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ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR A1

Yes / No and Wh- Questions with Be and Do ESL Lesson Plan (A1, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute A1 lesson on Yes / No and Wh- Questions with Be and Do, built round the theme "Getting to Know You".

  • CEFR A1
  • 60 minutes
  • Teenagers and adults
  • Grammar
  • Question Forms
  • Yes / No and Wh- Questions with Be and Do

About this lesson

Who it is for. Beginners who use be and the present simple in statements. In questions they use statement word order with rising intonation (You are from Kandy?), forget do / does (Where you live?) or mix be and do (Do you are a student?).

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 A1 (Beginner)
Learners
Teenagers and adults
Length
60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run only "Interview" of the two tasks in "Freer practice" and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills
Speaking
Language focus
Grammar: Yes / No and Wh- Questions with Be and Do (Present Simple)
Framework
PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials
Handout 1 (a student's profile and interview), Handout 2 (practice), Handout 3 (interview card), question-word cards.
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.

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Google Docs · 60 minutes · PPP (presentation, practice, production)

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The PDF prints as it stands. The Word file and Make a copy are for adapting it: your copy is yours to change, and the original stays as it is.

Aims

Main aim. To present and practise yes / no and wh- questions with be and with do / does in the present simple, with short answers.

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can ask and answer 8 personal questions, e.g. Where are you from? Do you have a pet? What time do you get up?

  • Subsidiary aim. To review question words (what, where, when, who, how old, how many).
  • Subsidiary aim. To practise question intonation.
  • Subsidiary aim. To develop speaking through a "find a friend" interview.

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

VerbYes / no questionShort answersWh- question
beAre you a student? Is she from Galle?Yes, I am. / No, I'm not. · Yes, she is. / No, she isn't.Where are you from? How old is he?
other verbs (I / you / we / they)Do you like cricket?Yes, I do. / No, I don't.What do you do at weekends?
other verbs (he / she / it)Does she play the guitar?Yes, she does. / No, she doesn't.Where does he live?

Form: notes

  • Word order: (question word) + be + subject ...? / (question word) + do / does + subject + base verb ...?
  • After does, the main verb has no -s: Does she play? (not Does she plays?)
  • Don't use do with be: Are you ...? (not Do you are ...?)

Question words

what (thing), where (place), when / what time (time), who (person), how old (age), how many (number), why (reason)

Pronunciation

  • Yes / no questions usually rise at the end: Do you like cricket? ↗
  • Wh- questions usually fall: Where do you live? ↘
  • Weak do you /djə/: Where do you live? /weə djə lɪv/.

Concept-checking questions

  • Does she play the guitar? · Is this a question about one person or many? (One person, she.) · Is there -s on play? (No, because does has the -s.) · Where are you from? · Is the answer yes / no or a place? (A place.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

ProblemSolution
Statement word order (You are from Kandy?).Board arrows showing be / do moving to the front.
Missing do / does (Where you live?).Colour-code the auxiliary; drill.
do with be (Do you are ...?).Two columns: be questions / do questions.
-s after does (Does she plays?).Board: does takes the -s; the verb is base form.

Board plan

Left: question wordsCentre: grammarRight: intonation
what · where · when / what time · who · how old · how many · why
BE: Are you a student? → Yes, I am. · Where are you from? · DO: Do you like cricket? → Yes, I do. · DOES: Does she play the guitar? → No, she doesn't. · Where does he live? · not: Do you are ...? ✗ · not: Does she plays? ✗
Do you like cricket? ↗ · Where do you live? ↘ · do you /djə/

CEFR A1 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults

Procedure: Yes / No and Wh- Questions with Be and Do, step by step

Warm-up5 minutes · T → Ss, whole class

Aim: To engage students and create a need for questions.

Write five answers about yourself on the board: Colombo · 2 · cricket · 6.30 · tea.

Say: "These are answers about me. What are the questions?" Let students try. Accept any attempts; don't correct yet.

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Aim: To present the target language in context. To clarify form, meaning and pronunciation.

Part A: Context (8 minutes)

Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read the interview with a new student, Ayesha. Match the questions and answers." (4 minutes.)

ICQs: "Do you match or write?" (Match.)

Pairs compare. Check as a class.

Part B: Language clarification (12 minutes)

be questions. Board You are a student. → Are you a student? Draw an arrow showing are moving to the front. Elicit the short answers.

do / does questions. Board You like cricket. → Do you like cricket? and She plays the guitar. → Does she play the guitar? Highlight does + base verb. Ask the CCQs.

Wh- questions. Add the question word at the front: Where are you from? Where does he live? Build the question-word list on the left.

Board the errors Do you are ...? and Does she plays? and cross them out.

