SHERIF SHAHIN
Used to - Describing past habits - Intermediate level
Used to - Describing past habits
Intermediate level
Materials
Main Aims
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To clarify the meaning, pronunciation and form of “used to” and provide the learners with an opportunity to use its positive and negative forms to express past habits and repeated actions in the past with more confidence in the context of change.
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide the students with the opportunity to practise speaking for fluency using “used to” to refer to past habits.
Procedure (41-57 minutes)
Show ss an old photo of kids in a school playground and have them discuss in pairs when they think it was taken.
Give ss the song with the gaps, and the verbs in the box. Give them a few minutes to guess which verbs go where. Then listen and check. O/C feedback. Ask ss the questions in 2 – how does the writer of the song feel about his schooldays?
Using the examples in the Analysis box, contrast the use of the simple past and used to (Meaning, form, pronunciation) 1. Ask students to look at the 2 sentences and answer the questions individually then check together. 2. Monitor to check they are doing the task correctly. 3. While students are answering the questions, write the rule on the WB. ● T: What does (Sub+used to+inf) express? ● S: Past habits . ● T: Is it true now? ● S: No 4. Ask students to put the HO faced down. 5. Ask them to repeat the positive sentence after me. - T: Did you hear all the sounds clearly? -S: (unsure) ▪ Underline the “d” and “to” in used to. Draw their attention to the elision of the /d/ sound when it’s followed by /t/ sound. Remind them here with what Ahmed told them about the same rule. If /t/ or /d/ sounds are followed with
1. Ask Ss to read the sentences that are answered and demonstrate that to them by adding either “used to” or “didn’t use to”. Demonstrate the activity with Ss. 2. Monitor and micro-teach if needed. 3. Ss compare their statements in pairs to find if they have something in common. 4. Ss change pairs and tell the new partner what they found in common with their old pairs. 5. While monitoring, gently correct any errors on the spot. 6. For feedback, ask for anything they found in common. Take notes while listening to students. Write a problematic sentence or two on the board.
Make similar sentences about themselves, as in previous exercises, (speak) and talk to their partner about how their lives have changed *. Ask the students to speak sentences about themselves. *. They mingle to work with different peers and then walk to work with someone else and so on. 6. After they finish, wrap up and ask them about what they learned today.
