Date: 10.09.

2024 Class Level: A2

Teacher: Ksenia Maspanova Age group: ADULTS – GENERAL ENGLISH

Focus: Grammar focus Number of students: 17 ADULTS

Time length: 60 Minutes

Objective:

Students will be able to understand and correctly use the Present Continuous tense to describe
ongoing actions in the present.

Potential Student Misunderstandings:

● Students may not differentiate when to use each tense, often using Simple Present for actions
currently in progress. Incorrectly forming negative sentences.

● Students might struggle with the correct structure for negative sentences.

● Some students may use Present Continuous incorrectly to describe future plans without the
proper context.

● Students may forget to add "-ing" to the base form of the verb or may use the wrong form of
"to be."

● Students may have difficulty forming questions in Present Continuous, especially inverting the
subject and auxiliary verb.

● Students may struggle with the pronunciation of verbs in the continuous form, particularly
with unstressed syllables.

● Students might incorrectly try to use state verbs (e.g., "know," "like") in the Present
Continuous, not recognizing that these verbs typically do not appear in continuous forms.

Materials:

● Color chalks or markers to write on the board

● A laptop or a computer with projector to play videos

● Worksheets for the tasks

● A4 paper

● Markers, pens or pencils for students

Timing

8 minutes Warm-up: Chain Postcards

 Teacher: “Good morning everyone! I’m glad to see you all. How are you today? Let’s
start our class!”

Students greet the teacher and ask how he/she is feeling today. Then they start doing
the warm-up after all explanations.

Prepare postcards beforehand with a starting sentence like “Writing to you from…”
(Postcards). Divide students into two groups of 6 and one group of 5. Tell everyone that
one person can write only one sentence.

Choose the first student to fill the postcard and show where they need to write. Each
student of three groups fills in the first line with their response (e.g., “Writing to you
from the beach.”).

Read the last visible line, then add a new line using the Present Continuous (e.g.,
“Swimming in the ocean.”). Fold and pass to the next person.

Continue passing until the last person in the group ends writing the postcard.

Let the last person of each group read the postcards aloud.

Discuss which postcards are the most meaningful or funny.

NOTE: While students are writing the postcards, monitor them and help when they ask.
Write down all mistakes from the postcards.

3 minutes Introduction
Objective Overview:

Teacher: “Today’s lesson focuses on the Present Continuous tense. We will cover the
following:

● Understanding its function to describe actions happening at the moment of

speaking, and how it differs from the Present Simple.
● Forming affirmative and negative sentences in the Present Continuous.

● Learning the spelling rules for forming the Present Continuous tense.

By the end of the lesson, you will have opportunities to practice through speaking,
listening, and writing activities, all centered around reporting actions happening right
now.”

15 minutes Presentation
Affirmative Form of Present Continuous:

Start with an engaging activity by playing a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Dl8g2pZ82ME) that features Present Continuous verbs. As students listen, instruct
them to focus on words ending with "-ing." Stop the video at 2:14. After the video, ask
a question to the students, “What Present Continuous verbs can you remember?” Write
their responses on the board.

Contextualizing the Tense:

Explain that the Present Continuous tense describes actions occurring right now. For
example, pick up a chalk or a marker and write the sentence on the board, “I am
 writing”. Then pick up a word from the written ones on the board from a video and
secretly tell this word to one of the students. The student needs to act out the word
and the rest of the students need to guess the action using Present Continuous.

After students act out their sentences, introduce the formula on the board:

Subject + to be + verb-ing

Highlight that we often use the Present Continuous with words that indicate
immediacy, such as:

● now

● right now

● at the moment

● this minute

● today

● currently

Forming the Negative:

Explain how to form the negative in Present Continuous. While explaining, write the
formula on the board under the first formula: Subject + am/is/are + not + verb-ing.

Provide an example from the earlier activity with words on the board and ask students
to transform that sentence into the negative form. For instance, if you say, “I am
reading,” they should change it to, “I am not reading.”

Making Questions:

Explain how to form the question in Present Continuous. While explaining, write the
formula on the board under the second formula: Am/Is/Are + Subject + Verb-ing?

Provide an example from the earlier activity with words on the board and ask students
some questions, “Are you jumping?”.

