Sign up for freeSign up

Baseball at midnight? The present continuous for things happening now

This A1 ESL lesson plan introduces the present continuous, also called the present progressive, for things happening right now.

Grammar
Am, is or are + verb-ing (The sun is shining. They're playing.), long and short forms, -ing spelling rules (making, running), and every June against now.
Topic
The Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks, Alaska, a baseball game that starts late at night with the lights off, and words such as shine, pitcher and shadow.
Activities
A post from the bleachers, a late phone call and a radio weather report, self-checking drills, a video-call chat, a spin wheel of 30-second weather reports and a post to write.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Hello, midnight sun!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the words: summer nights and baseballVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: baseball at midnight

    • Look at the photo: the Midnight Sun GamePictureUnlock
    • Read Liam's postReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: a late call

    • Listen to Mia and LiamListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Listen to the radio: the weather in FairbanksListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: the sun is shining!

    • Study the scheme: am, is, are + -ingGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: write the -ing formFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: long and short formsFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: the weather report

    • Choose the right replies: a video call with LiamChatTry it
    • Spin the wheel and give a 30-second weather reportSpin the wheelUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Fill in the gaps: am / is / are + -ingFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Write a post: right now in my townWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record a weather report for your townSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

25 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • dark
  • sky
  • late
  • pitcher
  • baseball glove
  • game
  • shadow

Grammar: the present continuous for now

The present continuous describes what is happening at the moment of speaking: The pitcher is throwing the ball. At a ballpark where the sun is still out late at night, learners build it from am, is or are and verb-ing, follow the -ing spelling rules, and see why every June takes a different tense from now.

The sun is shining! Things happening now

Say what is happening now: am / is / are + verb-ing.

am, is, are + verb-ing

Two parts make the present continuous: am, is or are, then the verb + -ing. The sun is shining. They're playing baseball. I'm watching the game. Neither part can be left out: It raining has no is, and He is play has no -ing.

I / you / he / she / it / we / theyam / is / areverb + -ing

The sun is shining.

They're playing baseball.

I'm watching the game.

Long and short forms for every person

Each person has its own form of be: I am; he, she or it is; you, we or they are. Speech and messages mostly use the short forms: I'm playing. She's playing. It's raining. They're playing.

WhoLong formShort form
II am playing.I'm playing.
youYou are playing.You're playing.
heHe is playing.He's playing.
sheShe is playing.She's playing.
itIt is raining.It's raining.
weWe are playing.We're playing.
theyThey are playing.They're playing.

Spelling the -ing form

Most verbs just add -ing: playing, throwing, watching. A final -e drops: make, making; shine, shining; but see, seeing. Short verbs like run double the last letter when they end in one vowel and one consonant: running, swimming, sitting, though w and y never double: throwing.

RuleExamples
Most verbs: + ingplay → playing, throw → throwing, eat → eating, watch → watching
Verb + e: drop the e, + ingmake → making, shine → shining, write → writing (but: see → seeing)
Short verb, one vowel + one consonant at the end: double the last letterrun → running, swim → swimming, sit → sitting, clap → clapping (not w or y: throwing, playing)

Every June or right now?

Habits and yearly events take the present simple: The Goldpanners play the Midnight Sun Game every June. What is happening at this moment takes the present continuous, often with now, right now, Look! or Listen!: Look! The pitcher is throwing the ball now!

Every June or now?

Every June, every day → present simple: The Goldpanners play the Midnight Sun Game every June. Now, right now, Look!, Listen! → am / is / are + -ing: Look! The pitcher is throwing the ball now!

Common mistakes

  • It raining.

    It's raining.

    don't forget am / is / are

  • He is play baseball.

    He is playing baseball.

    am / is / are + verb-ing

  • She is makeing tea.

    She is making tea.

    verb + e: drop the e

  • The kids are runing.

    The kids are running.

    run: double the n

More lessons on this grammar: Present continuous lessons and exercises

Try the present continuous exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 12 auto-checked exercises
  • 2 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say what is happening now with am, is or are and verb-ing: The sun is shining. I'm watching the game.
  • use long and short forms for every person: They are playing. They're playing.
  • spell the -ing form: playing, making, running, sitting
  • give a short weather report: Right now, it's 65 degrees, and the sun is shining.

Lesson 7 is the third lesson of Weather and seasons, the second unit of English A1.2 · Out and About. It builds on lesson 5, where It's and an adjective described the weather (It's sunny.), and adds weather in action: It's raining. The sun is shining. Lesson 22 brings present continuous questions and negatives, and lesson 25 sets the tense against the present simple. At a game in Fairbanks that starts around 10:30 at night, The sun is shining is simply what the fans see.

