ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR A2

Past Simple ESL Lesson Plan (A2, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute lesson for teaching the past simple to A2 learners: a short story to meet the verbs in context, a clear focus on form and on the three sounds of -ed, controlled practice, a speaking mingle, and a freer task where learners tell a partner about a day they remember.

CEFR A2
60 minutes
Teenagers and adults
Grammar
Past Simple

About this lesson

It works with teenagers and adults, and every stage has notes for large classes, classes without a photocopier, and online lessons.

At a glance

Level: A2, adaptable for A1+ and B1
Learners: Teenagers and adults
Length: 60 minutes. For a 45-minute lesson, drop the "Find someone who" mingle and set Worksheet Task 5 as homework.
Skills: Speaking, reading and writing
Language focus: Past simple: regular and irregular verbs; negatives with didn't; questions with did; -ed pronunciation
Framework: PPP (presentation, practice, production), with the language met first in a short text
Materials: The reading text (on the board or the worksheet), the worksheet, a board
Preparation: 10 minutes

Aims

Main aim. By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to talk about finished events in the past using the past simple of regular and common irregular verbs, in positive sentences, negatives and questions.

Subsidiary aim. Learners will be able to pronounce regular past endings correctly as /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/.
Subsidiary aim. Learners will be able to read a short narrative for the main idea and for detail.

The text: "Lina's Saturday"

Last Saturday, Lina visited her grandmother in the countryside. She got up early and caught the eight o'clock bus. The journey took two hours, so she listened to music and read a book. When she arrived, her grandmother cooked a big lunch. After lunch, they walked to the river and watched the birds. Lina wanted to take some photos, but she didn't have her phone. She left it on the bus! Luckily, the driver found it and called her grandmother's number. Lina went back to the bus station and got her phone before she went home. It was a long day, but she enjoyed it.

Gist question: Was Lina's day good or bad? Why?

Detail questions: (1) How did Lina travel? (2) What did they do after lunch? (3) What problem did Lina have? (4) Who found the phone?

Language analysis

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

Meaning

We use the past simple for actions and states that are finished, at a time in the past that we know or that is clear: Lina visited her grandmother last Saturday.

Time words that go with it: yesterday, last week, last Saturday, two days ago, in 2019, when I was a child.

Concept-checking questions

Ask	Answer
"Lina visited her grandmother." Is she visiting her now?	No.
Did it happen before now?	Yes.
Is it finished?	Yes.
Do we know when?	Yes: last Saturday.

Form

Sentence type	Pattern	Example
Positive	subject + past form	She visited her grandmother. They went home.
Negative	subject + didn't + base verb	She didn't have her phone.
Question	(question word) + did + subject + base verb	Did she enjoy it? Where did she go?
Short answers	Yes, + subject + did. / No, + subject + didn't.	Yes, she did. / No, she didn't.

Spelling

Regular verbs add -ed (walk → walked). Verbs ending in -e add -d (arrive → arrived). Consonant + y becomes -ied (study → studied). One vowel + one consonant, stressed, doubles the consonant (stop → stopped). Irregular verbs have their own past forms (go → went, get → got, take → took) and are learned as vocabulary.

Pronunciation

/t/ after voiceless sounds such as /k/, /p/, /s/, /tʃ/: worked, stopped, watched.
/d/ after voiced sounds and vowels: played, called, listened.
/ɪd/, an extra syllable, only after /t/ and /d/: wanted, visited, needed.
In "didn't" and "did you", the vowel is short and "did you" often sounds like /dɪdʒu/ in fast speech.

Anticipated problems and solutions

Problem	Solution
Learners use the past form after didn't: I didn't went.	Show that did already carries the past, so the verb goes back to the base form: didn't go. Board it as a rule: did + base verb.
Learners use was with a main verb: I was go to the market.	Contrast I was tired (was + adjective) with I went (past verb). Many first languages use a past marker this way, so expect it and correct gently.
Regularising irregular verbs: goed, buyed.	Treat irregular verbs as vocabulary: a short list each lesson, practised aloud.
Adding an extra syllable to every -ed: walk-ed /wɔːkɪd/.	Drill the three sounds with gestures; only /t/ and /d/ endings add a syllable.

