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Lesson planA245 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
How Was Your Holiday? Questions in the past
Students practise asking and answering questions in the past simple about holidays, then write an interview with a traveller.
Past questions · Travel · Holidays
Or download everything as a ZIP (2 PDFs)This lesson plan and its PDFs are free.
Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use wh- questions in the past accurately
- Learn and use 19 words and phrases in 3 sets: Travelling, Places to visit, On holiday
- Read for detail: Questions for Amy
- Writing task: Interview a traveller
Stages · 45 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about travel and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 15 minControlled practice: Ex. 2–4
- 5 minReading: Ex. 5
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 6
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
Question word + did + subject + verb
- Where did you go? What did you see? How did you travel?
- After did, use the base verb: What did you see? (not What did you saw?)
- Not: Where you went? Use did.
Question words
- Where (place) · When / What time (time) · Who (person) · What (thing) · How (way) · Why (reason)
- How long did the journey take? — Three hours.
was / were questions
- With be, don't use did: Where were you? How was the food? (not How did the food was?)
very tasty, really delicious
- delicious already means 'very tasty', so don't say very delicious.
- Say: The pizza was very tasty. / The pizza was really delicious.
Study tips
- Ask a partner five questions about their last holiday: Where…? When…? Who…? What…? How…?
- Check every question: did + base verb (go, see, eat), not went, saw, ate.
Glossary
- Travelling7 items
- Places to visit6 items
- On holiday6 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Holiday words
Choose the correct word.
- a
We drove along the ___ and stopped at lots of small towns by the sea.
- b
We flew over the ___ for eight hours and didn't see any land.
- c
We visited an art ___ and saw paintings by Picasso.
- d
I don't eat meat, but I love ___. My favourite is fresh prawns from the harbour.
- e
The pizza was very ___. I ate it all!
- f
We got to the station late and ___ the train.
- g
The ___ from London to Edinburgh takes about four and a half hours by train.
- h
What time did you ___ at the hotel? — At midnight. We were very tired.
2
Past questions
Choose the correct words.
- a
Where ___ last summer?
- b
What ___ in Paris?
- c
How ___ to Spain?
- d
When ___ at the hotel?
- e
Who ___ on the trip?
- f
What time ___ leave?
- g
Why ___ the train?
- h
How long ___ take?
3
did or was / were?
Choose the correct words.
- a
How ___ the food?
- b
Where ___ you last night?
- c
What ___ you eat?
- d
___ the hotel nice?
- e
Who ___ you with?
- f
How many photos ___ you take?
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.
5
Read: Questions for Amy
Read the conversation. Then choose the correct answer.
Ben: Hi Amy! How was your holiday? Amy: It was great, thanks! Ben: Where did you go? Amy: We went to the coast of Portugal. Ben: How did you travel? Amy: By plane. But the journey was very long because I missed my first flight! Ben: Oh no! What did you do there? Amy: We swam in the ocean every morning, and we ate seafood every day. It was so tasty. Ben: Did you visit any museums? Amy: Yes, on the last day we visited a small art gallery in the old town.
- a
Where did Amy go?
- b
How did Amy travel?
- c
Why was the journey long?
- d
What did Amy eat every day?
- e
What did Amy do on the last day?
6
Write: Interview a traveller
Write questions and answers about a holiday.
Write six questions to ask a friend about their last holiday, and their answers. Use Where…? When…? How…? What…? Who…? Why…? + did. Word box: trip · journey · arrive · coast · ocean · gallery · seafood · tasty · miss Example: Where did you go? — We went to the coast. How did you travel? — By train.
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 19 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 3 sets.
Travelling
- trip
- a short visit to a place and back
- journey
- travelling from one place to another
- arrive
- to get to a place
- miss
- to be too late for a bus, train or plane
- flight
- a journey by plane
- plane
- it flies and carries people
- train
- it travels on rails and carries people
Places to visit
- coast
- the land next to the sea
- ocean
- a very large area of salt water
- beach
- land with sand next to the sea
- gallery
- a building with paintings and art
- museum
- a building with old and interesting things
- hotel
- you pay to sleep there when you travel
On holiday
- holiday
- time away from work or school, often in another place
- visit
- to go and see a place or a person
- swim
- to move through water
- seafood
- fish and other animals from the sea that people eat
- tasty
- with a good taste
- delicious
- with a very good taste
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