Before you teach — read this first
Grade 1 · Lesson 62 — Interleave: Adjectives + Verbs
U1 · Level One — Parts of Speech · Adjectives + Verbs (—) · 10–15 minutes · 16 slides ·
Launch → I do → We do → You do → Closure
What this lesson is
An interleaved day mixing adjectives + verbs. The skill is not either of them — both are secure — it is working out which question is being asked before answering. That is invisible unless you name it, so the objective is stated to the children outright. The worked example is built on Gradually he saw that they were adjectives—three!, ringing that.
Why it matters — say this in your own words, about ten seconds.
“Careful words make careful thinking.”
A different reason every lesson, on purpose. It is not on a slide and it
is not a script — if you have a better reason today, use yours. What should land is the
idea, not a sentence they can recite.
Recall — sixty seconds, before anything new
Retrieve: Verbs + Adverbs + Prepositions · Adverbs + Prepositions. Ask for it before you introduce anything, take the answers from boards rather than from hands so you see all thirty, and do not re-teach — note who has lost it and carry on. This is the middle of the launch: context, then this, then why it matters. Only what today leans on — a minute spent retrieving something unrelated costs the same and buys nothing, and the child who cannot recall the prerequisite is the one you will lose in the I-do.
How it goes
- Ten seconds on why it matters — “Careful words make careful thinking.” Your words, not those; it is a different reason every lesson so what lands is the idea rather than a sentence they can recite.
- Then you do one yourself, on screen, one click per move: Gradually he saw that they were adjectives—three! · the question · ring that · name it an adjective. Do it exactly the way you want it done — this is the task they are about to do on their boards, not an easier one.
- You build the same thing on the board and leave it up for adjectives, verbs. The four steps are identical in every lesson of this unit — sentence, question, test, answer — so the children read the method rather than the layout, and today's board shows Gradually he saw that they were adjectives—three! still marked when they start work.
- The We-do runs 3 items on whiteboards — Adjectives, Poodle recalled, modify nouns or pronouns.Which one? What kind? How many?, Eleven fish swam in the blue lagoon.Can I put “I” in front of it?, The tired frog took a long nap.Can I put “I” in front of it?. You are scanning for who applies the question and who is guessing from meaning; those look identical on a right answer and completely different on a wrong one.
- Exit directions in full, standing still, before anyone moves — Sheet and pencil · Read the question above each one BEFORE you answer it · Find the adjective or the verb. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
- Close on The tired frog took a long nap. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “An adjective tells more about a noun.”
- Watch for: Marks the noun as the adjective — They sit side by side and only one has been named so far. If you see it: “Which one is the THING? Then the other one is telling you about it.” (Remedial sheet 10.)