Before you teach — read this first
Grade 4 · Lesson 3 — Verb
U0 · Re-teach the level below · Verb (—) · 10–15 minutes · 17 slides ·
Launch → I do → We do → You do → Closure
The grammar behind this lesson — read this before you teach it.VerbWhat it is. A verb is the doing or the being of the sentence. Every complete sentence has one.
Why our test works. 'What is happening?' finds action verbs; 'is it just telling me that something IS?' finds being verbs. Both work because a verb is the only word that changes with time — ran, runs, will run — so if a word can be moved into yesterday or tomorrow, it is a verb.
Leans on. Knowing a sentence is a complete thought. The verb is what makes it complete.
Watch for. Being verbs feel like nothing is happening, so children skip them. *She is tall* has a verb, and the child needs it before linking verbs make sense.
What this lesson is
A review day. No new concept: today drills conjunctions, interjections, nouns. Choose the focus from the last assessment rather than from a plan made months ago — the sheet works on whatever you pick. The worked example is built on Yes, they finally reached the old cinema, and they went through the front door and under the lights of the marquee., ringing and.
Why it matters — say this in your own words, about ten seconds.
“When we know words well, we can learn other languages too.”
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: Noun. 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 — “When we know words well, we can learn other languages too.” 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: Yes, they finally reached the old cinema, and they went through the front door and under the lights of the marquee. · the question · ring and · name it a conjunction. 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 conjunctions, interjections, nouns. 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 Yes, they finally reached the old cinema, and they went through the front door and under the lights of the marquee. still marked when they start work.
- The We-do runs 4 items on whiteboards — The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.What two things is it holding together?, Sidney," Poodle said, "make a sentence that has all eight kinds of words.Could it stand on its own with an exclamation mark?, Examples of interjections are oh, ugh, oof, wow, yes, no, and oops.Could it stand on its own with an exclamation mark?, Nouns are words that name things, like boat fish, bird, island, and wind.Can I put “the” 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 conjunction or the interjection or the noun. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
- Close on NOUNS Nouns are words that name things, like train, smoke, track, and land. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “A conjunction joins.”
- Watch for: Names the conjunction but not what it joins — Recognising a three-letter word is easy; tracking both sides is the skill. If you see it: “And what? And what else? Point to both.” Never accept the word alone. (Remedial sheet 17.)