Exciting English Practice

Curriculum Area & Level

Subject: English as a Second Language (ESL)
Grade Level: 4th Grade
Curriculum Focus: Present Continuous (Affirmative & Negative)
Standards: Meets Common Core State Standards (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1.F) – Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons.

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Lesson Objectives

By the end of this 20-minute lesson, students will be able to:
✅ Identify and use the present continuous tense for affirmative and negative sentences.
✅ Form sentences using "am/is/are + verb-ing" in a fun and interactive way.
✅ Improve confidence in speaking and writing through engaging activities.

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Materials Needed

• Flashcards with actions (e.g., running, eating, dancing)
• Whiteboard & Markers
• Printed sentence puzzles (cut up sentences for group work)
• Music/Song related to present continuous (optional)

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Lesson Breakdown (20 Minutes)

1. Warm-Up: Act & Guess (5 min)

🧠 Engage the students immediately!

• Teacher mimes an action (e.g., running, jumping).
• Students guess the action (e.g., "You are running!")
• Repeat with 2-3 more actions.
• Write one affirmative and one negative sentence on the board:
  • ✅ "I am jumping."
  • ❌ "I am not sitting."

Goal: Get students familiar with the structure in a fun, active way.

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2. Mini-Lesson: Sentence Secrets (5 min)

📖 Quick explanation with examples!

• Write these three structures on the board:

  Subject	am/is/are	Verb + ing
  I	am	eating
  He/She/It	is	playing
  We/You/They	are	watching

• Give 2 sample sentences:
  ✅ "She is reading a book."
  ❌ "She is not sleeping."

• Ask students: "What’s happening in these sentences?"

• Students give more examples based on pictures or real actions.

Goal: Make them comfortable with the structure in a clear visual way.

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3. Group Challenge: Sentence Race! (7 min)

🏆 Exciting game to reinforce learning

• Divide students into 4 groups.
• Each group gets cut-up words from sentences.
• They must assemble the words to form a correct sentence (affirmative or negative).
• The first team to complete two correct sentences wins!
• Example sentences:
  • ✅ "They are playing soccer."
  • ❌ "They are not sleeping."

Goal: Encourage teamwork and sentence-building skills.

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4. Wrap-Up: Quick Fire Answers! (3 min)

⚡ Final fun challenge!

• Teacher asks fast questions, students reply in full sentences.

  • "What am I doing?" (Teacher acts out running) – "You are running!"
  • "Is she dancing?" (Pointing to a seated student) – "No, she is not dancing."

• End with a dynamic group chant:

  • "I am learning!"
  • "We are speaking!"
  • "They are practicing!"

🎉 High-fives all around! Lesson success! 🎉

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Extension Activity (Optional Homework)

📝 Ask students to draw a picture of someone doing an action and write:
✅ 1 affirmative sentence
❌ 1 negative sentence

(Example: "She is eating ice cream. She is not reading a book.")

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Teacher Tips for an Engaging Lesson

✔ Keep energy high – movement helps ESL students learn better!
✔ Visuals + gestures make the present continuous easy to understand.
✔ Encourage full sentences – no one-word answers!
✔ Celebrate mistakes – learning happens with practice!

🤩 Let’s make learning unforgettable! 🤩