Grammar: Answering “What” Questions About Past Actions for Primary 2

Class: Primary Two
Term: First Term
Week: 5
Age: 7 years
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject: English Language Studies
Curriculum Theme: Grammatical Accuracy
Previous Lesson: Speech: Oral Comprehension Through Short Stories
Topic: Grammar: Answering “What” Questions About Past Actions
Subject Matter: Responding to “what” questions about the past. Q: What did you do last Saturday? A: I washed my bag.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils/students should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Identify “What” questions that ask about past actions.
• State simple past tense verbs when answering questions about past actions.
• Formulate correct answers to “What did you do…?” questions.

Affective Domain

• Show willingness to participate in question-and-answer sessions.
• Appreciate the importance of using correct grammar when speaking about the past.

Psychomotor Domain

• Orally respond to “What” questions about past actions using simple past tense.
• Write simple sentences answering “What” questions about past actions.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

• 2014 9 Years Basic Education Curriculum
• Relevant State Unified Scheme of Work
• FCT ERC/NAPPS Scheme of work

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

• Chart showing examples of “What did you do…?” questions and answers
• Textbook
• Notebook
• Flashcards with pictures of past actions (e.g., washed, played, ate)

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson helps pupils develop their grammatical accuracy in English by teaching them how to correctly respond to questions about past events. Mastering this skill is essential for clear communication and for building a strong foundation in English sentence structure, enabling pupils to express themselves effectively about their experiences.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils have some basic understanding of simple verbs and can identify actions in sentences.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Grammar: Answering “What” Questions About Past Actions

Understanding “What did you do…?” Questions

Questions that start with “What did you do…?” ask about actions that happened in the past. These actions are already finished.

1. The word “did” shows that the question is about the past.
2. The answer must use a verb in its simple past tense form.

How to Answer “What did you do…?” Questions

To answer these questions, we use the simple past tense of the verb that describes the action. We often start with “I” because the question is usually directed at you.

Examples:

1. Question: What did you do last Saturday?
2. Answer: I washed my bag.

1. Question: What did you eat yesterday?
2. Answer: I ate rice.

1. Question: What did you play last week?
2. Answer: I played football.

1. Question: What did you see at the market?
2. Answer: I saw many people.

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Question and Answer, Guided Practice, Explanation, Demonstration.

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Activating prior knowledge

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and asks them to mention some actions they did yesterday or over the weekend, e.g., “Who can tell me one thing they did yesterday?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond by mentioning simple past actions like “I played,” “I ate,” “I slept.”

Learning Point: Recalling past actions

Step 2: Explanation of “What did you do…?” Questions

Time: 8 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explaining concepts

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces the topic by explaining that today they will learn how to answer “What” questions about things that happened in the past. The teacher explains that “did” shows the action is past and the answer needs a past tense verb.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen attentively to the explanation.

Learning Point: Past action questions

Step 3: Demonstration with Examples

Time: 7 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstrating/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher displays a chart with the example from the subject matter: “Q: What did you do last Saturday? A: I washed my bag.” The teacher reads it aloud and explains how “washed” is the past tense of “wash.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the chart and repeat the question and answer after the teacher.

Learning Point: Example question-answer

Step 4: Guided Practice – Simple Questions

Time: 7 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided practice

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher asks simple “What did you do…?” questions and guides pupils to use the correct past tense verbs. For example, “What did you drink this morning?” (I drank water). The teacher uses flashcards to prompt ideas.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond orally to the teacher’s questions, with guidance on verb forms.

Learning Point: Simple past tense

Step 5: Reinforcement with More Examples

Time: 6 minutes

Teaching Skill: Reinforcement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher provides more varied examples of “What did you do…?” questions and encourages pupils to form complete sentences as answers. “What did you see on your way to school?” “What did you hear?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils practice answering questions with less direct guidance, focusing on full sentences.

Learning Point: Answering “what” questions

Step 6: Pair Work Activity

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Collaborative learning

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher instructs pupils to work in pairs. One pupil asks a “What did you do…?” question, and the other pupil answers. The teacher moves around to monitor and assist.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils ask and answer questions about past actions with their partners.

Learning Point: Question-answer practice

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

1. What kind of questions do we answer using past tense verbs?
2. What did you do yesterday evening?
3. What did you watch on TV last night?
4. What did your mother cook last Sunday?

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Lesson understanding

Step 8: Note-Taking

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Writing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils to copy the essential Board Summary notes on answering “What” questions about past actions into their notebooks.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils copy the notes carefully into their notebooks.

Learning Point: Recording lesson notes

Step 9: Conclusion

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Summarizing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher briefly reminds pupils that when someone asks “What did you do…?”, they should always use a past tense verb in their answer. The teacher commends their participation and closes the lesson.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen and acknowledge the summary.

Learning Point: Consolidating past actions

Continuous Assessment/Further Study

Type: Homework

Instruction: Answer the following questions in your notebook using complete sentences:

1. What did you do this morning before coming to school?
2. What did you drink for breakfast today?
3. What did you learn in school yesterday?
4. What did you wear to school today?
5. What did you draw last week?

Lesson Keywords

• What – Used to ask about things or actions.
• Did – Shows that an action happened in the past.
• Past Action – Something that has already happened or finished.
• Answer – To respond to a question.
• Washed – Past tense of wash.

Differentiation

For struggling learners: Provide simpler questions with common, regular past tense verbs (e.g., played, walked, jumped). Allow them to choose from a list of past tense verbs to complete sentences. The teacher can also model answers more frequently for them.

For advanced learners: Challenge them to create their own “What did you do…?” questions for their classmates. Encourage them to use some irregular past tense verbs (e.g., ate, saw, ran) in their answers.

Suggested Lesson Videos

Search on YouTube for: “Primary 2 English grammar past tense questions” or “What did you do questions for kids”