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Lesson planB150 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
We Used to Play Outside: used to and would
Students use used to and would to talk about past habits and how places have changed, then write about the neighbourhood where they grew up.
Used to · Would past habit · Childhood · Town
Or download everything as a ZIP (4 PDFs)This lesson plan and its PDFs are free.
Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use used to accurately
- Use would for past habits accurately
- Learn and use 15 words and phrases in 2 sets: Places in the neighbourhood, Family and memories
- Read for detail: then and now
- Writing task: my neighbourhood then and now
Stages · 50 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about childhood and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 10 minControlled practice: Ex. 2–3
- 5 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 4
- 10 minReading: Ex. 5
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 6
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 4 PDFs)Grammar notes
used to + verb
- Use used to for past habits and past states that aren't true now: I used to live in a village. We used to play in the street.
- Negative and question: didn't use to, Did you use to…? (no -d after did): I didn't use to like fish. Did you use to walk to school?
would + verb
- Use would for repeated actions in the past, often in stories about childhood: Every summer, my grandparents would take us to the beach.
- Don't use would for states (be, have, live, like, know): We used to have a dog (not We would have a dog).
Which one?
- Repeated actions: used to or would. Every Sunday we used to / would visit our relatives.
- States: only used to. There used to be a cinema here.
Study tips
- Think of three things you used to do as a child and three things you would do every summer.
- Check the verb: if it's a state (be, have, like, live, know), you need used to, not would.
Glossary
- Places in the neighbourhood8 items
- Family and memories7 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Then and now: words
Match each word with its meaning. There is one extra meaning.
Tap an item…
…then its match
2
used to, didn't use to or would?
Complete the sentences with used to, didn't use to, would or Did. Sometimes two answers are possible.
- a
When I was a child, we live in a small village by the sea.
- b
Every summer, my grandparents take us to the beach for a week.
- c
There be a cinema in our town, but it closed years ago.
- d
My dad like vegetables when he was young, but now he loves them.
- e
On Saturday mornings, my brother and I watch cartoons for hours.
- f
you use to walk to school when you were young?
- g
I have very long hair when I was at school.
3
Only used to, or both?
Can you use would in the gap, or only used to? Put each sentence in the right group.
- a
We ___ have a dog called Max.
- b
I ___ be very shy at school.
- c
My mum ___ read us a story every night.
- d
My grandfather ___ know everyone in the village.
- e
We ___ play football in the street after school.
- f
Every winter, we ___ build a snowman with our cousins.
4
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correction.
- a
When I was young, I use to walk to school.
- b
Did you used to live in this neighbourhood?
- c
We would have a big garden when I was a child.
- d
I don't remember of his name.
- e
I remember to play in the snow with my sister when I was five.
5
Read: then and now
Read the text. Are the sentences true, false or not given?
When Maria was a child, her neighbourhood used to be very quiet. There was only one shop nearby, and everybody knew each other. On Sundays her relatives would come for lunch, and the children would play in the park until it got dark. Her grandfather would sit on the same bench every afternoon and talk to his friends. Today the neighbourhood is very different. There's a big supermarket where the old cinema used to be, and the streets are crowded with cars. Maria says pollution is the biggest problem now. But some things haven't changed: the park is still there, and so is her grandfather's bench. "I still remember playing there," she says. "I had a happy childhood."
- a
When Maria was a child, there were a lot of shops near her home.
- b
Maria's relatives used to visit on Sundays.
- c
Maria's grandfather played cards with his friends on the bench.
- d
There is a supermarket where the old cinema was.
- e
The park isn't there any more.
- f
Maria wants to move to a quieter town.
6
Write: my neighbourhood then and now
Write about how a place has changed.
Write about the neighbourhood where you grew up (8–10 sentences). What was it like when you were a child? What did people use to do there? What would you do every weekend or every summer? How is it different now? Use used to, didn't use to and would. Word box: neighbourhood · nearby · relative · childhood · pollution · crowded · bench · everyday · remember · remember doing Example: When I was a child, my neighbourhood used to be much quieter. Every Saturday my friends and I would ride our bikes to the park nearby. I remember playing on the same bench for hours.
Suggested minimum: 80 words
0 words · aim for at least 80
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.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- 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 15 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
Places in the neighbourhood
- neighbourhood
- the area of a town where you live
- nearby
- not far away
- village
- a very small town in the countryside
- park
- a large public garden in a town
- bench
- a long seat for two or more people, often outside
- crowded
- full of people
- quiet
- with very little noise
- pollution
- dirty air, water or land caused by people, for example by cars or factories
Family and memories
- childhood
- the time of your life when you are a child
- relative
- a member of your family
- grandparents
- the parents of your mother or father
- cousin
- the child of your aunt or uncle
- remember
- to keep information in your mind
- remember doing
- to have a memory of something you did
- everyday
- ordinary; happening every day (one word, before a noun)
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