After teaching present simple to my elementary students, we wrote a test and I collected the most common mistakes my students made. I analysed the mistakes and prepared games and exercises to help my students learn from their mistakes.
In this post there is an infographic with all the mistakes, their corrections and explanations. Then there is a worksheet with 4 exercises, two games and an online quiz to practise the most difficult aspects of the present simple tense.
Common mistakes – present simple – infographic
In the mind map there are all the wrong sentences, their corrections and in blue ink there is an explanation why the sentence was wrong.
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Common mistakes – present simple – worksheet
Only after this activity I display the infographic and explain the mistakes.
Then it is time to hand out the following worksheet:
Common mistakes in present simple tense worksheetIn the worksheet there are four exercises. The first one is slightly unusual. First the students have to decide where the verbs go and then they have to put the words into the correct order. The rest of the exercises are all standard exercises.
Common mistakes – present simple – games
The first game is called Penalty Shootout. In this game you should choose the correct form and then try to score a goal. Good luck.
As the game is in Flash, it will only play on desktop computers.
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Present simple – Penalty game
The following quiz can help your students practise the past simple tense at home. The quiz consists of two parts. In the first part, students should put the words into the correct order. In the second part, students have to put the verbs into the correct form. Students will be rewarded with a game after each part of the quiz they pass. The quiz is in HTML5, so it will play on all desktops and mobile devices.
Present simple tense – quizMistakes that students make should serve as an opportunity to learn. But more often than not students just look at or listen to your correction and pass the opportunity. And that is a pity. As I do not want my students to miss this precious opportunity any more I have come up with a lesson plan which does not allow the students just to pass the common mistakes they make in English, but gives them a fair chance to learn from them.
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In this post you will find an infographic, a game and a worksheet with the most common mistakes my students made in their essays.
Common mistakes in English – beginning
Common mistakes in English – infographic
Then display the following infographic and explain the mistakes and the corrections.
You can hand out the infographic if you think your students might profit from it. Once you have explained everything (as we always do), it is time to give your students a chance to use the knowledge. Now they have to do the exercise 2 and complete the sentences with the words from the infographic.
At the end check their answers – be open to more than one correct answer.