Read about school life and Thanksgiving in the American Midwest, then practise the simple present and present progressive.
Read the text carefully, then answer the questions below.
Jake is fourteen years old and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — a city on the shore of Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes. Milwaukee is in the American Midwest, a large region of flat land, farms and friendly people.
Jake goes to Lincoln Middle School. His school day starts at 7:45 a.m. and finishes at 2:30 p.m. He takes a yellow school bus every morning. At school, he studies English, maths, science, social studies and art. His favourite subject is science because they do lots of experiments. After school, he plays basketball in the school gym or goes to drama club.
In November, Jake's family celebrates Thanksgiving. It is one of the most important holidays in the USA. Jake's mum cooks a big turkey with mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. The whole family comes together — grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Before they eat, everyone says what they are thankful for. Jake always says he is thankful for his dog, Buddy.
In summer, Jake's family often drives to the shore of Lake Michigan. They go swimming, build sandcastles and have barbecues. Jake says the lake is so big that it looks like the sea. "You can't see the other side!" he tells his friends in Germany.
Complete each sentence with the correct simple present form of the verb in brackets. Remember: he/she/it adds -s or -es.
We use the simple present for things that happen regularly or are always true.
I/you/we/they → base form: I play basketball.
He/she/it → add -s or -es: She plays basketball. He watches TV.
Negative: I don't like… / He doesn't like…
It is Thanksgiving Day at Jake's house. Choose the correct present progressive form to describe what everyone is doing right now.
We use the present progressive (also called present continuous) for things happening right now or at this moment.
Form: am / is / are + verb-ing
I am watching TV. / She is cooking dinner. / They are playing outside.
Write two short paragraphs (6–8 sentences total). Use the simple present in the first paragraph and the present progressive in the second.
Paragraph 1 — My typical school day (simple present): What time do you get up? How do you get to school? What subjects do you have? What do you do after school?
Paragraph 2 — Right now (present progressive): What are you doing at this moment? What are your classmates doing? Is anyone talking or laughing?
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