S2E06 - After School at the Park

Objective & content

George does keepy-uppies while his friend Ollie works on his Rubik's cube, a busker plays the guitar nearby, and then the ball lands in the pond. The episode teaches the present continuous for actions happening now, in positive, negative and question forms (I'm not missing a single practice this month; Are you trying to beat it today?). The vocabulary field is hobbies, music and sport (keepy-uppies, busker, record, instrument, pond). Learners listen for what each boy is doing, then check understanding with the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

French and German learners often use the present simple for an action happening right now, because their own languages do not mark the difference. The dialogue ties every -ing form to something visible (the cube, the guitar, the splash), so pupils can hear the contrast between a habit and an action in progress.

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Ask What are you doing right now? and elicit I'm sitting, I'm listening.
2. (5 min) Preview keepy-uppies, Rubik's cube, busker, record and instrument with mimes and simple definitions.
3. (4 min) First listen without pausing: what are the boys doing, and what goes wrong?
4. (8 min) Second listen with pauses after the guitar, the pond and Totally worth it, asking one question each time.
5. (6 min) Put a positive, a negative and a question example on the board and underline the pattern.
6. (4 min) In pairs, mime an action and ask What are you doing?

Materials & prerequisites

The episode in the PLAY app (audio, slideshow, text and quiz), a student sheet and a teacher sheet with the answer key. Learners need the present simple and the verb be.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4 (5e), axis "School and society": free time and leisure activities with friends.