Tense Adventures: Exploring Future Plans

Tense Adventures: Exploring Future Plans

Learning Objective

Understand and correctly use the following tenses to express the future:

•  future simple
• going to
• present continuous
• present simple 

How do you talk about a plan
versus an intention you have?
Write example sentences (2).

Introduction to Tenses

Briefly review the future simple, going to, present continuous, and present simple tenses.

Future Simple

Form: will + base form of the verb. Use for spontaneous decisions and predictions.

Going To

Form: am/is/are + going to + base form of the verb. Use for pre-planned intentions and predictions.

Present Continuous

Form: am/is/are + present participle (-ing). Use for future arrangements and plans.

Present Simple

Form: base form of the verb. Use for scheduled events and timetables.

Writing Activity

Students write about their future plans using all four tenses. They should create 4 sentences, one for each tense.

Sharing Plans

Students post their future plans for the class to see.

Guessing Game

The rest of the class guesses whose future plan matches each set of sentences.

Discussion & Feedback

Discuss the experience and provide constructive feedback on the use of tenses in expressing future plans.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.