islcollective worksheets intermediate b1 upperintermediate b2 high school reading past simple ten miss marvel frown 16645258275689583df2d262 78393437

Miss Marvel and the Past Simple
Tense

Miss Marvel walked into her classroom and opened her school bag. The worksheets she needed were
not there! No problem. She had put an exercise on the computer. She logged on, but, disaster – her
computer crashed! The topic was the past simple tense. She found a book, opened it and started
reading the story – well, it was in the past tense! However, the class didn’t settle. First, Peter threw
a pen at Julia. Mick swung back and forward on his chair. Jenny barked like a dog and Saima meowed
like a cat. They all started messing about!
Just at that moment, the door opened and the head teacher walked in! He went to the back of the
class and sat down. He decided to observe the lesson!
Poor Miss Marvel froze. Her heart sank and she almost cried.
Suddenly, a cat walked to the front of the class! He must have climbed in through the window. He
jumped onto Miss Marvel’s desk, sat down and licked his paws. Then, he rolled onto his back, put his
legs in the air and he purred. He wanted Miss Marvel to pet him. Now, the students were very
interested and they paid full attention.
‘Right, class!’ said Miss Marvel. ‘What did the cat do first?’
They all put their hands up and Miss Marvel asked Jim.
‘He walking to the front, Miss’, Jim answered.
‘He walking or he walk …..?’ Miss Marvel asked.
‘He walked to the front!’ Eventually Jim remembered the correct ending.
Miss Marvel asked lots of questions and soon, they described all the things the cat did.
‘OK class, open your books and in 5 minutes, write down what the cat did.
Please use: first, then, next, after that and finally,’ she instructed.
They all opened their books and started to write. Miss Marvel heaved
a sigh of relief and the head teacher smiled.
Just then, she noticed that her computer was back on!

Correct the following sentences:
1) Miss Marvel ran into the classroom and closed
her bag.

2) She had the worksheets that she needed.
3) When she logged on, her computer was fine.
4) The lesson was about the history of chair legs
5) Jenny neighed like a horse and Saima mooed
like a cow. Peter threw a ruler at Julia.
6) The door closed and the head walked out.
7) The head went to the front of the class and
took the lesson for Miss Marvel.
8) Slowly, a dog hopped to the back of the class
and sat on Miss Marvel’s chair.

9) When Miss Marvel asked what the cat did,
none of the class put their hands up.
10) First, the cat skipped to the back, then he
stood up and started licking his tail.
11) Miss Marvel asked a few questions.
12) She told the class to close their books.
13) She gave them eight minutes to write
down the things the cat did.
14) The class all put their books in their bags
and refused to write.
15) The head teacher frowned.
16) She noticed that her computer had blown
up in a massive explosion!


Here are some endings for the story. Put the verbs into the past
A

B

C

After the lesson, the cat …………… (get) down from the desk and he …………… (squeeze) out of the open
window. Then, he …………… (jump) through the next classroom window. In that class, Mrs Parveen was
the teacher. The cat ………….. (hide) under a student’s desk. When the student …………..(move) his foot,
the cat …………. (jump) on it and ……………..(try) to bite it! The students was shocked and ……………
(scream). Mrs Parveen …………… (love) cats. She ……………….. (believe) the cat was a stray, so she
……………. (take) him home and ………………. (give) him to her little boy. She ………………. (call) him Pliny. Pliny
…………… (have) a really good life with Mrs Parveen and her family.

The head teacher ………….. (go) up to Miss Marvel and he ……………. (shake) her hand. ‘Well done!’ he
………………. (say). ‘That was a marvellous lesson! Miss Marvel – marvellous!’ He …………….. (laugh) out loud
at his own joke. They ………………. (walk) to the staffroom to discuss the lesson. ‘You know, if I had a
pound for every time I heard that joke about my name, I would be a wealthy woman,’ Miss Marvel
………………. (think) to herself.

‘Well done, my Grey Malkin!’ Miss Marvel …………………. (remark) to the cat. You …………… (save) me
there! I …………… (get) a really good report from the head master. Then she ………………. (take) her
broomstick, ………… (get) on it and ……………. (fly) up into the sky. Grey Malkin, her trusty cat …………….
(sit) behind her. You see, Miss Marvel is a witch who does a bit of teaching in her spare time.
Beware! Many teachers have got hidden powers and can cast spells, so naughty students really need
to watch out! ;-)

Which ending do you like best and why? Now, write a different
ending.
By the way

The real Pliny was a Roman who lived many centuries ago. He came from
a rich family, and studied in Rome. When he was 23, he began a military

career by serving in Germany and he rose to the rank of cavalry
commander. Eventually, he returned to Rome, where he studied law
(probably…). Pliny was a writer and he loved to study. His nephew, Pliny
the Younger wrote about his uncle. Pliny’s last job was commanding a fleet
of ships in the Bay of Naples. His job was to stop pirates and capture
them. One day, he noticed some very strange clouds over a town called
Pompeii. Pliny went there to find out what was happening. He realised that
Mount Vesuvius had erupted.
Sadly, the strong fumes
overcame him and he died on
Aug. 24, 79, according to his
nephew’s report. Pliny never
married and had one sister.

Highlight the past simple
verbs.