A message in a bottle (Past Simple)

Inna | Feb 02, 2026Mar 13, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this ESL lesson on Past Simple are to:

• talk about discovering and writing a message in a bottle;
• review and practise Past Simple forms;
• watch a video about a message in a bottle found after 13 years.

In this lesson, students reflect on things people do on the beach, watch a video on a long-lost message in a bottle and share their opinions. They explore the forms and rules of Past Simple, examine sentences and complete the story about the oldest message in the bottle. Students say whether they agree with different statements, write their own message in a bottle and work in pairs, reading them and asking follow-up questions.

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This ESL lesson on Past Simple starts with a warm-up. Students give examples for points related to the beach (e.g. things people do on the beach). They then watch the first part of a video about a message in a bottle found years later and answer questions. Afterwards, students decide if some sentences about the story are true or false. Next, they watch the second part of the video and check their answers. Following that, students watch the rest of the video and complete sentences about the authors of the note with the verbs they hear. Moving on, they discuss messages in bottles and imagined outcomes. Then, students examine Past Simple sentences. They use them to identify and analyse Past Simple forms and rules. After that, students choose the correct option in sentences about past events (e.g. They visited London five days long/last/ago.).

PAST SIMPLE PRACTICE AND DISCUSSION

In this part of the ESL lesson on Past Simple, students complete unfinished sentences with the correct forms of Past Simple (e.g. He took the wrong bus to work, so…). They then complete the sentences with their own ideas. Afterwards, students use Past Simple verbs to complete the story about the oldest message in the bottle. Following that, they say whether they agree with sentences about messages in bottles and give some details. Students then choose a topic (e.g. a problem you solved, some good news) to write about for a message in a bottle. They write sentences and use Past Simple forms. Finally, students work in pairs. Student A reads their letter and Student B asks follow-up questions using Past Simple. They then swap roles.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This ESL lesson on Past Simple also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students complete sentences with the correct forms of Past Simple. They then put the sentences in the correct order to make a story. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

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