Future Simple Tense with Will – A Complete ESL Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will learn how to use the future simple tense with will through engaging classroom games and activities. Once they are confident, students can begin using the tense to talk about their own future plans and events, which greatly expands their ability to communicate in English.

The lesson starts by introducing the idea of “future time” with a simple timeline so students can see where the future fits in relation to today and yesterday. Then, students learn how to form sentences with will and practice the target language in both structured and communicative activities.

This page provides a complete ESL lesson plan to teach the future simple tense with will. If you are also teaching going to, the activities here can be easily adapted for that as well. All the lesson materials are included below, and you’ll find additional resources at the end of the page.

Introduce the Future Tense

Start by putting the lesson in context so students understand what they are learning. Draw a horizontal timeline on the board with “Today” written in the middle. Ask students what day it is and write it under “Today.” On the left side of the timeline, review the past tense by adding words like yesterday, last week, or last year. On the right side, ask students what day it is tomorrow and add it there. Then build on this by writing more future time expressions such as next week, next Tuesday, or next year on the right side of the timeline.

This simple timeline makes the concept of “future time” easy to grasp. Once students see where the future sits in relation to today, explain that in this lesson they will learn how to talk about events that have not happened yet but will happen in the future.

Show How to Form the Future Tense with Will

Write a few common verbs on the board (eat, play, read, write, go, etc.). Tell students that to talk about the future, we use will before the verb. Show them how to make simple sentences such as:

• I will eat.
• I will read.
• I will go.

Say each sentence aloud and ask students to repeat after you. Once they are comfortable, invite a few students to make their own sentences using different verbs.

Practice Making Future Tense Sentences

Next, help students practice making full sentences by playing this Future Tense Guessing Game. Simply show the video below in class and ask students to complete the sentences. There are 10 rounds. In each round, students see a future tense sentence with a word missing. Then, an image hidden behind colored shapes slowly appears. As the image is revealed, students must guess the missing word and complete the sentence correctly.

Speaking Activity – Party Planners

This speaking activity helps students to take what they have learned so far and talk about future plans using their own future tense sentences. Tell students that it is your best friend’s birthday this weekend and you want to throw a surprise party. Explain that they are all invited and need to help plan the celebration.

Have the class sit in a circle or take turns one by one. Each student must say what they will do for the party using a future tense sentence, for example: “I will bring the cake” or “I will blow up the balloons.” Students cannot repeat what has already been said. Next, practice the future tense in the third person by asking the class to recall what others said. For example: “What will Sally do for the party?” Students should answer: “She will choose the music.”

Practice Writing With a Future Tense Worksheet

For the final activity, give each student a copy of this What Will You Do? worksheet. It contains 10 questions that prompt students to write about their future plans. For example, one question asks: What will you do tomorrow?

Students should answer each question using the future simple tense. If you want to add more speaking practice, pair students up and have them ask and answer the questions with a partner before writing down the answers. This way, they practice both speaking and writing the target language. For more future tense worksheets, check out our future tense worksheets page.

Review the Future Simple Tense

To wrap up the lesson, review how to form the future simple tense with will and how to ask and answer questions about future plans. Give students a few minutes to ask their partner a simple question such as “What will you do after class?” and have them answer.

Next, provide third-person practice by asking the class to report on their partner’s answers. For example, “What will Maria do after class?” Students should respond with a full sentence, such as “She will meet her friend.” This activity can be part of your classroom routine in the next few lessons to help students build confidence using the future tense in English.

Additional Future Tense Resources

• Future Tense Worksheets
• Online Future Simple Tense Quiz
• Interactive Future Tense Exercises – Positive Sentences
• Interactive Future Tense Exercises – Negative Sentences