CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

PRESENT SIMPLE/PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Oral Drills are a very structured way to introduce students to a new grammatical
structure. Depending on the drill, you can either call on students individually or ask
the class for a chorale response. Either way, the drill should move quickly.

Form Activity: Form drill for simple present negative statements

Grammar: Students practice forming simple present negative statements
Procedure: The teacher provides a sentence in the affirmative; students
change it to the negative.

Example:
Teacher: Mary knows Jim.
Students (chorale response): Mary doesn’t know Jim.
Teacher: John likes that book.
Students (chorale response): John doesn’t like that book.

Usage Activity: Meaningful drill for simple present habitual action

Grammar: Practice simple present statements with adverbs of frequency
Procedure: The teacher calls on students individually and provides an
activity. Students create sentences with always, usually, often, sometimes,
seldom, rarely, or never to describe their usual habits after 5:00 p.m.
every day.

Example:
Teacher: Junko, eat dinner.
Junko: I always eat dinner after five o’clock.
Teacher: Luis, watch TV.
Luis: I usually watch TV after five o’clock.

2. Scrambled Sentences are an excellent way to practice grammar recognition and

syntax. You give students all the words to form one sentence in mixed-up order.
Students then re-arrange the words to form a grammatically correct sentence.

Form Activity: Scrambled sentences on the blackboard

Grammar: Any (Here I’m using present progressive negative statements.)
Procedure: Each student needs his/her own sheet of paper. You write words on the
blackboard then give students a few minutes to form a sentence. Students work
individually. Students raise their hands when they think they’ve formed a good
sentence. You walk over and check. Once most of the class has the answer, write the
sentence on the board and ask if anyone has questions.
Example: The teacher writes the following words on the board: brother, not, dinner,
cooking, is, my. Students work independently to re-arrange these words into, "My
bother is not cooking dinner."

Another great version of this game requires you prepare sentences in advance on
index cards (one word per index card) and put the cards in numbered envelopes (one
envelope per sentence). Students then compete in small groups to successfully
arrange the words in all the envelopes. (You need about twice as many envelopes as
you have groups.) You keep track of the groups and the envelopes they’ve completed
on the board. You could try either of these activities by using sentences from an
actual newspaper article or advertisement. Then you could pass out copies of your
"source" for reading and discussion when the activity is over.

3. Student Surveys make for fun reading and writing practice. You could do a short
activity by using a real survey (There are many good ones in women’s magazines.),
though for beginning students it’s probably better for them to create their own.

Writing/Reading Activity: Student surveys

Grammar: Simple present for habitual action
Procedure: Students work in small groups in class, each group creating one survey.
(If your school has a computer lab, now’s the time to use it.) to practice the simple
present for habitual action. Surveys should include boxes to check which say
"always," "sometimes," "rarely," "never." Students then construct sentences (10-15
sentences per survey) around an assigned topic.

Some topics for the simple present are: entertainment, hobbies, music, family, food,
sports, and English. As the students are working in small groups, you assist with the
writing where necessary. Once the surveys are in final form, you collect and check
them. Then, make multiple copies for the next class meeting. Pass out the surveys so
that every student gets a copy of every survey. Give the students enough time to
respond to all the surveys. Encourage them to ask their classmates who wrote the
surveys for clarifications. Once the students have responded to all the surveys, they
should meet with their groups again to tally the responses. Each group then gives a
short presentation of the results to the whole class.

Example: The following is a sample survey on eating habits and food.

Eating Habits and Food

Please circle the response which describes you best.