Lead-in5 min · Whole class, then pairs

Aim: To create interest and find out what learners already know.

Tell the class three things you did last weekend, one of them false: I cooked for eight people. I went swimming. I watched a film. Learners guess the false one.

In pairs, learners do the same: three sentences, one false. Listen, but do not correct yet. Note who already uses the past simple, and which mistakes come up.

Reading for meaning10 min · Individual, then pairs

Aim: To meet the past simple in a context and understand the story.

Write the gist question on the board: Was Lina's day good or bad? Why? Learners read the text quickly and answer. Check in pairs, then as a class.

Learners read again and answer the four detail questions. Check answers.

ICQ before they read: Do you need to understand every word? (No.) How long do you have? (Two minutes.)

Focus on form and sound8 min · Whole class

Aim: To make the meaning, form and pronunciation of the past simple clear.

Learners underline every past verb in the text. Elicit them onto the board in two columns: regular (visited, listened) and irregular (got, took).

Use the CCQs to check the meaning. Build the positive, negative and question forms on the board from sentences in the text.

Drill the three -ed sounds with a gesture for each: worked /t/, played /d/, wanted /ɪd/.

Controlled practice12 min · Individual, then pairs to check

Aim: To practise the form accurately.

Learners do Worksheet Tasks 1 to 3 alone, then compare answers with a partner.

Check answers as a class. Ask learners to say the full sentence, not just the verb, so you hear the pronunciation.

Find someone who8 min · Mingle

Aim: To practise past simple questions and short answers in speech.

Learners each get or copy six prompts: Find someone who ... cooked a meal yesterday / watched a film last weekend / got up before six today / visited a relative last month / didn't sleep well last night / went somewhere new this year.

Model the question first: Did you cook a meal yesterday? - Yes, I did. / No, I didn't. When someone says yes, they ask one more question: What did you cook?

ICQ: Do you write your own name or your classmate's name? (My classmate's.) What do you ask when someone says yes? (One more question.)

Freer speaking: a day I remember12 min · Pairs, then whole class

Aim: To use the past simple fluently to tell a short personal story.

Learners think of a good day from last year and make short notes: where, who with, what happened. Give two minutes; no full sentences.

In pairs, each learner tells their story. The listener asks at least three questions with did.

While they talk, write down good sentences and common mistakes, without interrupting. Two or three learners share their partner's story with the class.

Feedback and exit task5 min · Whole class, then individual

Aim: To correct the most common mistakes and check the main aim.

Write four sentences you heard on the board, two correct and two with mistakes, and let the class find and fix the mistakes.

Exit task: each learner writes three sentences about yesterday: one positive, one negative, one question. Collect them to check who met the aim.

Homework Worksheet Task 5, if not done in class: five sentences about yesterday and two questions for a partner.

PPP (presentation, practice, production), with the language met first in a short text. Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support: Give weaker learners a list of the irregular verbs from the text with their past forms, and let them do the Lead-in with a partner who helps. In the freer task, they may use their notes.
Stretch: Stronger learners add time expressions and linking words to their story (first, then, after that, in the end), and in the mingle ask two follow-up questions instead of one.

Adapting the lesson

For	What to change
A class of 40 or more	Run the mingle in rows: learners ask the people on their left, right, in front and behind, then change seats with the next row once. Collect exit tasks from one row each lesson.
No photocopier	Write the text and Tasks 2 and 3 on the board or a large sheet before the lesson. Learners write answers in their notebooks. The mingle prompts can be dictated.
Online	Share the text on screen. Put learners in breakout rooms of two or three for the Lead-in and the freer task. Replace the mingle with a shared document: each learner writes a Did you ... question and answers two others'.
Younger learners (9 to 12)	Use a picture story instead of the text, and keep the mingle to four prompts about school and home.

Checking learning

The exit task shows who can form positive, negative and question sentences correctly. Anyone who wrote didn't + past form needs the Lead-in rule again next lesson.

The worksheet for this lesson

Past Simple Worksheet (A2)

Five graded tasks with an answer key and teacher's notes. Printable.

About this lesson plan

Written by RCF English to the RCF English international standard: levelled by the CEFR, original throughout, and suitable for classrooms in any country. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

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