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ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR A2

Past Continuous ESL Lesson Plan (A2, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute A2 lesson on Past Continuous, built round the theme "What Were You Doing When ...?".

  • CEFR A2
  • 60 minutes
  • Teenagers and adults
  • Grammar
  • Past Tenses
  • Past Continuous

About this lesson

Who it is for. Elementary students who use the past simple with reasonable accuracy and know the present continuous. They have not yet learned the past continuous and use the past simple for all past actions.

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

At a glance

Level
CEFR A2 (Elementary)
Learners
Teenagers and adults
Length
60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run only "Set up" of the two tasks in "Freer practice" and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills
Speaking
Language focus
Grammar: Past Continuous
Framework
PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials
Handout 1 (news story), Handout 2 (practice), Handout 3 (alibi role cards and detective question sheet).
Preparation
About 10 minutes: print Handouts 1 to 3, one per learner, and read the language analysis. The answer key is for you, not the class.

Aims

Main aim. To clarify and practise the past continuous for actions in progress at a past time and for actions interrupted by a past simple event (when / while).

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can say what they were doing at a specific past time and describe an interrupted action, e.g. I was cooking when the lights went out.

  • Subsidiary aim. To develop fluency in a game-like speaking task (an alibi game).
  • Subsidiary aim. To read a short news story for specific information.

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.

Form

PositiveNegativeQuestion
I / He / She / ItI was cooking.He wasn't sleeping.Was she working? Yes, she was. / No, she wasn't.
You / We / TheyThey were watching TV.We weren't listening.Were you studying? Yes, I was. / No, I wasn't.

Meaning and use

  • An action in progress at a specific time in the past: At 8 pm last night, I was watching TV.
  • A longer action interrupted by a shorter one: I was walking home when it started to rain. (past continuous = long action; past simple = short action)
  • when usually goes before the short action; while usually goes before the long action: While she was sleeping, the phone rang.
  • Two actions in progress at the same time: While I was cooking, my brother was doing his homework.

Pronunciation

  • was and were are usually weak in positive sentences: /wəz/, /wə/. I was cooking /aɪ wəz ˈkʊkɪŋ/.
  • They are strong in short answers and negatives: Yes, I was /wɒz/. wasn't /ˈwɒznt/.

Concept-checking questions

  • I was cooking when the lights went out. Which action started first? (Cooking.) · Which action was short? (The lights went out.) · Did the lights going out interrupt the cooking? (Yes.) · Which is in the past continuous? (Cooking.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

ProblemSolution
Missing -ing (I was watch TV).Board formula with three boxes. Finger gesture: three fingers for was – watch – ing.
Using the continuous for both actions (When I was arriving, they were eating).Timeline: one long wavy line, one cross. CCQ: Which is short?
Wrong choice of when / while.Highlight the general pattern on the board; accept when with both in speech.
Alibi game: students forget their story.Give each pair time to write a short alibi plan on the card.

Board plan

Left: vocabularyCentre: grammarRight: pronunciation
the lights went out · the phone rang · it started to rain · power cut · alibi · suspect
Timeline: ~~~~~ (long action) interrupted by X (short action). I was cooking when the lights went out. While she was sleeping, the phone rang. was/were + verb-ing. Q: What were you doing at 8?
I was cooking /wəz/ · They were watching /wə/ · Yes, I was /wɒz/

CEFR A2 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults

Procedure: Past Continuous, step by step

Warm-up5 minutes · Whole class, then pairs

Aim: To generate interest and get students thinking about a moment in the past.

Turn off the classroom lights (or mime it). Say: "Imagine: last night at 8 o'clock, all the lights in the city went out! A power cut!"

Ask: "Do you remember a power cut? Where were you? How did you feel?" Take two or three answers.

Students tell a partner where they were at 8 o'clock last night (1 minute). Don't correct.

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Aim: To present the past continuous in context and clarify its meaning, form and pronunciation, including when and while.

