Alice Savage, a materials writer and English language teacher, has authored reading and writing books and plays for English learners. She currently lives in Houston, Texas where she is on the faculty at Lone Star College. In this article, Alice shows how she uses graded readers to teach simple present tense.
It is often said that the simple present is not so simple. With its third-person ‘s’ challenge, the structure has a reputation as being one of the most difficult. Many teachers would agree that it is worth spending extra time on since it is so prevalent in basic communication. However, lots of rote repetition and single item exercises can become tedious.
One approach to enlivening practice with content is to bring in art and literature. Have students describe a painting or music video or try a poetry dictation. You can also use graded readers. In the downloadable that accompanies this article, students read a short piece of beginner-level fiction. Then they answer questions about it in speaking and writing. Because the story is written in the simple present, students are exposed to multiple examples in context. The story also has a lot of dialog, which reiterates the structures through characters.
After students read, they can discuss what happens in the story by answering questions in pairs. Then they can write sentences about the story that elicit the form. While some of these sentences could be lifted directly from the story, many of them require reformulation. By reviewing these sentences, the teacher can identify areas that need further explanation and practice. Finally, students can tell stories about people and children they know who are similar to or different from the characters.
MANAGING AN ACTIVITY (as in the attached Downloadable document)
There are various ways to approach the reading below depending on your students’ needs and time, but here are some ideas to choose from.
Thing to try:
- Introduce any vocabulary they might need.
- Have students read the passage for gist. What happens in the story?
- Elicit answers and write the main ideas on the board or screen. Point out present tense as a narrative device.
- Have students or pairs find examples of the target structure in the passage. (Challenge them to see who can find the most examples of the negative in a set time, for example.)
- Use the context of the story to ask individuals questions about the characters. Elicit complete sentences as a response. (Provide feedback.)
- Give pairs the questions to discuss. Have them write sentences.
- Collect the sentences and give feedback. Or go over the sentences on the screen.
- Invite students to illustrate the story with stick figures. Put them in pairs to ask and answer questions about one another’s pictures.
Extensions:
- Have students talk about what good parents do.
- Agree or disagree with the idea that it’s good for kids to get dirty when they play.
Download this graded reader lesson plan to use in class.
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