Giáo án Looking back

Ss activate prior knowledge of the past continuous and past simple through a short picture-based question-and-answer routine.

T shows a slide with a picture of volunteers sorting donated books when a phone rings. T asks: 'What were the volunteers doing when the phone rang?' and 'What happened at that moment?' Ss answer in pairs, then one pair shares with the class.

Ss produce two accurate sentences, for example: 'The volunteers were sorting donated books when the phone rang.' Ss notice that the ongoing action uses was/were + V-ing and the interruption uses the past simple. Ss state the topic of the lesson: Looking back, Unit 4.

Ss review how meaning, not a fixed rule, decides the tense, and learn to choose -ed or -ing adjectives correctly.

T presents the grammar points on the slides with three example sentences:

• 'While we were packing, the organiser called.'
• 'When the organiser called, we were packing.'
• 'I felt tired after the long but rewarding day.'
  T asks guiding questions: 'Which action is in progress?' 'Which action is completed?' 'Does the word when always need one specific tense?' 'Does the -ed adjective describe a feeling or its cause?' T then shows: 'The work was interesting' versus 'I was interested in the work'. Ss also review: useful = helpful; useless = not effective.

Ss write in their notebooks:

• Past continuous: sets an action in progress, e.g. 'While we were packing, the organiser called.'
• Past simple: reports a completed event, e.g. 'The organiser called.'
• 'When' does not automatically require one tense; the meaning decides.
• -ed adjective = feeling (interested); -ing adjective = cause (interesting).
• Useful = helpful; useless = not effective.

Ss recognise and use the six topic words of the unit in meaningful contexts.

T presents the vocabulary list: volunteer (tình nguyện viên), donation (khoản quyên góp), community (cộng đồng), reliable (đáng tin cậy), benefit (lợi ích), grateful (biết ơn). T reads each word aloud and Ss repeat in chorus and individually. T asks Ss to complete the gap sentences: 'Our local ______ collected a large ______ of books.' 'Being a ______ can bring many personal ______.'

Ss record the six words with Vietnamese meanings:

• volunteer (tình nguyện viên)
• donation (khoản quyên góp)
• community (cộng đồng)
• reliable (đáng tin cậy)
• benefit (lợi ích)
• grateful (biết ơn)
  Expected gap-fill answers: 'Our local community collected a large donation of books.' 'Being a volunteer can bring many personal benefits.'

Ss recognise that some two-syllable words with the same spelling change stress when used as nouns or verbs, and pronounce them accurately.

T presents the pairs on the slide:

• A RE-cord /ˈrekərd/; to re-CORD /rɪˈkɔrd/
• A PRE-sent /ˈprezənt/; to pre-SENT /prɪˈzent/
  T models both pronunciations, then asks Ss to read the sentence: 'We record each present in a notebook.' T reminds Ss that this pattern does not apply to every two-syllable word.

Ss mark the stressed syllable in each word:

• RE-cord (noun), re-CORD (verb)
• PRE-sent (noun), pre-SENT (verb)
  Ss read the sentence 'We record each present in a notebook' with correct stress on record and present in both uses. Ss note: these pairs change stress; not every two-syllable word follows this pattern.

Ss apply the grammar, adjective and vocabulary rules to choose correct forms in given sentences.

Ss complete Worksheet 1 individually in 4 minutes, then check in pairs. Items:

1. While we ___ books, the phone rang. A. are sorting B. have sorted C. were sorting D. sorted
2. We were waiting when the organiser ___. A. has arrive B. arrived C. was arrive D. arrives
3. I felt ___ after the long but rewarding day. A. tired B. tiring C. tire D. tires
4. The instructions helped everyone; they were ___. A. useless B. use C. using D. useful
5. Yesterday our class ___ twenty boxes. A. packs B. has packing C. packed D. was pack
6. At four yesterday, Mai ___ a visitor around. A. is show B. was showing C. shows D. has shown
7. The story held our attention; it was ___. A. interesting B. interested C. interest D. interests
8. They ___ playing when the rain began. A. was B. are C. have D. were
   Then Ss match the six topic expressions with their meanings (see Activity 3).

Answer key:

1. C (the ongoing background action takes the past continuous)
2. B (the completed arrival interrupts the waiting)
3. A (the person experiences the feeling)
4. D (helpful instructions are useful)
5. C (yesterday and a completed total take the past simple)
6. B (an action in progress at a past time uses was showing)
7. A (the story causes interest)
8. D (plural they needs were)
   Matching: volunteer – tình nguyện viên; donation – khoản quyên góp; community – cộng đồng; reliable – đáng tin cậy; benefit – lợi ích; grateful – biết ơn.

Ss use the unit language to speak and write a connected personal story about volunteering and reflect on what makes volunteering useful.

T reads the short text aloud: 'Volunteering can build patience and teamwork when the work meets a genuine need. At a reading club, a volunteer learns to adapt an explanation to the reader rather than repeat it more loudly. However, goodwill does not replace training or safeguarding. A supervised, regular commitment is more useful than promising many hours and then disappearing.'
T asks: 'What does a volunteer learn at a reading club?' and 'Why is a regular commitment more useful?'
In pairs, Ss tell a story about a real or imagined volunteering experience, using at least one past continuous sentence, one past simple sentence and one -ed or -ing adjective. Then Ss write 4–5 sentences in their notebooks.

Sample answers:

• A volunteer learns to adapt an explanation to the reader.
• A regular commitment is more useful because the volunteer is reliable and the work is supervised; goodwill alone does not replace training or safeguarding.
  Sample story: 'While we were preparing books for the community library, a donation arrived. I felt grateful, because the books were useful for the children.'
  Key points: Ss use the past continuous for an action in progress, the past simple for a completed event, and the correct adjective (grateful / useful).