CEFR B1 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults
Procedure: State Verbs, step by step
Warm-up5 minutes · Pairs, then whole class
Aim: To generate interest and personalise the topic.
Write on the board: Always true about me and Different at the moment. Model: "I always drink tea in the morning. At the moment, I'm learning to swim."
Students tell a partner one thing for each column (2 minutes).
Take two or three examples from the class. Write one of each on the board without comment; you will return to them in Stage 2.
Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class
Aim: To present the target language in context and help students work out and understand the rules for permanent, temporary and changing situations and stative verbs.
Part A: Reading (6 minutes)
Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read about three people. Whose life is changing the most? Three minutes."
Pairs compare. Take a quick class vote and ask for reasons.
Students answer the three questions under the profiles. Check as a class.
Part B: Finding the rules (8 minutes)
Give out Handout 2. Say: "Look at the sentences from the profiles. Answer the questions with your partner. Think about the meaning."
ICQs: "Alone or with a partner?" (With a partner.) "Do you need a grammar book?" (No, look at the sentences.)
Pairs complete Parts A, B and C. Monitor. If pairs are stuck, ask: "Is Tharindu's life in Melbourne forever?"
Pairs compare with another pair (1 minute).
Part C: Clarification (6 minutes)
Elicit the answers to Part A. Build the rules in the centre of the board.
Ask the CCQs from the Language analysis.
Elicit the stative verbs from Part B and board them on the left. Ask: "Why is I'm knowing wrong?"
Show the verb pairs (think, have, see). Ask: "Which one is an opinion? Which is an activity?"
Return to the students' warm-up sentences on the board. Ask: "Are these correct? Why?"
Drill the contrast sentence with stress: I USUALLY live in Kandy, but THIS month I'm staying in Colombo.
Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class
Aim: To practise choosing the correct form accurately.
Give out Handout 3. Say: "Exercise A: present simple or present continuous? Six minutes. Work alone."
Pairs compare and justify each answer using the rules: "Temporary, so continuous."
Check as a class. For each stative verb, ask: "Why not the continuous?"
Fast finishers do Exercise B (error correction); check it quickly with the class.
Freer practice18 minutes · Groups of three or four, then whole class
Aim: To use the target language fluently in a discussion about trends and opinions.
Give each group a set of trend cards (Handout 4). Model with one card: "Online shopping. In my town, more people are shopping online. My mother still goes to the market every day. I believe online shopping is convenient, but I don't think it's good for small shops."
Say: "Take a card. Talk for one minute: what is changing in your town? What do you think about it? Use the sentence starters." Each student takes at least two cards (12 minutes).
ICQs: "How long do you talk for?" (One minute.) "What two things do you talk about?" (What is changing, and my opinion.)
Monitor and note good examples and errors, especially stative verbs in the continuous.
Each group chooses the most interesting trend and reports it to the class in two or three sentences.
Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class
Aim: To give feedback on language from the freer practice and consolidate the rules.
Board three errors and two good sentences from your notes. Pairs correct the errors.
Students close their handouts and tell a partner the four rules from today.
Set the homework.
Homework Write a 120-word paragraph: My life at the moment. Include two permanent facts, three temporary situations, one trend in your town and two opinions using stative verbs.
PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.