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Why did everyone use to wear a hat? Used to for past habits and states

This A2 ESL lesson plan teaches used to for past habits and states, comparing the hats fans wore to old ballgames with today's caps.

Grammar
Used to + verb for things that aren't true now (Men used to wear hats to games.), the same for every person, set against the past simple and usually.
Topic
Types of hats at American ballgames, from the straw boater and the fedora to the baseball cap, with words such as brim, scoreboard and seventh-inning stretch.
Activities
A museum notice to read, a guide's talk and a viewer's question to hear, self-checking drills, a chat from the stands and open boxes of I used to… prompts.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Hats on!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: hats and ballgamesVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: hats in the stands

    • Look at the photo: fans in the old daysPictureUnlock
    • Read the museum noticeReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: the ballpark museum

    • Look at the photo: Washington, D.C., 1924PictureUnlock
    • Listen to Marco and ZoeListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to Terrence's questionListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Men used to wear hats

    • Study the scheme: used toGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: used to + verbFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: then and nowFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: I used to…

    • Choose the right replies: before the tripChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: I used to…Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the words from the lessonFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the words into the correct columnsSort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: say it with used toFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Nora's postDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: comments under the postChoose the optionUnlock

31 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

  • fedora
  • suit
  • baseball cap
  • brim
  • scoreboard
  • seventh-inning stretch
  • casual

Grammar: used to for past habits and states

Used to is the grammar for a past that has changed: Men used to wear hats to games. (Most men don't now.) With old photos of crowds in hats, learners set each used to sentence against one about now, use the same form for every person, and keep the past simple for single events.

Men used to wear hats. Now people wear caps.

used to + verb: a habit or a state in the past. It isn't true now.

Then and now

Each used to sentence has a partner about today in the present simple: Fans used to dress up for games. Now fans wear casual clothes. Used to is followed by the base verb, and be works too: The fedora used to be very popular.

Then and now

Then: used to + verbNow: present simple
Men used to wear hats to games.Now a lot of fans wear baseball caps.
Fans used to dress up for games.Now fans wear casual clothes.
The fedora used to be very popular.Now the baseball cap is popular.

used to = not now

used to + verb is about the past, and it isn't true now: Men used to wear hats (but most men don't now). It's the same for every person: I, you, he, she, it, we, they used to. After did, we write use to, without d: Why did everyone use to wear a hat?

One form for every person

Used to never changes: I, you, he, she, it, we and they all take it, so it's He used to wear a suit to games, with no -s anywhere. There used to be works the same way: There used to be an old rule about straw hats.

Every person: the same form

Whoused to + verb
II used to wear a cap to school.
youYou used to sing along to every song.
heHe used to wear a suit to games.
sheShe used to dress up on Sundays.
itIt used to be a hat store.
weWe used to play baseball in the park.
theyThey used to wear straw hats in summer.

At the ballpark museum

  • Men used to wear a hat outdoors.
  • Fans used to dress up for ballgames.
  • Women used to wear hats to games too.
  • Biscuit used to chew Marco's hats!
  • There used to be an old rule about straw hats.

Used to or the past simple?

Used to is for something repeated many times or true for a long time: Men used to wear hats every day. One event, at one time, takes the past simple: On August 29, 1924, fans watched a scoreboard. Last night, our team won the game.

used to: many times or a long time

  • Men used to wear hats every day.
  • Biscuit used to chew hats.
  • Car roofs used to be higher.

past simple: one time, one event

  • On August 29, 1924, fans watched a scoreboard.
  • Today, Marco tried on a boater.
  • Last night, our team won the game.

Usually now, used to then

Usually and the present simple describe habits today: These days, fans usually wear caps. Used to only looks back: As a kid, I used to wear rain boots. So Now I used to wear a hoodie is wrong; it's Now I usually wear a hoodie.

Now: usually + present simple

  • These days, fans usually wear caps.
  • I usually wear sneakers.

Then: used to + verb

  • In the 1920s, men used to wear hats.
  • As a kid, I used to wear rain boots.

Common mistakes

  • Men used to wore hats.

    Men used to wear hats.

    used to + the base form

  • Fans use to dress up.

    Fans used to dress up.

    used, with d (no did before it)

  • I'm used to wear a cap.

    I used to wear a cap.

    no am, is or are before used to

  • Last Sunday, our team used to win.

    Last Sunday, our team won.

    one event: the past simple

More lessons on this grammar: Used to lessons and exercises

Try the used to exercises

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

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 3 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • talk about past habits with used to + verb: Men used to wear hats to games. Fans used to dress up.
  • describe past states that aren't true now: The fedora used to be very popular. Car roofs used to be higher.
  • keep the past simple for one event: Last night, our team won the game, not used to win
  • compare then and now with used to and usually: As a kid, I used to wear rain boots. I usually wear sneakers.

