Reported Questions ESL Lesson Plan
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Steven SmithReported Questions ESL Lesson Plan
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What did you ask?
A Check Your Tenses
Change the phrase ‘Peter plays tennis’ into the following tenses:
PRESENT CONTINUOUS: _______________ PAST SIMPLE: ______________________
PAST CONTINUOUS : _________________ PRESENT PERFECT: __________________
PAST PERFECT: ______________________ FUTURE (WILL): ____________________
FUTURE(GOING TO): __________________ ABILITY (CAN): ____________________
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS: ________________________
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS: ___________________________
B Reading
Spanish pop sensation Pablo Gonzalez is in The United States for a series of
concerts and to promote his latest album. Read the interview and then the
newspaper article of the following day.
Interview Newspaper article
INTERVIEWER: Pablo, welcome to As Pablo stepped off the plane I
Denver. Did you have a good flight? welcomed him to Denver and asked
PABLO: Yes, it was fine, thanks. Very him if he had had a good flight. He
comfortable. replied that it had been very
I: How long are you staying here in comfortable. Next, I asked him how
Denver? long he was staying and he told me
P: It’ll be just a few days. I have to go to that he would be here in Denver until
Montreal next weekend. the following weekend. I then asked
I: Do you like America? him if he liked America and, as I
P: Yes, I love it. It’s so big and exciting. expected, he said that he loved it. I
I: have you been to Denver before? asked him if he had been to Denver
P: No, this is my first time. before and he told me that it was his
I: What are you going to do while you’re first time. Then I asked him what he
here? was going to do while he was in Denver
P: Well, I have to give a lot of interviews and he replied that he was going to go
and of course there’s the concert on shopping. My next question was how
Thursday. Other than that I’m going to long the concert would be and he said
go shopping. that he would sing for around 2 hours,
I: How long will the concert be? or more if the fans wanted. Finally I
P: Well, I usually sing for about 2 hours, asked if I could have his autograph –
but maybe I’ll sing for longer if the fans for my daughter, of course ☺.
want me to.
I: Thanks, Pablo. Finally, can I have your
autograph please. It’s for my daughter.
P: Sure, no problem.
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B Reading
Underline the questions in the interview. Find the
same questions in the newspaper article.
1. How does the tense of the verb change?
2. What happens to do\does\did?
3. What happens to the word order of the subject and verb?
Complete these rules about reported questions:
1. The subject of the question comes before \ after the verb.
2. We use \ don’t use the auxiliary do-does-did in reported questions.
3. The tense of the verb goes forward \ back.
4. We use ______ or ______ to introduce ‘yes\no’ questions.
C Practice
A: Look at these reported questions. What were the
actual questions asked?
1. She asked me where I usually had my hair cut.
________________________________________?
2. He asked me if I’d had a good weekend.
B: Now ask and answer
________________________________________? the same questions with
your partner.
3. Peter asked me what I was doing tomorrow.
________________________________________?
4. They asked us whether we would go to the cinema next
weekend.__________________________?
5. He asked me what I’d been doing before the lesson
started.___________________?
6. She asked me if I liked learning English.
__________________________________?
D Class activity
Your teacher will give you some questions to ask the other students in your
class. Do not write any of the answers. Try to remember as many students’
answers as possible!!
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Teacher Notes
Target Language: Reported questions
Duration: 60-75 minutes
Note: It is assumed that your students have studied reported speech and the
past perfect simple and continuous.
A Structure and Timing
A. Check your tenses (10 minutes)
B. Reading (20 minutes)
C. Practice (15-20 minutes)
D. Class activity (15-20 minutes)
Total 60-75 minutes
B Procedure
A. Check your tenses
This is a simple exercise to check that students can identify and use these different
tenses relatively easily. At this level it shouldn’t be at all difficult, although the past
perfect may be something they have only recently studied.
Ask the students to work individually and then to check in pairs. Open class feedback
when most pairs have finished. Deal with any problems with these tenses now or the
rest of the lesson will be quite difficult.
B. Reading
Both texts clearly relate the same story, one as direct speech the other as reported
speech. Give them time to read both texts carefully before directing them to the
exercise on the next page. Here they have to look at the texts again and identify for
themselves what the rules are regarding reported questions. You can put them in
pairs or small groups to do this before getting feedback from the whole class.
It is important that you check they understand the concept of ‘backshifting’ i.e.
present simple changes to past simple etc. Having already done reported speech they
should be familiar with it but you can check anyway. As an open class activity say a
phrase and ask them to ‘backshift’ it. Hand the activity over to the class, each time
nominating one to say a phrase and one to transform it.
1. The subject of the question comes before the verb.
2. We don’t use the auxiliary do-does-did in reported questions.
3. The tense of the verb goes back.
4. We use if or whether to introduce ‘yes\no’ questions.
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C. Practice
Here they have the opportunity of transforming reported questions into direct
questions and then using them to interview a partner in a semi-controlled speaking
activity.
1. Where do you usually have your hair cut?
2. Did you have a good weekend?
3. What are you doing tomorrow?
4. Will you go to the cinema next weekend?
5. What were you doing before the lesson started?
6. Do you like learning English?
For further practice you can write different mistakes that you hear on the board,
mixed with some correct questions, as a grammar auction type activity.
D. Class activity
Here the students will be doing one activity i.e. asking direct questions, without
realizing that it’s not really relevant to the aim of the lesson, i.e. reported questions.
The ‘trick’ comes at the end of the activity when all the students have asked each
other all the questions (depending on class size, obviously). When you conduct the
feedback, ask the students NOT what answers they remember, but which questions
they were asked and who asked it.
For example, ‘Klaus asked me what time I got up on Sundays’
If you have time you can write up these reported questions on the board and then
after the feedback the students can transform them into direct questions.
C Extra
A photocopiable sheet of questions has been included for you to cut up and hand out.
With smaller classes you can give each student more than one question, with larger
classes you may have to give the same question to more than one student.
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When is your What time do you What do you usually
birthday? usually get up on have for breakfast?
Sundays?
Which newspaper do How often do you go Who is your favorite
you read? to the cinema? actor?
Which is your How do you relax? What time do you
favorite season? usually go to bed?
Can you sing well? Can you play a Can you cook well?
musical instrument?
Can you dance hip- What did you do last Did you get up late
hop? weekend? this morning?
Did you have What did you do last What are you
breakfast this night? wearing today?
morning?
What is your best What were you Have you done your
friend doing now? doing yesterday homework this
before you went to week?
bed?
Where have you What have you What are you doing
been this week? eaten today? after the lesson?
What are you going What time is it? How old are you?
to do next weekend?
Are you Do you smoke? Are you enjoying
superstitious? this lesson?