Primary 3 English Studies – Third Term Week Eight: Using The Past Continuous Tense

TOPIC: USING THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

A: TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIALS

1. Action picture cards.
2. Verb flashcards.
3. Sentence strips.
4. Chalkboard and chalk.
5. Pupils’ writing books and pencils.

B: REFERENCE MATERIALS

1. Scheme of work.
2. Recommended English Studies textbook for Primary 3.
3. Online educational resources.

C: PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE

The pupils have learnt simple past-tense verbs and the use of was and were in sentences.

D: PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

1. Explain the past continuous tense in a simple way.
2. Form verbs ending in -ing.
3. Use was + verb-ing correctly.
4. Use were + verb-ing correctly.
5. Describe actions that were happening in the past.
6. Ask and answer simple questions in the past continuous tense.

E: CONTENT

Meaning of Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense tells us about an action that was happening at a particular time in the past.

It is formed with:

was/were + verb-ing

Using “Was”

We use was with I, he, she and one person or thing.

Examples:

• I was reading.
• Ada was cooking.
• Tunde was sleeping.
• The dog was barking.

Using “Were”

We use were with we, you, they and more than one person.

Examples:

• We were playing.
• They were singing.
• The boys were running.

Adding “-ing” to Verbs

Examples:

• play → playing
• read → reading
• jump → jumping
• sing → singing
• cook → cooking

Describing Past Actions

Examples:

• Ada was reading yesterday evening.
• The children were playing when the rain started.
• Mother was cooking in the kitchen.

Asking Questions

• Was Ada reading?
• Were the boys playing?
• Was Tunde sleeping?

Answers:

• Yes, she was.
• No, they were not.
• Yes, he was.

F: LESSON PRESENTATION

F1: Teachers’ Activities

1. Revises was and were.
2. Explains the past continuous tense.
3. Demonstrates how to add -ing to verbs.
4. Gives examples using was + verb-ing.
5. Gives examples using were + verb-ing.
6. Uses pictures to describe past actions.
7. Asks simple past continuous questions.
8. Corrects pupils where necessary.

F2: Pupils’ Activities

1. Identify was and were.
2. Add -ing to simple verbs.
3. Make sentences using was.
4. Make sentences using were.
5. Describe actions shown in pictures.
6. Ask simple questions.
7. Give correct answers.
8. Write past continuous sentences.

G: CONCLUSION

The teacher revises the past continuous tense and the use of was/were + verb-ing.

The teacher corrects pupils where necessary and encourages them to practise describing actions that were happening in the past.

H: EVALUATION GUIDE

Pupils should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What does the past continuous tense show?
2. Add -ing to play.
3. Complete: Ada \_\_\_\_\_\_ reading.
4. Complete: The boys \_\_\_\_\_\_ playing.
5. Complete: Mother was \_\_\_\_\_\_. (cook)
6. Change to past continuous: Tunde sleeps.
7. Ask a question using: Ada was reading.
8. Write one sentence using were playing.