Before you teach — read this first
Grade 4 · Lesson 15 — Noun
U1 · Level One — Parts of Speech · Noun (—) · 10–15 minutes · 14 slides ·
Launch → I do → We do → You do → Closure
The grammar behind this lesson — read this before you teach it.NounWhat it is. A noun names something — a person, place, thing, or idea. It is the only kind of word that can be the thing a sentence is about.
Why our test works. 'Can I put the in front of it?' works because the is a determiner, and determiners in English attach to nouns and to nothing else. *The table* is fine; the ran, the quickly, the and are not. So the test is not a trick — it is asking whether the word behaves the way only nouns behave.
Leans on. Knowing that a sentence is about something. If a child cannot yet find what the sentence is about, the noun test has nothing to hold on to.
Watch for. It fails on names and on some abstract nouns — we do not say the Sarah or the courage in every sentence. Tell the class the test finds most nouns, and names are nouns too because they name a person.
What this lesson is
A review day. No new concept: today drills subject. 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 There were no children above., ringing children.
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: Subject · Noun + Verb. 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: There were no children above. · the question · ring children · name it a subject. 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 subject. 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 There were no children above. still marked when they start work.
- The We-do runs 1 items on whiteboards — The next spot, I say," said Poodle that way, "we'll find the next spot over there.Who or what is this about?. 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 subject. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
- Close on The next spot, I say," said Poodle that way, "we'll find the next spot over there. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “The subject is who or what it is about.”
- Watch for: Marks the first word rather than the subject — The subject usually starts the sentence, so position works often enough to hide. If you see it: “Who or what is it ABOUT? Say the whole naming part.” (Remedial sheet 19.)