• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Perfect tenses (past, present, future); Keeping tense consistent). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Choose the correct perfect tense. Mia was tired because she ___ (run) all the way. (will have run / had run / runs / has run) → had runPrompt: Is the action finished before a past time, before now, or before a future time?
2. Choose the verb that keeps the tense consistent. Every morning I wake up, brush my teeth and ___ breakfast. (had eaten / ate / eaten / eat) → eatPrompt: Find the other verb(s) in the sentence. What tense are they in?
3. Choose the correct perfect tense. By tonight, I ___ (read) the whole book. (had read / have read / will have read / am reading) → will have readPrompt: Is the action finished before a past time, before now, or before a future time?

• Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
• Share the objective: Verb tense and form in context. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Choose the verb form that fits the context. The novelist, who ___ in a small village, wrote about city life.
• Step 1: The tense must fit the time clues and the other verbs in the sentence.
• Step 2: A finished event at a stated past time takes the simple past.
• Step 3: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "The novelist, who grew up in a small village, wrote about city life."
• Step 4: So the answer is: grew up
• Answer: grew up
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Choose the verb form that fits the context. Every year, the river ___ its banks in spring. (floods / had flooded / has flooded / flooded) → floodsPrompt: Look for time clues (in 1969, since, by the time, next month).
2. Choose the verb form that fits the context. The bridge ___ since last Tuesday for repairs. (was closed / will be closed / is closed / has been closed) → has been closedPrompt: Look for time clues (in 1969, since, by the time, next month).

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Choose the verb form that fits the context. Since 2015, the town ___ three new parks. (opens / opened / has opened / had opened) → has openedPrompt: Look for time clues (in 1969, since, by the time, next month).
2. Choose the verb form that fits the context. The novelist, who ___ in a small village, wrote about city life. (grew up / grows up / has grown up / will grow up) → grew upPrompt: Look for time clues (in 1969, since, by the time, next month).

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-9.