The Past Simple - introduction to the tense with Charles Dickens' biography

The Past Simple Tense

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Caption: : Do you get the joke? What tense are these verbs?

Biography of Charles Dickens

Read Charles Dickens' biography and think about the question below. Then, turn to slide two for some comprehension questions and discussion. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on the 7th February 1812 and died on the 9th June 1870. He was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widelypopular. Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens left school to work in a factory after his father went to debtors' prison. Although he had little formal education, his early impoverishment drove him to succeed. Over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms. He is buried in Westminster Abbey, in London. Did you know any of this about Charles Dickens?

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Caption: : Charles Dickens

Do you understand the general message of the text? Share your ideas with a partner, then discuss with the rest of the class and your teacher. Do not ask or look up meanings of words or phrases. Now look up what the underlined words mean. Join a partner and compare the meanings you found. Do they make sense in the context of the sentence? Discuss with the rest of the class and your teacher. There are two parts of the text marked in bold. Do you know or can you find a synonym for them? Share with the class. Do you understand now the meaning of the text any better? Summarize Dickens' life in two sentences. 

Discuss in groups of 3: What do you know about the Victorian age? Who was the monarch of England during that time? what was happening in your country during that period of time? What's your opinion on Charles' life and success? Do you know anything about the life of a famous writer from your country? If so, explain to your partner. Share with the rest of the class the things your partner told you.

Comprehension and discussion

Language analysis

Now re-read the text and underline all the verbs you can find. Now you already know what tense most of the verbs in this text are: The Past Simple What is their present form? and the infinitive? Are they regular or irregular verbs? Why is the author using this tense in his text?  Now look at the question at the end of the text: What tense is it? Why is it different from the question we saw before "Who were you, then?" How do we make questions with these types of verbs in this tense, then? Share all your answers with your partner and then with the whole class and your teacher. Now answer the question: Did you know any of this about Charles Dickens?

Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on the 7th February 1812 and died on the 9th June 1870. He was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular. Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens left school to work in a factory after his father went to debtors' prison. Although he had little formal education, his early impoverishment drove him to succeed. Over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms. He is buried in Westminster Abbey, in London. At present, there are several movies, shows and theatre plays based on many of his works. Did you know any of this about Charles Dickens?