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Lesson planA140 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Last Weekend: Past Simple
Students learn regular and common irregular past simple verbs to talk about last weekend, then write about the places they went and people they saw.
Past simple · Free time · Daily routines · Weekend
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use past simple accurately
- Learn and use 13 words and phrases in 2 sets: Times and places, Things you do
- Read for detail: Sam's weekend
- Writing task: My weekend
Stages · 40 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about free time and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1–2
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 10 minControlled practice: Ex. 3–4
- 5 minReading: Ex. 5
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 6
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
Past simple: regular verbs
- verb + -ed: walk → walked, watch → watched, cook → cooked.
- The same for I / you / he / she / we / they: She watched a film. We watched a film.
Common irregular verbs
- go → went · get → got · read → read · find → found · forget → forgot · grow → grew · take → took · have → had
- Not 'readed', 'finded', 'forgetted' — learn these forms.
Negatives and questions
- didn't + verb: I didn't go out. (not 'didn't went')
- Did + verb? Did you go out? → Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.
- Time words: yesterday, last night, last weekend, two days ago.
Study tips
- Make a list of ten irregular verbs and say them every day: go – went, get – got…
- Say 'last night', not 'yesterday night'.
Glossary
- Times and places7 items
- Things you do6 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Time words
Choose the correct word or phrase.
- a
I went to the cinema ___. It was a good film.
- b
I watched a good film ___ at ten o'clock.
- c
My alarm rang at six, but I stayed in bed for thirty minutes. I ___ at half past six.
- d
I ___ all afternoon for my English exam.
- e
Good news! I ___ my keys. They were under the bed.
- f
Sorry, I ___ your birthday. Happy birthday for yesterday!
2
Places and events
Choose the correct word.
- a
We had a big dinner at a nice Italian ___.
- b
I had a coffee and a small cake at the ___.
- c
I took a long ___ on Friday — three hours of questions, and I passed!
- d
I ___ up in a small town, but now I live in a big city.
- e
My headache went ___ after lunch.
- f
I ___ a good book on Sunday.
3
Past simple forms
Choose the correct form.
- a
Last Saturday we ___ to the beach.
- b
She ___ a new phone two days ago.
- c
I ___ TV last night. I read a book.
- d
They ___ dinner at home last Friday.
- e
___ you go out last weekend?
- f
"Did you like the film?" "Yes, I ___."
- g
We ___ our friends in the park yesterday.
- h
He ___ his homework last night.
4
Find the mistake
One sentence has a mistake. Choose the correct sentence.
- a
Choose the correct sentence.
- b
Choose the correct sentence.
- c
Choose the correct sentence.
- d
Choose the correct sentence.
- e
Choose the correct sentence.
- f
Choose the correct sentence.
- g
Choose the correct sentence.
- h
Choose the correct sentence.
- i
Choose the correct sentence.
- j
Choose the correct sentence.
5
Read: Sam's weekend
Read the text. Then choose the correct answer.
On Saturday Sam got up late, at ten o'clock. He had breakfast and read the newspaper. In the afternoon he went to the park with his friend Leo. They played football and then they had a coffee at a café. On Sunday Sam had an exam at the language school. He studied for two hours in the morning. The exam was difficult, but Sam passed! In the evening he had dinner with his family at a restaurant. He didn't watch TV. He was very tired and he went to bed early.
- a
On Saturday, Sam got up ___.
- b
In the afternoon, Sam and Leo ___.
- c
On Sunday morning, Sam:
- d
The exam was difficult, and Sam ___.
- e
On Sunday evening, Sam:
6
Write: My weekend
Write about last weekend.
Write 6–8 sentences about the places you went to and the people you saw. Use the past simple. Word box: yesterday · last night · got up · went · read · found · forgot · restaurant · café · exam Example: Last Saturday I got up at nine. In the evening I went to a restaurant.
Suggested minimum: 40 words
0 words · aim for at least 40
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 13 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
Times and places
- yesterday
- the day before today
- last night
- the night before today
- restaurant
- you pay and eat a meal in this place
- exam
- an important test
- cinema
- you watch films there
- park
- a place in a town with grass and trees
- weekend
- Saturday and Sunday
Things you do
- get up
- to get out of bed
- read
- to look at words and understand them
- find
- to see something you are looking for
- forget
- to not remember something
- grow up
- to get older and become an adult
- go away
- to leave a place for some time
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