She Said That…: Reported Speech

About This Resource

A complete Grade 8 ESL lesson pack on reported speech: changing direct speech into reported speech, backshifting tenses, changing pronouns and time words, reporting questions with if and question words, reporting commands with told and asked, and using say and tell correctly. Includes a lesson plan, worksheet, quiz, homework, A5 flashcards, a rubric, detailed slides with speaker notes, Word files and answer keys.

Overview

Students learn how to report what someone said. They move tenses one step back ("I am tired" becomes She said she was tired), change pronouns and time and place words (today becomes that day, here becomes there), report yes/no questions with if and wh- questions without question word order, report commands and requests with told or asked + to, and choose between say and tell. They transform sentences, correct mistakes and report a short interview.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Reported Speech
Category: Grammar
File Type: PDF
File Size: 321 KB
Published: 31 Oct 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 8 ESL (ages 13–14), B1 60 minutes Grammar speaking listening writing

Learning Objectives

Change direct speech into reported speech using backshift.
Change pronouns and time and place expressions correctly.
Report statements, questions and commands using say, tell and ask.

How to Use This Resource

Show the slides and act out a short dialogue, then ask a student to report it to the class.
Use the flashcards to practise tense changes, then complete the worksheet.
Use the quiz to check learning and send the interview homework; answers are in the answer keys.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Whisper chain: a student whispers a sentence; the next student reports it aloud (Ana said that she was hungry).
Celebrity interview: pairs write a short interview, then report it in the third person.
Message taker: students take phone messages and report them to the person they were for.

Differentiation

Support: focus on reported statements with present simple and present continuous. Challenge: report questions and commands, and explain when backshift is not needed (for facts that are still true).

Assessment

The worksheet and quiz check transformations (answer keys included). Use the rubric for the reported interview.

Teacher Tips

Use a tense ladder on the board (present → past → past perfect; will → would; can → could). Students move one step down the ladder for each change.

What's Included

11-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (7 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (5 activities)
Quiz / assessment (3 parts)
Homework practice page
Printable flashcards: 7 A5 picture cards (separate PDF)
Assessment rubric (4 levels)
Lesson slides (editable PowerPoint)
Editable Word version of all student pages
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)