TOPIC 4: EXPRESSING PERSONAL AND GROUP ROUTINE /HABITS | ENGLISH FORM 1

Every person or group of people who stay together (school) has daily routine or activity. This can be expressed by different works, everyday, often, usually, daily, every month.

Usually action is expressed in present simple tense or habitual aspect. The social area/ focus is on the following.

ACTIVITIES & GAMES TO FACILITATE A LESSON

Activity 1: BRAINSTORMING ABOUT ROUTINE, WAYS OF TELLING TIME AND HABITS.

Here the students are introduced to the ways of telling time correctly, the habits or daily habits they have or do at home or school, and the patterns or grammatical structures to be used when expressing time and habits.

The ways if telling time:

Students are introduced how they can correctly tell the time from the format of 12 hours to 24 hours format. It is a normal thing to find even a student for upper secondary level is struggling to tell the time. So this is the right moment to let the students know correct ways of telling time before they start expressing their daily habits.

There are two ways of telling the time:

1.    The 12-hour clock runs from 1am to 12 noon and then from 1pm to 12 midnight, and
2.    The 24-hour clock uses the numbers 00:00 to 23:59 (midnight is 00:00). The 24-hour format is the format that runs from midnight to midnight, that is, from 0 to 23 hours.

Some examples of these differences in time:

12-Hour Format:

I go to the market at 12:00pm in the afternoon.

I start cooking at 1:00pm.

I eat at 2:00pm.

24-Hour Format:

I go to the market at 12:00pm.

I start cooking at 13:00.

I eat at 14:00.

If students are good at ways of telling time, it’s now good to go. But if they are not well aware with ways of telling time, tell them more.

There are two common ways of telling the time:

(a)   Start with the Hour first and then minutes (Hour+Minutes): For example:

6:20 – It’s six twenty five.

8:05 – I’ts eight O-five (The ‘O’ of the letter of alphabet=This is informal).

9:11 – It’s nine eleven.

2:34 – It’s two thirty-four.

(b)   Start the minutes and then the hour (Minutes+PAST/TO+Hour):

*For minutes 1-30, use PAST after the minutes.

*For minutes 31-59, use TO after the minutes.

Examples:

2:35 – It’s twenty-five TO three.

11:20 – It’s twenty PAST eleven.

4:18 – It’s eighteen PAST four.

2:59 – It’s one TO three.

*When it is 15 MINUTES past the hour, say: a quarter past: as in;

8:15 – It’s a quarter past eight.

*When it is 15 MINUTES before the hour, say; a quarter to:

*When it is 30 MINUTES past the hour, say: half past; as in;

3:30 – It’s HALF PAST three (or three-thirty).

*For use of ‘Clock’: Use the word ‘CLOCK’ when there are no MINUTES, as in:

10:00 – It’s ten o’clock.

1:00 – It’s one o’clock.

*For 12:00, there are four expressions in English. These are:

-Twelve pm.

-Twelve o’clock.

-Midday=noon.

-Midnight.

Students should also be reminded with formal and informal ways of telling the time:

See this chart below:

Time	More Formal: It’s ….	Less Formal : It’s …….
3:00	Three o’clock	three
3:02	Two minutes past three	Three oh two
3:03	Three minutes past three	Three oh three
3:35	Twenty-five to four	Three thirty-five
3:50	Ten to four	Three fifty

Discussing the number of daily Habits with the students.

These are activities that are performed on daily basis. The students are introduced to these activities by letting them mention what they always do at a particular time of a day. For example, they may be told to discuss what they always do when they wake up at their houses. Let the students mention what they always do during the morning. For instance, they may mention things like:

1.         Brushing the teeth.
2.          Taking a bath.
3.          Drinking tea.
4.          Cleaning the house.
5.          Washing the face.
6.          Greeting the parents.
7.          Preparing the things for school.
8.          Running to school.

Activity 2: INTRODUCING THE PATTERNS AND SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Introduce students to the Tense and Patterns as they are applied in the topic.

In this part, students are introduced to the tense and patterns that are applied when expressing daily habits at home or school. Simple present tense is widely applied when expressing daily habits. Here students are introduced in this kind of tense in its Affirmative, Negative, and Interrogative.

The key words: These words generally appear in the Present Simple Tense sentences:

Every day, every week, every morning, always, usually, never, frequently.

Affirmative Simple Present Tense:

(Subject+Verb+the rest of the sentence…)

Asha wakes up at 6:00 o’clock.

Juma starts jogging at 6:15.

Negative Simple Present Tense:

(Subject=Don’t-Doesn’t +Verb(Infinitive)+the rest of the sentence:)

Agatha does not wake up at 7:45 in the morning.

Good students do not go to school at 8:00 o’clock.

Interrogative Simple Present Tense:

(Do-Does=Subject+Verb(Infinitive)+the rest of the sentence:)

Does Halima wake up at 6:00 o’clock?

Do students assemble at 7:45 in the morning?

