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Level 3Week 26ListeningSpeakingGrammar

When I was young: used to, then and now

Students listen to a grandmother describing life when she was young, practise used to and didn't use to, and compare their own lives with the lives of an older relative.

Ages 10 to 14B160 minutesChecked 7 November 2026

At a glance

From
Level 3, Bridge English: Week 26, Then and now
Grammar
used to; didn't use to
Key language
We used to play outside. / We didn't use to have a television. / Did you use to...? Yes, we did. No, we didn't. / when I was young, in those days, now, today
Children make
A then and now table and three sentences comparing life in the past with today.
Class size
Works with 10 to 50 children; pair and group steps say how to scale.

Objective

Students use used to and didn't use to for past habits and states, and understand them in a short spoken dialogue.

Success criteria for children

  • I can understand a past habit in a recording.
  • I can say what people used to and didn't use to do.
  • I can ask "Did you use to...?" and answer.

Timing: 60 minutes

MinutesStageWhat happens
0 to 6Warm-up: things that have changedStudents think of one thing that is different from when their parents were young.
6 to 16Teach: used toHabits and states in the past that are not true now.
16 to 22First listening: gistWho is speaking and what is the topic?
22 to 32Second listening: true or falseTask 1: tick true or false for six statements.
32 to 40Practice: used to, didn't use toWorksheet task 2.
40 to 56Speaking: then and nowInterview a partner about their grandparents' lives, then fill in the table.
56 to 60Exit ticketWrite two sentences.

Materials

  • Worksheet, pencils
  • Optional: an old photo or object to show how things were different
  • Used to (free, linked from Week 26)
  • My town (A2) (free, linked from Week 26)

Step by step, with teacher talk

0 to 6 minWarm-up: things that have changed

  1. Show or describe an old object (a record player, a landline). Ask: "What is this? Do people use it now?" Take ideas about what has changed.

6 to 16 minTeach: used to

  1. Write: We used to play outside. We didn't use to have a television. Did you use to...? Highlight used to + base verb, and "didn't use to" (no -d in use in the negative and question).
  2. Contrast with the past simple: "I went to the park yesterday" (one time) and "I used to go to the park every day" (habit).
Concept-check questions
  • "I used to walk to school." Do I walk now? (No, or not always.)
  • Is it "didn't used to" or "didn't use to"? (Didn't use to.)

16 to 22 minFirst listening: gist

  1. Read or play the dialogue. Ask: "Who are the speakers? What are they talking about?" (Grandmother and grandchild, life when Grandma was young.)

22 to 32 minSecond listening: true or false

  1. Read the six statements. Play the dialogue again and students tick. Compare and check on a third listening if needed.

32 to 40 minPractice: used to, didn't use to

  1. Students complete task 2 alone. Check aloud.

40 to 56 minSpeaking: then and now

  1. Pairs role-play: one child is a grandparent (invent details), the other asks four questions: free time, school, food, technology. Swap roles.
  2. Students complete the then and now table in task 3 and write three sentences.

56 to 60 minExit ticket

  1. See below.

Differentiation

Support

  • Give a question bank: "Did you use to...? What did you use to...?"
  • Students complete the table with pictures or one-word notes.

Stretch

  • Use "would" for repeated past actions: "We would walk to the river every Sunday."
  • Write a short paragraph, "A day in my grandmother's childhood."
  • Compare two decades and say what changed the most.

Dialogue

An original dialogue between Min and Grandma Ruth, about one minute.

Dialogue: When I was your age

Min: Grandma, what was life like when you were my age?

Grandma Ruth: Very different! We didn't use to have a television at home, so we used to play outside every evening.

Min: Didn't you use to get bored?

Grandma Ruth: Never! We used to invent games with a rope and a tin can. And we used to walk to school, two miles each way.

Min: Did you use to have a phone?

Grandma Ruth: No, we didn't. There was one telephone in our street, in the shop, and people used to queue to use it.

Min: What did you use to eat for dinner?

Grandma Ruth: We used to eat a lot of vegetables from the garden. We didn't use to have takeaway food. There weren't any takeaways!

Min: I think I'd like to go back for one day.

Grandma Ruth: You'd miss your tablet within an hour!

Questions

  1. What did Grandma use to do every evening?
  2. What did the children use to play with?
  3. How far did she walk to school?
  4. Where was the telephone in her street?
  5. What does Grandma say Min would miss?

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.

Litlings Free English · Level 3 · Week 26NameDate

Used to

1. Listen. Tick true or false.

TrueFalse
1. Grandma's family had a television.
2. She walked two miles to school.
3. They played with a rope and a tin can.
4. There was a telephone in every house.
5. People queued to use the telephone in the shop.
6. They ate a lot of takeaway food.

2. Write used to, didn't use to, or Did ... use to.

  1. People write letters. Now they send messages.
  2. Children have tablets fifty years ago.
  3. My grandfather walk five miles to school.
  4. We watch television in the morning when I was small.
  5. you play outside every day?

3. Then and now. Write one idea in each box.

Then (long ago)Now
Free time
School
Phones and screens
Free to copy for classroom use.english.litlings.com/lesson-plans/then-and-now-used-to-listening-and-speaking-lesson/

Answer key

Dialogue questions

  1. She used to play outside.
  2. A rope and a tin can.
  3. Two miles each way.
  4. In the shop.
  5. Her tablet.

Worksheet

  • 1: False, True, True, False, True, False.
  • 2: used to; didn't use to; used to; didn't use to; Did, use to.
  • 3: answers will vary. Check used to or didn't use to in the sentences.

Exit ticket

Write one sentence about something you used to do when you were five, and one about something you didn't use to do.

Homework

Interview an older relative or neighbour. Ask four "Did you use to...?" questions and write their answers. Use them to write a short paragraph.

Teaching this to a whole class?

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Sources and free resources
  • Level 3, Week 26: Then and now (the curriculum week this plan comes from)
  • All reading texts, dialogues, scripts, worksheets and answer keys on this page are original to Litlings and free to copy for classroom use.