Lesson 17 opens Style through time, unit 5 of English A2.2 · Curious Minds. It builds on A2.1 lessons 1 and 2, which taught the past simple of regular and irregular verbs, and on A1.2 lesson 8, where adverbs of frequency such as usually described habits. Lesson 18 adds didn't use to and Did … use to…? Old photos where almost every man wears a hat ask for exactly this language: what people did then and don't do now.

Students spin a wheel of questions about hats, ballgames and old family photos, then learn ten words, from dress up to seventh-inning stretch, with pictures and audio. They read a ballpark museum notice on hats in the stands, Felt Hat Day included, then hear Marco talk with Zoe, a museum guide, and a viewer ask why everyone wore a hat, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four self-checking exercises, among them a then-and-now table for every person. In the speaking chapter, students answer Maya's messages from the stands, then open boxes about what they used to do, wear, eat and play.

All nine homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a gap-fill and a column sort for the words, then a choice between used to and the past simple, gaps that turn past simple sentences into used to, word order, a then-and-now post to complete and a choice of forms in the comments under it.

Grammar:
used to + verb · past habits and states · used to vs past simple · used to vs usually
Topic:
baseball · hats · boater · fedora · seventh-inning stretch · Felt Hat Day · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Start with a family photo: show an old one of your own, or ask students to find one on their phones, and describe it together: My grandpa used to wear a hat. Now he wears a cap.
  • Before the museum notice, show a straw hat and a felt hat, or pictures of them, and ask when people wore each. The notice has the answer: straw in summer, felt in winter.
  • Play the guide's talk twice: first for the hats and clothes, then for each used to sentence. Students raise a hand at each one, then say what's true now: Now fans wear T-shirts.
  • Hold a seventh-inning stretch halfway through: everyone stands up, stretches and says one thing they used to do as a kid, starting I used to…

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The whole course: English A2.2 · Curious Minds

32 lessons that pick up where English A2.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present perfect to used to, have to and relative clauses. Eight units cover nature, tech at home, heroes, healthy habits, fashion, school, animals and traditions. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Wonders of nature

    the present perfect with ever and never, been to, superlatives with I've ever, articles with place names

    1. Lesson 1Have you ever seen the sky dance?The present perfect for experiences
    2. Lesson 2Have you been to the Grand Canyon?Present perfect vs past simple
    3. Lesson 3The longest cave in the worldSuperlatives with the present perfect
    4. Lesson 4The first national parkArticles with place names

  2. Unit 2 Clever tech at home

    the present perfect with just, already and yet, phrasal verbs, subject and object questions

    1. Lesson 5The chocolate bar that meltedThe present perfect with just
    2. Lesson 6Has my lunch arrived yet?Already and yet with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 7Turn it on, turn it offPhrasal verbs with it and them
    4. Lesson 8The girl who tests waterSubject and object questions

  3. Unit 3 Everyday heroes

    the past continuous, when and while, adjective order, story linkers

    1. Lesson 9When the pager beepsThe past continuous with was and were
    2. Lesson 10The man who planted apple treesPast continuous and past simple with when and while
    3. Lesson 11What's in the lost and found?The order of adjectives
    4. Lesson 12The dogs who saved NomeStory linkers

  4. Unit 4 Healthy and happy habits

    will for predictions, the zero and first conditionals, so do I and neither do I

    1. Lesson 13Why does school start later in California?Will and won't for predictions, decisions and offers
    2. Lesson 14Brain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15Doctor's orders: go to the park!The first conditional with if and will
    4. Lesson 16Walking in the mall at 7 a.m.Agreeing with So do I and Neither do I

  5. Unit 5 Style through time

    used to, didn't use to, made of and made from, still and not anymore

    1. Lesson 17 · you're hereWhy did everyone use to wear a hat?Used to for past habits and states
    2. Lesson 18Jeans used to be work clothesUsed to in negatives and questions
    3. Lesson 19Quilts made from old clothesMade of, made from and made by
    4. Lesson 20Cowboy boots, still made by handStill, not anymore and no longer

  6. Unit 6 School in America

    have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to, had to

    1. Lesson 21Do you have to wear a uniform?Have to and don't have to for rules
    2. Lesson 22Stop for the yellow bus!Must, mustn't and don't have to
    3. Lesson 23A class trip to the SmithsonianBe allowed to and can for permission
    4. Lesson 24One room, one teacher, every gradeHad to and didn't have to for past duties

  7. Unit 7 Amazing animals

    relative clauses with which, that, who and where, look and sound + adjective, adjectives with prepositions

