Primary English: Past Simple — Tutor Lesson Plan (regular, irregular, questions)

2026-10-27

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary English

Students add -ed, then write “Did you went”. One rule fixes it: did already carries the past, so the verb goes back to its base form.

Objectives — the student can choose the past from time markers, spell -ed three ways, and form negatives and questions with did plus the base verb.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Present simple	Write “He plays football.”	Third person -s
Base verbs	Give the base forms of went, ate, saw	go, eat, see
Time markers	Find yesterday, last week	Circled correctly

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	Time markers	Compare today and yesterday sentences	Say what changed
6-16 min	Three spellings	played, stopped, studied	Three of each
16-26 min	Irregular verbs	went, ate, saw	Learn ten
26-36 min	Negatives and questions	did not + base; Did you …?	Three each
36-42 min	Fix errors	Board “Did you went”	Correct it
42-45 min	Exit check	Three questions marked at once	Finish alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Read the time marker first

Today I walk to school. Yesterday I walked to school.
Yesterday, last week, two days ago: the verb changes to the past.

Student circles the time marker before changing the verb.

Scene 2: -ed has three spellings

Add -ed: play becomes played. Double a final consonant after a short vowel: stop becomes stopped.
A consonant plus y becomes ied: study becomes studied.

Student sorts ten verbs into the three groups.

Scene 3: After did, use the base form

I did not go. Did you go?
Did already shows the past, so the main verb stays in the base form.
“Did you went” is the most common error in the class.

Rule: see did, write the base verb.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Regular	play / stop / study	Three spellings	played / stopped / studied
Irregular	go / eat / see	Learn the table	went / ate / saw
Negative	He ___ (not go) yesterday.	did not + base	did not go
Question	___ you ___ (see) it?	Did + base	Did you see

Sanity check (teach this): One past marker per sentence: once did appears, the main verb stays in the base form.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
She ___ (watch) TV last night.	watched	Spelling
They ___ (not come) to school.	did not come	Base verb after did
___ he ___ (eat) breakfast?	Did … eat	Question order

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Double past	Did you went?	Base verb after did.
Missing double letter	stoped	stop becomes stopped.
y not changed	studyed	study becomes studied.
Regular ending on an irregular	goed	go becomes went.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

English chapter index — Use the three questions on this page

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Past of stop	stopped	All right: move to future forms
Did you ___ (go)?	go	One wrong: re-teach did
Past of study	studied	Two wrong: repeat scene 2

09 Tutor FAQ

How many irregular verbs?

About thirty high-frequency ones at primary level, five a week with examples.

Past simple and present perfect together?

No; primary needs the past simple solid first.

Students speak correctly but write wrongly.

Have them say the sentence aloud before writing it.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.