CEFR A1 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults
Procedure: Present Simple, step by step
Warm-up5 minutes · T → Ss, whole class
Aim: To engage students, introduce the topic of daily routines and activate vocabulary.
Draw a large clock on the board showing 6.30. Say: "This is my morning. Look!" Mime waking up and stretching. Ask: "What am I doing?" Elicit or teach get up.
Mime four more actions in order: have breakfast, go to work, have lunch, go to bed. After each mime, students call out the phrase. Write each phrase on the left of the board.
Ask two or three students: "What time do you get up?" Accept short answers (Six o'clock). Do not correct grammar at this stage.
Transition: "Now let's meet Nimal. He is a student in Kandy."
Presentation20 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class
Aim: To present the target language in a meaningful context and check general understanding. To clarify the meaning, form and pronunciation of the present simple, focusing on the third person -s.
Part A: Context (8 minutes)
Give out Handout 1. Point to the table. Say: "These are six things Nimal does every day. They are not in order."
Task 1 (gist): "Read the text. Number the activities 1 to 6. You have three minutes. Work alone."
ICQs: "Do you work alone or with a partner?" (Alone.) "How many activities?" (Six.) "How many minutes?" (Three.)
Students read and number the activities. Monitor and help with vocabulary if needed.
Students compare answers with a partner (1 minute). Then check as a class: read each activity and ask "What number?"
Task 2 (detail): "Read again. Write the times." Students complete the time column on Handout 1. Check answers by asking: "What time does Nimal get up?" Model the full answer: "He gets up at six thirty."
Part B: Language clarification (12 minutes)
Meaning. Write on the board: Nimal gets up at 6.30. Ask the CCQs from the language analysis (Is this today only? Is it every day? Is it a habit?).
Form (positive). Write I get up at 6.30. above Nimal's sentence. Ask: "What's different?" Elicit the -s. Underline -s in a second colour. Elicit more examples from the text: goes, has, watches, studies. Ask: "Why goes, not gos?" Write the spelling rules on the board (see Language analysis).
Form (negative). Point to the text: He doesn't eat breakfast at home. Ask: "Is there an -s on eat?" (No.) "Where is it?" (In doesn't / does.) Draw an arrow from eats to does. Contrast with I don't eat breakfast.
Form (questions). Write Does Nimal walk to school? and Do you walk to school? Elicit the short answers. Highlight the word order: Do/Does + subject + verb.
Pronunciation. Say works, plays, watches clearly. Ask students to listen: "Are the endings the same?" Write the three columns /s/, /z/, /ɪz/ on the right of the board. Drill chorally, then individually:
works – he works – he works in a bank
plays – she plays – she plays cricket
watches – he watches – he watches TV
Drill the question and short answer: T: "Does Nimal walk to school?" Ss: "Yes, he does." (Back-chain if needed.)
Transition: "Now let's practise. Take Handout 2."
Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class
Aim: To give students accurate written practice of the form.
Give out Handout 2. Say: "Exercise A: complete the sentences with the verb in brackets. Look at the person: I or he/she? Five minutes. Work alone."
ICQs: "Alone or with a partner?" (Alone.) "Do you need to add -s for I?" (No.)
Monitor. Note common errors on a piece of paper for later.
Students check with a partner (1 minute). Nominate students to read sentences aloud. Write answers on the board. Ask the class to correct any errors.
Exercise B (spelling and sound): students write the he/she form and tick the sound (/s/, /z/ or /ɪz/). Check quickly as a class and drill the trickier ones (finishes, goes, studies).
Freer practice18 minutes · Pairs, then new pairs, then individual writing
Aim: To give students freer, personalised speaking practice using the target language.
Give out Handout 3. Model first: ask a strong student the first question: "What time do you get up?" Write the answer in the grid on the board. Then show how to report it: "Ayesha gets up at 5.45."
Say: "Ask your partner all the questions. Write the answers in the grid. You have six minutes. Then change: your partner asks you."
ICQs: "Do you write your answers or your partner's answers?" (My partner's.) "Do you show your partner the paper?" (No, ask and listen.)
Students interview each other. Monitor actively: listen for errors with do/does, word order and times. Write errors and good examples on your notes.
Change partners. Say: "Stand up. Find a new partner. Tell your new partner about your first partner." Model: "Ayesha gets up at 5.45. She doesn't have breakfast. She goes to school by bus." (5 minutes.)
Writing (4 minutes): students write 5–6 sentences about their first partner at the bottom of Handout 3. Fast finishers add always, usually, sometimes, never.
Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · T → Ss, whole class
Aim: To give feedback on language used in the production stage and consolidate learning.
Ask two or three students to read their sentences aloud. Praise accurate -s endings.
Error correction: write four sentences from your notes on the board, two correct and two incorrect (e.g. She work in a shop. / Does he plays football?). Ask pairs: "Which are correct? Correct the wrong ones." Check as a class.
Good language: board one or two good sentences you heard and praise them.
Set the homework (see below). Ask a final question round the class: "What time does your mother/father get up?" as students leave.
Homework Write 6–8 sentences about a family member's day. Use at least two negatives and one question you would like to ask them. Example: My brother gets up at 7 o'clock. He doesn't eat breakfast. He goes to work by train ...
PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.