Checking Simple Past Understanding: Exit Tickets, Project, Support

You can check simple past understanding with one-sentence exit tickets, a project scored on five criteria, and a self-assessed learning check. The common thread is that students explain an idea with a new example and give a reason, rather than just fill in a blank.

Exit tickets that fit in three minutes

The formative check in the teacher guide asks one thing: can the student explain the idea with a new example? Turn that into an exit ticket for each topic. Ask for one sentence that states the main idea and one example the class has not already used. For the regular verbs path, a student might write "Many regular verbs add -ed, like helped." For the questions path, "We use did and the plain verb, like Did she help?"

Sort tickets into three piles: ready, nearly, not yet. That matches the "yes, with help, not yet" boxes on the student pages, so students can compare their own rating with yours.

The project and the learning check

The project and its five criteria

In the Simple Past unit, students pick one path and make an explanation for another student: a heading, two examples, and an original question. A poster or short talk both work. The guide lists five criteria:

1. Accurate terms
2. Examples explained well
3. A meaningful question
4. Readable layout and useful image
5. Feedback applied

Share the list before students start, and use it for peer feedback halfway through. The last criterion matters: ask students to mark one change they made after feedback.

The learning check as self-assessment

The learning check has five prompts, one per topic, each asking for the main idea in one sentence plus an example. The guide recommends using it for feedback rather than for a grade. The last line asks for one topic the student wants to practice. Read those lines closely: if eight students name irregular verbs, that is your next small-group lesson.

Three sample check questions

Question 1: Why is "Yesterday I go to school" incorrect? A good answer says the sentence points to a finished event, so the verb must show the past, as in "went". A weaker answer only says "it should be went" without a reason.

Question 2: Correct "Did you went home?" and say why. A good answer gives "Did you go home?" and explains that did already shows the past, so the main verb stays in its base form.

Question 3: Write three sentences about an invented day and say which verbs are regular and which are irregular. A good answer keeps one time frame, uses correct forms, and sorts the verbs with a reason, for example "visited is regular because it ends in -ed; saw is irregular because it changes in another way."

Support and extension

Support for students who need it

The method pages suggest three supports. Sentence starters give the first words: "Yesterday I ..." or "I did not ...". Word cards put target verbs on the desk. A shared image description lets a group agree on what they see before anyone writes. For reading difficulties, the guide suggests reading texts aloud and allowing oral answers or symbol cards.

If a student needs more practice time on grammar basics, Grade 5 grammar practice pages provide extra sentences without changing the main lesson.

Extension for students who finish early

The guide gives three ways to stretch a student. A borderline case: ask for a verb whose spelling changes and have them explain how they decided. A counterexample: invite them to find a sentence that breaks a rule they stated, then revise the rule. Comparing two solutions: show two ways to tell the same story and ask which reads more clearly and why.

Using what you find

Checking only helps if something changes afterwards. When a ticket shows that a student wrote "Did he went?", do not stop at correcting it. Pull three such tickets, write them anonymously on the board, and let the class repair them together. When a ticket shows a strong answer, ask that student to share the reasoning aloud, because hearing a classmate explain why did takes the base form is often clearer than hearing it from you.

Putting it together

A simple rhythm works across a unit: an exit ticket after each path, a short peer check on the project draft, and the learning check at the end. Keep a running list of recurring questions and plan one short follow-up lesson.

The unit page shows the student book and teacher guide contents if you want to see the assessment pages first.

For a wider set of grammar units, the four-unit language bundle uses the same page structure, so the checking routines carry over.

Related reading from the Teacher Hub

• Why Students Write 'Did You Went': Fixing Simple Past Errors
• Six Simple Past Activities for Upper Elementary Classrooms
• How to Teach Subject and Object Pronouns in Grades 3–6