Seven short sentences, each with a verb tense to check, make this 5th grade warm-up quick to run. In Part 1, students find the one verb that shifts in each sentence, such as "chases" after a dog that "barked," and write the correct form. In Part 2, they decide whether a shift is a mistake or correct because the time really changes. The 3-page sheet targets L.5.1.d, and the answer key gives each fix with the verb it must match.
L.5.1.d
“Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.*”
Part 1 fixes four shifts, and Part 2 separates real time changes from mistakes in sentences 5 to 7.
A short reminder: stay in one tense unless the time of the action actually changes.
Four sentences, including "Tomorrow, we will go to the museum and learned about dinosaurs" and a rocket that "blasted off, soared through the clouds, and lands on the moon." Students write the corrected verb in the box.
Students mark three sentences as Mistake or Correct. Sentence 5 goes from losing a jacket yesterday to wearing a sweater today. In sentence 7, Sam bakes cookies while his brother watched TV.
Bell ringer
Put one sentence on the board each morning for a week. Start with the rocket sentence, because two past verbs before "lands" make the odd one easy to hear.
Time words
Sentence 5 is the one that trips students up. Have them underline "yesterday" and "today" so they can see that the time really does change.
Accept both fixes
Sentence 3 can be fixed two ways: opened and found, or opens and finds. The key uses finds, so accept either if the tense stays consistent.
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