Used To, Would ESL Lesson Plan (B1, 60 Minutes)

Who it is for. Intermediate students who use used to accurately in all forms. They don't yet use would for past habits, or they overuse it for states (I would have a dog, We would live in Kandy) and for single events (One day we would go to Yala). They repeat used to in every sentence of a story.

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.

Main aim. To clarify and practise the difference between used to (past habits and states), would (past repeated actions only, not states) and the past simple (single events, and also habits when a time period is given).

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can describe childhood memories using a natural mix of forms, e.g. We used to have a big garden. Every April, we'd go to my grandparents' village. My grandmother would wake us up at dawn. One year, we saw an elephant on the road!

• Subsidiary aim. To practise the contraction 'd /d/.
• Subsidiary aim. To develop a nostalgic narrative in speaking and writing.

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

• would needs a clear past context (often set up first with used to or a time phrase: When I was a child, ... / Every summer, ...).
• would for habits is common in storytelling and memories; it sounds nostalgic.
• Past simple must be used with a specific number or period: I went there five times (not I used to go there five times).

• would is usually contracted: we'd /wiːd/, she'd /ʃiːd/. The /d/ can be very light.

• We'd swim in the river every afternoon. Did we swim many times or once? (Many times.) Is it past? (Yes.) Could I say used to swim? (Yes.)
• ***We would live in a small house.* ✗** Is live an action or a state? (A state.) So can we use would? (No; used to live / lived.)
• One morning, we saw a leopard. How many times? (Once.) So used to or would? (Neither; past simple.)

8 out of 10 or better on Handout 3. In their stories, students do not use would for states or single events. Students use a mix of all three forms.

Did the timeline help students see habits vs single events? Did the stories sound natural and nostalgic?

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

When I was a child, my grandparents used to live in a small village near Kurunegala. They had a big house with a coconut garden, and we used to spend every April holiday there.

Every morning, my grandmother would wake us up at dawn. She'd make kiribath, and we'd eat it on the veranda while the birds sang. In the afternoons, my cousins and I would swim in the tank and climb the mango trees. My grandfather used to know the name of every bird, and he'd tell us stories about the old kings.

I didn't use to like the long bus journey, but I loved the village. One year, on the way home, we saw a wild elephant on the road. The bus stopped for twenty minutes!

My grandparents don't live there any more, but I still dream about those holidays.

Answer the questions.

• When did Malini's family go to the village? ______________________________
• What would they do in the afternoons? ______________________________
• What happened one year on the way home? ______________________________

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Find examples in the text and complete the table.

Answer the questions.

• My grandparents used to live in a small village. Can we say would live? Why / why not? ______________________________
• One year, we saw a wild elephant. Can we say used to see or would see? Why / why not? ______________________________
• Why does Malini use used to at the start of the story and would later? ______________________________

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Tick (✓) all the possible forms.

B. Correct the mistakes.

• We ___ in a small flat in Colombo. (used to live / would live / lived)
• Every Sunday, my father ___ us to the beach. (used to take / would take / took)
• One day, I ___ my arm. (used to break / would break / broke)
• My brother ___ a red bicycle. (used to have / would have / had)
• In the evenings, we ___ cards with our neighbours. (used to play / would play / played)
• I ___ to Jaffna three times last year. (used to go / would go / went)
• When I was young, I would have very long hair. ______________________________
• One night, we would hear a strange noise. ______________________________
• I used to visit Sigiriya five times. ______________________________
• She would know everyone in the village. ______________________________

Choose one.

My notes

Handout 1

Handout 2

Handout 3, Exercise A

Handout 3, Exercise B

Common errors to watch for

• Every April holiday. · 2. They would swim in the tank and climb the mango trees. · 3. They saw a wild elephant on the road; the bus stopped for twenty minutes.
• No; live is a state verb. · 2. No; it happened once. · 3. used to sets the past context; then would is natural for repeated actions.
• used to live, lived · 2. used to take, would take, took · 3. broke · 4. used to have, had · 5. used to play, would play, played · 6. went
• ... I used to have / had very long hair. · 2. One night, we heard a strange noise. · 3. I visited Sigiriya five times. · 4. She used to know / knew everyone in the village.