1. I eat breakfast.

Always Sometimes Rarely Never

2. I drink coffee in the morning.

Always Sometimes Rarely Never

3. I enjoy fast food from McDonald’s or Burger King.

Always Sometimes Rarely Never

4. I eat meat with my dinner.

Always Sometimes Rarely Never

5. I cook my own food.

Always Sometimes Rarely Never

4. Picture Dictations provide a fun way for students to practice listening skills.

Listening Activity: Drawing dictation

Grammar: For practice with the simple present/present progressive, describe a
scene with a lot of action.
Procedure: First, give each student a plain white sheet of copy paper. Explain that
you are going to describe a scene. This is not a traditional dictation. Students should
not write down your description; rather, they should draw it. Students should not look
at anyone else’s paper while they are drawing. When you finish your description, give
the students a few minutes to compare their drawings. Then you can either show
them your picture and ask for questions or you can have the students repeat the
scene back to you and you can draw it on the board. You can adapt the scene in the
picture to include any vocabulary your class has recently covered.
Example: Students draw as the teacher provides the following description: In the top
right hand corner a man is swimming in the ocean. There are several boats on the
horizon. In the top left hand corner the sun is shining brightly. At the bottom of your
page is the beach. A little girl is standing on the beach. She is crying.

5. Short Speeches (2-5 minutes per student) can be prepared for homework and
presented in class. It’s probably best not to interrupt the student at all during his/her
speech. You can use index cards (one per student) to provide individual feedback, or
you can just take notes and review the target grammar and vocabulary after all the
students have presented their speeches. Using English (p. 24) suggests the following
topic to practice the present progressive (The use here is emotional comment on
present habit): Think about a friend or relative who annoys or amazes you. Tell how
you feel about this person and what he or she is always doing that annoys or amazes
you.

6. Chain Stories work really well when you give the class some structure. To practice
the simple present for habitual action try starting the story with, "John always has a
busy day. He wakes up at 6:00 o’clock every morning. At 6:10 he..." You write this at
the top of the board and ask a student to continue the story. Each student continues
the story by adding an original sentence, which you write on the board. It’s my
experience that this works best if you provide each student with a prompt ("after
breakfast," "at 7:30," "then," "next," "before he eats lunch, etc...").

Communicative Practice

1. Find Someone Who is a fun classroom activity which can be adapted for use with
several different structures including simple past, past progressive, present perfect,
and past perfect. Please note that you can only use this activity for the simple
present/present progressive if you have covered yes/no question formation.

Usage Activity: "Find Some Who" (This is my own version. Other versions of this
activity can be found in Grammar Practice Activities, p.237 and Using English , pp.
23, 29.)
Grammar: many different structures are possible. Here, I’m using simple present and
present progressive
Procedure: You should create a handout with two column chart. Title the first column
"Find someone who..." and the second column "Sentence." Under the first column list
15-25 actions/states of being. (The more you list, the longer this activity will take.)
You should begin by reviewing interrogatives in the present/present progressive.
Next, describe a task similar to the ones listed in the first column of the chart. (For
example, "plays the piano.") Ask around the room until you find someone who fits the
description. (For example, "Hee Jung, do you play the piano?") Then note down the
first affirmative answer in a complete sentence on the board. (For example, "Hee
Jung plays the piano.")

Pass out one sheet to each student and explain that they are going to get up and
walk around the room. They should ask their classmates questions in order to find
someone to fit with each of the descriptions. Students can write down their results in
complete sentences, like the one you wrote on the board. They can also ask several
questions of their own to find out more information about each activity. You can
participate in this activity or you can circulate to monitor for difficulties. After the
students have had enough time to complete most of the sheet, check the answers by
asking publicly to a response to each task.
Examples: You can use the following activities in the first column of your chart:plays
tennis, is living in a dorm, is working part time, likes this class very much, weighs 110
pounds, owns a car, and wants to visit India.

2. Pair Interviews can be conducted on a variety of topics. This type of activity

should only be used for the simple present and present progressive if you are
teaching yes/no and wh- question forms at the same time. (Many grammar books
do.) Students can either prepare questions in class or for homework. Using English
(p. 24) and Basic English Grammar (p. 68) both suggest interviews on daily habits
and routines to practice the simple present. Students should report back on their
interviews in either oral or written form.

