Teach The Future Continuous – Free ESL Lesson Plan
- 1. VC5.4 – Future Continuous (I’ll be eating at home.) Lesson 1/3 ESL Lesson Plan
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- 3. What is happening now? Describe what is happening in each image. Remember that we use a continuous tense to describe an event in progress. It is raining heavily. John is waiting for a train. Eli and Sabrina are preparing dinner. The students are studying at the library. A D C B
- 4. Events in progress now We use the present continuous to talk about events that are taking place now. It is raining heavily. John is waiting for a train. Eli and Sabrina are preparing dinner. The students are studying at the library. What are you doing right now? What is your teacher doing at the moment?
- 5. Events in progress in the future Look at the information below. Note how we talk about an event that will be taking place at a point in the future. Sally is preparing her swimming gear now. She will start her training session at noon. At 12:30, she will be swimming. 11:40 12:00 12:30
- 6. What will be happening? We use the future continuous to talk about an event that will be in progress at a time in the future. John is waiting for the train. The train will depart at 7:15. At 7:30, John will be traveling on the train. The students are studying at the library. Their exam starts tomorrow at 10am. The students will be writing an essay tomorrow morning.
- 7. The future continuous subject will be verb -ing I You He She It We They will will will will will will will be be be be be be be playing. reading. painting. watching. snowing. talking. sleeping. subject be verb -ing will
- 8. Here’s the contracted form subject be verb -ing ‘ll I’ll be working at the office from 9 to 5. You’ll be visiting your mother at that time. He’ll be driving to work at 5pm. It’ll be snowing when you arrive. We’ll be staying in Barcelona next month. She’ll be talking to the staff about that issue next week. John’ll be moving to a new house sometime next year. The contracted form is common in everyday speech. Practice saying these sentences. It’s important to know how to use the contracted form.
- 9. Make sentences 1. Please don’t come at 7pm… 2. It’s getting colder each day so I think that… 3. We go on vacation next month and… 4. I can’t come to the concert on Sunday because… Match a phrase on the left with one on the right to form logical sentences describing an action in progress in the future. A. …I’ll be studying all weekend. B. …because we will be eating dinner. C. ...it will be snowing by next month. D. …we’ll be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel.
- 10. Practice the future continuous 1. I can’t come to the meeting at 3pm because I _______________ to Madrid. 2. In tomorrow’s lesson, we _______________ the future continuous tense. 3. I can’t see you on Saturday because I _______________ my grandparents. 4. According to the schedule, the train _______________ at 7 o’clock. travel arrive study visit Use the verbs below in the future continuous to complete the sentences. Use the contracted form where possible.
- 11. What will they be doing? 1. Alex plans to study from 5pm to 11pm. What will Alex be doing at 8pm? 2. Jane’s Indian cooking course runs from 6:30pm until 9pm. What will Jane be doing at 7pm? 3. Rachel’s plane leaves Paris at 4pm, and she will arrive in Istanbul tonight at 7:30pm. What will the plane be doing at 7pm? 4. The Smith family intends to eat dinner at 6:30pm. What will they be doing at 6:45pm? Use the information below to express what these people will be doing at a specific time in the future.
- 12. More practice You call four friends one by one and ask, ‘Can you come to the basketball game with me tonight?’ Provide a response for each friend, explaining why each person can’t come. Why can’t Edgar come to the game? 1. Joe / study all evening 2. Sarah / visit her parents 3. Noah / attend swimming lesson. 4. Liam and Sophia / have a dinner party 5. Lukas / write a report Edgar can’t come because he’ll be eating with friends at a restaurant.
- 13. Future continuous and expressions of time 1. Leo / attend a German class / for three hours 2. Xavier / help his children with their homework / after dinner 3. Beatrice / work at the office / at 7pm 4. Asli / prepare dinner for her family / at that time 5. Graham / write a report / all weekend Time expressions can show the time when an action begins, the time at which it is ongoing, or the period of time it will last. Using the information provided, provide a response to the question, ‘Do you want to come to the cinema tonight at 7pm?’
- 14. Future continuous for extended actions My course starts at 6pm and finishes at 7pm. At 6:30 I’ll be attending my course. We often use the future continuous to describe an action that will take place over a short period. However, we use also the future continuous to talk about an action that will continue for a long time. I’ll be studying all next year. We’ll be living here until the children grow up. They will be talking about that tragedy for a long time.
- 15. Future continuous for predicting events For example, Cheryl has a young baby. She usually feeds the baby sometime between 6 and 7pm. We don’t always know the future, though we sometimes assume what will be happening. The weather forecast predicts that it will rain from 10pm tonight until later tomorrow evening. Don’t call Cheryl at 6pm because she’ll be feeding the baby. There’s no point going to the beach tomorrow. It’ll be raining all day.
- 16. Make predictions about the future 1. By the end of the year I _______________ English like you! 2. I guess she _______________ at home for a few more years. 3. We can’t ask Timothy to come because he _______________ at the office until late. 4. I expect that everyone _______________ the meeting tomorrow. live speak work attend Complete each sentence using a verb in the future continuous. Where possible, use a contracted form.
- 17. Now it’s your turn Answer these questions about yourself. Use the images to help or just use your imagination. What will you be doing on Saturday morning? What will you be doing tomorrow at 8am? What will you be doing over summer? What will you be doing tonight? D C A B