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Lesson planA240 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
The Night of the Storm: Past Continuous
Students learn to use the past continuous with while and when to tell a story, then write about a surprising night.
Past continuous · Past simple · Stories · Weather
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use past continuous accurately
- Learn and use 20 words and phrases in 3 sets: Stormy weather, People, places and clothes, Telling a story
- Read for detail: The night of the storm
- Writing task: A night to remember
Stages · 40 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about past simple 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
was / were + -ing
- Use it for an action in progress at a time in the past → At eight o'clock I was having dinner.
- I / he / she / it was + -ing · you / we / they were + -ing
- Negative: wasn't / weren't + -ing · Question: Was she sleeping? → Yes, she was.
Past continuous + past simple
- A short action (past simple) interrupts a longer action (past continuous):
- I was walking home when it started to rain.
- while + past continuous: While we were waiting, the lights went out.
- while + a clause (while I was reading) · during + a noun (during the journey)
Study tips
- Tell a friend what you were doing at 8 a.m., 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. yesterday.
- Learn: while + clause, during + noun.
Glossary
- Stormy weather6 items
- People, places and clothes7 items
- Telling a story7 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Story words
Choose the correct word.
- a
I read a book ___ the journey.
- b
I fell asleep ___ I was watching the film.
- c
I was ___ the bus when it started to rain.
- d
The children were playing in the ___ behind their house.
- e
A lot of cars were driving fast on the ___ into the city.
- f
I watched a good film ___ at ten o'clock.
2
People and weather
Choose the correct word.
- a
Two ___ were working on the roof. One of them was my dad.
- b
She was wearing a long red ___ for the party.
- c
He was wearing a white ___ and a tie.
- d
There was a big ___ with thunder and lightning.
- e
There was a lot of ___ and the streets were wet.
- f
While she was walking home, a ___ stopped to help her.
3
Past continuous or past simple?
Choose the correct form.
- a
At nine o'clock last night I ___ TV.
- b
We ___ dinner when the lights went out.
- c
She was reading when the phone ___.
- d
While I ___, I saw an old friend.
- e
They ___ football at 4 p.m. — they were at school.
- f
"Was it raining?" "Yes, it ___."
- g
What ___ you doing at eight o'clock?
- h
It ___ when we left the house.
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: The night of the storm
Read the text. Then choose the correct answer.
Last night there was a big storm in our town. At seven o'clock I was waiting for the bus in the rain. My sister was working at the café, and my parents were having dinner at home. While I was walking home from the bus stop, the wind started to blow very hard. Two men were standing in the road, and a tree fell next to them! Luckily, everybody was OK. When I got home, the lights went out. We sat in the dark for two hours, but my dad was telling funny stories, so it was OK.
- a
What was the writer doing at seven o'clock?
- b
Where was the writer's sister working?
- c
What happened while the writer was walking home?
- d
Where were the two men standing?
- e
What was the dad doing in the dark?
6
Write: A night to remember
Write a short story.
Write 6–8 sentences about a day or night when something surprising happened. What were you doing? What happened? Use the past continuous and the past simple, with while and when. Word box: while · during · last night · wait · storm · rain · road · garden Example: I was waiting for the bus when a storm started.
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 20 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 3 sets.
Stormy weather
- storm
- very bad weather with strong wind and rain
- rain
- water that falls from the sky
- wind
- air that moves fast outside
- thunder
- the loud noise in the sky in a storm
- lightning
- the bright light in the sky in a storm
- wet
- with water on it; not dry
People, places and clothes
- man
- an adult male person (one man, two men)
- garden
- the land next to a house, with grass and plants
- road
- a wide way for cars and buses
- tree
- a very big, tall plant
- lights
- they give light in a room or in the street
- dress
- a piece of clothing that covers the body and legs, usually worn by women and girls
- shirt
- a piece of clothing for the top half of your body
Telling a story
- while
- during the time that something happens
- when
- at the time that something happens
- last night
- the night before today
- yesterday
- the day before today
- wait
- to stay in one place until something happens
- meanwhile
- at the same time, while something else happens
- during
- all through the time that something happens
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