In The Past

Lead-in

  • Talk about last week.
  • How was it?
  • Where were you on Monday morning?
  • What about the weekend?

Presentation

Pre

  • Talk about the importance of sports in your life. 
    • What was the first sport you were interested in? Why?
    • Do you play any sports now? Why or why not?

Top Down

  • What is the text about? Read it and find out.
  • Lelé’s capoeira journey
  • Lelé’s life in Brazil
  • Lelé’s frustration with sports.
  • Lelé’s capoeira journey
  • Lelé’s life in Brazil
  • Lelé’s frustration with sports.

My childhood nickname is Lelé. Which is just an affectionate, typical shortening of my full name. My friends and family in Brasil call me that and whenever I hear it’s like the child in me is being called to come out and play.

I first started Capoeira in 1987, when I was 16, in Brasilia. I only trained for a couple of months and then had to move to Rio with my aunt/uncle. I couldn’t find anywhere nearby to train, so I had to stop. I moved to London in 1989 and, serendipitously, found a group near where I lived, in Islington. I trained for nearly a year in 1990/1991. I stopped when the teacher, Robinson from Muzenza, left the UK. The only other group I knew of in London back then was too expensive for me – I wasn’t earning much and I was studying. So I stopped, but I never forgot about Capoeira.

Fast forward to twenty years later and I started training again. February 2011, DDL in Streatham. This was unintentional, I thought I was too old to do Capoeira and I was just looking for a local place where my son could learn Capoeira. Mestre Guimba convinced me to give it a go myself and that I wasn’t too old (I was 39 years old). I have been training regularly since then.

Since May 2014 I’ve been privileged and honored to train with Mestre Poncianinho’s Mojuba group in London.

Modified from source

Bottom Up

  • True or False
  1. Lelé’s name is actually Leandra.
  2. She started Capoeira in 1987, when she was 16, in Brasilia. She stopped for a while when she moved to Rio with her aunt/uncle.
  3. She trained again in 1990 when she left the UK.
  4. When she was 39 years old a capoeira athlete told her she was too old to practice it.
  5. She is currently teaching capoeira in London.
  1. Lelé’s name is actually Leandra. False
  2. She started Capoeira in 1987, when she was 16, in Brasilia. She stopped for a while when she moved to Rio with her aunt/uncle. True
  3. She trained again in 1990 when she left the UK. False
  4. When she was 39 years old a capoeira athlete told her she was too old to practice it. False
  5. She is currently teaching capoeira in London. False

Post

  • What’s your opinion on capoeira? 
  • Would you practice it? Why or why not?

Target Language

Past Continuous

Affirmative: Verb be + verb + ing

  • Rosa was talking to me.
  • Natalia was running this morning.
  • Carla and Cristina were arguing again.

Negative: Verb be + not + verb + ing

  • Gabriel was not sleeping well.
  • I wasn’t cooking when you called.
  • Loren and Angelo weren’t studying enough.

Yes/No Questions

  • Was Catarina sleeping when you got home? 
    • Yes, she was./ No, she wasn’t.
  • Were your kids playing a game yesterday?
    • Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.

Wh- Questions

  • What was she doing?
  • What was I thinking?
  • Where were they going?

Remember: 

    •  I/He/She/It: Was
    • We/You/They: Were

Controlled Practice

  • Change the sentences to the past continuous. There is one example.

Example: Sandra cooks. > Sandra was cooking.

  1. Davi sings. > Davi was singing.
  2. Mabel and Rafael laugh at everything.
  3. Carol takes care of dogs and cats.
  4. I study every day.
  5. Thais always works on Saturdays.
  6. Alexia talks a lot.
  7. Vanessa and Sandy fight once a month.
  1. Davi sings. > Davi was singing.
  2. Mabel and Rafael laugh at everything. > Mabel and Rafael were laughing at everything.
  3. Carol takes care of dogs and cats. > Carol was taking care of dogs and cats.
  4. I study every day. > I was studying every day.
  5. Thais always works on Saturdays. > Thais was always working on Saturdays.
  6. Alexia talks a lot. > Alexia was talking a lot.
  7. Vanessa and Sandy fight once a month. > Vanessa and Sandy were fighting once a month.

