Tense Mastery and Writing

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Date:

📚 Part 1: Notice and Control Tense

Lesson 4 focus: I can use present, past and future tense accurately to develop ideas and create clear writing. This supports NCEA English AS91926 by helping me use written conventions and stylistic choices effectively.

Dyslexia-friendly tense reminder

Present: happening now or regularly. Signal words: now, usually, every day.

Past: already happened. Signal words: yesterday, last week, earlier.

Future: will happen later. Signal words: tomorrow, next year, soon.

Read each sentence slowly. Cover the other lines if helpful, or ask someone to read the sentence aloud.

1. Identify the tense of each sentence. Write present, past or future.

a) The storm is moving towards the coast. ____________________

b) We visited the museum on Tuesday. ____________________

c) The team will practise after school. ____________________

d) Hana checks the weather each morning. ____________________

2. Edit each sentence so that the tense is consistent and accurate.

a) Yesterday, I walk to the library and borrowed a novel.

b) Next weekend, we visited our cousins and will stay for two nights.

c) My brother plays football last Saturday.

3. Choose the best tense for each purpose.

a) To explain a daily routine:

Present tense

Past tense

Future tense

b) To describe what happened during a school trip:

Present tense

Past tense

Future tense

c) To make a prediction about next year:

Present tense

Past tense

Future tense

✏️ Part 2: Edit and Create

4. Edit this paragraph. Correct the tense changes and any other punctuation or spelling errors you notice.

Last Saturday, our class visits the beach. We collected rubbish and sort it into bags. At the end, our teacher thanks us and says we will make a difference.

5. Independent writing: Write one well-organised paragraph of 6–8 sentences about a meaningful event, place or goal. Deliberately use:

• at least two present-tense verbs

• at least two past-tense verbs

• at least two future-tense verbs

Underline one example of each tense. Use detail to develop your ideas.

Scaffolded support

Use these sentence starters if needed: At the moment, I... Earlier, I... In the future, I will...

Useful verbs: feel, notice, remember, travelled, discovered, learned, will try, will change, will continue.

Challenge extension

Rewrite two sentences from your paragraph to create a deliberate effect. For example, use present tense to make a past event feel immediate, or future tense to create anticipation. Explain your choice.

✅ Part 3: Self-Check and Teacher Key

Success criteria

Tick each statement when you have checked your work.

I can identify present, past and future tense.

I keep the tense consistent when writing about one time period.

I can choose tense to suit my purpose.

My paragraph develops an idea with specific details.

I used accurate spelling, punctuation and sentence structure.

I used all three tenses deliberately in my paragraph.

Teacher answer key

1. a) present b) past c) future d) present

2. a) Yesterday, I walked to the library and borrowed a novel. b) Next weekend, we will visit our cousins and will stay for two nights. c) My brother played football last Saturday.

3. a) Present tense b) Past tense c) Future tense

4. Last Saturday, our class visited the beach. We collected rubbish and sorted it into bags. At the end, our teacher thanked us and said we would make a difference.

5. Answers will vary. Check that the paragraph contains at least two accurate examples of each tense, develops one clear idea, and uses appropriate written conventions.