Link to the
English activities for Primary Students : https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Simple-Past-Tense-Was-Were-Activities-House-and-Family-ESL-Grammar-Unit-Flas-16778768
Teach the
simple past tense with visual aids and hands-on activities!
This
resource combines family members and rooms in the house to help elementary ESL
learners practice grammar of simple past tense through engaging flashcards,
crafts, games, and speaking activities.
It is ideal
for elementary ESL curriculum, EFL, and homeschool classrooms looking for engaging simple
past tense activities.
Using flashcards is an effective way to teach the
simple past of was and were to elementary ESL students. The colorful house with
family scenes provide meaningful contexts for children to describe where people
were, ask and answer questions, and practice affirmative, negative, and
interrogative sentences.
Draw a
house on the board and place the different rooms without people flashcards to review
the rooms of the house vocabulary.
Students: That’s the
bedroom!
Review
the simple present tense
Display
the house flashcards with family members on the board and invite students to
take turns following your instructions.
Say,
"Point to the living room!" Then, ask, "Who
is in the living room?" The student answers, "Grandma!
Grandma is in the living room."
Introduce
the past
Introduce
the Simple Past using the word yesterday and an arrow as a time marker, to
help students understand that the events happened in the past. Explain that the
arrow is a symbol for going back in time and that everything in the house
happened yesterday.
Display
the house scene on the board. Ask questions such as, "Who was in
the bedroom yesterday?"
Students: "Grandma
was in the living room."
Simple
Past craft stick puppets
Prepare
the was and were signs ahead of time by attaching the printable words
to large craft sticks.
Students
can create their own was and were craft stick puppets to use as a
grammar aid during the lesson. After cutting, and assembling the puppets,
children can hold up the correct word when needed.Affirmative
statements
Use the
was craft stick puppet. Display the kitchen flashcard and hold up the was
puppet as you model complete sentences such as, "Brother was in the
kitchen." The puppet provides a visual cue that helps students
recognize the past tense form of the verb to be.
Display
another house room flashcard, such as the bathroom, and invite a student to
come to the front of the classroom. The student holds the were craft stick
puppet, points to the people in the picture, and says, "Brother
and Father were in the bathroom."
Using
the were puppet provides a visual cue that helps elementary English
language learners understand that were is used with two or more people in the
past.
Fast
Switch Activity
This is
an interactive whole-class activity using house flashcards. Display the large
house scene on the board. The teacher points to a room and says, "Bedroom!" Then,
the class responds with a complete sentence, such as, "The sisters were in the
bedroom!"
The
activity can be repeated with the other rooms of the house.
Add a
personal touch to your ESL lessons by having students and the teacher make
craft stick puppets with their own pictures. These easy-to-make puppets can be
used for speaking activities, role-playing.
Place
the puppet in one of the house rooms and ask, "Where was I?" Students
look at the house flashcards and answer with complete sentences, such as, "You
were in the bathroom!"
Negative
statements
Give
students a sentence that is not true! Show a house flashcard and say, "My cousin
wasn't in the bathroom!" Students look at the picture and
correct the sentence: "My cousin was in the garage!".
Yes/No
questions
Help
students master Simple Past questions with an engaging classroom activity using
house flashcards! Give students a room flashcard and ask questions such as,
"Were you in the kitchen?" and "Was
he in the garage?" Students answer in short form: Yes, you
were!
WH
questions
Help
students develop WH-question skills in the Simple Past tense with house
flashcards! Display a room and ask questions such as, "Who
were in the living room?" "When were Grandma and Grandpa in the
living room?" "What was in the living room?" and "Where was
the cat?"
Teach
wasn't and weren't with a hands-on contraction puzzle!
Students
can see how was + not = wasn't and were + not = weren't by putting the puzzle
pieces together. This simple ESL grammar activity provides a visual way to
introduce simple past negative contractions.
This
cut-and-paste grammar activity helps elementary English learners understand how
the simple past negative contractions are formed. Students cut out the puzzle
pieces and glue them into their notebooks to create a permanent grammar aid: was
+ not = wasn't and were + not = weren't. Keeping the completed
puzzles in their notebooks gives children a visual reference they can use
during speaking, reading, and writing activities throughout the simple past
tense unit.
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