ver . A

hurri cane i s hitt ing Right now . all the ti m I t i s hai ly? I t

hai ls? I t i s hai ling? I t i s cloudy? I t clouds? I t i s clouding?

is

r aining r ight now

in this moment al l of the t ime

often/a lot

wi l l be goi ng to

The teacher s gui de of Eng lish: a cour se book and

reference guide

Activity #15: W eather R eport : W hats it doing outside?

M ater ials:

Procedure:

V ariations

Sources:

Access to the internet. Make copies of a forecast for both today and for the next 15

days in several locations. (See attached forecasts as an example in Guatemala.) If the classroom

does not have access to the internet, the teacher may make a transparency of a sample forecast

for use on the overhead projector or refer to a newspaper.

Go to a weather website online. Ask students to name their home city. Look up the

international (or national) forecast. Discuss the weather, emphasizing the difference between

simple present with use of stative verbs and the present progressive with use of active verbs.

Consider and compare: . . Versus.

. Versus.

. Elicit students thoughts on: vs ?

or Similarly,

Have students work in pairs or small groups. Give each group a forecast from a differentlocation. Ask them to determine:

1.) How is the weather right now? At 3pm?

2.) Tonight? Tomorrow?

3.) The next 15 days?

4.) What do they forecast for the future? Does it rain in Guatemala often/a lot/all of the time? Or it

today/this week/this month? (Explore that can mean a larger amount of time

than because it is still a specific amount, rather than general or non-

specific )

5.) What do you think the people are doing in Guatemala right now in this weather?

6.) How does it compare to the weather here?

7.) What else did you notice about the weather forecast?

Have the students report the weather from their city either by changing groups or by reporting to

the class.

:

1.) Activity is easily adaptable to practice future prediction with and .

2.) Have the students listen and watch video segments of todays local weather forecast as a

listening activity and use the above exercise as a post-listening activity.

3.) In classrooms where many students have computers, students could work to fill out a class

world weather chart. Have them lookup the weather for various locations online and thenreport to the teacher to fill in the chart.

Weather reports are from www.accuweather.com. Activity was adapted from activity 2

in the following textbook:

Cowan, R. (2008). Tense and Aspect.

(p. 385). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.


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Complete GUATEMALA, GUATEMALA Hourly Forecast

Days 1-5 Days 6-10 Days 10-15 Weekends All 15 Days

66FRealFeel

59F

Currently At 9:35PM

Mostly Cloudy

Tomorrow

High: 72F

RealFeel: 79F

Tonight

Low: 60F

RealFeel: 61F

AccuWeather.com Quick Look

11pm

63F

T-Storms

1am

62F

Fog

3am

62F

T-Storms

5am

61F

T-Storms

7am

63F

MostlyCloudy

9am

67F

T-Storms

Hour-by-Hour Weather

Winds: S

at 7mph

Humidity: 93%

Dew Point: 64 F

Pressure: 30.18 in

Visibility: 10 Miles

Sunrise: 5:39 AMSunset: 6:19 PM

Page 1 of 1AccuWeather.com - Guatemala, GUATEMALA - Weather Forecast - Loca...

5/1/2010http://www.accuweather.com/world-index-forecast.asp?partner=accuweather...


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Days 1-5 Days 6-10 Days 11-15 Weekends All 15 Days

AccuWeather.com Forecast: 15-Day Overview

Saturday, May 1

Low: 6 0 FHigh: 75 F

Sunday, May 2

Low: 59 FHigh: 72 F

Monday, May 3

Low: 59 FHigh: 73 F

Tuesday, May 4

Low: 58 FHigh: 73 F

Wednesday, May 5

Low: 57 FHigh: 72 F

Thursday, May 6

Low: 59 FHigh: 72 F

Friday, May 7

Low: 57 FHigh: 72 F

Saturday, May 8


Sunday, May 9

Low: 56 FHigh: 74 F

Monday, May 10


Tuesday, May 11

Low: 58 FHigh: 76 F

Wednesday, May 12


Thursday, May 13


Friday, May 14


Saturday, May 15

Low: 58 FHigh: 77 F

More Details/AccuPop

Cloudy, a couple of t-storms

More Details

Rain and a thunderstorm

More Details

A couple of thunderstorms

More Details

A couple of p.m. t-storms

More Details

A stray afternoon shower

More Details


More Details


More Details

Mostly sunny and delightful

More Details

Sun and some clouds

More Details

Variably cloudy with t-

storms

More Details

An afternoon thunderstorm

More Details

A t-shower in the afternoon

More Details


More Details


More Details

An afternoon thundershower

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APLNG 484 FIRST Grammar Activities

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