Daily Routines – English Standard Four

Daily routines are the activities that a person does regularly every day. They help us organise our time at home and at school.

1. Common Vocabulary about Daily Routines

English phrase	Kiswahili meaning
Wake up	Kuamka kutoka usingizini
Get up	Kuondoka kitandani
Brush my teeth	Kusafisha meno yangu
Take a bath	Kuoga
Get dressed	Kuvaa nguo
Have breakfast	Kula kifungua kinywa
Go to school	Kwenda shule
Study	Kusoma
Sweep the house	Kufagia nyumba
Have lunch	Kula chakula cha mchana
Play	Kucheza
Do homework	Kufanya kazi za nyumbani
Have dinner	Kula chakula cha jioni
Go to bed	Kwenda kitandani
Sleep	Kulala

2. Talking about Daily Routines

We use the simple present tense to talk about activities that we do regularly.

• I wake up at six o’clock.
• We go to school in the morning.
• They play in the afternoon.
• She helps her mother at home.
• He does his homework in the evening.

Remember: With he, she and it, we usually add -s or -es to the verb. For example: I play – She plays; I go – He goes; I wash – She washes.

3. Telling Time

We can use time expressions to explain when we do our daily activities.

• 6:00 a.m. – six o’clock in the morning
• 7:00 a.m. – seven o’clock in the morning
• 12:00 noon – twelve o’clock at noon
• 2:00 p.m. – two o’clock in the afternoon
• 6:00 p.m. – six o’clock in the evening
• 9:00 p.m. – nine o’clock at night

4. A Pupil’s Daily Routine Timetable

Time	Activity
6:00 a.m.	Wake up and get up
6:15 a.m.	Brush my teeth and take a bath
6:45 a.m.	Get dressed
7:00 a.m.	Have breakfast
7:30 a.m.	Go to school
8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.	Study at school
1:00 p.m.	Have lunch
4:00 p.m.	Play and rest
6:00 p.m.	Do homework
8:00 p.m.	Have dinner
9:00 p.m.	Go to bed and sleep

5. Reading: Amina’s Daily Routine

My name is Amina. I am a Standard Four pupil. I wake up at six o’clock every morning. I get up, brush my teeth and take a bath. Then I get dressed and have breakfast. I go to school at half past seven. At school, I study different subjects and play with my friends during break time. I return home in the afternoon. I have lunch and rest. Later, I do my homework. In the evening, I help my mother and have dinner. I go to bed at nine o’clock.

6. How to Write about Daily Routines

When writing about daily routines, use the simple present tense and arrange activities in the order in which they happen. You can use these sequence words:

• First – to show the first activity.
• Then – to show the next activity.
• After that – to show another activity.
• Next – to continue the order.
• Finally – to show the last activity.

Example: First, I wake up. Then, I brush my teeth. After that, I take a bath. Next, I have breakfast. Finally, I go to school.

7. Learning Activities

Activity A: Complete the sentences using the words in the box.

breakfast – school – homework – sleep – teeth

1. I brush my __________ every morning.
2. I have __________ before going to school.
3. I go to __________ in the morning.
4. I do my __________ in the evening.
5. I __________ at night.

Activity B: Arrange these activities in the correct order.

1. Have breakfast.
2. Wake up.
3. Go to school.
4. Brush my teeth and take a bath.

Activity C: Write your own timetable. Write the time and one activity you do at each time of the day. Then write five to seven sentences about your daily routine.

8. Assessment

Choose the correct answer.

1. Which activity do you usually do after waking up?
   A. Sleep B. Brush my teeth C. Go to bed
2. We use the simple present tense to talk about ________.
   A. daily routines B. yesterday only C. tomorrow only
3. She ________ to school every morning.
   A. go B. goes C. going
4. Which word shows the last activity?
   A. First B. Then C. Finally
5. At 12:00 noon, we can have ________.
   A. lunch B. breakfast C. supper

9. Answers

Activity A: 1. teeth; 2. breakfast; 3. school; 4. homework; 5. sleep.

Activity B: 1. Wake up; 2. Brush my teeth and take a bath; 3. Have breakfast; 4. Go to school.

Assessment: 1. B; 2. A; 3. B; 4. C; 5. A.

10. Support for Slow Learners

Help pupils who need more support by using pictures or mime to demonstrate daily activities. Practise the vocabulary orally, allow pupils to match activities with their meanings, and provide sentence starters such as “I wake up at …” and “I go to school at …”. Give them a simple timetable to complete before asking them to write full sentences.

11. Learning Outcome

By the end of this lesson note, a pupil should be able to identify common daily activities, describe personal daily routines using the simple present tense, and prepare a simple written timetable of daily routines.