Can you help with a lesson plan for simple past questions?

[unicorn]

I have never taught elementary level students and I have to do a lesson plan on Simple Past Questions and short answers, I wonder if this lesson plan is suitable for elementary level and is it a good lesson plan?

[b]
Lesson Plan[/b]


1 Warmer: Memory game (matching), Snakes and ladder to review last lesson.
Go over homework if assigned.

2 Show pictures of what some make up characters did in the past. (Things they have learned, places they have been to, and things they do when they were a child.) Elicit the simple past question by asking questions about my life (Did John learn ice-hockey? No, he did not. Did John learn ice-skating? Yes, he did.) I will show them flash cards of the sentence I said and the answers for the first few ones as examples. Then I will take away the answers and try to have them answer themselves.

3 I will choose a few students to ask other students questions about things that I have illustrated on the board. For example, “Did John learn ice-skating?”

4 Drilling chorally and individually.

5 Matching exercise. Match the words (flash cards) to the pictures to check the students’ understanding of the words.

6 Have cards of scrambled questions in envelopes, and the students that I picked out has to come out and try to put the scrambled question into a correct question on the board. Then the students in the class have to answer the question.

7 Pair work. Students ask and answer questions with the pictures that were used in the presentation and have the students ask their partners about the pictures and see if they have did it in the past. They will be asked to note down the questions they have asked and their partner’s answers.

8 Plenary.

9 Activity (Bingo). They have cards with different things on and they have to go around and ask people and see if they have previously done it. If the person has previously done it, he/she has to initial it, and when the person who has the whole bingo card filled up he/she should call out bingo, the first one wins.

10 Plenary.

11 Game: (There are around 60 cards of characters doing something.) Students are separated into 4-5 groups and each team get 6 cards. For each card there are 2 other identical cards. The teams must try to get as many sets of identical cards as possible. They do this by taking turns to choose another team and asking them for one of their cards using the sentence structure:
“Did Bob play tennis?”
So if team A asks team B this question, and team B has any
Bob playing tennis cards, they must reply, “Yes, Bob played tennis”. Then they give their Bob playing tennis cards to team A, who then get a point.
If team B does not have one of these cards, they must say, “No, Bob didn’t”.
In either situation, team B can pick up another card from the pile of spare cards providing they reply using the correct English.

12 Homework:
1. Read a paragraph of what the character did and make up ask much Simple Past Questions as possible.
2. They will be given worksheets with answers on and they have to try to make Simple Past Questions with the hints provided.

[Lucy]

Dear Unicorn,

I apologise for taking so long to respond. I have been on holiday for a week. I think there are some very good elements in your lesson plan. There are also some changes you can make, particularly in the order you do the exercises. I've copied out the lesson plan and inserted general comments in the appropriate places. If you would like more detailed comments, please feel free to write in again.

Lesson Plan[/b]

My first comment is: how long is your lesson and how long do you intend spending on each part of the lesson? You might need to omit some activities to fit them all in.

1 Warmer: Memory game (matching), Snakes and ladder to review last lesson.
Go over homework if assigned.
Comment: It's good to start with a game as a warmer. You maybe need to briefly describe the matching game in your lesson plan. Snakes and ladders can take a long time to explain, demonstrate and play. I think you need to consider what your aim is with this game and whether it is worth replacing snakes and ladders with something else.

2 Show pictures of what some make up characters did in the past. (Things they have learned, places they have been to, and things they do when they were a child.) Elicit the simple past question by asking questions about my life (Did John learn ice-hockey? No, he did not. Did John learn ice-skating? Yes, he did.) I will show them flash cards of the sentence I said and the answers for the first few ones as examples. Then I will take away the answers and try to have them answer themselves.
Comment: it's good to introduce controlled oral practice at the beginning of the lesson. The aim of your lesson is questions and short answers; so this introduces the topic and allows you to see how the students handle the language.

3 I will choose a few students to ask other students questions about things that I have illustrated on the board. For example, “Did John learn ice-skating?”

Comment: good, more controlled practice of the language that is teacher-led.

4 Drilling chorally and individually.

Comment: good. This allows students to practise the target structure in a safe environment. You should focus on accuracy and correct pronunciation here. I would, however, do this before stage 3.

5 Matching exercise. Match the words (flash cards) to the pictures to check the students’ understanding of the words.

Comment: good idea to check understanding of vocabulary. I would do this before stage 2. This way students have the language before they do the exercise. Consider how you will do this: will students do it in pairs, groups or as a whole class?

6 Have cards of scrambled questions in envelopes, and the students that I picked out has to come out and try to put the scrambled question into a correct question on the board. Then the students in the class have to answer the question.

Comment: this is an excellent activity to revise structures. I think it would be better to do it earlier in the lesson. I sugget that if students have problems with stage 2, you do this activity at the end of stage 2.

7 Pair work. Students ask and answer questions with the pictures that were used in the presentation and have the students ask their partners about the pictures and see if they have did it in the past. They will be asked to note down the questions they have asked and their partner’s answers.

8 Plenary.

Comment: I'm not sure what you mean by this. I think it is feedback where you go over errors and performance in the exercise. In any case, feedback is necessary.

9 Activity (Bingo). They have cards with different things on and they have to go around and ask people and see if they have previously done it. If the person has previously done it, he/she has to initial it, and when the person who has the whole bingo card filled up he/she should call out bingo, the first one wins.

Comment: This provides more controlled practice but is slightly freer as it is not teacher-led. I think this should be done after stage 11. Also be careful with your use of language: students should talk about things they did as a child and not about things they have done.


10 Plenary.

11 Game: (There are around 60 cards of characters doing something.) Students are separated into 4-5 groups and each team get 6 cards. For each card there are 2 other identical cards. The teams must try to get as many sets of identical cards as possible. They do this by taking turns to choose another team and asking them for one of their cards using the sentence structure:
“Did Bob play tennis?”
So if team A asks team B this question, and team B has any
Bob playing tennis cards, they must reply, “Yes, Bob played tennis”. Then they give their Bob playing tennis cards to team A, who then get a point.
If team B does not have one of these cards, they must say, “No, Bob didn’t”.
In either situation, team B can pick up another card from the pile of spare cards providing they reply using the correct English.

Comment: this is another good activity. It is controlled and teacher-led; as such, I would do it before stage 9. You should also consider the number of controlled activities you have in your lesson plan. If the students cope well with the controlled exercises, you can choose to drop some of them during the lesson. If you choose to do this, you should have an extra activity that is more challenging to replace any exercise you decide to drop.

12 Homework:
1. Read a paragraph of what the character did and make up ask much Simple Past Questions as possible.
2. They will be given worksheets with answers on and they have to try to make Simple Past Questions with the hints provided.

OVERALL COMMENT: the activities seem to be at the right level for elementary students. Consider how long each activity will last and think about the order in which you do things.

Best wishes

Lucy