Students open boxes of questions about summer evenings and sports, then learn ten words, from shine and throw to pitcher and shadow, with pictures and audio. They read Liam's post from the bleachers at 11:30 p.m. and answer true-or-false and multiple-choice questions, then hear Mia's late call to the ballpark from rainy Brooklyn (an AI-voiced dialogue) and a radio weather report from Fairbanks. The grammar chapter adds four self-checking exercises to the scheme, among them a gap-fill of -ing forms and a table of long and short forms. In the speaking chapter, students reply on a video call with Liam, then spin a wheel and give a 30-second weather report for a US city.

Homework opens with a gap-fill of am, is or are + -ing and a word-matching game, both checked automatically. Students then write a post that begins Right now in my town… and record a radio-style weather report for their town, which the teacher reviews.

Grammar:
present continuous · am / is / are + -ing · -ing spelling · now
Topic:
Midnight Sun Game · Fairbanks, Alaska · summer · weather · baseball

Teaching tips

  • Mime and let the class narrate: throw an imaginary ball, sit down, drink some tea, and students say each action as it happens: You're throwing a ball. You're drinking tea.
  • Sort verbs into three spelling groups before the gap-fill: just add -ing (play), drop the e (make), double the letter (run). Students then add shine, clap and eat.
  • Play the radio report twice: first for the weather, then for the people, while students list every -ing verb they hear, from shining and blowing to riding.
  • Time each weather report on a phone: a student spins the wheel and talks for thirty seconds about that city, and the class repeats one thing that is happening there.

Liked it?

Teach the whole lesson in edio

25 exercises in 6 chapters, ready to teach. edio is an online platform for language schools and teachers: ready-made interactive lessons, live classes, homework and student progress in one place.

  1. Start a free trial

    7 days, no credit card.

  2. Open the lesson

    Find it in the library of 621 ready lessons. Teach it as it is, or copy any chapter into your own lessons.

  3. Teach it live or as homework

    Students work in their own accounts, in sync with you during the lesson, and the practice exercises check themselves.

Teach it free for 7 days

The whole course: English A1.2 · Out and About

32 lessons that pick up where English A1.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present simple with he and she to was and were. Eight units cover shopping, the weather, getting around, celebrations, health, animals and nature, jobs and weekends. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Shopping

    clothes and colors, he and she in the present simple, sizes and prices, paying in a store

    1. Lesson 1What does she wear on Aloha Friday?Present simple with he, she and it
    2. Lesson 2A basket on wheels?Present simple negatives with don't and doesn't
    3. Lesson 3What size are these boots?What questions and a pair of
    4. Lesson 4Can I try it on? The Santa Fe Indian MarketRequests and permission with Can I and Can you

  2. Unit 2 Weather and seasons

    the weather, seasons and months, the present continuous, how often it rains or snows

    1. Lesson 5Is the Windy City windy?Weather adjectives with It's
    2. Lesson 6Does it rain in the desert?Yes/no questions with does
    3. Lesson 7 · you're hereBaseball at midnight?The present continuous for now
    4. Lesson 8Is it always windy on Mount Washington?Adverbs of frequency and their place

  3. Unit 3 Getting around

    transport, timetables, where places are, tickets with want and need

    1. Lesson 9How do you get to work?By + transport, take the bus and on foot
    2. Lesson 10What time does the ferry leave?Wh- questions with does
    3. Lesson 11Where's the streetcar stop?Between, behind, in front of and across from
    4. Lesson 12Do you need a ticket?Want and need with a noun

  4. Unit 4 Celebrations

    dates and holidays, in and on, party invitations, object pronouns

    1. Lesson 13Why is it called Juneteenth?Ordinal numbers for saying dates
    2. Lesson 14Never on a Sunday? The Rose ParadeIn, on and at for dates and times
    3. Lesson 15Come to our Lunar New Year party!Some and any with plural nouns
    4. Lesson 16Thank you, teacher!Object pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us and them

  5. Unit 5 Healthy me

    the body, how often, at the pharmacy, steps with first and then

    1. Lesson 17Does your back hurt?Hurt and hurts with parts of the body
    2. Lesson 18How often do you walk?How often questions and expressions of frequency
    3. Lesson 19What's the matter?Have and has for health problems
    4. Lesson 20Clean hands in five stepsSequence words with imperatives

  6. Unit 6 Animals and nature

    there is and there are, what animals are doing, parks, a, an and the

    1. Lesson 21Which frog sings its name?There is and there are for what's in a place
    2. Lesson 22What's the bear doing now?Present continuous questions and negatives
    3. Lesson 23Are there any horses on the beach?Questions with is there and are there any
    4. Lesson 24Where do the baby turtles go?A, an and the for first and second mention

  7. Unit 7 Jobs people do

    jobs and workplaces, the present simple and continuous, job interviews, possessive pronouns

