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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.
Not a Normal Week: present simple or continuous?
Students practise contrasting the present simple and present continuous to talk about housework and routines, then write about life at home.
Present simple · Present continuous now · Home · Daily routines
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use present simple accurately
- Use present continuous accurately
- Learn and use 14 words and phrases in 2 sets: Housework, Daily routine
- Read for detail: Not a normal week
- Writing task: My week at home
Stages · 45 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about home 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
Usually or now?
- Present simple for habits and things that are always true: I do the laundry on Sundays.
- Present continuous for now and for this week / these days: Look! The kids are making a mess. This week I'm doing the laundry on Saturday.
- Signal words — simple: usually, every day, on Mondays · continuous: now, at the moment, today, this week, Look!
Verbs we don't use in the continuous
- like, love, hate, want, need, know, understand: I love this song (not I'm loving). Do you know where my keys are? (not Are you knowing).
Questions and negatives
- Simple: How often do you clean the bathroom? She doesn't make her bed.
- Continuous: What are you doing? I'm not cleaning the kitchen today.
Study tips
- Make two lists: things you usually do at home, and things you're doing this week.
- Look for the signal words: every day → simple; right now / this week → continuous.
Glossary
- Housework7 items
- Daily routine7 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Jobs at home
Choose the correct word or phrase.
- a
Your room is very ___. There are clothes and books all over the floor.
- b
Can you ___ the kitchen after dinner? The table and the floor are dirty.
- c
Please ___ your toys before bed — put them back in the box.
- d
I ___ every Sunday. I wash all our clothes.
- e
The children painted in the kitchen and ___ — there's paint everywhere!
- f
I was very tired, and I ___ in front of the TV at nine o'clock. I woke up at midnight!
- g
I ___ every Saturday morning: I clean the bathroom, the kitchen and all the floors.
- h
I ___ at 6.30, but I stay in bed until seven.
- i
I always ___ the bed after I get up.
2
Usually or now?
Choose the correct words.
- a
I usually ___ the laundry on Sundays, but this week I'm doing it on Saturday.
- b
Shh! The baby ___. Don't turn on the TV.
- c
My dad ___ his bed every morning.
- d
Where's Tom? — He ___ the rubbish out.
- e
We ___ at my grandma's house this week because our kitchen is a mess.
- f
My sister ___ her room at the weekend. It's always tidy on Monday!
- g
Look! The cat ___ on my bed again.
3
Questions, negatives and 'state' verbs
Choose the correct word or words.
- a
What ___ you doing? — I'm tidying up my room.
- b
How often ___ you clean the bathroom?
- c
I ___ the kitchen today — my brother is doing it.
- d
She ___ the laundry on weekdays. She does it at the weekend.
- e
I ___ this song! Please don't turn it off.
- f
We ___ some help with the cleaning. Can you come?
- g
___ you know Ana's phone number?
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.
- k
Choose the correct sentence.
- l
Choose the correct sentence.
5
Read: Not a normal week
Read the text. Then choose the correct answer.
On a normal day, Mia wakes up at seven, gets dressed, makes the bed and has breakfast with her husband, Dan. Dan usually does the laundry, and Mia cleans up the kitchen after dinner. On Thursdays she takes out the rubbish. But this week is different. Dan is working in Madrid, so Mia is doing everything at home. And her two nephews are staying with her! They're nine and eleven, and they make a mess every day. Right now they're playing football in the garden, and Mia is tidying up their bedroom. There are socks and toys everywhere. "I love my nephews," says Mia, "but I want my normal life back!"
- a
What does Mia usually do after dinner?
- b
Why is Mia doing everything at home this week?
- c
Who is staying with Mia this week?
- d
What are the boys doing right now?
- e
How does Mia feel?
6
Write: My week at home
Write about your home life.
Write about life at your home. (6–8 sentences) What do you usually do, and who does which jobs? Is anything different this week? Use the present simple for habits and the present continuous for now and this week. Word box: tidy up · clean up · do the laundry · make the bed · make a mess · get dressed · fall asleep · clean the house · messy · wake up Example: I usually do the laundry on Sundays and my flatmate cleans up the kitchen. But this week she's on holiday, so I'm doing everything!
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 14 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
Housework
- tidy up
- to put things back in the right place
- clean up
- to make a place clean and tidy
- do the laundry
- to wash clothes
- make the bed
- to put the covers on your bed nicely
- make a mess
- to make a place dirty or untidy
- clean the house
- to make your house clean
- messy
- untidy; not clean
Daily routine
- wake up
- to stop sleeping
- get dressed
- to put your clothes on
- fall asleep
- to start sleeping
- usually
- most of the time
- always
- every time
- often
- many times
- every day
- on all days
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