Simple Past Tense


Who kidnapped Ms. Green? (simple past tense)

 

Wendy Sexton

 

GRADE LEVEL: JHS 1 – Unit 11 Pg 97 or JHS 2 – Unit 1 Pg.5
SKILLS: Listening, speaking, reading, writing
TIME: 45 minutes
MATERIALS: Ms. Green’s pictures (free and kidnapped), character/alibi card, worksheet (I’ve included 2 versions of the worksheet, for JHS 1 and JHS 2 levels.)
OBJECTIVES: To review past tense in a fun way: (JHS 1 – What did you do yesterday? / JHS 2 – What were you doing yesterday?)
To learn deduction skills - use information gathered to deduce the final answer (i.e. find the kidnapper)

 

PROCEDURE:

 

1. Explain setting. (15 mins)

- Show picture of Ann Green (free). Ask: DO YOU REMEMBER HER?

- With your JTE, explain that she was kidnapped outside 7-11 at 10pm last night. Show picture of Ann Green (kidnapped).

- Tell students that you believe the kidnapper is in the class. Explain that the students are detectives. They must find the kidnapper (i.e. the person whose alibi card does not match with another’s)

 

2. Give out character/alibi card. (All the names are from the NH textbook)

- Teach students how to read their card (their character’s name, place they were at, activity with whom)

- Remind students to keep their identity a secret. DO NOT show your card to your friends.

 

3. Give out worksheet.

- Explain worksheet to students. They need to ask 3 questions in English.

- Practice asking questions with JTE/students using a made-up example. Draw an example of a character/alibi card on the blackboard to help with explanation. JTE writes on the worksheet on the blackboard as each question is being asked.

Ss: What’s your name?  ALT: My name is WENDY

Ss: Where did you go yesterday?  ALT: I went to JUSCO.

Ss: What did you do?  ALT: I HAD TAKOYAKI with YUMI.

Guilty? Yes / No (Circle the correct answer)

 

4. Begin interview. (20 mins)

- Teachers should take part as well. Make sure students are speaking English and not just swapping cards and copying the info down. (To curb this problem, my JTE had asked students to speak in English and write their answers in Japanese as this tested their understanding of what their partner had said)

- When students have found the kidnapper, they should whisper the answer to the ALT/JTE.

 

5. Consolidation - check answers. (10 mins)

- After most of the students have solved the case, have them sit down.

- Ask different students about each character. E.g. Where did Emi go yesterday?

- Ask who the kidnapper was, and WHY he was the kidnapper. (Koji was the kidnapper.)

 

NOTES:

 

This was a great activity! Students were motivated because they wanted to solve the mystery. The JTE should explain to the students (before playing the game) that copying answers from their friends does not make a fun activity, in fact, it’s quite meaningless/pointless.

 

HANDOUTS and WORKSHEETS:

 

The worksheet for this lesson can be found here: http://storage01.pbwiki.com/f/Simple_Past_Tense_Wrksht.doc