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A doctor and an Olympic champion? During vs while, and for with periods of time

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches during vs while and for through Sammy Lee, a doctor who won Olympic diving gold in 1948.

Grammar
For + a period (for four years), during + a noun (during the 1948 Games) and while + a clause (while he was still a medical student), or while + -ing.
Topic
Sammy Lee, born in Fresno to Korean immigrant parents, and the 1948 London Olympics, with diving words such as springboard, somersault, splash and podium.
Activities
Riley's feature, a visit to a city pool and a diver's voice message, self-checking drills, a chat with a parent about lessons and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: ready to dive in?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: diving and championsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: the doctor on the platform

    • Look at the photo: a diving towerPictureUnlock
    • Read Riley's story on the show's websiteArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: a visit to the pool

    • Listen to Riley and StanleyListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Listener's Take: Henry's messageListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: for months, during a dive, while you train

    • Study the scheme: for, during and whileGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the right time wordFill in the gapsTry it
    • Drag the words into the gaps: what comes after for, during and while?Drag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: lessons at the pool

    • Choose the right replies: diving lessons for BobbyChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: sporting momentsOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the words into groupsSort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: for, during or while + the words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the right endingQuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a pool noticeChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Riley answers HenryDrag and dropUnlock

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

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

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • somersault
  • splash
  • spectator
  • Olympian
  • immigrant
  • medical school
  • degree
  • dizzy
  • podium

Grammar: for, during and while

For, during and while all talk about time, but each takes a different kind of phrase after it. With Sammy Lee, who won a national title while he was still a medical student, learners check what follows the word before choosing it: a length of time, a noun or a whole clause.

for, during or while?

for + how long, during + a noun, while + a clause (subject + verb).

What comes after each word

For + a period answers How long?: for three hours, for months. During takes a noun, an event or a time: during the summer, during a dive. While takes a clause with its own subject and verb: while she was training.

WordWhat comes next?Examples
fora period of time: How long?for two years, for three hours, for months, for a long time
duringa noun: an event or a timeduring the Games, during the summer, during medical school, during a dive
whilea clause: subject + verbwhile he was studying medicine, while she was training, while you dive

For: how long, not when

Use for with a period of time: Lee held the title for four years, not during four years. For the Games doesn't mean “during the Games”: He won two medals during the Games. In He trained for the Games, for means “to get ready for.”

for = How long?

Use for with a period of time: for two hours, for four years. Not: during two years. And for the Games doesn't mean “at some time in the Games”: Lee won two medals during the Games. (He trained for the Games = to get ready for them. That's a different for.)

During + a noun, while + a clause

One moment can take either word if what follows changes: Footnote slept during the recording, Footnote slept while we were recording. During never takes a subject and verb, so during he was studying is wrong, and so is while the Games.

during + a noun or while + a clause?

during + a noun

  • Lee won two medals during the Games.
  • Nobody talks during a dive.
  • Footnote slept during the recording.

while + subject + verb

  • Lee won two medals while he was in London.
  • Nobody talks while a diver is in the air.
  • Footnote slept while we were recording.

At the pool and in Sammy Lee's story

  • Lee held the Olympic platform title for four years, from 1948 until 1952.
  • During the 1948 Games, he won two medals.
  • In 1946, while he was still a medical student, he won a national title.
  • Stanley's divers train for about three hours after school.
  • The spectators are quiet during a dive.
  • Riley holds the towel while Stanley dives.

While for every person, and while + -ing

After while, the past continuous or the present continuous is common: while I was training, while they're training. With the same subject, while + -ing is correct too: Lee won a title while studying medicine means while he was studying medicine.

while + a clause: every person

Whowhile + was / were + -ingwhile + am / is / are + -ing
Iwhile I was trainingwhile I'm training
youwhile you were trainingwhile you're training
hewhile he was trainingwhile he's training
shewhile she was trainingwhile she's training
itwhile it was rainingwhile it's raining
wewhile we were trainingwhile we're training
theywhile they were trainingwhile they're training

while + -ing is fine too

When the subject is the same, you can also say while + -ing: Lee won a title while studying medicine (= while he was studying medicine). Both are correct. But during never takes a clause: Not: during he was studying.

Common mistakes

  • She trained there during two years.

    She trained there for two years.

    a period (How long?): for

  • He won a medal while the Games.

    He won a medal during the Games.

    a noun: during

  • He won a medal for the Games.

    He won a medal during the Games.

    at some time in the Games: during

  • During he was studying, he won a title.

