Daily Routine Lesson Plan for ESL Kids

This lesson helps beginner students talk about daily routines using the present simple tense. Students will learn vocabulary for common daily activities, practice asking and answering questions like “What time do you get up?”, and play interactive games to reinforce the language.

Lesson Objectives

• Use the present simple tense to describe daily routines.
• Ask and answer questions like “What time do you…?” about common daily activities.
• Recognize and use vocabulary for daily actions such as get up, have breakfast, go to school, and go to bed.

Lesson Procedure

Introduction and Warm-up

Start by putting the target language into context. Ask students what they did before coming to school today. For example, “What’s the first thing you did this morning?” Elicit answers and write the first activity (e.g., wake up) on the board.

Continue by asking, “What did you do next?” and add each response to the board in order. Once you have several activities listed, ask which ones they do every day and at what time they usually do them.

This discussion helps students see that the lesson will focus on activities they do regularly (their daily routines), giving you a natural starting point for the rest of the lesson.

Teach Key Vocabulary and Expressions

Use these Daily Routine Flashcards to introduce 8–12 common daily activity phrases, such as wake up, brush your teeth, have breakfast, go to school, and go to bed. Hold up each card, say the phrase clearly, and have students repeat several times. Check understanding by asking questions like “Do you do this in the morning?” or “Is this before or after school?”

Once students are confident with the vocabulary, introduce the target question and answer pattern (What time do you get up? / I get up at 7 o’clock) and model it with different daily activities before having students practice in pairs, taking turns asking and answering.

Sentence Practice Activity – Guessing Game

Play the Daily Routines Guessing Game video to practice making sentences about daily activities. The video shows ten pictures of daily routines hidden behind colored shapes. As the shapes slowly disappear, students try to guess the activity in the picture and answer using a full sentence, such as I get up at 7 o’clock. After each reveal, pause the video and ask follow-up questions like “What time do you do this?” to encourage additional speaking practice. I find that students participate much more actively in sentence practice during activities like this, compared to standard ‘repeat after me’ drills.

Pair Work Activity – Daily Routine Board Game

Print and prepare this Daily Routines Board Game and one die per pair of students. Players place a counter on the “Start” square, roll the die, and move along the board. When they land on a picture, they ask their partner a question based on that activity, such as What time do you brush your teeth?, and their partner answers. Certain squares lead to the star in the center; landing there earns a point, and the player returns to start. Continue for 5-10 minutes, and the student with the most points at the end wins. In my experience, these activities work best when they are modeled in class first. So, before handing out the game worksheets, be sure to demonstrate how to play this board game at the front of the class.

Speaking Activity – Daily Routine Mingle Game

Label the four corners of the classroom as Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4, and assign a daily routine to each (e.g., Level 1 = get up, Level 2 = have breakfast, Level 3 = go to school, Level 4 = go to bed). All students start at Level 1 and pair up with someone in the same level.

Each pair asks and answers a question about their assigned activity, such as What time do you get up? / I get up at 7 o’clock. They then play rock, paper, scissors; the winner moves up to the next level, and the other stays where they are. When a student reaches Level 4 and wins again, they earn a point or sticker and return to Level 1. Continue for 5–10 minutes, and the student with the most points at the end wins.

Teacher Tip: My students always love this game, but it can get quite energetic! To keep things safe, I always establish a few ground rules before we start: no running and no pushing. I also make sure all chairs are tucked in and that bags or other obstacles are cleared from the floor to create a safe space for students to move around.

Review Activity – Ball Toss

Choose a daily activity from the lesson and ask students to find a partner. Each pair asks and answers a time question about that activity, such as What time do you have breakfast? / I have breakfast at 7:30. Toss a soft ball to one student and have them share their partner’s answer with the class. That student then tosses the ball to another classmate, who repeats the process with a different activity. Continue until you have reviewed several daily routines and times covered in the lesson.

Teacher Tip: During this activity, I usually take the opportunity to identify students who may need a little more help. This allows me to provide them with extra practice worksheets or tailored homework to reinforce what they learned today.