Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, K-3

In the BrainPOP ELL movie, We Like Mike! (L1U4L1), we learn about Ben’s friend, Mike, and some of his habits and activities.  Using the present simple tense, Ben describes to Moby what Mike does in Spain every summer. In this lesson plan,adaptable for grades K-8, students will change the lyrics of a popular song to practice and reinforce the present simple tense.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Produce sentences in the present simple affirmative.
  2. Transform present simple sentences in the third person singular.
  3. Adapt and personalize song lyrics using the present simple tense.

Materials:

Lesson Procedure:

  1. Everybody Loves Saturday Night. Adding the s to the third person singular in the present simple can be difficult for students to remember. One tip that we recommend is to keep a sign of a big red letter “S” nearby. Simply hold it up when students need a reminder. Here’s a fun, interactive activity to help students remember this tricky rule.
    On the board, write the sentence prompt I love _________. Give the class several examples of things you love, using the prompt. Then ask four volunteers to complete the sentence, writing their responses on the board. The responses can be anything they like – a food, a celebrity, a pet, a TV show, etc. Have each student say their sentence to the class, followed by the class repeating it in the third person singular. Hold up the S sign when the class repeats, to remind them of the rule. Conclude the round with the statement “Everybody loves Saturday night!" For example: Roberto: I love pizza. Class: Roberto loves pizza. Eun Mi: I love my dog. Class: Eun Mi loves her dog. Tina: I love summer. Class: Tina loves summer. Farid: I love football. Class: Farid loves football. Teacher: BUT …… everybody…..everybody loves …. Saturday night! Now sing the song Everybody Loves Saturday Night with the class. The lyrics can be found online. The words and the melody are easy to learn, and the song also exists in different languages, so your students might even know it. After singing it through one time, step over to the four entries on the board, and continue the song using each student’s response in its own stanza. For example: Roberto loves pizza. Roberto loves pizza. Roberto loves, Roberto loves, Roberto loves, Roberto loves. Roberto loves pizza.