Some examples of Questions and sentences expressing personal routine. After having the knowledge of Simple Present Tense and the Patterns, students can practice expressing their daily activities or habits.

Questions: A teacher can ask students these questions to check the students’ understanding of the ways of telling time and the use of correct patterns in expressing daily routines:

When do you wake up in the morning?

At what time do you brush your teeth?

When do you take a shower?

What time do you take tea?

Answers: When students answer the questions above correctly, now a teacher can move on with other activities of the sub topic:

I wake up early at 6:30 a.m.

I brush my teeth

I take a bath

I prepare breakfast

For more about appropriate tense for expressing Daily Routines, see Present Tense.

PRESENT TENSE

Tense is the situation where by a verb changes its form and structure to indicate time. For example, the verbs in these two sentences indicate different times, forms and structure:

He plays volleyball every day (Simple present)

They are playing volleyball now (Present continuous)

Present Tense is the kind of tense that changes its verb forms to expresses habitual, ongoing, and completed actions.

FORMS/CATEGORIES OF PRESENT TENSE

There are four (4) categories of Present Tense

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Simple present tense is the kind of tense that expresses general action, habitual acts, actions happening now, and the actions that are always true.

Positive sentences. Structural pattern: Subject + base form of verb

I wash my clothes every Saturday

She cooks delicious food

They play football on Fridays

Negative Sentences. Structural pattern: Subject + does not/do not + base form of the verb.

I do not wash my clothes every Saturday

She does not cook delicious food

They do not play football on Fridays

Negative Sentences Contracted Forms:

I don’t wash my clothes every Saturday

She doesn’t cook delicious food

They don’t play football on Fridays

Note:

in the sentences like “She doesn’t cook every day” and “Does she cook every day“, the base form of the verb does not retain ‘s’.

Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Auxiliary ‘Do’/’Does + subject + base form of the verb.

*Positive Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Auxiliary Do/Does + subject + base form of the verb.

Do I wash my clothes every Saturday?

Does she cook delicious food?

Do they play football on Fridays?

*Negative Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Negative Auxiliary Don’t/Doesn’t + subject + base form of the verb.

(It preferably use contracted forms)

Don’t I wash my clothes?

Doesn’t she cook delicious food?

Don’t they play football every Saturday?

PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Present continuous tense is the kind of tense that expresses the actions that are happening exactly now and the actions that will happen in the future.

Positive Sentences. Structural pattern: Subject + verb to be in present form + present participle.

I am washing my clothes now

She is cooking in the kitchen

They are playing football on the pitch

Negative sentences. Structural pattern: Subject + verb to be in present form + not + present participle.

I am not washing my clothes now

She is not cooking in the kitchen

They are not playing football on the pitch

Negative Sentence Contracted forms 1: Contracting subject and verb to be:

I’m not washing my clothes now

She’s not cooking in the kitchen

They’re not playing football on the pitch

Negative Sentence Contracted forms 2: Contracting verb to be and not:

You aren’t washing my clothes now

She isn’t cooking in the kitchen

They aren’t playing football on the pitch

Interrogative Sentences: Structural pattern: Verb to be in present tense + subject + present participle.

*Positive Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Verb to be in present form + subject + present participle.

Am I washing my clothes now?

Is she cooking in the kitchen?

Are they playing football on the pitch?

*Negative Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Verb to be in present form + subject + not + present participle.

Am I not washing my clothes now?

Is she not cooking in the kitchen?

Are they not playing football on the pitch?

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Present perfect tense is the kind of tense that expresses the completed actions, experienced actions, and the continuing situations.

Examples:

Ally has lived in London (Experience)

I have never eaten pizza (Experience)

I have bought a car (Change)

John has broken his arm (Change)

She has grown up (Change)

I have worked here since 2014 (Continuing action/situation)

He has been ill for three days (Continuing situation)

(This tense is use with ‘Since’ & ‘For’)

Positive sentences. Structural pattern: Subject + has/have + past participle.

I have washed my clothes.

She has cooked ugali.

They have played football.

Negative Sentences. Structural pattern: Subject + has/have + past participle.

I have not washed my clothes.

She has not cooked ugali.

They have not played football.

Negative Sentence Contracted forms 1: Contracting subject + auxiliaries ‘has/have’:

I’ve not washed my clothes.

She’s not cooked ugali.

They’ve not played football.

Negative Sentence Contracted forms 2: Contracting auxiliaries ‘has/have’ + not:

I haven’t washed my clothes.

She hasn’t cooked ugali.

They haven’t played football.

Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Auxiliaries ‘has/have’ + subject + past participle.

*Positive Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Auxiliaries ‘has/have’ + subject + past participle.

Have I washed my clothes?

Has she cooked ugali?

Have they played football?

*Negative Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Negative Auxiliaries ‘hasn’t/haven’t’ + subject + past participle.

Haven’t I washed my clothes?

Hasn’t she cooked ugali?

Haven’t they played football?

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Present perfect continuous tense is the kind of tense that expresses an action that has just stopped or recently stopped (I’m tired because I have been running) or an action that is continuing to happen right now (I have been reading for 3 hours).