Return to the Stage 1 answers. Students now make the correct questions: Where do you live? How many children do you have?

Pronunciation. Model and drill rising and falling intonation: Do you like cricket? ↗ Where do you live? ↘

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

Aim: To practise the form accurately.

Give out Handout 2. Say: "Exercise A: be or do / does? Exercise B: put the words in order. Six minutes."

ICQs: "Are you a student: be or do?" (Be.)

Pairs check. Students read the questions aloud with the correct intonation.

Freer practice18 minutes · Pairs, then mingle, then whole class

Aim: To use questions in a personalised interview.

Give out Handout 3. Write (3 minutes). Students complete the questions on the interview card.

Interview (5 minutes). Students interview a partner and write the answers.

Find a friend (6 minutes). Students mingle and ask the yes / no questions to find someone with the same answers as them: "Do you have a cat?" "Yes, I do!" "Me too!"

ICQs: "What do you want to find?" (Someone with the same answers.)

Report (4 minutes). Students tell the class one thing they have in common with someone: "Kasun and I both like cricket."

Monitor and note errors.

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board four questions from your notes (two with errors). Students correct them.

Quick round: each student asks the next student one question.

Set the homework.

Homework Write 8 questions to ask a new classmate (4 with be, 4 with do / does). Then write your own answers.

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

Differentiation

Support
Give weaker students question frames: Do you ...? · Are you ...? · Where do you ...? In the interview, allow them to read the questions from the card.
Stretch
Stronger students ask a follow-up question each time: "Do you have a pet?" "Yes." "What's its name?" They use how often and which: How often do you play?

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 "Interview" 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 3: Interview Card 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 "Interview" 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

8 out of 10 or better on Handout 2. In the interview, students use do / does in present simple questions and no do with be. Students use rising and falling intonation appropriately.

Teacher's reflection

Did students stop using statement word order? Was the "find a friend" activity motivating?

Handout 1: Meet Ayesha

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Ayesha is a new student. Match the questions (1–6) and the answers (a–f).

Answers: 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4 ___ 5 ___ 6 ___

True (T) or False (F)?

  • Ayesha is 13. ______
  • She has a dog. ______
  • She doesn't like cricket. ______
QuestionAnswer
1. What's your name?a. No, I don't. But I have a cat.
2. Where are you from?b. I'm 13.
3. How old are you?c. Yes, I do. I love it!
4. Do you have a dog?d. Ayesha.
5. Do you like cricket?e. I'm from Matara.
6. Where does your father work?f. In a bank in Galle.

Handout 2: Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Write Are, Is, Do or Does.

B. Put the words in order to make questions.

  • ______ you a teacher?
  • ______ your sister like music?
  • ______ they from India?
  • ______ you play the piano?
  • ______ he your brother?
  • ______ your parents work in Colombo?
  • you / live / do / where → ______________________________?
  • is / old / how / your brother → ______________________________?
  • does / what time / she / get up → ______________________________?
  • like / you / do / mangoes → ______________________________?

Handout 3: Interview Card

Name: ______________________________ Partner: ______________________________

Complete the questions. Then ask your partner.

Find a friend: who has the same answers as you?

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

QuestionMy answerMy partner's answer
1. What ______ your name?
2. Where ______ you from?
3. How old ______ you?
4. ______ you have any brothers or sisters?
5. ______ you have a pet?
6. What time ______ you get up?
7. ______ you like spicy food?
8. What ______ you do at weekends?

Answer Key

Handout 1

Handout 2, Exercise A

Handout 2, Exercise B

Handout 3

Common errors to watch for

  • 1 d · 2 e · 3 b · 4 a · 5 c · 6 f
  • T · 2. F · 3. F
  • Are · 2. Does · 3. Are · 4. Do · 5. Is · 6. Do
  • Where do you live? · 2. How old is your brother? · 3. What time does she get up? · 4. Do you like mangoes?
  • is · 2. are · 3. are · 4. Do · 5. Do · 6. do · 7. Do · 8. do
ErrorCorrection
You are from Kandy?Are you from Kandy?
Where you live?Where do you live?
Do you are a student?Are you a student?
Does she plays tennis?Does she play tennis?

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Google Docs · 60 minutes

Download the PDFWordMake a copy

The same document as the one at the top of the page.

Elsewhere in Global English

Pages that help with this lesson in particular, rather than everything we have.

How to Make an ESL Lesson Plan

How a plan like this is put together, including the PPP shape it uses.

How to Teach English Speaking

Getting a quiet class talking, and what to do about the pair that finishes early.

20 ESL Speaking Activities for Beginners

Twenty speaking activities that work with very little language, for the practice stages.

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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