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In the Common Core Standards, verb tense is introduced in the first grade. There, students
learn about simple past, simple present, and simple future. In the second grade, students learn
to form the simple past with common irregular verbs. Work with irregular verbs continues in
the third grade.
The progressive tense, also known as the continuous tense, is introduced in the fourth grade
but only as it relates to simple past, present, and future. For example, students learn to form
the past progressive of a regular verb like walk (was walking), the present progressive of an
irregular verb like lie (am lying), and future progressive of a regular verb like kiss (will be
kissing).
In the fifth grade, instruction becomes more challenging because the perfect tense often gives
students trouble. Many come from homes in which the non-standard past perfect tense is
used. For example, a student might use had been done instead of had already done, had
came instead of had come. What the Common Core standards do not explicitly address is
the perfect progressive tense, but this unit does.
After the fifth grade, students are expected to be able to use all twelve tenses correctly with
both regular and irregular verbs, show an appropriate sense of time, and demonstrate
consistency.
Angie Burgin Kratzer is a high school English teacher in central North Carolina,
and she holds Secondary ELA and K-12 Academically Gifted certificates. In
2001 and 2011, she earned her Adolescent/Young Adult Literacy certificate
from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Her experience
includes 18 years in the classroom teaching English 9, English 10, English 11,
English 12, Creative Writing, and Newspaper Journalism; and three years as a
curriculum specialist for 6th through 12th grade English Language Arts. She
also serves school districts as a consultant and trainer in writing instruction. If
you have questions about any of her products, contact her at
angie.kratzer@yahoo.com
See Angies store for more fun ideas for the ELA classroom!