    1. Lesson 25Who makes the sounds in movies?Present simple vs present continuous
    2. Lesson 26Nurses on horses?At, in and on with workplaces
    3. Lesson 27Can you be a lifeguard?Verbs with prepositions
    4. Lesson 28Whose hat is this?Possessive pronouns from mine to theirs

  8. Unit 8 Weekend stories and plans

    was and were, how long and how tall, and, but and or, camping food

    1. Lesson 29Why do we have two days off?Was and were, the past of be
    2. Lesson 30How long is a blue whale?How + adjective questions about size
    3. Lesson 31A cow made of butter?And, but and or for joining ideas
    4. Lesson 32What do you need for s'mores?Containers and quantities with of

Questions about this lesson

What is the present continuous?
The present continuous is the verb form for things happening right now: am, is or are plus a verb with -ing. The sun is shining. They're playing baseball. I'm drinking tea. Words like now, right now, Look! and Listen! often go with it: Listen! The fans are cheering! The A1 lesson Baseball at midnight? on edio.ai introduces it at a ballpark where the sun is still up at 11:30 p.m.
How do you form the present continuous?
Form it with the right form of be, then the verb + -ing: I am playing, she is playing, they are playing. In speech and messages, the short forms are usual: I'm, you're, he's, she's, it's, we're, they're. A table in Baseball at midnight?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, has students write both forms for every person, from I'm watching the game to They're clapping.
Is the present progressive the same as the present continuous?
Yes: they are two names for the same tense, am, is or are plus verb-ing. Some grammar books say progressive and others continuous, but the sentences don't change: It's raining. We're eating hot dogs. She's making tea. Both names describe the same idea: an action in progress, continuing at the moment you speak.
What are the -ing spelling rules?
There are three main -ing spelling rules: most verbs just add -ing (play, playing; eat, eating); verbs ending in -e drop the e (make, making; write, writing); and short verbs ending in one vowel and one consonant double the consonant (run, running; sit, sitting). Two exceptions to watch: see keeps both e's (seeing), and w and y never double (throwing, playing).
How do you add -ing to verbs like run and swim?
Short verbs like run and swim double their last consonant before -ing: running, swimming, clapping. That happens when a short verb ends in a single vowel and consonant. Two vowels before the consonant stop it (rain, raining; eat, eating), and so does a final w or y (throw, throwing). The gap-fill in the A1 lesson Baseball at midnight? on edio.ai mixes all three spelling rules in eight sentences.
Is it "It raining" or "It's raining"?
It's raining is right: the -ing verb needs is. The present continuous always has am, is or are: I'm watching the game, not I watching; The fans are cheering, not The fans cheering. The opposite slip drops the -ing instead: He is play baseball should be He is playing baseball.
What's the difference between "they play" and "they're playing"?
They play is a habit; they're playing is happening now. The present simple fits things that repeat (The Goldpanners play the Midnight Sun Game every June.), and the present continuous fits this moment (Look! They're playing now!). Time words help: every day and every June go with the present simple; now, right now and Listen! go with the present continuous.
How do you describe the weather right now in English?
Describe it with the present continuous for what the weather is doing: It's raining. It's snowing. The sun is shining. A cool wind is blowing. Add It's + an adjective and the temperature for the rest: It's cool, about 53 degrees. A radio-style report strings it all together: Good evening! It's ten o'clock, and here's your weather. Right now, the sun is shining.
How do I teach the present continuous to beginners?
Teach it with actions students can see, so now needs no explaining: mime throwing a ball, say I'm throwing a ball, then let students describe each other. Begin with statements; save questions and negatives for later. Baseball at midnight?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, works the same way, describing a live game in a post, a phone call and a radio report before the scheme and four drills.
What's a good game for practicing the present continuous?
A spin-the-wheel weather report is a good one: each spin gives a city, a time, the weather and a scene, and the student reports for thirty seconds. Miami, 2 p.m., hot, 90°F, people at the beach might become It's two o'clock in Miami, and it's 90 degrees. People are swimming in the ocean. Charades works too: one student mimes, and the class guesses You're cooking!
What are good present continuous activities for the classroom?
Good activities describe a scene happening in front of the class: the view from the window, a busy photo or a mimed action. Students say what people are doing (A boy is wearing a big glove.) and what the weather is doing (It's raining.). For writing, a post that starts Right now in my town… keeps every sentence in the tense, and this lesson sets one as homework.
Are there interactive exercises for the present continuous?
Yes: self-checking -ing gap-fills and chats show each mistake as students make it. Four parts of Baseball at midnight?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, play on its page with no account: a post from the Midnight Sun Game, a late call between Brooklyn and Fairbanks, a gap-fill that asks for the -ing form, and a video-call chat from the ballpark. The form table and the weather wheel need an account.
Unlock full lesson

Teach this lesson with your students

Book a demoStart free trial

No credit card required