Present continuous: spelling, negative statements, yes/no questions

Hello!

Here's a present continuous worksheet that you can use for self-learning as answers are included. Or you can use it in the classroom if you're looking for a review of the present simple. There are four activities in total:

         A: spell present continuous form of 20 verbs
         B: rewrite 10 sentences using new subjects
         C: change 10 sentences to negative statements
         D: change 10 sentences to yes/no questions
        >> Answers for all activities are included.<<

Click the expand icon in the bottom right corner of the window to preview and download to the file. Please leave a note and let me know what you think of the worksheet.

Present simple: PowerPoints

I've been working on writing a grammar workbook and making worksheets. Along the way, I've made some PowerPoints as well, which I've been able to upload to Instagram by saving the PPTs as jpgs. In fact, I've found PowerPoint quite useful for IG posts and IG stories, which I've posted about before.

Here, enjoy some PPTs about the present simple. You could use them to introduce concepts and have a bit of class practice before moving on to more substantive work. 

As always, feel free to drop me note and let me know what you think. 

Present simple: verb to be 

Present simple:3rd person spelling rules

Present simple: Functions

Present simple: verb to be

Hello!

Here's another present simple worksheet that you can use for self-learning as answers are included. Or you can use it in the classroom if you're looking for a review of the present simple verb to be. There are five activities in total:

        A: complete 20 sentences using the verb to be and then rewrite them as negative sentences
        B: write 12 questions using the verb to be for 12 sentences
        C: answer 12 questions about yourself using the verb to be
        D: correct 12 sentences with errors related to the verb to be
        E: use the verb to be to write about yourself, your family, and your friends
        >> Answers for all activities are included. <<

Click on the preview to view and download to the file. Please leave a note and let me know what you think of the worksheet.

Present simple: 3rd person, negative statements, yes/no questions

Hello!

Here's a present simple worksheet that you can use for self-learning as answers are included. Or you can use it in the classroom if you're looking for a review of the present simple. There are four activities in total:

        A: spell verbs in the 3rd person by adding -s, -es, -ies to 20 verbs
        B: rewrite 10 sentences from or into the 3rd person
        C: change 10 sentences to negative statements
        D: change 10 sentences to yes/no questions
        >> Answers for all activities are included. <<

Click on the preview to view and download to the file. Please leave a note and let me know what you think of the worksheet.

Animal body parts

This activity is designed to stretch students' vocabulary related to animals. I've used it with Primary 3 and 4 students and they're enjoyed it. The materials were designed for an 80-minute class, so if your classes are shorter, you drop steps or spread them over two class periods. Enjoy!

Procedure

Presentation
1. Introduce animal parts (pp.1–3)
- project words on screen from PC or visualizer
- use Total Physical Response (TPR) for fun and memory connections
- I usually do 5 items at a time and drill memory and pronunciation as I go

(Click Animal Body Parts to open an editable Word document. Images are below.)

Practice
2. Spell & write (p.4)
- ss write animals body parts and names of animals with those body parts 
- ss won't know some animals in English or how to spell their names
- make them use their English, e.g. This fish is dangerous. (shark) This animal has a long neck. (giraffe) It has a shell. It is small. We eat it. (snail / shrimp)
- make ss ask for spelling, e.g. How do you spell [giraffe]? — and I always make them start and spell as much as they can            

3. Check results
- write animal body parts on board / or project p.4 on board
- have ss share animals for each body part and write those animals on the board; 2 or 3 animals per

4. Check understanding
- clear or cover board

- use TPR to check body parts
- ask Does [a bear] have fur / spots / stripes? Does [an elephant] have a tail / fins / tusks? 
- You can do this as a class to start and then set them up to do in groups.

Check
5. Crossword (p.5)
- have ss do in pairs or groups
- to level down, fill in some letters in the crossword, esp for BONUS words
- project on board and have ss fill in answers

6. Odd one out (p.6)
- have ss circle the one animal that doesn't belong in each set
- check answers and have ss given reasons, e.g. A bear doesn't have scales. A snake doesn't have claws. 

Write & speak
7. Draw and write
- have ss draw one real animal and/or one imaginary animal (choose only one if time is limited)
- tell ss to give each animal a name and to write 3 or 4 sentences about them, e.g. Hello. I am … / My name is … I’ve got … two blue horns and gills and I can swim underwater.
- ss can write about age, family, hobbies, likes, etc.; brainstorm ideas and board with ss if you like

8. Act
- put ss into pairs and have act out/role-play their real or imaginary animal

                Hello, I’m Owen and I’m a shark. 

                                Hi, Owen. It's nice to meet you. I'm a ...

Primary OUP Ready 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 6A, 6B

In 2015, I was lucky enough to be asked to work on a new primary school series, Ready, for Oxford University Press (OUP), China. Before then, I hadn't done much work with primary ELT material. I'd written quite a few comprehension and writing lessons, as well as story/teaching guides, for the Oxford Reading Tree series, which is an excellent series of readers. I guess the team I had worked with at OUP liked my work well enough that they felt I was ready to take on half of their primary course. I greatly appreciated their confidence in me.

Part of my job, like most ELT textbook writers, was to bring the Scope & Sequence (S&S) to life. For the S&S, think 'Contents' page, as that's roughly what it is—a spreadsheet with unit flows showing topics, vocabulary items in a possible context, reading strategies, suggestions for reading passages, types of comprehension to focus on, grammar items to cover, and task outcomes to set up.

My usual practice when I design material is to make sure the S&S for a book, say six units, 'holds together' well, flows, and covers a good range of topics, text types, vocabulary, grammar items, and task outcomes. When I saw the S&S from OUP, I could see they had done the same thing, which certainly made my life easier. 

Once the S&S for the book was clear in my head, my practice was to develop units out of the reading passage. Reading passages are the heart of units. The vocabulary and its context would set up and foreshadow the reading passage, and the reading passage would provide a context for the grammar and a model and/or springboard for task outcomes. So getting the reading passages right would usually mean the rest of the unit fell easily into place. 

Fortunately, it all went smoothly and on schedule and I learned loads during those months—I learned how to:

• create visual contexts for vocabulary sets
• write stories, blogs, conversations, articles, etc. within tight vocabulary and grammar constraints
• design simple yet engaging vocabulary and grammar activities
• scaffold speaking and writing task outcomes for achievability
• produce clear, detailed art briefs

And I couldn't have done without support from a fab OUP team. 

Skill Smart x 2, Step Ahead

Role: Senior editor/Chief editor
The Skill Smart series for the Hong Kong Certificate Examination in English (HKCEE) was the first set of products for the secondary ELT team at Educational Publishing House (EPH). When I arrived at EPH in May 2006, production was already under way. In my first couple of weeks, the director and project manager asked me to review the content. We made some minor adjustments, hit our deadline, and went on to take in 15% of the market in our first sales season.

We then went on to prepare an ELT course for senior secondary school, Step Ahead, for submission to the education bureau in 2008. It became the first secondary ELT course from EPH to be accepted by the Education Bureau, all this thanks to a passionate, dedicated team.

And along with Step Ahead, we produced a new Skill Smart series for a new examination, the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE).