Before you teach — read this first
Grade 7 · 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.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 complement, phrases, objects of prepositions. 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 NOT between compound subject complements: He was angry and tired., ringing tired.
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
- 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: NOT between compound subject complements: He was angry and tired. · the question · ring tired · name it the subject complement. 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 complement, phrases, objects of prepositions. 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 NOT between compound subject complements: He was angry and tired. still marked when they start work.
- The We-do runs 4 items on whiteboards — Notice that a verbal infinitive is different from a prepositional phase such as to Boston, which is two words.Does it tell me about the subject?, We could say that the sinecure lasted a long time, that he received a sinecure, that the job .Does this group act like one word?, This makes sense because interjections do not have any grammatical function; they do not modify, or join, or replace.Does this group act like one word?, Then tell whether the relationship is one of space, time, or something else, such as direction, similarity, or possession.Preposition — what?. 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 complement or the phrase or the objects of preposition. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
- Close on Note that gerunds always end in -ing, but participles can end in -ing, -ed, -en, or any verb form. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “The complement completes the subject.”
- Watch for: Confuses the complement with a direct object — Both sit after the verb. If you see it: “Is the verb DOING something to it, or telling you what the subject IS?” (Remedial sheet 23.)