    While he was studying, he won a title.

    a clause (he was…): while

More lessons on this grammar: Prepositions lessons and exercises

Try the for, during and while exercises

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

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 18 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say how long with for + a period of time: Stanley's divers train for about three hours after school. Lee stopped competing for about three years.
  • say when something happened with during + a noun: During the 1948 Games, he won two medals. The spectators are quiet during a dive.
  • join two actions with while + subject and verb: Riley holds the towel while Stanley dives. While I'm stretching, I always listen to music.
  • avoid the classic slips: for two years, not during two years; during the Games, not while the Games; while he was studying, not during he was studying

Lesson 26 is the second lesson of Sporting moments, unit 7 of English B1.1 · Stories That Travel. It builds on lesson 2, where for and since went with the present perfect, and on A2.2 lessons 9 and 10, which taught the past continuous and when and while. Lesson 27 turns to present tenses for live commentary. Sammy Lee's life is full of time phrases: he stopped competing for about three years and won a title while he was still a medical student.

Students spin a wheel of questions about swimming, heights and watching sport, then learn twelve words, from spin and flip to medical school and podium, with pictures and audio. They read Riley's feature on Sammy Lee, then hear her visit Stanley, a diving coach at a city pool, and Henry, a 19-year-old college diver, leave a voice message, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four self-checking drills, among them a gap-fill where students choose the right time word. In the speaking chapter, the student answers Wanda, a parent asking about diving lessons for her son, then opens boxes about sporting moments.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a gap-fill and a sort for the words, then a choice of for, during or while in new sentences, gaps to build from the words in brackets, word order, sentence endings to choose, a pool notice and Riley's answer to Henry.

Grammar:
for + a period of time · during + a noun · while + a clause
Topic:
diving · the Olympic Games · Sammy Lee · Vicki Draves · sporting moments · swimming pools · Los Angeles · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Write three column headings on the board: for + how long, during + a noun, while + subject and verb. Students call out time phrases from Riley's feature, and the class decides where each one goes.
  • Before the visit to the pool, ask who is afraid of heights. Then play the talk and have students note each time phrase they hear: for months, during a meet, while I was in college.
  • Turn one sentence into its twin: give during the recording and ask for the while version, while we were recording, then go the other way. The meaning stays; only the grammar after the word changes.
  • Run a “How long?” interview in pairs: How long did you stay at your last party? Partners answer with for + a period, then add one thing that happened during it.

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The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, each built around a true story. Riley, Jade and Darius make a podcast in Kansas City about true American stories, and each lesson tells one, from a seaplane airport in Alaska to the Marfa Lights of West Texas. Learners compare the present perfect with the past simple, use future forms, modals and quantifiers, and give their own opinions. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Travel smart

    the present perfect vs the past simple, for and since, indirect questions, be used to and get used to

    1. Lesson 1Would you visit an airport just for fun?Present perfect vs past simple
    2. Lesson 2Would you sleep in a 300-year-old inn?For and since with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 3My suitcase has gone to Honolulu!Indirect questions for polite requests
    4. Lesson 4Can you practice a flight?Be used to and get used to

  2. Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs

    will have to and won't be allowed to, the present perfect continuous, simple vs continuous, would vs used to

    1. Lesson 5Would you jump off a moving boat for a job?Will have to, will be able to and will be allowed to
    2. Lesson 6Working from anywherePresent perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 7Could you be a camp counselor?Present perfect simple vs continuous
    4. Lesson 8Would you live in a lighthouse?Would vs used to for the past

  3. Unit 3 Space and discovery

    it's + adjective + to, What's it like to…?, future forms compared, future time clauses, too and enough + to

    1. Lesson 9What's it like to work in space?It's + adjective + to and What's it like to…?
    2. Lesson 10Who will walk on the Moon next?Future forms compared by meaning
    3. Lesson 11A message for the starsFuture time clauses
    4. Lesson 12A helicopter on Mars?Too and enough + to-infinitive

  4. Unit 4 Life online

    the more…, the more…, be supposed to, ought to and had better, let, make and allow

    1. Lesson 13The internet's first word was “LO”Comparative and comparative; the more…, the more…
    2. Lesson 14Who sent the first spam?Be supposed to for rules, expectations and plans
    3. Lesson 15Is your password really safe?Ought to and had better for advice and warnings
    4. Lesson 16Who writes Wikipedia?Let, make and allow + someone

  5. Unit 5 Screen and page

    -ed and -ing adjectives, gradable and extreme adjectives, present tenses for a plot, articles for things in general

    1. Lesson 17Why do readers still love Nancy Drew?-ed and -ing adjectives for feelings
    2. Lesson 18Movie night in your carGradable and extreme adjectives
    3. Lesson 19Would you review a book on TV?Present tenses to tell a plot
    4. Lesson 20Where are the books about girls like me?Articles for things in general and specific things

  6. Unit 6 Green living

    few and a few, little and a little, all, most, some and none, each and every, fewer and less