Spelling rules:

Pick up a chalk or a marker and highlight the ‘-ing’ and letters that are changing at the
end of the words that are written on the board. Say aloud the bare verb and then with
‘-ing’. Tell the students to repeat after you.

Comparing Present Continuous to Present Simple:

Play the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLF0lHOrTls). After viewing,

facilitate a discussion on the differences between the Present Continuous and the
Present Simple. Ask students to share their insights and clarify any misunderstandings.
Try to encourage them to share the specific words that were used in the video and
contrast that words (e.g. usually – at the moment).

11 minutes Practice
Guided practice
 Structured Activity: Fill in the Blanks

Distribute a worksheet with sentences in which key verbs are missing, requiring
students to fill in the blanks with the correct form of the Present Continuous tense.
(Guided practice. Structured activity)

Complete the exercise together as a class. Call on students to share their answers
aloud. After completing the activity, review the answers together, providing correct
forms and addressing any errors.

Semi-structured Activity: Sentence Completion

Divide students into three groups of four and one group of five and give them a set of
sentence starters related to the Present Continuous tense. Each group will finish the
sentences using the correct structure. (Guided practice. Semi-structured Activity)

As groups work, circulate among them to monitor discussions and provide guidance as
needed. Encourage students to use the Present Continuous in their responses.

After the group activity, invite each group to share a few of their completed sentences
with the class.

Checks for Understanding: Discussion of Mistakes

Once both activities are complete, gather the class for a discussion about common
mistakes observed during guided practice.

● Clarify misunderstandings related to forming the Present Continuous.

● Discuss any frequent errors in negative forms or question structures.

If necessary, re-explain key concepts or rules to ensure students grasp the material
before moving on to the next lesson.

12 minutes Practice
Independent practice

Unstructured Activity: Pair Work for Fluency Practice

Divide students into pairs and make one group of three students. Each pair will engage
in a conversation using the Present Continuous tense based on provided prompts.

Provide each pair with a set of simple prompts to guide their discussions. (Independent
practice. Unstructured Activity)

Remind students to use full sentences and to ask follow-up questions to keep the
conversation flowing (e.g., “Why are you studying?”).

As students work in pairs, walk around the classroom. Listen to their conversations
without interrupting.

Take notes on common errors related to the structure of Present Continuous,

pronunciation, or vocabulary.

After 7 minutes, gather the class for a brief discussion. Ask a few pairs to share
interesting sentences or questions they discussed.
 Address any common mistakes noted during monitoring. Provide corrections and
clarifications in a supportive manner to ensure understanding.

8 minutes Evaluation:

Describe the End-of-Lesson Assessment:

Explain that students will answer a series of questions related to the Present
Continuous tense. Once they finish, they will hold their papers above their heads for
you to see. (Evaluation)

3 minutes Homework:

Explain the homework task:

Distribute the worksheets with the homework task. (Homework)

Teacher: “The lesson is over. Thank you for your work! Have a nice day!”

Interventions:

During the lesson, there might be times when there isn’t enough time to finish all the tasks or
comment on all mistakes and questions. In these cases, the teacher should be ready to adjust the
lesson plan as needed to keep things on track.

Notes:

Materials:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl8g2pZ82ME
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLF0lHOrTls
3. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dP8to0HN-cQOgLiGIpCrUO8R8be30u9o/edit?
usp=drive_link&ouid=110976452736917545634&rtpof=true&sd=true
4. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vgjAYPYXBKLypbJ14cJtDqRlxn5ShSuV/edit?
usp=drive_link&ouid=110976452736917545634&rtpof=true&sd=true
5. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s8452sDVFtvlejn7-Nls63_7ujG6ESiB/edit?
usp=drive_link&ouid=110976452736917545634&rtpof=true&sd=true
6. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C78C6PYxSO8XiEaeP3sBkHZdlCv4P7wi/edit?
usp=drive_link&ouid=110976452736917545634&rtpof=true&sd=true
7. https://docs.google.com/document/d/10jsyF4CaswGtdQ1HDa9FQ9N6Yo-_t9QY/edit?
usp=drive_link&ouid=110976452736917545634&rtpof=true&sd=true