Teaching ESL Simple Present Tense

IN COMMON

Materials: Worksheet 1

Dynamic: Whole class

Time: 20 minutes

Procedure:

1. Create a worksheet, perhaps by using the blank Worksheet 1, by listing your students’ names in the left column. Another way to do this is to use the attendance list, block out everything but the name column, then draw lines across.

2. Give each student a copy of the handout. Instruct students to cross out their name and the names of any absent students.

3. Instruct students to circulate and find one thing they have in common with each other student on the list. They must find a different thing for each student. For example, Soheyla might write:

Juan: We both like sports.

Maria: We both have dark hair.

Akiko: We both have two older brothers.

Kimtien: We both drive a car.

4. When two students have discovered something in common, each writes it down on the line next to the name of the student he/she is talking to. In the above example, Soheyla writes We both like sports next to Juan’s name, and Juan writes it next to Soheyla’s name.

5. When they have finished, the students sit down. Ask which verb tense they used most often (simple present) and why (facts). If the students cannot provide these answers, give them clues by soliciting some of the sentences they wrote down. Ask if these are true statements, etc.

6. For fun and to learn more about the students, ask individual students at random what they have in common with someone on their list. (It would take too long to go over all the answers.) You may want to collect the papers to use as a source of information for preparing other activities or exercises.

NOTE: This is a good culmination game at a lower level, after completing the present tense chapter. It also works well as a review for higher students to see if they remember why they use the present tense.

Taken from: Woodward, Suzanne W. 1997. Fun With Grammar: Communicative Activities for the Azar Grammar Series. London: Prentice-Hall International (Page 2).