Past – describing
the weather
Grammar
Past simple questions with
be
Was it ...?
Contents
Aims
Grammar &
Functions
Was it sunny yesterday?
Vocabulary
Was it sunny yesterday?
Yes, it was.
table (=chart)
Everyday English:
Guess what?
Checklist
Year 4
Lesson 78
2 Master
handouts
1 pair work
1 individual/pair
work
Language Analysis
Hint:
The weather is still Britain's favourite topic of conversation, according to the newest
research, 75% of British discuss it more than any other subject, even football.
Researchers found out that traditional British activities like discussing the weather,
enjoying fish and chips and drinking cups of tea are still at the top of everybody’s favourite
list.
There are several phrases we use when we want to ask about the weather:
What's the weather like? / What's it like outside? / Is it raining? / Is it snowing?
We use the past simple tense to talk about the weather in the definite time in the past:
Was it rainy yesterday?
No, it wasn’t. It was sunny and dry.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Procedure
Warm-up Off the screens
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Give out Handout 1 and read out the words in the box.
Check if all the students understand the meaning of the words.
Ask students to work in pairs and match the words to the pictures.
Nominate students to read out their answers.
Complete the last set with the remaining words, ask students to draw the missing
picture.
Key:
1 cloud cloudy 2 sun sunny hot 3 rain rainy wet 4 snow snowy cold
Screen 2
Sam: Uh oh, we need the weather chart
for school tomorrow.
Kim: No. Let's do it now.
Sam: Ok. Was it sunny on Monday?
Kim: No it wasn't. It was rainy. It was
rainy on Tuesday too. I was at a hockey
lesson and and it was wet.
Sam: Ok. And was it rainy on
Wednesday? Kim: No, it was cloudy
and cold, but it wasn't rainy.
Sam: Oh yes! It was hot and cloudy on
Thursday. I was in a football lesson.
Was it sunny on Friday?
Kim: Yes, there was lots of sun on
Friday. It was hot at school.
Sam: Oh, yes. That's right. And it was
hot and sunny yesterday on Saturday.
Kim: Yes, we were at the the swimming
pool.
Sam: And how about today – Sunday?
Is it hot? Look out of the window, Kim.
Kim: I’m looking! Oh no, guess what?
Kim, Sam: It's raining!
Exploit the scene by asking the Ss to describe
what they can see. Then listen and watch the
animation. Ask some questions to check
understanding.
Note: Pre-teach the meaning of the word chart /tʃɑːt/.
Explain that it is a sheet of information in the form of a table, graph, or diagram.
Synonyms: graph, table, grid, histogram, diagram, scheme, figure.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Screen 3
Sam: Uh oh, we need the weather chart
for school tomorrow.
Kim: No. Let's do it now.
Sam: Ok. Was it sunny on Monday?
Kim: No it wasn't. It was rainy. It was
rainy on Tuesday too. I was at a hockey
lesson and and it was wet.
Sam: Ok. And was it rainy on
Wednesday? Kim: No, it was cloudy
and cold, but it wasn't rainy.
Sam: Oh yes! It was hot and cloudy on
Thursday. I was in a football lesson.
Was it sunny on Friday?
Kim: Yes, there was lots of sun on
Friday. It was hot at school.
Sam: Oh, yes. That's right. And it was
hot and sunny yesterday on Saturday.
Kim: Yes, we were at the the swimming
pool.
Sam: And how about today – Sunday?
Is it hot? Look out of the window, Kim.
Kim: I’m looking! Oh no, guess what?
Kim, Sam: It's raining!
Key:
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Screen 4
Audio:
It was rainy on Monday.
On Tuesday there was rain.
It was cloudy on Wednesday.
On Thursday it was cloudy and hot.
It was sunny on Friday.
On Saturday it was hot and sunny.
It was rainy again on Sunday.
Key:
1 rainy 2 rain 3 cloudy 4 cloudy
5 sunny 6 sunny 7 rainy
Screen 5
Audio:
Was it rainy on Monday?
Was it sunny on Tuesday?
Was it hot on Wednesday?
Was it cloudy on Thursday?
Was it rainy on Friday?
Was it sunny on Saturday?
Key:
1 Yes, it was.
2 No, it wasn't.
3 No, it wasn't.
4 Yes, it was.
5 No, it wasn't.
6 Yes, it was.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Screen 6
Key:
1 Ducks in the rain in a lake. (Monday)
Was it wet and rainy on Monday?
Yes, it was.
2 A polar bear on an iceberg in the sun.
(Sunday) Was it hot and cloudy on
Sunday?
No, it wasn't.
3 Mountain goats up a mountain in the
cloud. (Wednesday) Was it sunny and
hot on Wednesday?
No, it wasn't.
4 A crocodile on a hot dry sunny river
bank. (Friday) Was it wet and cloudy on
Friday?
No, it wasn't.
5 A parrot in a hot and rainy rainforest.
(Tuesday) Was it hot and rainy on
Tuesday?
Yes, it was.
Give the Ss these instructions for the
‘Complete’ activity. The aim is to practise a
short natural dialogue.
1.
2.
3.
Look at the pictures and read the
dialogues, think how to complete each
picture.
Drag and drop the questions and
answers into the correct speech bubbles.
Now work in pairs and read the
dialogues in turn, asking questions and
answering them.
Now it's your turn – Handout 2
1. Give out Handout 2 and ask students to think what the weather was like the
previous week, ask the questions: Was it rainy on Monday?, Was it cold on
Tuesdays?, etc.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
2. Ask students to fill in the chart with weather symbols.
3. Next, ask them to work in pairs and ask each other questions about the weather
the previous week.
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Handout 1
Match the words in the box to the correct pictures.
hot wet cold cloud snow rain sun snowy rainy sunny cloudy
1.
_____
______
2.
___
_____
___
3.
____
_____
___
4.
____
_____
____
Handout 1
Match the words in the box to the correct pictures.
hot wet cold cloud snow rain sun snowy rainy sunny cloudy
1.
_____
______
2.
___
_____
___
3.
____
_____
___
4.
____
_____
____
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide
Handout 2
Handout 2
© Young Digital Planet 2014 – Core Curriculum for English – Teacher’s Guide