Daily Routines ESL lesson thumbnail
Book 4 · Unit 11Elementary · Ages 8–11

Daily Routines

This daily routines ESL lesson practises present simple verbs and telling the time. Students guess actions, sing, ask classmates 'What time do you...?' and compare schedules. They create a daily-routine mini-book, narrate A Day in My Life and review the target language with Routine Bingo.

7-day trial · Card required · €0 today · Cancel before renewal

Lesson format

2 × 45 minutes

Level

Elementary

Age group

Ages 8–11

Main focus

Speaking first

What students will learn

• Recognize and say common daily routine actions
• Ask and answer 'What do you do in the morning?' and 'Do you go to school at 8?'
• Practise basic time phrases (in the morning, at night)
• Describe their own daily schedule with times
• Write a daily-routine mini-book with pictures
• Perform an 'A Day in My Life' roleplay narrating a routine

Lesson flow

Students guess routine actions from a clock warm-up ('It's 7 AM. What do you do?'), learn routine verbs from a song pausing on 'What does she do at 8?', and drill 'What time do you get up? I get up at 7.' The second lesson mingles asking about routine-card times, builds a daily-routine mini-book with times and pictures, roleplays 'A Day in My Life' with one student acting and another narrating, and plays Routine Bingo marking and acting out called verbs.

Target language

  • • 'What time do you...?'
  • • 'I get up at ___'
  • • Daily routine verbs
  • • Time phrases (in the morning, at night)

Key vocabulary

Daily Activities

  • • brush
  • • shower
  • • exercise
  • • cook
  • • clean
  • • sleep
  • • work
  • • study
  • • commute

Routine Words

  • • routine
  • • schedule

Frequency

  • • always
  • • usually
  • • often
  • • never

Speaking questions students answer

  • • What time do you get up?
  • • Do you eat lunch at 12?
  • • What do you do after school?
  • • Who gets up at 6?
  • • Do you play after school?

Interactive activities in this lesson

• Action Clock warm-up ('It's 7 AM. What do you do?')
• Routine-verb song with time drill
• 'What time do you get up?' flashcard drill
• Routine-card mingling activity
• Daily-routine mini-book building
• 'A Day in My Life' roleplay
• Routine Bingo

Cross-curricular connections

  • • Mathematics (Time)
  • • Personal Development
  • • Life Skills

Support

  • • Provide the sentence frame 'I get up at ___'
  • • Keep a clock visual and routine picture cards visible throughout
  • • Allow students to sequence routine cards before speaking

Challenge

  • • Describe a full day using at least five time expressions
  • • Compare weekday and weekend routines
  • • Narrate a partner's mimed routine in the 'A Day in My Life' roleplay

Home challenge

Students keep a one-day routine diary, recording what they do and at what time, then write five sentences describing their day to share next lesson.

Recommended teaching contexts

• Elementary ESL and EFL classes• Ages 8–11• Primary school classrooms• Language schools• Private and small-group lessons• Teaching time vocabulary• Pair and whole-class speaking• Interactive whiteboards and online teaching

Why this lesson works

The lesson follows a clear progression: Guess routine actions in an Action Clock warm-up, ask 'What time do you...?' about daily routines, build a daily-routine mini-book and interview classmates. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.

This lesson includes

• Interactive lesson slides
• Teacher guide
• Printable worksheets
• Speaking practice: "What time do you get up?"
• Action Clock warm-up ('It's 7 AM. What do you do?')
• Videos
• Daily Activities vocabulary
• Pair work
• Mathematics (Time)

More Time lessons