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A1 Movers present continuous and routines: kids practice

A1-A2A1 Movers40 questionsUpdated

A1 Movers asks children to say what is happening in a picture, and that means the present continuous. This page drills is and are with the -ing form, contrasts it with the present simple used for routines, and gives forty short questions a child can work through without help.

What this task tests

  • Building the present continuous correctly: am, is or are plus the -ing form.
  • Choosing is or are according to the subject.
  • Spelling of the -ing form, including run and running, make and making.
  • Present simple for routines, with the third-person s.
  • Knowing which tense a picture needs and which a routine needs.
  • Question forms: what is she doing?
  • Negative forms: he is not reading, they are not playing.
  • Everyday action verbs: ride, climb, drink, wash, carry, wear.
  • Time phrases that signal each tense: now, at the moment, every day, on Saturdays.
  • Word order in short descriptive sentences about a picture.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Point and say

    Show a busy picture and ask what each person is doing. The tense arises from the task instead of being announced.

  2. Step 2:

    Freeze frame

    Everyone mimes an action and freezes. The class says what each child is doing. Ten repetitions in a minute, all of them true.

  3. Step 3:

    Teach is and are as a pair

    One person is, more than one are. Sort pictures into two columns before doing any writing.

  4. Step 4:

    Drill the spelling rules

    Double the consonant in run and running, drop the e in make and making. Five minutes as a warm-up, not a whole lesson.

  5. Step 5:

    Contrast with the routine

    Every day I walk to school, but look, today I am going by car. The pair makes the difference visible.

  6. Step 6:

    Use a real routine chart

    The child draws their own day with times. Every picture then gives a present simple sentence with a third-person s to practise.

  7. Step 7:

    Ask what, not yes or no

    What is he doing pushes a full sentence out. Is he running only gets a yes.

  8. Step 8:

    Record the negative too

    He is not sleeping, he is reading. Children need the negative in the listening task, where wrong options are described.

  9. Step 9:

    Play the window game

    Look out of the window and describe three things happening right now. It works anywhere and needs no materials.

  10. Step 10:

    Check the auxiliary last

    When marking, ask the child to point at the is or are in every sentence. Missing auxiliaries are the commonest error at this level.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisHe running fast.

    ThisHe is running fast.

    The auxiliary is never optional. Ask the child to point at is or are in each sentence.

  • Not thisThey is playing.

    ThisThey are playing.

    More than one person takes are. Sort subjects into two groups before writing.

  • Not thisShe is runing.

    ThisShe is running.

    Short verbs with one vowel double the last letter: run, running; swim, swimming.

  • Not thisHe play football every day.

    ThisHe plays football every day.

    The third-person s is dropped constantly. Drill it with true sentences about classmates.

  • Not thisI am go to school every day.

    ThisI go to school every day.

    A routine takes the present simple. Look for every day and swap the tense.

  • Not thisWhat she is doing?

    ThisWhat is she doing?

    In a question is comes before the subject. Practise with cards the child can physically reorder.

  • Not thisShe is makeing a cake.

    ThisShe is making a cake.

    Verbs ending in a silent e lose it before -ing.

  • Not thisI am knowing the answer.

    ThisI know the answer.

    Know, like and want are not used in the continuous. Keep the list short at this level.

Language this task keeps reusing

ride
To sit on a bike or a horse and go along.
climb
To go up something using your hands and feet.
carry
To hold something and take it somewhere.
wear
To have clothes on your body.
catch
To take hold of something moving, like a ball.
brush
What you do to your teeth and your hair.
wash
To clean with water.
get up
To leave your bed in the morning.
at the moment
Right now; it signals the present continuous.
every day
A routine phrase; it signals the present simple.
usually
Most of the time.
always
Every single time.
never
Not at any time.
after
Later than something else: after breakfast.

Practice: present continuous and daily routines

40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.

1Complete the sentence.

Look! The baby sleeping.
Which sentence is correct?

3Complete the sentence.

The children running in the park.
Right or wrong?
  • We use -ing to say what is happening now.
  • Every day tells us to use the present continuous.
  • We say he is reading, not he reading.
3 to go

5Complete with the -ing form of make.

Dad is a cake in the kitchen.
Choose the correct spelling.

7Complete the sentence.

Every morning I up at seven o'clock.

8What are you doing right now?

Which sentence is about a routine?

10Complete the sentence.

My sister tennis on Saturdays.

Keep going

30 more questions on this page

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Frequently asked questions

When should I introduce the present continuous?

As soon as the child can name actions. It is the tense a picture demands, and Movers is full of pictures, so it earns its place early.

How do I stop the auxiliary disappearing?

Make it physical. One clap for is or are, one for the verb. Children who hear two beats stop writing only one word.

Is the present simple still needed at Movers?

Yes, and the third-person s is one of the most persistent errors at this level. Practise it with true sentences about real classmates, not with gap-fills alone.

How much spelling of -ing forms is required?

Enough for the writing tasks. Focus on the two rules that cover most verbs: double the consonant after a short vowel, and drop the silent e.

Should I teach state verbs like know and want?

Only as a short list of words that do not take -ing. A long grammatical explanation is wasted at this age; a list of four or five words is not.

My child describes pictures in the past. Why?

Usually because past forms were practised most recently. Reset the cue: if you can see it happening, use is or are plus -ing.