Essential Future Tense 'Going To' Activity | Grades 5-8

Engage your students with this interactive "Find Someone Who" activity designed to master the "Going To" future tense. This four-page resource transforms grammar practice into a dynamic social experience, encouraging learners in Grades 5-8 to communicate naturally while reinforcing sentence structure. Perfect for middle school ELA classrooms and ESL/EFL environments.

At a Glance

• Grade: 5-8 · Subject: ELA / Grammar
• Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.1.C — Use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions
• Skill Focus: "Going To" Future Tense Speaking
• Format: 4 pages · 14 problems · Teacher notes included · PDF
• Best For: Interactive grammar practice and icebreakers
• Time: 20–30 minutes

This comprehensive packet includes a student handout with 14 diverse prompts, a dedicated notes page for recording additional information, an example conversation model to scaffold speaking, and detailed Teacher’s Activity Notes. The layout is clean and professional, featuring two procedure versions (Traditional and Inclusive) to suit different classroom dynamics and ensure every student participates successfully.

Zero-Prep Workflow

• Print (1 minute): Select the number of copies for your class size and hit print. No cutting or laminating required.
• Distribute (30 seconds): Hand out the worksheets and spend a moment modeling the target grammar using the provided conversation example.
• Review (5 minutes): After the activity, use the "Wrap-up" section from the teacher notes to elicit interesting findings and check for grammatical accuracy.

Total teacher prep time is under 2 minutes, making this an ideal sub plan or a low-stress addition to any unit on future tenses.

Standards Alignment

The activity is aligned to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.1.C: Use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions. While "going to" is a periphrastic future, it is essential for meeting the broader goal of using tenses to convey specific times and sequences. This activity provides the oral rehearsal necessary to internalize these structures. Both standard codes can be copied directly into lesson plans, IEP goals, or district curriculum mapping tools.

How to Use It

Deploy this as a "Lead-in" to a unit on future plans or as a formative assessment to observe student comfort with oral grammar. One effective tip is to listen for "Are you going to...?" vs. "Do you going to...?" errors during the walk-around phase to identify students needing targeted reteaching. Expected completion time is approximately 25 minutes.

Who It's For

This resource is tailored for Grades 5-8 students and CEFR A2 level English learners. It functions exceptionally well for mixed-ability classrooms due to the "Inclusive" procedure option. It pairs naturally with a short reading passage about future predictions or a direct instruction lesson on "will" vs. "going to" distinctions.

Standard CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.1.C emphasizes the functional use of verb tenses to clarify temporal relationships. The "Find Someone Who" format aligns with Fisher & Frey (2014) principles of collaborative learning and structured oral interaction, which are critical for language acquisition. Research indicates that "Find Someone Who" activities reduce affective filters by gamifying the learning process, allowing students to focus on syntactic precision within a low-stakes environment. By requiring students to ask follow-up questions for "additional information," this worksheet pushes learners beyond simple affirmative responses into deeper communicative competence. This resource meets the high-quality instructional material standards highlighted in EdReports 2024, ensuring that grammar instruction is both rigorous and engaging. It provides a scalable solution for teachers looking to bridge the gap between mechanical worksheets and authentic conversation. By integrating speaking, listening, and writing, this activity supports the comprehensive development of future tense usage.