Draw a time line on the whiteboard or chalkboard in the classroom. It should be long enough to have notes written on it. Draw two arrows at each end of the time line to indicate that time extends into both the past and the future.
Put a vertical line in the middle of the time line to indicate the present. Write "present" or "now" underneath the mark.
Write "past" and "future" to the left and right of the "present" line, respectively.
Make marks on the time line to indicate when a particular tense takes place. For example, if you are teaching students about the past continuous tense and interruptions, draw a horizontal line beginning in the past section of the time line above or below the time line and extend it to the right. End the line before you reach the present mark. Then, draw a vertical line through the horizontal one to indicate when another event occurred to interrupt it.
Use pictures of people doing activities above or below the part of the time line that relate to the tense you are teaching. This can help your students visualize the action in that tense. Also, write time expressions that are used with the tense on the board to help students identify when to use it. For example, if you are teaching the simple past, you might write "last week," "yesterday" and "6 years ago" on the board.