(This tens is also used with ‘Since’ and ‘For’)

Positive sentences. Structural pattern: Subject + has/have + been + present participle.

(Often used with: since, for, while and when for marking the duration of time)

I have been washing my clothes.

(I have been washing since morning)

She has been cooking ugali.

(She has been cooking for two hours)

They have been playing football.

(They have been playing since 5 p.m)

Negative Sentences. Structural pattern: Subject + has/have + not + been + present participle.

I have not/haven’t been washing my clothes.

(I have not/haven’t been washing since morning)

She has not/hasn’t been cooking ugali.

(She has not/hasn’t been cooking for two hours)

They have not/haven’t been playing football.

(They have not/haven’t been playing since 5 p.m)

Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Auxiliaries ‘has/have’ + Subject + been + present participle.

*Positive Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Auxiliaries ‘has/have’ + subject+ been + present participle.

Have I been washing my clothes?

(Have I been washing since morning?)

Has she been cooking ugali?

(Has she been cooking for two hours?)

Have they been playing football?

(Have they been playing since 5 p.m)

*Negative Interrogative Sentences. Structural pattern: Negative auxiliaries ‘hasn’t /haven’t’ + subject + been + present participle.

Haven’t I been washing my clothes?

(Haven’t I been washing since morning?)

Hasn’t she been cooking ugali?

(Hasn’t she been cooking for two hours?)

Haven’t they been playing football?

(Haven’t they been playing since 5 p.m?)

Activity 3: CLASS ACTIVITIES WITH PICTURES

In these activities, students are introduced to the various activities that can help them interact more freely with the ways of expressing various daily activities at home or school.

To bring students close to the topic, the teacher can express his or her own daily activities. As the students listen from the teacher, students can be motivated and learn more about expressing daily habits.

After that, a teacher shows pictures expressing habits of everyday activities by talking about daily routine. Show some pictures with empty spaces so that you can guide them to fill in, and later show them pictures that are filled in so as to let them correct their mistakes when encountered when filling in the blank spaces: Here are some of those pictures a teacher can use:

Now, students should be guided to imitate and practice by giving an account of their daily activities. Allow students to use pictures provided in creating their own daily routines. Provide some more vocabularies for students to work on. See more vocabularies below:

 Give them exercise to work on. See the sample exercise like this below:

Activity 4: WRITING DAILY ROUTINE.

The teacher to guide students to write about their daily routine through controlled/guided activities. In this activity, students will focus on what they have learnt and practised so far and write individually their personal home of school routines. Here is an example of personal daily routine a student can write under teacher’s guidance:

MY DAILY ROUTINE

1. I wake up at 6’o’clock.
2. I brush my teeth at 6:05.
3. I take a bath at 6:10.
4. I prepare my school bag at 6:15.
5. I run to school at 6:20.
6. I sweep my area at 6:30.
7. I run at parade at 6:45.

NOTE:

These are Form One Students and a teacher should keep the sub topic and sentences as simple as possible.

NOTE:

Just like other types of tenses, simple present tense won’t be forgotten by the students if they practice speaking English with the much use of such kind of tense or patters. If students are not encouraged to speak, all what they have learnt will be lost as well.

Thus why, it’s normal to find a student form upper secondary level is complaining about his or her inability to comprehend tenses. But he there is only one problem: he or she did not practice the tenses by speaking,

“TENSES ARE NOT TO BE LEARNT AND KEPT IN THE HEAD, BUT ARE LEARNT TO BE SPOKEN”

And this is like a rule to the whole English language subject. We teachers should teach our students by making them practice what we teach them.

BREAK TIME

At 10:00 A.M break starts. We go out for a break of 30 minutes. During break time, I drink tea with some snacks. At 10:30 A.m. I go back to class. Classes end at 2:00 p.m.

After classes I go home at 2:45 P.M. I eat lunch.

Exercise

As a student’s what is your Daily Routine?

Vocabulary

Take a shower – wash the whole body

Attendance – counting people

Supper – food eaten at the right (a right meal)

Structure

Prepositions

“ON” –is used with days and dates

Examples

– I go to church on Sundays.

– I go to the Mosque on Friday

– I was born on 03 rd May 1978

“AT” –is used with exact time

Examples:

– He come at six o’clock

– We traveled at night

– The lesson starts at 8:00 am.

“IN” –is used with parts of the day, months and years

Examples:

– He came in the evening

– School will be closed in December

– He was born in 2009

Asking questions.

We can also ask questions using does, do

Note:

Does –is for singular nouns and pronouns

Do –is for plural nouns and pronouns.

Examples:

(i) Does she speak English?

(ii) Does he come to school late?

(iii) Does she smoke?

(iv) Do they speak English?

(v) Do they come to school late?

(vi) Do we have to write our names?

Exercise

Make question using does and do

1. Does …………………………..?
2. Does …………………………..?
3. Do ….…………………………..?
4. Do ….…………………………..?