The missing cake: a past continuous mystery
A detective lesson. Children listen to four suspects explain what they were doing at seven o'clock, spot the clue that breaks one story, then invent their own alibis.
At a glance
- From
- Level 2, Moving Up English: Week 16, What were you doing?
- Grammar
- past continuous
- Key language
- What were you doing at seven o'clock? I was reading. / He was watching TV. They were cooking. / I wasn't sleeping.
- Children make
- A completed detective grid and an alibi in the past continuous.
- Class size
- Works with 10 to 50 children; pair and group steps say how to scale.
Objective
Children understand and use the past continuous to describe actions in progress at a time in the past.
Success criteria for children
- I can understand what people were doing at a time in the past.
- I can make past continuous sentences and questions.
- I can use clues to find the answer to a mystery.
Timing: 60 minutes
| Minutes | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 6 | Warm-up: freeze frame | Children mime actions; teacher shouts freeze and asks what they were doing. |
| 6 to 16 | Past continuous form | was / were + -ing; questions and negatives. |
| 16 to 31 | Listening: The missing cake | First listen for the problem; second for each suspect's action. |
| 31 to 40 | Grammar practice | Task 2 gap-fill with was and were. |
| 40 to 54 | Speaking: the alibi game | Pairs agree an alibi; the class questions them separately. |
| 54 to 60 | Exit ticket | Write what you were doing at three times yesterday. |
Materials
- A detective hat or badge for you (optional, but children love it)
- Worksheet, pencils
- Story: The haunted house (free, linked from Week 16)
- Story: Spycat (free, linked from Week 16)
Step by step, with teacher talk
0 to 6 minWarm-up: freeze frame
- Children mime any action. Shout "Freeze!" Point to one child: "What were you doing?" Help them answer: "I was swimming."
6 to 16 minPast continuous form
- Write on the board: I / he / she was + -ing. You / we / they were + -ing.
- Ask the class "What were you doing at seven o'clock yesterday evening?" Write three answers.
- Show the question and negative: "Were you sleeping?" "No, I wasn't."
- "At 7 o'clock I was eating." Did I start eating before 7? (Yes.) Did I finish after 7? (Probably, yes.)
- "They was" or "they were"? (They were.)
16 to 31 minListening: The missing cake
- First listening: "What is missing? What time?" Read the script once in a dramatic voice.
- Second listening: children complete the grid in task 1. Pause after each suspect.
- Third listening for checking. Ask: "Who is not telling the truth? Why?" Let pairs discuss before you reveal.
"Listen carefully, detectives. There is one clue. If you find it, you find the cake thief."
31 to 40 minGrammar practice
- Children do task 2 alone, then check with a partner.
40 to 54 minSpeaking: the alibi game
- Tell the class: "Someone took the class pencils yesterday at 4 o'clock!" Two volunteers leave the room for one minute and agree what they were doing together.
- They come back one at a time. The class asks questions: "Where were you? What were you doing? What was your friend wearing?"
- If the answers don't match, they are guilty! Big class: groups of five play with two suspects each.
54 to 60 minExit ticket
- See below.
Differentiation
Support
- Give the suspects' names and places on the grid before listening.
- Read the script a fourth time for a small group, pausing after each sentence.
Stretch
- Write a new suspect with a clue that proves they are telling the truth.
- Use "while": "While Grandpa was sleeping, Leo was eating the cake."
- Write the confession scene as a short dialogue.
Listening script
Read it like a detective story. The clue is the power cut.
Detective: Last night there was a beautiful chocolate cake in the kitchen. At seven o'clock, it disappeared! At that time there was a power cut. There was no electricity in the whole house from quarter to seven until quarter past seven. So, everyone, what were you doing at seven o'clock?
Aunt Bea: I was walking the dog in the park. It was dark and cold. Ask the dog!
Grandpa: I was sleeping in my armchair. I always sleep after dinner.
Mia: I was practising the guitar in my bedroom. It isn't an electric guitar, so I didn't need any lights. I know the songs by heart.
Leo: Me? I was watching my favourite programme on TV in the living room. It was really funny.
Detective: Thank you. I think I know who took the cake...
Questions
- What disappeared, and at what time?
- What was Aunt Bea doing?
- What was Grandpa doing?
- Why could Mia play in the dark?
- Who is not telling the truth? How do you know?
Printable worksheet
Prints on its own A4 page. Use Print the worksheet above, or print the whole plan and the worksheet starts on a new page. One copy per child, or one per pair to save paper.
Detective notes
1. Listen. What were they doing at seven o'clock?
| Suspect | Where were they? | What were they doing? |
|---|---|---|
| Aunt Bea | ||
| Grandpa | ||
| Mia | ||
| Leo |
Who took the cake? Why?
2. Write was or were and the -ing form.
- At seven o'clock Grandpa (sleep).
- Mia (play) the guitar.
- Aunt Bea and the dog (walk) in the park.
- Leo really (watch) TV? No, he wasn't!
3. What were you doing at seven o'clock last night?
Answer key
Listening script questions
- A chocolate cake, at seven o'clock.
- She was walking the dog in the park.
- He was sleeping in his armchair.
- Her guitar isn't electric and she knows the songs by heart.
- Leo. He says he was watching TV, but there was a power cut, so the TV could not work.
Worksheet
- 1: Aunt Bea, the park, walking the dog. Grandpa, his armchair, sleeping. Mia, her bedroom, practising the guitar. Leo, the living room, watching TV. Leo took the cake: the TV could not work in a power cut.
- 2: was sleeping; was playing; were walking; Was ... watching.
- 3: answers will vary. Check was or were plus -ing.
Exit ticket
Write three sentences: what you were doing yesterday at 8 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon and 6 in the evening.
Homework
Ask two people at home "What were you doing at ... yesterday?" Write their answers. Can you catch anyone out?
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- Level 2, Week 16: What were you doing? (the curriculum week this plan comes from)
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