Before you teach — read this first

Grade 6 · Lesson 2 — Noun

U0 · Re-teach the level below · Noun (—) · 10–15 minutes · 17 slides · Launch → I do → We do → You do → Closure
The grammar behind this lesson — read this before you teach it.
Noun
What 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 adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions. 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 He saw him at school, but she saw her there., ringing there.

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

Nothing to retrieve yet; this is the first lesson of the year. Spend the minute on the routine instead — boards out, boards up on the signal — so it is automatic before it has to carry content.

How it goes

  1. 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.
  2. Then you do one yourself, on screen, one click per move: He saw him at school, but she saw her there. · the question · ring there · name it an adverb. 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.
  3. You build the same thing on the board and leave it up for adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions. 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 He saw him at school, but she saw her there. still marked when they start work.
  4. The We-do runs 4 items on whiteboards — Do use a comma before the conjunction in a list, even though trendy advice sometimes says not to.How? When? Where?, And I told you already, if you have to use some adjectives, don't put them close together.Can I say it in front of “the box”?, No, I mean, it is not between you and I, Freddie; it is between you and me.Can I say it in front of “the box”?, Conjunctions join things, like walk and run, tall and blue, Jim and Sue, or me and you.What two things is it holding together?. 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.
  5. Exit directions in full, standing still, before anyone moves — Sheet and pencil · Read the question above each one BEFORE you answer it · Find the adverb or the preposition or the conjunction. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
  6. Close on No, I mean, it is not between you and I, Freddie; it is between you and me. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “An adverb tells more about a verb.”
  7. Watch for: Calls an adjective an adverb because it sounds descriptive — Both describe; only the target differs. If you see it: “Is it telling you about a THING or about a DOING?” Two hands: flat palm for the thing, rolling hands for the doing. (Remedial sheet 11.)
As-Suffah Academy · Language Arts · Narrative brief Then open the run sheet