My weekend diary: the past simple
Children read Jamal's weekend diary, hunt for past simple verbs, ask each other "Did you...?" and write their own short recount.
At a glance
- From
- Level 2, Moving Up English: Week 3, Last weekend
- Grammar
- past simple: regular, irregular, questions
- Key language
- played, visited, watched, cooked / went, had, saw, made, ate, got / Did you...? Yes, I did. No, I didn't. / on Saturday, in the morning, after lunch
- Children make
- A five-sentence weekend recount.
- Class size
- Works with 10 to 50 children; pair and group steps say how to scale.
Objective
Children recognise and use regular and common irregular past simple verbs, and ask and answer "Did you...?" about last weekend.
Success criteria for children
- I can find past simple verbs in a text.
- I can say the past of eight irregular verbs.
- I can ask "Did you...?" and write about my weekend.
Timing: 60 minutes
| Minutes | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | Warm-up: what did I do? | Teacher mimes three weekend activities; children guess in the past. |
| 5 to 15 | Regular verbs and -ed sounds | Add -ed; three sounds: /t/ /d/ /id/. |
| 15 to 27 | Reading: Jamal's diary | Read for gist, then detail; answer questions. |
| 27 to 37 | Irregular verb hunt | Pairs find irregular verbs and match them to the base form. |
| 37 to 47 | Speaking: Did you...? | Model questions; pairs interview each other with six prompts. |
| 47 to 55 | Writing: my weekend | Five sentences with time words. |
| 55 to 60 | Exit ticket | Write the past of five verbs, then one sentence. |
Materials
- The diary on the board or one copy per pair
- Worksheet, pencils, two colours of pen or pencil if possible
- Past simple sentences (free, linked from Week 3)
- Past simple questions (free, linked from Week 3)
- Holi diary (free, linked from Week 3)
Step by step, with teacher talk
0 to 5 minWarm-up: what did I do?
- Mime cooking, watching TV and playing football. Children guess: "You cooked!" Write the verbs on the board.
"Last weekend I... (mime). Yes! I cooked. I cooked pasta."
5 to 15 minRegular verbs and -ed sounds
- Write play, watch, visit. Add -ed in a different colour.
- Say them and show the three endings: watched (/t/), played (/d/), visited (/id/). Children put a hand on their throat to feel the difference.
- Say six more verbs; children hold up 1, 2 or 3 fingers for the sound.
- "I played football." Now or before? (Before.)
- Do we say "visit-ed" with an extra sound? (Yes, /id/.)
15 to 27 minReading: Jamal's diary
- Gist question first: "Was Jamal's weekend good or bad?" Read the diary aloud.
- Children read again in pairs and answer the questions.
27 to 37 minIrregular verb hunt
- Pairs find all past verbs in the diary and sort them: regular (-ed) and irregular. This is task 1 on the worksheet.
- Check together and drill the irregular pairs: go, went; have, had; see, saw; make, made; eat, ate; get, got; buy, bought; take, took.
- Is "went" regular or irregular? (Irregular.) What is it now? (Go.)
37 to 47 minSpeaking: Did you...?
- Show that questions use "did" and the base verb: "Did you go to the park?" not "Did you went".
- Pairs use the prompts in task 2 and tick yes or no for their partner.
- After "Did you", is the verb "go" or "went"? (Go.)
47 to 55 minWriting: my weekend
- Children write task 3. Remind them to use at least two time words: on Saturday, in the morning, after lunch, in the evening.
55 to 60 minExit ticket
- See below.
Differentiation
Support
- Give the eight irregular pairs as a reference card.
- Children write three sentences using the diary as a model.
Stretch
- Add a feeling and reason: "It was fun because..."
- Use negatives: "I didn't go out on Sunday because it rained."
- Write a diary entry from the point of view of Jamal's grandmother.
Reading passage
Saturday. In the morning I played football with my cousins in the park. We won by three goals to one! After lunch we went to the market with Mum. She bought some mangoes and I got a new notebook. In the evening we watched a funny film and ate popcorn.
Sunday. It rained all day, so we stayed at home. I helped Dad in the kitchen and we made a big pot of soup. Then I visited my grandmother next door. She showed me some old photos. In one photo she was ten years old! I saw a picture of my dad as a baby too. I had a great weekend.
Questions
- Who did Jamal play football with?
- What did Mum buy at the market?
- Why did they stay at home on Sunday?
- What did Jamal and his dad make?
- What did Jamal see in his grandmother's photos?
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.
My weekend
1. Find these past verbs in Jamal's diary. Write the base form.
| Regular | Base form | Irregular | Base form |
|---|---|---|---|
| played | went | ||
| watched | bought | ||
| stayed | made | ||
| visited | saw |
2. Ask a partner. Tick yes or no.
| Did you... | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| go to the park? | ||
| watch TV? | ||
| help at home? | ||
| eat something new? | ||
| see a friend? |
3. Write about your weekend. Use on Saturday, in the morning, after lunch, in the evening.
Answer key
Reading passage questions
- His cousins.
- Some mangoes.
- Because it rained all day.
- A big pot of soup.
- His grandmother at ten years old, and his dad as a baby.
Worksheet
- 1: play, watch, stay, visit; go, buy, make, see.
- 2: answers will vary.
- 3: answers will vary. Check past forms, time words and full stops.
Exit ticket
Write the past simple: go, eat, see, play, make. Then write one true sentence about yesterday. Collect slips and sort them into "got it", "nearly", "not yet" for next lesson's groups.
Homework
Keep a three-day diary in English. Write two sentences a day about what you did.
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- Level 2, Week 3: Last weekend (the curriculum week this plan comes from)
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