How can I incorporate more past tense communication when using SOMOS 1, which is written in the present tense?

Many teachers using the Somos 1 Novice curriculum wonder how to increase students’ exposure to and use of the past tense, especially because the units and core vocabulary are written in the present tense.

If you want to expose your students to more communication in multiple timeframes, or if your school or program expects past-tense instruction early, you can absolutely meet those needs without rewriting the curriculum.

The strategies below are teacher-tested, classroom-ready, and fully aligned with Acquisition Driven Instruction. 

1. Retell activities in the past tense

After students engage with a story or text written in the present tense, retell it using past-tense narration.

You can:

Ask comprehension questions in the past:

→ ¿Por qué fue la chica al parque? ¿Qué dijo el muchacho?

Lead an oral retell or shared class summary in the past

→ “Ayer leímos una historia sobre una chica que quería una pizza…”

2. Use parallel readings in present and past tense

Offer students two versions of a reading: one in present tense and one in past tense. With these two versions, you can highlight how verb tense shifts meaning without changing the story.

3. Personalize conversations using past-tense questions

Even during a present-tense unit, you can ask students about past experiences.

• ¿Qué hiciste ayer después de la escuela?
• ¿Fuiste a casa o a otro lugar?

Start class with one quick past-tense PQA exchange to get reps in an authentic, communicative way.

4. Act out stories in the present, retell them in the past

Use student actors to act out a class story in the present tense. Then narrate or summarize in the past tense!

 5. Add “What happened before/after?” prompts

Extend stories by asking students to narrate imagined moments before or after the events.

Example prompts:

→ ¿Qué pasó antes de que ella saliera de la casa?

→ ¿Qué hizo el muchacho después del evento?

6. Do Weekend Chat every Monday

Begin the week by asking students about their weekend. Even just a few minutes each Monday reinforces past-tense forms in meaningful, personal ways!

→ ¿Qué hiciste el sábado?

→ ¿Con quién pasaste tiempo el domingo?

7. Use daily “Yesterday” journals

Begin class with a quick journaling or discussion routine:

→ “Escribe 3 cosas que hiciste ayer.”

→ “Dime una cosa que pasó durante el fin de semana.”

This twist on Weekend Chat gives students personal, low-stress exposure to past-tense forms.

8. Use Somos 2 for rich past-tense input

Somos 2 Intermediate continues the acquisition journey and includes core vocabulary and stories in the preterite and imperfect tenses. But there’s no need to wait--you can jump into Somos 2 Unit 1 (Foundations in past tenses) easily after teaching the first 8-10 units of Somos 1.

As a reminder: Focus on meaning, not tense labels

You do not need to explicitly teach past tense conjugation charts to use the past tense. Introduce it naturally in context. Use the past in comprehensible messages, and students will acquire the forms through meaning-based exposure.