What are you doing?

Objective & content

This grammar sheet teaches the present continuous to say what people are doing now: am / is / are + verb-ing, the negatives isn't, aren't and am not, questions with be and their short answers, and the spelling of the -ing form (writing, sitting). Pupils read Aisha's message from the park, find the -ing forms, then read the rule, given in a box, and use it. By the end, they can say what people are doing, say what they are not doing and ask about it.

Pedagogical guide

Page 1 is Aisha's message to her friend Sophie on a Saturday morning: her dad is running round the lake, her little brother is riding his bike without his helmet, and the dog is swimming. Pupils find eight -ing forms in it, then read the rule, given in a box in short lines with the key words in bold, including the two spelling rules (the final e goes; the last letter is written two times). Page 2 practises one step at a time: seven choices between am, is and are, eight sentences with the -ing form ("Watch the spelling!"), six sentences to make negative and six questions to write from prompts (she / read a book). Page 3 has five questions on Aisha's message with three short answers to choose from, then a picture of a busy park with six children: pupils complete eleven sentences, and the picture decides whether each one is affirmative or negative ("The girl in the boat isn't swimming."). This last task is the hardest. Every exercise opens with a worked example.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Mime an action; the class guesses with a question ("Are you swimming?" "No, I'm not!").
2. (10 min) Read Aisha's message aloud; pupils find the -ing forms, then read the rule in the box together.
3. (10 min) Page 2: pupils choose am, is or are, then write the -ing forms.
4. (8 min) Pupils make the sentences negative, then write the questions.
5. (5 min) Page 3: pupils tick the short answers.
6. (10 min) Pupils find the six children in the park picture and complete the sentences.
7. (5 min) Check with the answer key on page 4.

Adaptations

[S] Do the park task with the class, one child at a time, pointing at the picture before pupils write.

[A] Pupils write four sentences about what their family is doing now, one of them negative.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of pages 1 to 3 per pupil. Page 4 is the answer key, with the teacher notes at the end of page 4 and on page 5: keep them. Short forms (I'm, he's, they're) and long forms (is not, are not) are both right. Pupils need am, is, are and their negatives. To take it further, pupils describe the park picture to a partner, who points to the right child.