The Clock Tower — Verb Tense: Past, Present & Future (Grade 1)
A free interactive Grade 1 grammar activity: help Juniper the robin keep the clock tower's three time-windows — Before, Now, and Soon. Read the time word in each sentence, then tap the verb that fits the past, present, or future. A friendly first look at using verbs to tell when something happens. Common Core L.1.1.e.
A free interactive Grade 1 grammar activity: help Juniper the robin keep the clock tower's three time-windows — Before, Now, and Soon. Read the time word in each sentence, then tap the verb that fits the past, present, or future. A friendly first look at using verbs to tell when something happens. Common Core L.1.1.e.
About this activity
Juniper the robin tends a clock tower with three time-windows — Before, Now, and Soon — and the child picks the verb that matches. Given "Yesterday the boats ___" or "Tomorrow the sailors ___," the child taps sailed, sail, or will sail, with tricky irregulars like went and ran in the mix. This free, interactive Grade 1 grammar activity plays in the browser with no sign-up.
The big idea is that the same action changes its form to tell when it happens. The time word — Yesterday, Right now, Tomorrow — is the clue, and the child has to match it to sailed, sail, or will sail. Mixing in irregular verbs means a child cannot just add -ed every time; they have to know that went is the past of go. That is the first real step into using verb tense on purpose.
It is aligned to Common Core L.1.1.e — using verbs to convey a sense of past, present, and future. No timer, no score — just calm, playful practice.
What's inside this activity
- Designed for Grade 1 learners (ages about 6–7)
- Common Core strand: Language
- Aligned to Common Core standard L.1.1.e
How to play
Read the sentence and find the time word, like Yesterday or Tomorrow.
Tap the verb that fits the past, present, or future window.
A warm check confirms a correct choice and offers an easy retry when needed.
What your child practices
- Matching a verb form to a past, present, or future time word
- Choosing the right tense from words like Yesterday, Right now, and Tomorrow
- Forming the past tense of regular verbs like sailed and jumped
- Recognizing irregular pasts like went and ran
Learning goals
Use verbs to show past, present, and future — the focus of Common Core L.1.1.e
Match verb tense to time words in a sentence
Build the verb sense that clear writing and storytelling rely on
Frequently asked questions
- What does the The Clock Tower — Verb Tense: Past, Present & Future (Grade 1) activity teach?
- The Clock Tower — Verb Tense: Past, Present & Future (Grade 1) is a free interactive activity for Grade 1, focused on Language. Children play it right in the browser — no printing, login, or setup required.
- Is The Clock Tower — Verb Tense: Past, Present & Future (Grade 1) free to use?
- Yes. The Clock Tower — Verb Tense: Past, Present & Future (Grade 1) is completely free, with no signup and no paywall, on any tablet, laptop, or classroom whiteboard.
- Which ages is this activity for?
- It is designed for Grade 1 (Language) and works well for whole-class, small-group, or independent practice.
Practice this standard
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- L.2.2.cNib's Apostrophe Seat — Contractions (Grade 2)
- L.2.1.bThe Doubling Pond — Irregular Plural Nouns (Grade 2)
- L.1.1.dThe Borrowed Hat — Personal Pronouns (Grade 1)
- L.1.1.jWiggles' Sentence Builder — Build a Sentence (Grade 1)