Part A: Reading (7 minutes)

Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read the news story. Match each person to what they were doing when the lights went out. Three minutes."

ICQs: "How many people?" (Four.) "Do you write or match?" (Match.)

Pairs check, then check as a class. Students do the True / False questions.

Part B: Noticing (3 minutes)

Say: "Underline was/were + -ing in one colour and the past simple verbs in another." Pairs compare.

Part C: Clarification (10 minutes)

Meaning. Board Mr Perera was cooking when the lights went out. Draw a timeline: a long wavy line (cooking) and a cross (the lights went out). Ask the CCQs from the Language analysis.

Form. Elicit was/were + verb-ing; the negative (wasn't, weren't); the question: What were you doing at 8 pm? Write the form table on the board.

when / while. Board two sentences from the text. Ask: "Which word comes before the long action?" (while) "Which comes before the short action?" (when)

Pronunciation. Drill with weak forms: I was cooking. They were watching TV. Then strong short answers: Yes, I was. No, I wasn't.

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Aim: To practise the form and the contrast with the past simple.

Give out Handout 2. Say: "Exercise A: past simple or past continuous. Exercise B: when or while. Six minutes. Work alone."

Pairs compare and justify: "It's the long action, so past continuous."

Check as a class. Drill two or three sentences.

Students answer Exercise C about themselves and read one answer to a partner.

Freer practice18 minutes · Groups of four (two suspects, two detectives)

Aim: To use the past continuous fluently and accurately in a communicative game.

Set up (2 minutes). Read the situation on Handout 3: "Yesterday between 10.00 and 11.00, a birthday cake disappeared from the staff room. Two students are suspects." Divide each group: two suspects and two detectives.

Preparation (4 minutes). Suspects agree on a detailed alibi: where they were and what they were doing at 10.00, 10.15, 10.30 and 10.45. Detectives prepare questions with the question sheet.

ICQs: "Suspects, must your answers be the same?" (Yes.) "Detectives, do you interview them together?" (No, separately.)

Interviews (8 minutes). Detectives interview each suspect separately; the other suspect waits out of earshot. Detectives note answers.

Decision (2 minutes). Detectives compare notes and decide: innocent or guilty, with reasons: "Suspect A said they were reading in the library at 10.30, but Suspect B said they were eating in the canteen."

Each group announces its verdict to the class (2 minutes).

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board four sentences from the game: two correct, two with errors. Students correct them.

Ask a final question round the class: "What were you doing at 7 o'clock this morning?"

Set the homework.

Homework Write a paragraph (80–100 words) about where you were and what you were doing during a memorable event (a big match, a storm, a celebration).

PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support
Give suspects a time-plan template to complete before the interviews. Weaker detectives can read questions directly from the sheet.
Stretch
Detectives must ask at least two follow-up questions (Exactly what time? Who were you with? What were they wearing?). Stronger suspects add a while sentence: While I was reading, Kamal was sitting next to me.

Adapting the lesson

ForWhat to change
A large class (40 or more)Keep the pairwork in "Freer practice" in fixed pairs rather than a mingle, and take feedback from four or five pairs instead of the whole room. Run "Set up" once, with two pairs reporting, rather than hearing every pair. Monitor one half of the room during "Controlled practice" and the other half during "Freer practice".
A class with no photocopierPut the exercises from Handout 2: Practice on the board for learners to copy into their notebooks, and read any text aloud twice instead of printing it. Handout 1: Power Cut! works read out from the front: learners note what they need rather than holding a card. The board plan above is this lesson's minimum - with that on the board, it runs on no paper at all.
An online classSend Handouts 1 to 3 in the chat before the lesson and put the board plan on a shared slide. Use breakout rooms for "Set up" and visit each room once. Have learners type the controlled answers in the chat, so you see every answer at once instead of nominating.
A different age groupWith young learners, cut the writing at the end and give that time to the speaking task; keep the drilling short, and let them draw or mime where the plan allows it. With adults, keep the writing and ask for a short spoken summary in place of anything drawn or mimed.

