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ManyThings: Listen and Repeat Podcast - Commonly Used Irregular Verbs
Details
Activity Description
Here is a lesson on the past tense with a nice past-tense rap-type song. Students can listen to the audio many times to help them remember the past tense.
Preparation
- Make sure the audio file plays on your teacher computer before conducting this activity in class.
- Print out a copy of the irregular verbs included in the podcast for each student.
- Make sure students are familiar with the form, function, and usage of the following grammar structures prior to this activity: simple present tense, simple past tense, and present perfect tense/passive voice
How-To
- Review the simple present tense, simple past tense, and past participle of some verbs your class has already studied.
- Tell students they will be learning these tenses for 18 commonly used irregular verbs.
- Distribute the copies of the irregular verbs included in the podcast to each student.
- Play the podcast three times everyday for a week to help students remember these verb tenses.
Program Areas
- ESL: English as a Second Language
Levels
- Beginning High
- Intermediate Low
- Intermediate High
Lesson Plan
Write a few simple sentences on the board, mixing past tense and present tense verbs.
For example:
I took a vacation last week.
She reads books every day.
Read the sentences aloud and ask students to identify which verbs are in the past tense. Discuss their answers as a class.
Tell students that they will be practicing the past tense of a variety of verbs.
Introduce the concept of the past tense and explain that it is used to talk about actions or states that happened in the past.
Write the base form of the given verbs on the board (e.g., take, put, tell, give, read) and explain that we need to change these verbs to the past tense to talk about the past.
Present the regular past tense rule for forming regular verbs in the past tense: add '-ed' to the base form of the verb. For example:Take → Took
Put → Put
Explain that there are some irregular verbs that do not follow this rule, and present the irregular past tense forms of the given verbs. For example:Tell → Told
Give → Gave
Read → Read (pronounced as "red")
Practice pronunciation of the past tense forms with the class, emphasizing any irregularities.
Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
Provide a list of sentences with gaps for students to fill in the correct past tense form of the given verbs. For example:I _____ a picture of the sunset. (take)
She _____ her lunch on the table. (put)
He _____ me a secret. (tell)
They _____ me a gift for my birthday. (give)
We _____ a book last night. (read)
Have students work together to complete the sentences using the correct past tense form of the verb.
Ask some pairs/groups to share their completed sentences with the class and provide feedback.
Have students listen to the podcast.
Have students listen to the podcast as often as possible to practice the verbs.
In pairs or small groups, have students create a short dialogue or story using as many past tense verbs as possible. Encourage creativity and imagination.
After they finish, invite some pairs/groups to perform their dialogues or read out their stories to the class