Home›Lesson Plans›World Languages›Korean · Grade 9

Korean Past Tense

Ninth graders learn the Korean past tense (과거 시제) — add 았어요 / 었어요 (asseoyo / eosseoyo) to a verb stem: 가다→갔어요 (went), 먹다→먹었어요 (ate), 하다→했어요 (did). Now they can say what already happened.

Grade 9Past Tense50 minutes1 class periodACTFL / World LanguagesExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
Start the Lesson
Assign or share this lesson

Copy link works with Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and any other LMS — paste it in as a resource or assignment.

Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Form the past tense.
  • ✓Add 았/었어요.
  • ✓Say what you did.
  • ✓Tell about yesterday.
Essential Question

What did you do yesterday? How do you talk about the past in Korean?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

Korean Past Tense Check

Project each item and have students answer about the Korean past tense.

⏱️ Understand the Korean past tenseTry it
Answer each question about the Korean past tense.
The Lesson · Language Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Yesterday

6 min

What did you do yesterday, and how do you say it in Korean?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask “oje mwo haesseoyo?”
  • Point to “yesterday.”
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Wonder.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Past Tense

12 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Past Tense Check.
  • Note 았어요 / 었어요.
  • Show gada→gasseoyo.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Answer.
  • Note it.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Practice

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Change 3 verbs to past.
  • Say “meogeosseoyo.”
  • Say what you ate.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Change.
  • Say it.
  • Say it.
4

Speak — Speak

13 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “Oje hakgyoe gasseoyo” (I went to school yesterday).
  • Tell 2 past actions.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Tell.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Change a verb to past.
  • Say one past action.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Change one.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Intermediate-Low).

ACTFL
Communication 1.3

Presentational: narrate past events.

ACTFL
Communication 1.2

Interpretive: understand past forms.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare tense systems.

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: talk about the past.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Verb cards present → past.
  • Sentence frame: “Oje ___-eosseoyo.”
  • Color-code the ending.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with gada & meokda.
  • One verb at a time.
  • Use examples.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add irregular verbs.
  • Write 3 past sentences.
  • Tell a short past story.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • ⏱️Verb (past) cards
  • 💻Korean Past Tense Check
  • 🗓️“Yesterday” prompts
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

과거 (gwageo)past어제 (eoje)yesterday갔어요 (gasseoyo)went먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo)ate했어요 (haesseoyo)did봤어요 (bwasseoyo)saw / watched왔어요 (wasseoyo)came~았/었어요past-tense ending
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What ending makes a Korean verb past tense?
았어요 / 었어요 (asseoyo / eosseoyo).
QUESTION 2
What is 먹다 (to eat) in the past?
먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo).
QUESTION 3
What does 갔어요 (gasseoyo) mean?
Went.

Reflect: past tense.

Have students write one thing they did yesterday in Korean (like “oje ___-eosseoyo”). A printable Korean past-tense sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Korean Past TenseFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Korean Past TenseQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Korean Past TensePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: ~았/었어요, 갔어요 (gasseoyo), 과거 (gwageo), 먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo), 봤어요 (bwasseoyo), 어제 (eoje), 왔어요 (wasseoyo), 했어요 (haesseoyo)
  1. saw / watched
  2. yesterday
  3. came
  4. went
  5. ate
  6. past-tense ending
  7. did
  8. past

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What ending makes a Korean verb past tense?
  2. What is 먹다 (to eat) in the past?
  3. What does 갔어요 (gasseoyo) mean?
Answer key — Part A: 1) 봤어요 (bwasseoyo) · 2) 어제 (eoje) · 3) 왔어요 (wasseoyo) · 4) 갔어요 (gasseoyo) · 5) 먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo) · 6) ~았/었어요 · 7) 했어요 (haesseoyo) · 8) 과거 (gwageo)
Part B: 1) 았어요 / 었어요 (asseoyo / eosseoyo). 2) 먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo). 3) Went.