    1. Lesson 21A year's trash in one jar?Few, a few, little and a little
    2. Lesson 22No food in the trash!All, most, some and none (of)
    3. Lesson 23A farm in the middle of DetroitEach and every
    4. Lesson 24A trash collector with googly eyesFewer and less

  7. Unit 7 Sporting moments

    could, was able to and managed to, for, during and while, present tenses for live commentary, question tags

    1. Lesson 25From a leg brace to three goldsCould, was able to and managed to
    2. Lesson 26 · you're hereA doctor and an Olympic champion?For, during and while
    3. Lesson 27Who's that runner coming from behind?Present simple and continuous for live commentary
    4. Lesson 28Why do high jumpers go backward?Question tags

  8. Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds

    both… and, either… or and neither… nor, uncountable nouns, how sure we are about the future, unless, as long as and in case

    1. Lesson 29A calendar made of posts?Both… and, either… or, neither… nor
    2. Lesson 30What was the Great House for?Uncountable abstract nouns
    3. Lesson 31What does Newspaper Rock say?Certainty about the future
    4. Lesson 32What are the Marfa Lights?Unless, as long as and in case

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between during and while?
During is followed by a noun, while by a clause: Footnote slept during the recording, but Footnote slept while we were recording. Both place one thing inside a stretch of time; only the grammar after them differs. So during the Games and while he was in London are right, and while the Games is wrong. The B1 lesson A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai drills the pair with Sammy Lee's diving story.
When do you use during?
Use during before a noun that names an event or a period: during the summer, during medical school, during a dive. It says when something happened, not how long it lasted: The spectators are quiet during a dive. For length, use for: for two hours, not during two hours. In A doctor and an Olympic champion?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, during the 1948 Games is the key example.
Is it "during two years" or "for two years"?
It's for two years: a length of time takes for. For answers How long?, as in Lee held the Olympic platform title for four years or Stanley's divers train for about three hours after school. During answers When? and needs an event or a named period: during the summer, during the 1948 Games. The first drill in A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai sets this trap.
Can you say "during he was studying"?
No: during can't take a subject and a verb, so it's while he was studying. The opposite slip is while the Games, with a plain noun after while; it should be during the Games. The scheme sets each noun beside a clause, as in during a dive and while a diver is in the air, and the chat in A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai offers both slips as wrong replies.
Is "while studying" correct?
Yes, when the two parts share one subject: Lee won a title while studying medicine means while he was studying medicine, and both are correct. With two different subjects, keep the full clause: Riley holds the towel while Stanley dives. During can't do either job, so during studying and during he studied are wrong. A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai accepts both while forms in its typed gaps.
Who was Sammy Lee?
Sammy Lee was an American diver and doctor. Born in Fresno, California, to Korean immigrant parents, he grew up in Los Angeles. He earned his medical degree at USC in 1947, and at the 1948 Olympics in London he won gold on the 10-meter platform and bronze on the springboard. He is known as the first Asian American man to win Olympic gold for the United States, and he won the platform again in 1952.
Why is Sammy Lee called the first Asian American man to win Olympic gold?
Because Vicki Draves won gold two days before him. At the 1948 London Games, Draves, an Asian American diver, won the women's springboard on August 3, and Lee won the men's 10-meter platform on August 5. Draves then won the platform too, the first woman to win both diving events at one Olympics. Riley's feature in A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai explains why the word “man” matters.
How do I teach for, during and while to B1 students?
Begin with one life story full of time phrases, such as Sammy Lee's, and let students collect every for, during and while in it. Then sort the phrases by what comes next: a length of time, a noun or a clause. A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai follows this path, from Riley's feature and a pool visit to the scheme and four drills.
What's a good game for practicing during and while?
Play “during or while?” with sentence halves: one team reads a start such as Footnote slept…, and the other finishes it twice, once with during the recording and once with while we were recording. For a speaking round, the open boxes in A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai ask questions such as What do you think about while you're running, swimming or walking?
What's good homework for practicing during and while?
Good homework mixes all three words in new sentences: a choice of for, during or while, gaps built from brackets such as (he / swim) or (the lesson), and sentence endings to pick. All ten homework tasks in A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai check themselves, and two of them are a pool notice and Riley's answer to Henry.
How do you practice for, during and while one-to-one?
Walk through the student's last weekend together: ask How long did you sleep?, What happened during dinner? and What do you do while you're waiting for a bus?, then swap roles. The chat in A doctor and an Olympic champion? on edio.ai needs no partner: the student answers Wanda's questions about diving lessons, and every wrong reply hides a for, during or while slip.
Are there interactive exercises for during and while?
Yes: gap-fills and a chat that check every answer. Without an account, this page plays three parts of A doctor and an Olympic champion?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Riley's visit to Stanley's city pool, a gap-fill for choosing for, during or while, and the chat with Wanda about diving lessons for her son. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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