Lesson Plan: Understanding Basic Tenses
**Grade Level:** Primary 1 (Ages 5-7)
**Subject:** English Language Arts (Grammar)
**Duration:** 45 minutes
**Topic:** Tenses (Past, Present, Future)
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### Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
1. Understand the concept of past, present, and future tenses.
2. Recognize and use simple examples of past, present, and future tense verbs.
### Materials Needed:
- Flashcards with images and simple sentences
- Whiteboard and markers
- Storybook with simple text
- Chart paper
- Stickers or stamps for rewards
### Introduction (10 minutes):
1. **Greeting & Warm-up Activity:**
- Greet the students and start with a short, engaging activity like singing a song that uses different tenses (e.g., "If You're Happy and You Know It" with additional verses in past and future tenses).
2. **Introduction to Tenses:**
- Write the words "Past," "Present," and "Future" on the whiteboard.
- Explain that "tense" tells us when something happens.
- Provide simple definitions:
- "Past: Something that already happened."
- "Present: Something happening right now."
- "Future: Something that will happen."
### Direct Instruction (15 minutes):
1. **Past Tense:**
- Show a flashcard with a picture of a child eating an apple.
- Sentence: "Yesterday, I ate an apple."
- Ask students what the child did in the picture.
- Explain that "ate" is the past tense of "eat."
2. **Present Tense:**
- Show a flashcard with a picture of a child eating an apple.
- Sentence: "I am eating an apple."
- Ask students what the child is doing in the picture.
- Explain that "am eating" is the present tense.
3. **Future Tense:**
- Show a flashcard with a picture of a child about to eat an apple.
- Sentence: "I will eat an apple."
- Ask students what the child will do.
- Explain that "will eat" is the future tense.
### Guided Practice (10 minutes):
1. **Interactive Story Reading:**
- Read a short story to the class. As you read, pause at key verbs and ask the class what tense the verb is in.
- For example, "The dog ran fast (past)." "The dog is running (present)." "The dog will run (future)."
### Independent Practice (5 minutes):
1. **Worksheet Activity:**
- Hand out simple worksheets with sentences where students must circle or color-code the verbs according to their tense (e.g., red for past, blue for present, green for future).
### Closure (5 minutes):
1. **Review:**
- Recap what students learned about past, present, and future tenses.
- Ask a few students to volunteer and share sentences using each tense.
2. **Reward:**
- Hand out stickers or stamps for participation and correct answers.
### Extension Activities (Optional):
1. **Tense Sorting Game:**
- Create cards with verbs in past, present, and future tenses and ask students to sort them into the correct category.
2. **Tense Role-play:**
- Encourage students to act out scenarios using verbs in past, present, and future tenses.
### Assessment:
- Observe student participation and understanding during guided and independent practice.
- Review completed worksheets to check for accuracy.
- Use informal questioning during closure to gauge comprehension.
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**Notes:** Adjust the pace of the lesson based on the students' grasp of the concepts. Use positive reinforcement to encourage participation and make learning fun.