A selection of English ESL past simple reading printables

This worksheet consists of a text of the famous mythological story of Pygmalion and 5 questions to answer with your own opinions. Simple past tense is used. Good luck!

Myth of Pygmalion - Reading Comprehension Past Tense

A lad discusses her day. Practice for housework topic and past simple tense. They have to tick the jobs she did and then answer  the comprehension questions. Key provided. 

Easy Reading: Me time at last

This is an easy reading comprehension activity. Students read the text and answer the questions; moreover, they do an exercise about the past simple of regular verbs. Key included.

Easy reading - Native Americans

This is an easy reading comprehension activity that helps students revise the past simple tense. They read the passage, do a true and false exercise and answer the questions.

Easy reading - Catherine's birthday

Reading comprehension

Question form with "Did" , verbs in past, simple vocabulary for primary kids. It was helpful to practice reading comprehension and easy for them to check as well. 

Little Red Riding hood

This worksheet is to improve reading skills, writing skill, listening skills, revise forms verbs in the past simple, there is a quiz https://en.islcollective.com/video-lessons/falling-trevor-daniel





Falling - Trevor Daniel

I made this activity to work a bit of grammar focus on simple past and also in the context of enviromental issues. Just to work reading comprehension with students 

rachel carson

Short story involves the first day of the Fall semester at a university. The story is told primarily in the past simple tense. Vocabulary and comprehension questions are included.

When Mehdi met Claire: a short story in the past simple tense

In this lesson, students will incorporate object pronouns in past simple events. 

They will also practice more irregular verbs and they will write a basic story with some prompts. 



Romantic Stories - Grammar and Reading Comprehension

Fill in the different activities in the worksheet to practise Past Simple verb tense with the song : I saw her standing there by the >Beatles. It includes de keys.

Song: I saw her standing there: Beatles with Past Simple tense.

Students learn about the difference between the Simple past, and past Perfect tenses. There are examples of each. Both are explained in English and Korean. Students make 6 sentences.

The Difference between Simple past, and Past Perfect tense. An Explanation. Korean translations

A video worksheet

The objective of the worksheet is to revise Past Simple.

WHILE-LISTENING ACTIVITIES

1.	Students listen to the song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK06SgtXin0 ) and try to remember as many troubles as they can. Check their memory after listening (discuss only the troubles that students mention, some phrases may be difficult to understand).

2.	Distribute worksheets.

3.	Students listen to the song again and do exercise 1. 



POST-LISTENING ACTIVITIES

1.	Students read out the lyrics. The troubles that were not discussed earlier can be discussed now.

2.	Students identify the tenses in the song (Present Continuous and Past Simple, the worksheet focuses on Past Simple). Students say how to form positive sentences.

They find Past Simple from the lyrics and write the verb forms on the board into two columns (regular and irregular verb forms). 

Students make positive sentences using the verb forms on the board.

Regular verbs (spilled, climbed, snitched, filled).	

Irregular verbs (broke, hid, bought, put, tied, made, did, tore).

3.	Past Simple Negative. 

Students explain how to form negative sentences in Past Simple. They do exercise 2. Which sentences are from the song and which are not? 

4.	Past Simple Interrogative.

Students explain how to form questions in Past Simple.

Students make up questions (about this morning) using the verbs on the board. This can be done in pairs.

5.	Students do exercise 3. 

Afterward, they can listen to the song once more and sing along if they wish. 

Students brainstorm why the boy did all the mischief. They will come up with reasons or excuses.

6.	Students write a letter to Santa as if they were the boy from the song. They explain in the letter why they should get presents in spite of the troubles they have gotten into. 

NB! This can be done in groups or individually. Students may use the letter template copied behind the worksheet or they can write it in their notebooks.

7.	Students read out their letters.

Christmas Songs + Exercises - Nuttin' for Christmas Song

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

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1,286 Past simple reading English ESL worksheets pdf & doc