What Did You Do Yesterday? Part 1
This regular past tense ESL lesson teaches common -ed verbs and questions about yesterday. Students build a memory chain, review spelling rules, watch an action story and interview classmates about past activities. They write about their weekend and perform a partner conversation using complete past-tense sentences.
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Lesson format
2 × 45 minutes
Level
Pre-Intermediate
Age group
Ages 10–13
Main focus
Speaking first
What students will learn
Lesson flow
Students build a 'Yesterday I...' chain adding a new past-tense verb each turn, learn -ed spelling rules, and watch a video answering 'What did she do?'. The second lesson interviews three classmates about yesterday, writes 'My Weekend' using regular past verbs, and performs a past-tense pair-talk roleplay.
Target language
- • 'What did you do yesterday?'
- • Regular past tense -ed
- • 'I ___ed'
- • Past tense vocabulary
Key vocabulary
- walked
- talked
- played
- watched
- cooked
- cleaned
- visited
- helped
- worked
- regular
Speaking questions students answer
- • What did you do yesterday?
- • Did he wash the car?
- • What did she do?
- • What did you do last night?
- • Regular or not?
Recommended teaching contexts
Why this lesson works
The lesson follows a clear progression: Chain past-tense sentences in a warm-up game, interview classmates about yesterday's activities, write about the weekend and roleplay a past-tense chat. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.