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Level 1Week 17SpeakingGrammar

What are they doing? Picture talk in the park

Children describe what people are doing right now. They mime actions for friends to guess, talk about a busy park picture with a partner and write four sentences with -ing verbs.

Ages 6 to 8Pre-A1 to A160 minutesChecked 7 November 2026

At a glance

From
Level 1, Next Steps English: Week 17, Things happening now
Grammar
present continuous
Key language
What is he doing? He's kicking a ball. / What are they doing? They're eating. / kicking, eating, sleeping, flying, running, reading
Children make
A spoken description of a picture and four -ing sentences.
Class size
Works with 10 to 50 children; pair and group steps say how to scale.

Objective

By the end of the lesson children can say what people are doing now using "He's / She's / They're + verb-ing" and ask "What is he doing?"

Success criteria for children

  • I can say what a person is doing now.
  • I can ask "What is she doing?"
  • I can write a sentence with -ing.

Timing: 60 minutes

MinutesStageWhat happens
0 to 5Warm-up: action SimonDo actions to teacher commands: run, jump, eat, sleep.
5 to 15Teach the present continuousMime an action and say what you are doing; then say what a child is doing.
15 to 25Mime and guessA child mimes an action; the class guesses with You're...ing.
25 to 35Picture talk: the parkIn pairs, describe what each person in the park picture is doing.
35 to 43Listening and reading: Min and ZaraListen to the dialogue; answer questions; read it in pairs.
43 to 55Worksheet: in the parkComplete sentences with the -ing verb, write about two friends.
55 to 60Exit ticketEach child mimes and says what they are doing.

Materials

  • A big picture of a park scene (or draw one: children kicking a ball, eating ice cream, flying a kite, a dog sleeping)
  • Action verb cards: kick, eat, sleep, fly, run, read
  • A timer or bell for the mime game
  • One worksheet per child, a pencil
  • Actions (free, linked from Week 17)
  • Grammar practice (free, linked from Week 17)

Before the lesson: Choose six actions your class can mime safely. Write the -ing forms on the board (kicking, eating, sleeping, flying, running, reading) and mark the spelling change with a different colour for running.

Step by step, with teacher talk

0 to 5 minWarm-up: action Simon

  1. Say "Run!" "Jump!" "Sleep!" and children do the actions. Say "Stop!" to freeze.

5 to 15 minTeach the present continuous

  1. Mime eating. "I'm eating." Point to a child who is writing: "He's writing." Say the sentence and the verb form is shown on the board.
  2. Show the action cards and ask "What is he doing?" Children answer with "He's kicking."
  3. Introduce they: point to two children reading: "They're reading."
Teacher talk

"I'm eating. What am I doing? You're eating! What is she doing? She's reading."

Concept-check questions
  • Is Kofi writing now or yesterday? (Now.) Do I say "He's write" or "He's writing"? (He's writing.)
  • Two children: do I say he or they? (They.)

15 to 25 minMime and guess

  1. Model first: mime flying a kite. Children guess "You're flying a kite."
  2. Children come to the front in turn. The class guesses with "You're...". After a few turns change to "He's... / She's..." for the next volunteer.
Concept-check questions
  • If I mime sleeping and a child says "She sleeping" what is missing? (Is: She's sleeping.)

25 to 35 minPicture talk: the park

  1. Show the park picture. Ask "What is Leo doing?" and take answers. Then pairs ask each other about the others in the picture.
  2. Ask pairs to say three sentences about the picture to the class.
Teacher talk

"Look at the picture. What's he doing? What are they doing? Ask your partner."

35 to 43 minListening and reading: Min and Zara

  1. Say or play the dialogue once. Ask the questions. Then children read it in pairs.

43 to 55 minWorksheet: in the park

  1. Do the first sentence together. Remind children that "running" has two n letters. Children complete the rest alone.

55 to 60 minExit ticket

  1. See the exit ticket.

Differentiation

Support

  • Use only He's / She's with four actions.
  • Show the -ing verb on the board next to the picture card.
  • Allow the child to answer with the -ing verb only: "Eating."

Stretch

  • Add negatives: "He isn't running."
  • Add "Where": "He's playing in the park."
  • Write a five-sentence description of the picture with names.

Dialogue

Read in two voices. They are looking at a photo of the park.

Dialogue: Min and Zara look at a picture

Min: Look at this picture of the park, Zara!

Zara: Wow! What is Leo doing?

Min: He's kicking a ball.

Zara: And what are Priya and Sam doing?

Min: They're eating ice cream.

Zara: What's the dog doing?

Min: It's sleeping under the tree.

Zara: And what is the girl doing?

Min: She's flying a kite. It's red.

Questions

  1. What is Leo doing?
  2. What are Priya and Sam doing?
  3. What is the dog doing?
  4. What is the girl doing?
  5. What colour is the kite?

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 1 · Week 17NameDate

In the park

1. Write the -ing verb.

kickingeatingsleepingflyingrunning
  1. Leo is a ball.
  2. Priya and Sam are ice cream.
  3. The dog is under the tree.
  4. The girl is a kite.

2. Match the question to the answer.

1. What is Leo doing?●●a. It's sleeping.
2. What are they doing?●●b. He's kicking a ball.
3. What's the dog doing?●●c. They're eating ice cream.

3. Draw and write: what are two friends doing?

My friends
_____ is _____ing._____ is _____ing.
Free to copy for classroom use.english.litlings.com/lesson-plans/what-are-they-doing-picture-talk-lesson/

Answer key

Dialogue questions

  1. He is kicking a ball.
  2. They are eating ice cream.
  3. It is sleeping under the tree.
  4. She is flying a kite.
  5. Red.

Worksheet

  • 1: kicking, eating, sleeping, flying.
  • 2: What is Leo doing? - b (He's kicking a ball). What are they doing? - c (They're eating ice cream). What's the dog doing? - a (It's sleeping).
  • 3: answers will vary. Check "is" and a verb ending in -ing, and a capital letter on names.

Exit ticket

Mime an action at the door and ask "What am I doing?" Each child answers "You're...ing." Tick: correct with you're, verb only, needs help.

Homework

Watch a family member for one minute and write three sentences: "Mum is cooking." Draw them.

Teaching this to a whole class?

Litlings lets you plan lessons like this one, set photo and voice homework, and see who needs help. Free for up to 40 pupils.

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More lesson plans

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Sources and free resources
  • Level 1, Week 17: Things happening 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.