3. Guessing Games are a fun way for beginners to review vocabulary words,
practice forming structures, and listen for meaning.

Form & Meaning Activity: "Animal Habits" (from Grammar Practice Activities, p.256)
Grammar: simple present to describe habitual action.
Procedure: For this activity students work in pairs or small groups to prepare a
description of an animal. (For a longer activity have each group prepare 3-5 separate
animal descriptions. Note that if you allow students to write out their descriptions, this
becomes more like a focused practice activity.) Once students have prepared their
descriptions, each group takes turns telling a description to the rest of the class, who
then guess the name of the animal.
Example: A possible description of a rabbit could include, "It lives in a hole. It eats
plants and vegetables. It has a lot of babies. It runs very fast."

Listening & Speaking/Usage Activity: "Where Am I?"

Grammar: present progressive to describe present time actions.
Procedure: One student comes to the front of the room and describes a place they
would like to be. (You can give them a few minutes to prepare beforehand, but they
shouldn’t write out their descriptions.) Each student describes the activities
happening in their place to the group. The group guesses where the place is.
Example: You can model this activity with the following description: "There are many
people here. Some people are swimming. One little girl is building a sand castle.
Where am I?" (Answer: you’re at the beach.)

Form & Meaning Activity: "What’s My Line?" (from Grammar Practice Activities, p.
257)
Grammar: simple present for habitual action and present progressive to describe
present time actions, also interrogatives (Please note: you should use this activity
only if you are covering yes/no question formation along with the simple present and
present progressive.)
Procedure: Each student is given the name of a profession. Students take turns
performing mimes showing some activity which a person would do in the course of
the job. The rest of the class asks yes/no questions in the simple present or present
progressive before guessing the profession. certain pages. In one game students
create a daily schedule for a famous person.

4. Role-plays are an active way for younger and beginning students to practice using
new grammar. Possible scenarios for the simple present/present progressive include:
dilemmas to practice emotional comment on present action ("I have a problem."),
commercials to practice timeless truths ("Prota is the best laundry detergent in the
world. It smells great..."), and desires.

5. Picture Activities are a good way to use real pictures from magazines, catalogs,
and newspapers. For practicing simple present and present progressive, it’s best to
choose pictures with a lot of action or activity.

Form & Meaning Activity: Talk About a Picture

Grammar: simple present and present progressive
Procedure: Students work individually or in groups. Each student or group has a
color picture from a magazine. You’ve prepared a sheet of generic instructions (or
specific instructions if everyone is using the same picture) in advance, which you give
to students orally. You can call on students individually to answer these questions, or
if they are working in small groups, each group can discuss and write responses.
Example: Your instructions could include: tell four things that are happening now in
the picture; tell four things that the person in the picture does every day; ask four
questions about what is happening now; etc...

Listening & Speaking Activity: "Interrupt Me If I’m Wrong" (from New Ways in
Teaching Listening, p. 117).
Grammar: simple present and present progressive for present time actions
Procedure: You should model this first; students get the hang of it right away and
don’t need explicit directions. Choose a picture from a magazine and begin to
describe it to the class. However, you should make deliberate mistakes in your
description. For example say "The woman is wearing a green dress," when really
she’s wearing a red dress. Most likely, someone in the class will correct you right
away. If no one does, keep up with the description making it more and more
ludicrous. As soon as you get a correction, say "Oh! You’re right! Thank you, Carlos,"
and continue with your (faulty) description. Describe two or three pictures like this,
then pass out magazines and tell students they’re going to do the same thing. This
activity is a lot of fun and is sure to get some laughs.
6. Impromptu Speeches differ from "Short Speeches" (above) in that students
choose a topic from a hat or paper bag and must perform immediately. (Okay, you
can give them a minute or so to get their thoughts together.) Many broad topics (for
example, "marriage," "children," "homework") work well for practicing the simple
present.