S1E12 - George's Mad Morning

Objective & content

On a weekday morning George is late, as always, and his mum Kate tries to get him to the bus. He never wakes up early, often forgets breakfast and sometimes forgets his bag; then he cannot find his bag or his shoes, and both are on his body. The episode teaches adverbs of frequency before the main verb (I never wake up early., I usually eat toast.), with the present simple for daily routine. The vocabulary is morning routine. Learners listen, then check their understanding with the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

The adverb comes before the main verb in English, but after it in French (je me lève toujours tard), German and Italian, so this word-order shift is the hard point. Practise subject + adverb + verb as one chunk, and remind pupils that never already means "not ever".

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Warm-up: ask pupils how they get to school and whether they are ever late.
2. (2 min) Preview always, usually, often, sometimes and never on a scale.
3. (4 min) First listen: why is George late, and what is the joke about his bag?
4. (8 min) Second listen: pupils note each adverb they hear and put it on the scale.
5. (7 min) Board work: put the adverb before the verb; correct any adverb placed after the verb.
6. (6 min) Pairs tell each other about their own mornings with one adverb per sentence.

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 with I and daily routine verbs (wake up, eat, forget).

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 3 (6e), axis "The child and their close environment": the morning routine.