Introducing The Present Simple For The First Time

Warm-up Activity

• Revising the present progressive by doing actions (given that it was presented before)
• Pretend that you read a book and ask: What am I doing, now? Eliciting: “You are reading a book”
• Ask some students to pretend to do some actions and ask other students: What is Tom doing, now? What is she doing? What are they doing? … etc. eliciting the right answer using the present progressive form.

Or

(Given that the present progressive hasn’t been presented yet) Revising the adjective pronouns: I, you, we, they, he, she, and it with the verb to be

Introduction

Tell students that we use the present simple to describe general truths, routines, habits and daily activities with words like every day, always, sometimes, usually, and often, and check that students know the meanings of these words.

Introducing Present Simple – First Person Singular

Tell students, “I wash my face every day” and then make a list of the things you do every day and tell students that it’s your daily routine:

• I have breakfast at 7.
• I go to work at 9.
• I have lunch at 12.
• I return home at 5.
• I watch TV before dinner. I go to bed at 10

Have some students tell you what they do every day or what some of their habits are. They should give more examples in the first person singular.

Introduce Present Simple – Second Person Singular

• Say: “I have breakfast at 7. Sarah, you have breakfast at 7, too.
• Go around the class facing each of your students and state a general truth: “john, you watch TV before dinner” and have john say to you: you watch TV before dinner, too.
• T: “Sally, you have a pet.
• T: Tom, you go to bed at 10. … etc.

Introduce Present Simple – Third Person Singular

• Say: “Tom likes football, he always plays football. Sarah goes home at 3, she watches TV after dinner.
• Use the board to make sure that students notice that you’ve added the “s” for the third person singular.
• With the examples on the board, introduce the irregular verbs: goes, watches, has, etc.
• Ask students to provide more examples from their information about their classmates.

Introduce Present Simple – Plural Persons

• Ask who likes football to stand up. Then point to them saying: They like football.
• Ask who watches TV before dinner to stand up. Then join them and point to yourself with them saying: We watch TV before dinner.
• Ask who watches TV after dinner to stand up. Address those who are standing and say: “You watch TV after dinner”.

Introduce Present Simple – Negative

• Make a statement in the affirmative, then make one in the negative with don’t. T: I like tea. I don’t like coffee.
• Ask students to do the same, saying a statement, first, then a negative.
• Practice: “They don’t” and “We don’t” in the same way.  

Introduce Present Simple – Negative (Third Person Singular)

• Make a statement about a student, then make one in negative form using doesn’t.
• T: Alex plays tennis. She doesn’t like football.
• Ask students to provide more examples from their information about their classmates.

Introduce Present Simple – Questions

• Make a statement about yourself. Then, ask a student a question to introduce “do”
• T: I walk to school. John, do you walk to school?
• Walk around the classroom asking students questions and teaching them to answer, “Yes, I do” or “No, I don’t”
• Do the same for all persons except the third person singular.

Introduce Present Simple – Questions (Third Person Singular)

• Make a statement about a student, then ask about another student.
• T: john walks to school. Does Sarah walk to school?
• Walk around the classroom asking questions with “does”, and teach students to answer “Yes, she does” or “No, she doesn’t”

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