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Activities for Teaching the Present Tense in English

Learning the present tense is an easy concept once grasped. Young children just learning concepts in English run into trouble with the rules and words associated with each tense. The present, past and future tenses sound similar and blend into each other. Students practice tenses with activities to understand the language rules and avoid boredom with the lesson. In addition to the activities in this article, present tense should be explained before hand. This can be done with a simple worksheet with present tense sentences with the verb blank. The students should fill out each verb. Another idea is writing a few sentences onto the board and going through each sentence with the class to explain how the present tense works.
  1. Coloring Book

    • Have each student draw a picture of a person doing something. Have them use thick black markers to ensure that the images copy well. An example of this would be a man mowing the lawn or a girl playing with toys. Write out most of the sentence on each page also in black marker, leaving a blank line for the verb. Make photocopies and staple so that it is a cohesive book. Make a copy of each coloring book per each student. Have students write out the verb in present tense in addition to coloring the pictures.

    Flash Cards

    • "The two boys play soccer."

      Find magazines and newspapers with images of actionable activities such as people playing sports or having dinner. Cut out those images. Paste these images onto large index cards or letter size card stock. Allow to dry. Hold flash cards in front of the class and have them say what the person is doing in a present tense sentence. For example, if the image is of two boys playing soccer, the present tense would be "The two boys play soccer." Continue to play this flash card game until they get comfortable with the concept of the present tense.

    Charades

    • The present tense sentence for this charade player would be, "The mime is sleeping."

      One student will choose an activity to act out. Students will get turns to choose and act out an activity. The student must act out what the activity is. The rest of the class must guess what the activity is, but by putting it into a present tense sentence, beginning with the student's name. For example, if the student is acting like he is sleeping, the other students should say "So-and-so is sleeping." Continue this game until students start to become comfortable formulating present tense sentences.

    Follow the Leader

    • Form a line with the students behind you. Walk around the classroom or outside and do something, like skip. The leader will then say "I am skipping." Each student will then do the activity and say the activity in the present tense. The leader will then do something else, like sit on the ground and say "I am sitting." The students will follow the activity and the sentence. Continue this game for a few more tries and then let the next person in line be the leader. Continue until all the children have had a turn. Make sure to correct the students if they use past or future tenses instead of present tense.

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