Idea 1.
Present a commonly heard story ( just the synopsis) in the past tense. And then the same story in the present and future as well. Mark all the verbs and make children see the difference. You may ask the children to read it aloud after you so that they get some speaking practice. This can be done after you have read it aloud at least once to the students with expressions, and voice modulation. Doing this will pull the students into the story and get them excited about joining you the next time when you read it again.
THE STORY NEEDS TO BE DISPLAYED ON THE BOARD FOR THEM TO SEE IT.
You may also just present only the past tense version of the story and then ask them to write in their notebooks the present tense and the future tense. Tell them the words marked in bold are the words you need to work on to change their tense. This will simplify their job.
Example of this assignment:
Simple Past tense
Once upon a time, there was a crow who was very thirsty. It saw a pitcher, but the water inside was too low for it to reach. The crow didn’t give up. It tried many ways to get to the water, but nothing worked. Then, it got an idea! It started dropping little stones into the pitcher. With each stone, the water level went up. Soon enough, the crow could drink to its heart’s content. Feeling happy, it flew away.
Simple present tense
There is a very thirsty crow. It sees a pitcher, but the water inside is too low for it to reach. The crow doesn’t give up. It tries many ways to get to the water, but nothing works. Then, it gets an idea! It starts dropping little stones into the pitcher. With each stone, the water level comes up. Soon enough, the crow can drink to its heart’s content. Feeling happy, it flies away.
Simple future tense
Let’s hear a story about a crow. Imagine this crow to be very thirsty. This thirsty crow will see a pitcher, but the water inside will be too low for it to reach. The crow won’t give up. It will try many ways to get to the water, but nothing will work. Then, it will get an idea! It will start dropping little stones into the pitcher. With each stone, the water level will go up. Soon enough, the crow will be able to drink to its heart’s content. Feeling happy, it will fly away.
Idea 2.
Tell a story from a picture
Provide the students with a picture or ask them to pick an object from their surroundings. Ask them to study it, and make a story out of what they see. You may give prompts like where, when, how, why, and what. Show them how to create a story. For example: Say it is a water bottle-
- Where did u get this bottle from? I got it from the store with my mom
- What do you like most about this bottle? I like that it has my favorite cartoon character on it
- When do u use it? I use it every day at school
- How do u use it? I fill it with water and take it with me to class
- Why do u use it? I use it because it helps me stay hydrated.
Now combine all the above and make a story- This is my water bottle. I like it because it has my favorite cartoon character on it. I got it from the store with my mom and I use it every day at school. I fill it with water and take it with me to class and use it because it helps me stay hydrated.
Let them set the story in the past, present, and future tense. This can be done in pairs. Another alternative is to make one child tell the story in the past tense and the other child repeats what he/she heard in the other tense. Tell them to make a note of the different verb tenses they used while narrating the story.
