Sample Lesson Plan: The one-computer classroom / Past tenses ending in -ed

Class: BIN-06 Pronunciation II

Duration: 2 hrs. 30 min.

Materials

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M7xIwAqy9I
2. http://www.scribd.com/doc/11966921/Pronunciation-Of-the-final-ed
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1413_gramchallenge2
6/page2.shtml
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1413_gramchallenge2
6/page3.shtml
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8139322.stm

Other material:

• Speakers
• Textbooks

Introduction
As we have already studied in previous lessons, we have already noticed that –ed regular past
tenses vary in their pronunciation. Here we will review the concept of voicing to fully
understand when and why –ed is pronounced as /t/, /d/, or /Id/.

Objectives of this lesson (tell students about them):

Once students have reviewed the concept of voicing and watched a video explaining the –ed
pronunciation in past tenses, they will be able to apply the rules to pronounce past tenses with
80% accuracy while reading or speaking.

Procedure
• Presentation
o There will be no real presentation by the teacher at this point.
o Students will watch a video in which a teacher explains how –ed in past tenses
is pronounced and classified.
o Students will be asked to take notes.

• Tasks’ sequence
o Activity 1: Group work: Students will be asked to work in groups of three to
analyze the information provided in the following link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/11966921/Pronunciation-Of-the-final-ed. This will
help them match the importance of consonant voicing and –ed pronunciation,
as well of the exceptions.

o Activity 2: Quizzing students: The next two links that will be used –with the
whole class- will be a way to review/quiz/assess student understanding of the
rules. The links provide two interactive quizzes, so it is a nice way of assessing
©2010, Deborah Healey
American English Institute/Department of Linguistics, University of Oregon
Sample lesson plan 2
student understanding of rules.
 Quiz 1:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1413
_gramchallenge26/page2.shtml
 Quiz 2:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1413
_gramchallenge26/page3.shtml

o Activity 3: Assessment: Students will be give a copy of the article published by

the BBC on Monkeys recognise 'bad grammar'. They will work in pairs to
highlight the past tenses ending in –ed and to practice reading the passage.

o Activity 4: By changing partners, students will be asked to talk about the

possibility of animals to understand language. They will be asked to tell their
partners to discuss about their pets when they were kids. And if they believe in
animal communication. (These questions will be shown to students on power
point.)

• Learning styles addressed: sensory/intuitive learners (procedural info); visual/verbal;

sequential/global; logical/mathematical [A wide range of learners are addressed with
this practice.]

• Technology alternative (in case things don't work as planned): book CD and additional
worksheets

Review before the end of the class session:

Before the class is over, a general review of the rules will be given to students. At random,
students will be asked to provide how each rules works.

Homework:
• In the class blog, a couple of links will be provided for students to continue practicing:
http://www.english-room.com/pasttense_6a.htm and
http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/simple_past.html

• Besides, students will be able to prepare a two-minute presentation talking about a

memorable moment in their childhood.

Deborah Healey
American English Institute/Department of Linguistics, University of Oregon