    1. Lesson 25The bird that copies car alarmsRelative clauses with which and that
    2. Lesson 26Alligators and crocodiles togetherWho, which, that and where in relative clauses
    3. Lesson 27Sailors thought it was a mermaidLook, sound and feel as linking verbs
    4. Lesson 28Beagles at the airportAdjectives with prepositions

  8. Unit 8 Traditions we love

    invitations, will vs going to, so and such, one and ones

    1. Lesson 29Come to our cookout!Making, accepting and refusing invitations
    2. Lesson 30Is spring going to come early?Will vs going to for the future
    3. Lesson 31From turnips to pumpkinsSo and such for emphasis
    4. Lesson 32Giant balloons over ManhattanOne and ones in place of a noun

Questions about this lesson

What does used to mean?
Used to + verb tells about past habits and states that have changed: Men used to wear hats to games. The fedora used to be very popular. Neither is true now, so a sentence about today often follows: Now a lot of fans wear baseball caps. The A2 lesson Why did everyone use to wear a hat? on edio.ai teaches it with hats at old ballgames.
What is the grammar rule for used to?
The rule is used to + the base form, for every person: I used to wear a cap to school. He used to wear a suit to games. We used to play baseball in the park. There's no -s for he or she, and no am, is or are before it. After did, the spelling changes to use to: Why did everyone use to wear a hat?
What are some examples of used to?
Good examples of used to pair a past habit with a change: Fans used to dress up for ballgames. Men used to wear straw hats in summer and felt hats in winter. Car roofs used to be higher. As a kid, I used to wear rain boots. Each one describes a past that is over, so it fits next to a sentence about now: These days, fans usually wear caps.
What's the difference between used to and the past simple?
Used to is only for habits and long states; the past simple can also tell a single event: Men used to wear hats every day, but Last night, our team won the game. A single day, such as last Sunday or August 29, 1924, rules out used to. A compare block in the edio.ai lesson Why did everyone use to wear a hat? sets the two side by side.
Is it "used to wear" or "used to wore"?
It's used to wear: the base form follows used to. The past is already in used, so the verb after it stays simple: Fans used to dress up, not used to dressed up; I used to sing along, not used to sang along. The -ing form is wrong here too: Men used to wear a hat outdoors, never used to wearing.
What's the difference between "I used to" and "I'm used to"?
I used to + verb describes a past habit, while I'm used to means something feels normal, and it takes a noun or an -ing form: I'm used to early mornings. So I used to wear a cap is right, and I'm used to wear a cap is wrong. The chat in Why did everyone use to wear a hat?, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, sets that trap beside the right reply.
What are the different types of hats called?
Three well-known types of hats are the boater, the fedora and the baseball cap. A boater is a flat straw hat with a flat top and a flat brim; a fedora is a soft hat with a brim and a band, often made of felt; a baseball cap is a soft sports hat with a front brim. Hats also take their material's name: a straw hat for summer, a felt hat for winter.
What baseball vocabulary should English learners know?
Start with the words fans use at a ballgame: ballpark, stands, home plate, inning and scoreboard, the big sign that shows the game's points. The seventh-inning stretch is a short break in the middle of the seventh inning, when fans stand up, stretch and sing along to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” a song from 1908. Fans in casual clothes often wear a baseball cap.
How do I teach used to to A2 students?
Start from a picture of the past, such as an old photo of a crowd in hats, and let students say what people used to do: Men used to wear hats. Then add a sentence about now, and show that the form never changes. The edio.ai lesson Why did everyone use to wear a hat? moves from a museum notice and a guide's talk to the scheme, gap-fills and a then-and-now table.
What's a good game for practicing used to?
Open the box and finish the prompt works well: each box holds a task such as Say a food you used to hate or Your town: say what used to be there, and the student who opens it answers aloud: There used to be a hat store here. For a twist, play two truths and a lie: three sentences with used to, one of them false, and the class guesses which.
What's good homework for practicing used to?
Good homework is a set of short drills that check themselves: gap-fills that turn Long ago, men wore hats every day into Men ___ hats every day, a choice between used to and the past simple, and words to put in order. For Why did everyone use to wear a hat? on edio.ai, nine tasks of this kind make up the homework, among them a word match and a then-and-now post with gaps.
Are there interactive exercises for used to?
Yes: gap-fills and chats that mark each answer give students instant feedback on used to. This page plays four parts of the A2 lesson Why did everyone use to wear a hat? on edio.ai without an account: the museum notice on hats in the stands, Marco's talk with Zoe, a museum guide, a gap-fill of used to + verb, and Maya's chat from the stands. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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