Journey through Time: Using Past Tenses to Share Personal Experiences

Journey through Time: Using Past Tenses to Share Personal Experiences

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to correctly use a mix of past tenses to talk about a personal experience in the past.

Introduce the learning objective and explain the importance of being able to use the correct past tenses in personal narratives.

What do you already know about using past tenses to talk about personal experiences?

Past Simple vs. Past Continuous

Past simple is used for completed actions in the past while past continuous is used for actions in progress in the past.

Explain the difference between past simple and past continuous using examples. Encourage students to practice identifying which tense to use in different scenarios.

Past Simple vs. Present Perfect

Past simple is used for actions that happened at a specific time in the past while present perfect is used for actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past.

Provide examples of when to use past simple and present perfect. Have students practice identifying the correct tense to use in different scenarios.

Past Perfect vs. Past Perfect Continuous

Past perfect is used to show that one action happened before another action in the past while past perfect continuous is used to show that one action was in progress before another action in the past.

Explain the differences between past perfect and past perfect continuous using examples. Encourage students to practice using these tenses in their writing.

Mixing Past Tenses

It is common to use a mix of past tenses when telling a personal story, as different actions may have occurred at different times in the past.

Explain that using a mix of past tenses is natural in personal narratives. Provide examples of how to use different past tenses in the same story.

Practice Activity 1

In pairs, students will take turns telling personal stories using a mix of past tenses.

Pair up students and have them take turns sharing personal stories using a mix of past tenses. Encourage them to give feedback to each other on their use of tenses.

Practice Activity 2

In groups, students will write a short story together using a mix of past tenses.

Divide students into groups and have them work together to write a short story using a mix of past tenses. Encourage them to use a variety of past tenses and to proofread their work for accuracy.

Review

Review the different past tenses and when to use them. Ask students to share any questions or difficulties they had during the lesson.

Recap the different past tenses and their uses. Allow students to ask any questions or raise any concerns they may have had during the lesson. Provide additional support where necessary.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.