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Message board > Present perfect...
Present perfect...
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aura+
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Present perfect...
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This week I need to teach my students the present perfect. I only have three lessons to do it and I don �t know where to start. The students need to get the general idea of the use of this tense. Any suggestions/ magic tricks?
Thanks
Aura
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16 Feb 2009
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Ivona
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Why not start with T/F personal sentences that you �d read to the ss and let them decide whether they are true or false? You should divide them into teams of 4-5 and give them T/F cards they �d lift up.
In my life ...
I have visited Paris twice.
I have met some people from Africa.
I haven �t eaten sushi. etc.
In his life, Brad Pitt ...
has won two Oscars.
He has had 3 children. etc.
Then you should give them cut out sentences to look at and sort out ON THEIR OWN (have been / has been, OR you can concentrate on regular/irregular verbs in the sentences) and deduce the rule for themselves. Do not tell them how to do it. Just ask them to find a pattern and sort them in the way they think is right. It �s more memorable if they do it on their own, if you make them THINK. Ask them what �s common to all the sentences, how many verbs they can see, what �s the pattern, what �s weird about some verbs (past participles). Direct them to the irregular verb chart and ask them to find them and see what their form is called. I refrain from bothering the students with terminology and i �m just happy when they tell me that the verbs are in the �third column �.
Then they can have a writing activity and write about their own achievements following the pattern they have deduced. You can make it easier on them by giving them some verbs to start with. They could even make a table and insert the info (S + have/has + p.ple) If you think it would be too hard for them, then again have the subjects and have/has/haven´t/hasn´t and past participles and objects cut out and ask them to make up as many sentences as they can out of those words. You can even make it a team competition. The first team that has 5 correct sentences wins this or that.
To practise speaking you can play the game that i know as ADD ON, and libertybelle called the "I like ... " game.
http://www.eslprintables.com/forum/topic.asp?id=4433
That´s for starters 
P.S. I suggest that you have the -ed with regular verbs in bold or italics, to make it easier for the students to figure out the pattern. You don´t want the activity to consume all your time.
e.g. I have visited Paris twice.
He has been to Casablanca this year.
I wouldn´t introduce the adverbials right away. You need them to learn about the form. It´s enough to say In my life... You can introduce the adverbials in the next lesson and have more practise in the third one.
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16 Feb 2009
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libertybelle
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That is a great idea Ivona!
I �ve cut and pasted for future use!
I love these sharing of ideas.
What a bundle of talent we have here-thanks!!!
L
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16 Feb 2009
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Ivona
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Thanks libertybelle. In fact, i was thinking of starting a topic here on how other teachers introduced grammar to their students. I �m writing a project on it and was thinking of doing a research here. I �m going to sign up to be one of the speakers at the annual ELTA conference (www.elta.org.rs) and share my ideas with other teachers.
It would all be based on my own experience and revelations in the school classrooms. When i have it all done, i will share it with all of you. I think you deserve it.
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16 Feb 2009
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Zora
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Okay, I run a private English Center, so basically the kids already come to me with the concepts "learnt" but NOT understood! So, my approach is a bit different, or needs to be different that other teachers since I am helping to re-enforce a concept.
I like to relate the tenses to their own language - if possible. And in this case it is indeed possible ... although, we enter into the "grey zone" that is "one uses their own language but not knowing the why of things."
I then explain to them that the Present Perfect is a tense that bridges that Past and the Present, yet is closer to the present than the past. And the reason it is the way it is is due to the "time expression" used or not used in the sentence...
You see, many people do not realise this but The PP is the way it is due to the "time" the sentence is in. It is always used when the action has occurred in a "present time" ie. this week, this year... etc... OR when "time" is not mentioned or is not important... It has absolutely nothing to do with the action continuing or repeating itself...
So, I basically write out sentences and have them look for the "time" the sentence is in ... since we know that the past HAS to be indicated unless it �s a fact that is well-known like "Columbus discovered America".... and then decide which is which.
After that I introduce the indicators like yet, already, for, since...
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16 Feb 2009
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aftab57
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here are the links to some of the esl printables worksheets on present perfect. you may be able to buld your lessons around them.
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17 Feb 2009
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