English lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 60 minutes
Past, present and future progressive (was running, is running, will be running)
Grammar
CCSS L.4.1.BEngland: Y3/4 GPS (progressive verb forms)England: KS2 SATs GPS
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Past, present and future progressive (was running, is running, will be running).
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Present and past progressive (-ing); Past, present or future? Simple verb tenses
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: Sentence strips, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 6 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Present and past progressive (-ing); Past, present or future? Simple verb tenses). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Choose the correct -ing form of the verb. When the phone rang, I ___ (read). (was reading / am reading / read / reading) → was readingPrompt: Is it happening now or was it happening in the past?
- Is this sentence in the past, present or future tense? The bus stops outside the library. (past / present / future) → presentPrompt: Find the verb (the action or being word).
- Choose the verb in the right tense. Every night, the bats ___ out of the cave when it gets dark. (will flew / flew / fly) → flyPrompt: Look for time words: yesterday, last, ago, next, tomorrow, every…
Hook · 6 min
- Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
- Share the objective: Past, present and future progressive (was running, is running, will be running). Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 12 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Which progressive tense is used? I am writing a story about a dragon.
- Step 1: Progressive tenses show an action that is, was or will be going on for a while.
- Step 2: So the answer is: present progressive
- Answer: present progressive
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 12 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Which progressive tense is used? The baby is sleeping, so please be quiet. (past progressive / present progressive / future progressive) → present progressivePrompt: Find the -ing verb and the helping verb in front of it.
- Choose the correct progressive form. Listen! Someone ___ the piano. (will be playing / is playing / playing / was playing) → is playingPrompt: Look for time clues: right now, look!, last night, when…, tomorrow, next week.
You do: independent practice · 17 min
- 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.
Exit ticket · 7 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Choose the correct progressive form. We ___ to the park when we saw the rainbow. (are walking / walking / were walking / will be walking) → were walkingPrompt: Look for time clues: right now, look!, last night, when…, tomorrow, next week.
- Which progressive tense is used? We were building a den when it started to rain. (past progressive / present progressive / future progressive) → past progressivePrompt: Find the -ing verb and the helping verb in front of it.
Watch out for
- Naming the feature but not using it in their own sentences.
- Thinking a sentence is right because it sounds right when spoken casually.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Present and past progressive (-ing).
- Use concrete materials: sentence strips.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-4.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder