7.2 How long have you . . . ?

Aim pre-activity (15 minutes)

To complete a class survey by asking
questions with How long have you . . . ?
Language
Present Perfect with for and since
• Read the following time expressions aloud and ask students to
repeat the expression with for or since: March, three months, an
hour, yesterday, I was born, six years, about three minutes, New
Year’s Eve, almost a year, 2006, a very long time, last Tuesday, the
beginning of this class.

Skills procedure (25 minutes)

Speaking • Explain that students are going to do a class survey to find
out how long people in the class have had, been, or done
Lesson link
certain things.
Use after Unit 7, SB p. 52
• Give each student a copy of the worksheet. Give them several
Materials minutes to read through it and to check any vocabulary items.
One copy of the worksheet for • Demonstrate the activity with the class. Write for and since on the
each student board, then ask a student the first question, i.e., How long have
you lived in this city? If the student gives an answer with for, write
the answer under for. Then elicit the same response but this time
using since and write it under since on the board.
• Students walk around the classroom interviewing each other and
completing their worksheets in the same way. They should ask a
different student each question and write the student’s name in
the Name column. If a student can’t answer one of the questions,
they try to find another student who can.
• When most of the students have completed their worksheets, ask
them to sit down again. Elicit sentences in the third person
singular, e.g., Lucas has had his shoes for five days. He’s had them
since last Saturday.

extension (10 minutes)

• In groups of three or four, students play an alphabet game to
practice past participles. They take turns making a sentence in the
Present Perfect using past participles in alphabetical order, e.g.,
A They have arrived.
B He has broken his leg.
C I have cooked a meal.
D They have done their homework.
• If a student makes an incorrect sentence or can’t think of a
sentence, he/she is out of the game.

40 Unit 7.2  .  How long have you . . . ? Teacher’s notes

 How long have you . . . ?

© Oxford University Press  photocopiable
Name For Since
(live) in this town/city/village?
(have) that hairstyle?
(have) your car/bike?
(live) in your house/apartment?
(be) married?
(have) those shoes?
(be) up today?
(have) your cell phone?
(know) your best friend?
(wear) glasses/contact lenses?
(have) your computer?
(have) your current job?
(be) at this school?
(have) your favorite possession?
American Headway 2 Resource Book

Unit 7.2  .  How long have you . . . ? 41