El pasado simple se refiera a una acción ocurrida y ya terminada
el pasado continuo se refiere a una accion iniciada pero que no especifica si culmina o no.
Aqui un ejemplo de un texto con estos tiempos.
I woke up, opened my eyes and moved out of bed.
I was brushing my teeth when i realized i was late for school so i huried up and went downstairs
My mom huged me and i waved goodbye before turning around the corner that headed to school.
I started lookingaround and breathed hevily as i noticed there was no one left in the school yard.
I was late for english class.