Teachers can start a story and go around the class letting students add to the story. The teacher should indicate either past or present tense before the story begins. Students should add to the story in the tense suggested. For instance, the teacher may suggest a past tense story and begin with "Larry woke up at 6 a.m. and began getting ready for school. He got dressed, brushed his teeth and combed his hair." The next student can continue the story from there. If a student adds to the story in the wrong tense, eliminate the student and continue with the story. As the class builds the story, discuss those words in the story that help indicate the story is in past tense.
Write a story and change the tense throughout. Tell students which tense the story should be in and have them read it and correct the story as they go. The opening paragraph, for instance, might be "Larry got up for school. He brushes his teeth and combs his hair. He ate breakfast and heads for the bus stop." These sentences alternate between past and present. Ask students to rewrite the sentences so they are all in past tense.
Questions and answers can be an effective way to illustrate verb tense. The teacher might ask the question "What did you eat for breakfast? The student might answer "I ate bacon and eggs." Ask the student to indicate which form of tense the answer took. Now ask a question that forces a future tense answer, such as, "What will you do for Christmas?" Allow a student to answer the question, then break the answer down and show what elements of the answer make it future tense. The answer might be "I will go to my grandma's house after we open presents." Demonstrate how the words "will go" change the tense of the answer. Alternate the types of questions asked to force students to answer in past, present and future tense.
Oral drills, particularly in a call and response, can help teach students tense. For instance, the teacher is present tense and students are past tense. The teacher calls out a phrase in present tense, such as, "I write on the blackboard," and students call out as a group the same phrase in past tense. Take turns alternating between past, present and future tense. This same activity can be done by breaking students into groups.