Freer Practice

  • Use the target language and complete the sentences according to your own ideas.
  1. Yesterday I was …
  2. I don’t remember what I was …
  3. Once, when I was a kid, I was always …
  4. I think my neighbors were …
  5. When I was 5 years old, my parents were …

Production

  • Use the target language to talk about the following: 

Example: Yesterday I was going to go out and…

    • Your last birthday party
    • Your last test
    • The last argument you had
    • The last movie or TV show you watched
    • The last time you saw your best friend

Homework

Use the verb To Be + the bracketed verbs to make Past Continuous sentences.

Example: My dog ___ ______ this morning. (bark) > My dog was barking this morning.
  1. I ____ _____ about a dragon. (dream)
  2. We ____ __ _____ on the street. (not/run)
  3. I know she ___ _____ to sell her car. (try)
  4. I __ _____ dinner when you arrived. (cook)
  5. The owl ____ ______ last night. (hoot)
  1. I was dreaming about a dragon. (dream)
  2. We weren’t running on the street. (not/run)
  3. I know she was trying to sell her car. (sell)
  4. I was cooking dinner when you arrived. (cook)
  5. The owl was hooting last night. (hoot)

Order the word chunks to make Past Continuous sentences.

Example: on the / were / The crows / trees / cawing > The crows were cawing on the trees.
  1. their / Luke / were riding / dragons. / and Jake
  2. the devil. / dealing / Riobaldo was / with 
  3. hiding / Capitu / anything. / wasn’t  
  4. was / scalpel. / asking / The surgeon /  for the 
  5. his team / and / protesting. / The doctor / weren’t  
  1. Luke and Jake were riding their dragons.
  2. Riobaldo was dealing with the devil. 
  3. Capitu wasn’t hiding anything.
  4. The surgeon was asking for the scalpel. 
  5. The doctor and his team weren’t protesting. 

Now, order the words to make Past Continuous sentences. 

Example:  over / was / Viserion / mountain / the / flying > Viserion was flying over the mountain. 
  1. fiddle / playing / the / The / grasshopper / was
  2. me / truth / You / telling / were / the
  3. Biology / his / wasn’t / He / teaching / students
  4. Olives / disciples / on / teaching / Mount / Jesus / his / the / was / of
  5. I / bell / meditating / the / wasn’t / rang / when
  1. The grasshopper was playing the fiddle. 
  2. You were telling me the truth.
  3. He wasn’t teaching his Biology students. 
  4. Jesus was teaching his disciples on the Mount of Olives.
  5. I wasn’t meditating when the bell rang. 

Insert the bracketed verbs correctly. 

Example:  The birds ___ _____ when the sun ___. (be/sing/rise) > The birds were singing when the sun rose. 
 
  1. I ___ _____ the guitar during the earthquake. (be/playing)
  2. Elvira ___ ______  for Vogue. (be/model)
  3. Teddy Roosevelt ___ _______ while Mrs Brown __ _____ . (be/dictate/be/type)
  4. Everyone __ ______  at the parade. (be/cheer) 
  5. The elves ___ ____ _____ the truth. (be/not/telling)
  1. I was playing the guitar during the earthquake. 
  2. Elvira was modeling for Vogue. 
  3. Teddy Roosevelt was dictating while Mrs. Brown was typing. 
  4. Everyone was cheering at the parade. 
  5. The elves were not telling the truth.  

Use the comparisons to make Past Continuous sentences.

Example: I sold. Camila sold. > I was selling as Camila was. 
  1. They didn’t sing. We sang. 
  2. I didn’t enjoy the festival. You enjoyed the festival. 
  3. She was studying math. Jonathan was studying math.
  4. They didn’t hunt butterflies. We hunted butterflies. 
  5. I swam in the Red Sea. Michael Phelps swam in the Red Sea.
  1. They weren’t singing as we were. 
  2. I wasn’t enjoying the festival as you were. 
  3. She was studying math as Jonathan was. 
  4. They weren’t hunting butterflies as we were.  
  5. I was swimming in the Red Sea as Michael Phelps was. 

Writing

Write a short text about what you were doing last week.

Example: On Monday, I was visiting my best friend and…