I found this comic strip especially suitable to learn/teach the differences between simple and progressive past and present perfect (I’ll use it the classroom as part of the lesson plan on past tenses):

Simple Past is used to:

— talk about a past event which took place at a definite point in time

·         We went to the theatre last night.

·         Shakespeare died in 1616.

·         Did you have a good time on holiday?

·         When did she come?

·         Who saw Peter yesterday?

·         What did you do at the weekend?

·         Why didn't you phone me on Tuesday?

·         Why were you so angry?

·         Was Tom at work on Friday?