Before you teach — read this first
Grade 7 · Lesson 1 — 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.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 direct object, linking verb predicate (lvp), subject complement. 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 The soup was hot., ringing soup.
Why it matters — say this in your own words, about ten seconds.
“The better we know words, the better we understand the Qur'an.”
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
- Ten seconds on why it matters — “The better we know words, the better we understand the Qur'an.” 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: The soup was hot. · the question · ring soup · name it the direct object. 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 direct object, linking verb predicate (lvp), subject complement. 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 The soup was hot. still marked when they start work.
- The We-do runs 4 items on whiteboards — We can identify rebuke,reprove,condescend, and writhe as verbs, and we identify aloof abashed, grotesque, serene, and amiable as adjectives.Verb — what? or whom?, As they climbed, nearing the summit, they grew thoughtful, thinking of the difference between DOING something and BEING something.Does it DO, or does it link?, Notice that a verbal infinitive is different from a prepositional phase such as to Boston, which is two words.Does it DO, or does it link?, We can identify rebuke,reprove,condescend, and writhe as verbs, and we identify aloof abashed, grotesque, serene, and amiable as adjectives.Does it tell me about the subject?. 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 direct object or the linking verb predicate (lvp) or the subject complement. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
- Close on If we drop out the two prepositional phrases, we have this sentence, in which me is an indirect object. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “The direct object receives the action.”
- Watch for: Finds a direct object where there is none — The pattern of the last three lessons was that there always is one. If you see it: “He ran WHAT? There is no answer, so there is no direct object.” (Remedial sheet 21.)