What Did You Do Yesterday? Part 2 ESL lesson thumbnail
Book 5 · Unit 13Pre-Intermediate · Ages 10–13

What Did You Do Yesterday? Part 2

This irregular past tense ESL lesson practises high-frequency forms such as went, ate, saw and had. Students race to recall verb forms, follow a past-tense story and interview classmates about yesterday. They write about a busy weekend and present the events in a reporter-and-guest news roleplay.

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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

• Identify and use common irregular past verbs
• Ask and answer 'What did you do yesterday?'
• Form full sentences with irregular past tense
• Write and speak about recent events using went, ate, saw
• Recognize irregular vs. regular verb patterns
• Build vocabulary through video and games

Lesson flow

Students race to shout irregular past forms ('Go — Went!'), watch an irregular-verb story video answering comprehension questions, and build sentences like 'I ate pizza.' The second lesson interviews three classmates about yesterday, writes 'My Busy Weekend' using at least three irregular verbs, and performs a weekend-news-report roleplay as a reporter and guest.

Target language

  • • Irregular past tense (go-went, eat-ate, see-saw)
  • • 'What did you do yesterday?'
  • • Regular vs irregular verb sorting
  • • Past tense storytelling

Key vocabulary

  • went
  • bought
  • ate
  • saw
  • had
  • said
  • came
  • took
  • got
  • irregular

Speaking questions students answer

  • • What did you do yesterday?
  • • What did he do?
  • • Did she go to school?
  • • Past or not?
  • • What did you do this weekend?

Recommended teaching contexts

• Pre-Intermediate ESL and EFL classes• Ages 10–13• 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: Race to shout irregular past forms, interview classmates about yesterday using irregular verbs, write about a busy weekend and perform a news-report roleplay. 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 did you do yesterday?"
• Classroom games
• Videos
• Vocabulary practice
• Pair work
• Extension activities

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