Checking learning

In the alibi game, students form past continuous questions and answers accurately most of the time. Students choose past continuous vs past simple correctly in 7 of 8 items on Handout 2, Exercise A. Students use when and while in at least one sentence each.

Teacher's reflection

Did the timeline make the long action / short action clear? Was the alibi game well organised? How could I set it up faster?

Handout 1: Power Cut!

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Read the news story. Match each person to what they were doing when the lights went out.

CITY IN THE DARK

At exactly 8 pm last night, all the lights in the city went out. The power cut lasted for two hours. We asked some people what they were doing.

"I was cooking dinner for my family," said Mr Perera, 45. "The rice was nearly ready. We ate by candlelight!"

Nimali, 16, was doing her homework when the lights went out. "I was writing an essay on my computer. I didn't save it, so I lost everything!"

While the city was sitting in the dark, two doctors at the General Hospital were working with torches. "We were helping a patient, and we didn't stop," said Dr Silva.

Mrs Fernando, 70, wasn't worried. "I was sleeping in my chair. I didn't notice anything!"

Answers: 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4 ___

True or false?

  • The power cut lasted for one hour. ______
  • Nimali saved her essay. ______
  • Mrs Fernando was worried. ______
PersonWhat were they doing?
1. Mr Pereraa. sleeping in a chair
2. Nimalib. helping a patient
3. The doctorsc. cooking dinner
4. Mrs Fernandod. writing an essay

Handout 2: Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Put the verbs into the past simple or the past continuous.

B. Choose when or while.

C. Answer about you. What were you doing ...

  • I ______________ (read) when the lights ______________ (go) out.
  • While we ______________ (eat) dinner, my phone ______________ (ring).
  • What ______________ you ______________ (do) at 9 pm yesterday?
  • She ______________ (fall) while she ______________ (run) for the bus.
  • It ______________ (not / rain) when we left the house.
  • They ______________ (watch) a film when their cousins ______________ (arrive).
  • ______________ you ______________ (sleep) when I called?
  • I ______________ (see) an accident while I ______________ (drive) to work.
  • ______________ I was walking to school, I saw an elephant!
  • I was having a shower ______________ the water stopped.
  • My mother was cooking ______________ my father was cleaning the car.
  • ______________ I opened the door, the cat ran out.
  • at 7 o'clock this morning? ______________________________
  • at 9 o'clock last night? ______________________________

Handout 3: The Alibi Game

The situation: Yesterday, between 10.00 and 11.00, a birthday cake disappeared from the staff room. You are suspects / detectives.

SUSPECTS' CARD

You were together yesterday from 10.00 to 11.00. Agree on your alibi. You must give the same answers! Plan:

Other details (who did you see? what were you wearing? what was the weather like?):

..........................................................................................

DETECTIVES' QUESTION SHEET

Interview each suspect separately. Write their answers.

Your decision: Innocent / Guilty. Reasons: ______________________________

TimeWhere were you?What were you doing?
10.00
10.15
10.30
10.45
QuestionSuspect ASuspect B
Where were you at 10 o'clock?
What were you doing at 10.15?
Who were you with?
What were you doing when you heard about the cake?
What was your friend wearing?
What were other people doing at 10.45?

Answer Key

Handout 1

Handout 2, Exercise A

Handout 2, Exercise B

Common errors to watch for

  • 1 c · 2 d · 3 b · 4 a
  • False (two hours) · 2. False · 3. False
  • was reading ... went · 2. were eating ... rang · 3. were ... doing · 4. fell ... was running · 5. wasn't raining · 6. were watching ... arrived · 7. Were ... sleeping · 8. saw ... was driving
  • While · 2. when · 3. while · 4. When
ErrorCorrection
I was watch TV.I was watching TV.
When I was arriving, they ate.When I arrived, they were eating.
While I cooked, the phone was ringing.While I was cooking, the phone rang.
What you were doing?What were you doing?

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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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