Classroom Activities: Tenses

These classroom activities are designed to complement the Tenses topic on BrainPOP Jr.

In the Future
Together read science fiction novels that take place in the future. Then have students write paragraphs about the future. What do they think will happen in the future? What will life be like? What would they like to do when they get older? Remind students to use the future tense in their paragraphs. Give students opportunities to share their work with each other and proofread each other’s work.Switching TensesHave students find a paragraph in their favorite book. Then have them rewrite the paragraph using a different tense. For example, a student may rewrite a paragraph about dinosaurs written in the past tense and use the present tense. How does the tense change the paragraph? How does the tense make the writing more or less confusing? Discuss how choosing the right tense is important in writing.Word PlayHave students write different verbs on index cards. Then put their cards in a box or hat and draw different verbs. Have students write sentences using the verb in past, present, and future tense. Students can write them in their notebooks or come up to the board and write. As an alternative, students can pick a few cards and write one paragraph using the words on the card. You may wish to assign them a tense to use in their paragraphs.